My Weeks Work Experience at Normans | July 2018

I'm Katie and for this past week I have been doing music work experience at Normans. I play clarinet, piano and alto saxophone. I've just finished my exams and have had a great week at Normans. I love music and really hope to do a music degree at the Birmingham Conservatoire. For a job I want to teach music or do music therapy. I have been interested in Normans for a while, ever since I bought my "for life" clarinet and when the perfect opportunity came around I took it! So, here's my week...

Monday

I was greeted by Jack at the front desk. After chatting for a bit, another Jack came and took me for a tour around the whole building - which was bigger than I expected! After showing me around the kitchen, show room, live room and warehouse I was welcomed by Shona. She showed me my weekly plan and I couldn't wait to start! My first job was writing out summaries for products while sitting at the front desk. Here I was taught how to answer phone calls, check stock and process an order by Jack and Rory. It was so interesting being shown everything that goes on behind the scenes - it's all so clever! During lunch I met a few other people and chatted to them - everyone was lovely. After lunch we added my summaries to the website, got some products from the warehouse and came back to the front desk to write this blog. Just before I left, Shona showed me the Normans analytics which was really cool. My first day was great!

Tuesday

I sat behind the front desk in the morning. I learned more about taking calls, checking stock and navigating my way around the warehouse. There were a few customers that I spoke to and got their products from the warehouse alongside both of the Jacks. I also began comparing prices and brainstorming for a school campaign - I started to really get the hang of it! After my lunch break, I went upstairs with Heidi where I learned about making the newsletter. She taught me how to photoshop stock photos and add text. I managed to get the hang of it and she soon had me making my own banners for a new newsletter. I really loved seeing the more creative side of Normans and ended up making three banners from scratch (all with help though!). It was really interesting seeing what happened behind the scenes and getting to know everyone a bit more.

Wednesday

I started my day and launched straight into everything, with speaking to Sam, the technician, about how to repair, service and clean the instrument. I really loved learning about it and even got to test a repaired clarinet to see if she'd done a good job! Then I went upstairs to Nick, where he showed me how to respond to emails, check stock and process an order. We tracked containers and checked the stock in both warehouses. I watched him for a while then he let me have a go on my own. Luckily, I got the hang of it pretty quickly and put through an order for a school. I then worked with Shona on updating the images and banners for the website. After lunch, me and Shona continued working on the images them I came down to the front desk where I continued comparing prices, chatted with Rory about what it's like at Normans and met a few customers. My day was non-stop, but I really loved it!

Thursday & Friday

I spend the whole of my morning behind the front desk where I compared prices, dealt with customers and chatted with Rory - there was also a fire alarm! I'd been doing pricing for a few days now so it was becoming easier by now! After lunch, I filmed a video with Shona, Delphine and Rory about guitars that will go on their YouTube channel soon. I went straight up to Shona where I helped update the website with the images we made earlier in the week then came back down to the front desk where I finished off this blog and helped a few customers with Nick. It was my last day on Friday so I brought some doughnuts in to say a huge THANK YOU! I really enjoyed my week at Normans where I worked hard but also had lot of laughs with the team - Nick on the trombone was my favorite! Having an insight into the world of music sales and repairs was so intriguing. I learned a lot this week and I'm amazed by the amount of hard work that happens behind the scenes to run Normans everyday. Everyone was so lovely and welcoming - they made me feel at home. I'd definitely recommend Normans - whether buying an instrument or joining their amazing team for a week of work experience. Thanks for reading my blog and hope you've enjoyed having an insight into Normans because I definitely have!