An important message to all our valued customers

If you’ve called us recently and had a tough time getting through or didn’t get the return call you were waiting for as quickly as you expected, there’s no doubt that you were frustrated. We certainly understand, because we were just as frustrated ourselves!

We want to make one thing perfectly clear: Nothing has changed — or will change — at Sweetwater as far as our commitment to you, the customer goes. We do want to sincerely apologize to everyone who has experienced a glitch in our usual level of service. We’ve worked hard trying to make sure it didn’t happen, but sometimes the best intentions are not enough. Here’s what is going on . . .

We don’t have to tell you that we are growing at an astronomical rate. Each week we get several hundred new customers, as well as several thousand more calls. And frankly, we just don’t have enough people yet to handle this kind of response. We’ve been working on it as our highest priority: You no doubt have seen all the ads we have been running lately to hire additional Sales Engineers. But finding the right people — those special individuals that can represent this company and serve the needs of our customers in the manner we require — that has been very difficult. Our sales force is the best in the business and, unfortunately, it’s hard to find people of this calibre quickly.

However, we can say now that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Since the first of the year we have hired over 30 new employees, with most of these going to our sales department, and the rest going to our service, technical support, shipping and other departments. So, over the next few weeks, you should experience a substantial improvement in our ability to answer your calls and respond quickly to your needs. In fact, you can even help speed this process along!

As most of you know, right from Day One of Sweetwater’s existence, we have always believed in putting the customer’s needs first, and we’ve always believed that our company (or any other) is only as good as its people. That’s why we have gone to such lengths to find the best people in the business to staff our company.

We’ve always been honest about the fact that working here at Sweetwater can be a blast, but it is also hard work: Taking care of each customer’s specific needs isn’t easy. Working here requires a tremendous amount of knowledge, the ability to effectively communicate, plus an extraordinary dedication and commitment that goes way beyond what other retailers expect of their employees.

The reverse side of that coin is that our people have a tremendous opportunity for advancement, personal growth and, best of all, almost an unlimited income potential. Here at Sweetwater, hard work is rewarded by a very nice paycheck. How often does that happen today? How many of you feel like you are getting paid what you are really worth?

Still, even though we have what is unquestionably the best sales force on the planet, because of our tremendous growth, we are still actively searching for qualified individuals to join our team. So here’s where you can help.

Do you know someone who has a music technology background? Someone with exceptional people skills? Someone that you personally might feel comfortable going to for advice about some technical issue. If so, we want to know about them. And here is the best part: If we hire them, we will pay you $250 just for the contact. That’s right, cash in your pocket just for passing along a name and phone number. Couldn’t be easier.

Maybe you feel like you personally could fit into our organization. If you have the experience and desire, we want to hear from you. Even if you feel you don’t possess all the knowledge we might require, that’s okay. If you work well with others and have really good communications skills with a basic working knowledge of our industry and are willing to learn, don’t hesitate another minute: Call us!

We hope this clears things up and gives you a better understanding of why you may have experienced some problems getting the personalized service we have always offered — and will always provide in the future. We do apologize for those problems and thank you for your patience. We promise: Things will be back to normal (or even better!) very soon.

One other quick note: We also need your help in updating our data base. If you are moving, planning a move or know a friend who has moved, we need the new address. We absolutely hate seeing copies of Sweet Notes returned because of a bad address. Put enough of them together and that’s a tree we could have saved (although we do use paper that contains a high percentage of recycled materials). So if you possibly can, get us up-to-date on your whereabouts. That way you’ll never miss an issue of Sweet Notes!