Over the years, I’ve discussed the importance of relationships many times in this column. I’ve even asked a few manufacturers to give us their take on Sweetwater. In this issue, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before: ask for a customer’s perspective on Sweetwater and why he or she chooses to do business with us.
Our guest is Tom Spahn. Tom is a composer and an all-around audio guy for many high-profile broadcast TV shows. For the past 30 years he’s been doing the music for Sesame Street and their associated programs, which fall under the umbrella of Sesame Workshop. Kenny Bergle, Tom’s Sales Engineer, relayed to me that “one of the most enjoyable projects with him was working on the audio for the Muppets.”
Tom has also done audio and music for the popular soap opera All My Children. Having been a customer almost from the very beginning of Sweetwater, Tom had this to say about his experiences with us, when Kenny spoke with him recently:
“I’ve had the good fortune of having Sweetwater in my corner since the early ’80s. What I like about Sweetwater is that I get the same service, whether I deal with Chuck or Kenny Bergle — consistency in the service, advice, and care. When I owned my own studio as an independent musician/engineer, I loved that Sweetwater always stood behind the gear they sent me. And if it meant I was going to have some down time, the replacement gear was in the mail the next day (if they determined the gear was broken).
“Sweetwater ended up being my own personal tech department, so over the years (and at every studio
that I worked, and whenever I’ve had the opportunity), I’ve always said that Sweetwater is the choice —
and it’s because of the service. There’s no better place to do business. And though now I have the opportunity to work with a larger company such as Sesame Street, I still bring up Sweetwater — as I did to our tech department, and Sweetwater helped develop their own relationship with the Sesame Street administration. Now they swear by Sweetwater. There is no up and down in service.
“Years ago, I remember I bought one of my first computers, and it stopped working. Rather than you folks dilly-dallying, you sent me out another computer with the software. The next morning I was there, up and going by noon. That is what I meant earlier about having my own tech department.”
Thanks much to our good friend Tom Spahn for taking the time to contribute to this column.
Rock and Roll!
Jeff Radke
Vice President of Sales