jvaruzzo
(1 point)
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My name is Justin Varuzzo - I work for the Paul Effman Music Service in which LJ Hutchen is a subsidy. I have had the opportunity of working with the LJ Hutchen product line since day one.
I'm not here to advertise the product - but defend the product for what it is worth. I'm new to this board and saw the post when doing a Google Search for LJ Hutchen. We are constantly seeking input from anyone with advice or an opinion.
I'd like to give a little background on our company - the Paul Effman Music Service educates over 15,000 students a year, with a staff of nearly a hundred full-time professional certified educators throughout the country. The company has been in business for over 30 years - I myself am also an educator for the company.
Like many band directors we had many students coming to class with sub-standard instruments from various sources and brands (I won't mention names). Many instruments would fail to play out of the box - many others had no service, support, return policies, or parts availability.
We employ three full-time repairman at our service, as well as some of the best musicians and educators in New York. Furthermore, much of our success as a company (specifically the LJ Hutchen Corp) has come from our corporate culture. Our company (unlike many others) are not composed of corporate executives who jumped ship from big brand corporations looking for a new opportunity. Our team is composed all of professional musicians, professional educators and professtional repair techs.
Our repair techs are responsible for handling the maintenance and repair of a rental inventory of nearly 10,000 instruments - we value their opinion and advice in the design and production of our instruments.
We realized the demand for inexpensive alternatives to Yamaha (in which Paul Effman Music is also an authorized dealer, as well as Conn-Selmer). Unfortunately, at the time we could not find an acceptable product. We relentlessly pursued samples from factories and distributors all throughout China until we find factories willing to work with us to improve their products for our line.
There will never be a comparison between a $220 LJ Hutchen instrument and a $1000 Yamaha student instrument (unless we charge a similar price, which is not our goal). We advertise our instruments to students and young players, they are not designed, advertised, nor portrayed to take a student through college, and we realize they are not built to last a life time - but they are absolutely the best instrument in this price range, and will last many years and provide a great launch pad for students, especially those who simply cannot afford the expensive instruments.
Our goal was to offer the absolute best quality alternative to the cheap buys - one that would include support, a warranty, parts availability, and quality control that would rival ANY name manufacturer.
In fact, we have improved our instruments year after year every single year. Our quest for the ultimate affordable instrument is our goal every day of every month of every year.
Many band directors require students have a Yamaha instrument - although as I professional educator I don't nescessarily agree with forcing parents to purchase a $800-$1600 instrument that may sit in a garage when a student quits a few months later, our product is perfectly suitable for the student musician.
We have sold thousands of instruments with a return rate of less than 1%. A chunk of our rental inventory is composed of LJ Hutchen instruments which have withstood the wear and tear a rental fleet is exposed to year after year.
We do have a full parts inventory - we offer 4-years worth of adjustments through Paul Effman Music Service, beyond the 2-year factory warranty, and in most instances provide a 24-hour turnaround time or loaner instruments through the service.
I will also call and discuss our product line, and even send samples to any band director who is uncomfortable with our brand, I realize we are far from a "BIG" name - however we are, have been, and will continue to be a family owned business where the customer service and satisfaction is our number one goal.
In terms of customer service and quality control, I'd like to mention a few things:
1) Our phone number is posted on our webiste - call it and you will talk to one of three or four people consistantly - no call centers, no "customer service reps", either myself or one of my three partners handle all support.
2) Every instrumnent is inspected three times - including machine driven leak testing for flutes, clarinets, and saxophones. We pay extra to have the instrument inspected at the end of the line af the factory. Upon receipt of our shipments in New York, our repair staff personally sets up, and plays down every single instrument to insure there are no defects (including leak-testing), finally, the instrument is inspected prior to shipment or delivery to the customer as one last final check. Although this is a painstaking tedious process - we feel it is what has provided us with the less than 1% return rate and a CONSISTANT product.
3) We provide a return policy, warranty support, and a parts inventory. We stand behind our product, we don't hide from it.
4) We appreciate any and all input available for any of the instruments in our product line. While the big boys are cutting back, moving production to China, and cutting corners (ie cases), we are constantly seeking to improve the product, provide a better case, and a better quality instrument.
Again, I'm available to discuss any concerns, or issues you may have with the product. I can be reached via email at my first name (see below) at pauleffmanmusic.com or can be reached by phone at the office at 845-452-8528.
I look forward to speaking or communicating with anyone on this forum about our products - I hope you will consider our product in the future, and if for any reason our product is not suitable for your needs, than we recommend Yamaha as the best instrument available (and we hope you'd consider buying it from us!).
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I realize it is a very long winded post, but I don't mind taking the time to address concerns anyone may have - furthermore, we encourage every parent to take any instrument they purchase (including our own LJ Hutchen) to their band director for approval - if for any reason a band director does not approve our product, I encourage you to provide me with his/her information, or likewise provide him/her my contact information, and of course if the product is not acceptable in your band program we provide a full refund (including shipping both ways if purchased from Hyson Music, our online subsidiary).
Again - please, never hesitate to call or email me.
Thanks again,
Justin Varuzzo
Paul Effman Music, LJ Hutchen Corp, Hyson Music (www.hysonmusic.com)
1131 Route 55, Suite 2B, Lagrangeville, NY
my first name @ pauleffmanmusic.com
845-452-8528 ext. 106
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