Repairs of School Instruments

Your school instruments will typically need maintenance and service each year, and will sometimes need emergency repairs. Most directors send their school instruments to the shop for regular maintenance and repair as soon as the band's schedule allows the instruments to be free, usually at the beginning of the summer or at the end of marching season. This way they avoid the inevitable fall rush in band repair shops, and they can be sure their instruments will be ready for the next season. If budgeted band money isn't available until a certain time, the repairs can usually be arranged with an understanding that billing will be after the budget money is available.

The Amro repair shop has a goal of doing minor repairs in less than 24 hours, and more involved repairs within a few days. Generally they are able to meet this schedule with the exception of the few weeks at the beginning of the school year. Parts delays are uncommon because the Amro shop stocks one of the largest inventories of parts in the South. Occasionally, however, an unusual part will have to be ordered, which slows down the repair until the part can be shipped in.

If you have a repair that you need very quickly, please let the technicians know and they can usually accommodate you. Sometimes they'll be able to do it while you wait. If you don't see the technicians often enough for them to know you, introduce yourself to them and let them know you're a band director. Band directors are VIP's at Amro.

When you send an instrument to the shop for repairs, tell the technician how much work you would like done. Some directors like to have everything done including preventative maintenance; others like only the minimum work done to get the instrument playing again. The technicians are willing to do whatever work you'd like and will understand any special circumstances. Often, though, they have only minimal instruction on a repair tag and have to guess at how much the director would like done. If they do less, the director will be disappointed that the instrument wasn't fixed completely; if they do more, the director will be disappointed that the charges were more than expected. Good instructions to use are "maximum playing condition", "playing condition", or "minimum playing condition".

The in-store reps will email you with the estimates when they are ready. You may email your approval or call the store if you have any questions. After your instruments are repaired, each one will be checked and played by two technicians who will sign the repair ticket. This helps make sure that nothing is overlooked and that the instrument plays properly.

Occasionally an instrument will get bumped in shipment or transport, and will be out of adjustment when it gets to you. If you encounter such a problem, please call it to our attention; we'll take care of it quickly and at no charge. If you receive a repair that has obviously been damaged in shipment, please keep the shipping carton and call us right away. We'll notify the shipping company; they'll come make an inspection and report, and then return the instrument to us for repair. If we don't call them right away or we don't have the carton, they will often deny the damage claim.