I'm Serious.

When Bob started Gollihur Music (then called "Wordsmith Associates Music," as it was an offshoot of his freelance writing gig) it sort of got off the ground due to a series of happy accidents (for the full story, check out "The Story of Gollihur Music" on this page). But make no mistake, he always took everything about the shop very seriously.

Making a stellar impression, every time, was always paramount, even when it was just him working alone out of the spare bedroom of his house. He was busting his tail 14-16 hours a day, answering calls at 8pm, and doing everything himself. His personal reputation and character was a primary concern with every business dealing, whether it be with customers, colleagues, vendors, distributors - everyone he came into contact with. His livelihood depended on it (as does mine, now) and he always took it all very seriously.

When he brought me on board over 20 years ago (!) he knew - and appreciated - that I also had strong feelings about top-shelf customer service. But I'm not too proud to say that he taught me lessons in being the best, most helpful person I can be, for every sale and inquiry. Big or small, every order (and every customer) matters - a credo I always have taken seriously.

Bob retired almost 11 years ago,now, and while the business has changed hands, that dedication has never changed. Bob started the business as a "helpful website that happens to sell a few key bass things," and I still approach running this (now extensive and quite serious) business with that same ethos.

More times than I can count, I've talked people out of buying things that they don't need; when they seem incredulous, I always say, "look - if I sell you the wrong thing now, you're going to be mad at me when you figure it out. I'd much rather lose a sale now and have a friend later!" And it's true, it's no more complicated than that.

In my experience, there are shops in our industry (and others) who focus instead on the "right now" rather than the "right thing." Fixating on cut-rate pricing and almost nothing else, it seems to me that it's about the sale, not the customer. You don't see the owners of those shops helping people on TalkBass or Facebook, or providing free advice, instruction and tip sheets to anyone who needs them, whether they're buying something or not (these are all things that Kyle and I do pretty regularly). You don't see them taking great pride in keeping their websites up to date (and proofread!), or spending a moment to make their communications look professional, or caring enough to get orders out the door the same day they're placed. But we still get a charge out of doing that here. Every day.

This business is a serious venture for me, and I'm seriously committed. I hope that comes through in every interaction, and I invite you to let me know if we ever fall short of those aspirations. Email me personally at mark (at) gollihurmusic.com -because I definitely want to know.

Seriously.