Box Brothers Supports Independent Music

As the new Regional Manager of the Box Brothers Northern California operations, http://www.boxbros.com/oakland-california I was excited about being able to bring my style of management to our crew here. However, at the same time I received my promotion I also was offered an opportunity to join a touring band from San Francisco, Slow Trucks. I had always taken pride in my ability to juggle my professional life with my desire to play live music, but this opportunity raised a huge conflict with my work schedule, and I was facing a major life decision – do I work or do I play?
Our first big tour, four weeks of shows throughout the South and Northwest, would require me to leave my position for an entire month. I knew this timing was terrible – this would give me only a couple of months to establish my leadership and gain a lasting rapport with our employees. I knew that performing the full aspect of my duties would now be impossible, and it would not be fair to the company to take such a long leave of absence.
With no small amount of regrets, I contacted Mark Frydman to tell him about the situation, and to offer what I thought was my only recourse, the resignation of my newly acquired position. I was preparing for the worst, the loss of a good job in a poor economy, and the prospect of touring with little to no capital. Imagine my surprise when Mark stopped me in my tracks and told me he thought we could work this out.
I came to find out that I wasn’t the only Box Brothers employee who had expressed the desire to pursue a music career. Mark was gracious enough to allow me a leave of absence for the duration of our tour. I still faced the problem of having no income other than what the band was able to create for itself through merchandise sales and payouts for gigs. This doesn’t go very far when your gas tank costs $100 to fill, and that is an almost daily occurrence!
As the tour dates approached, Mark and I worked together to set me in place as Regional Manager, and to prepare our two locations for my absence. I had agreed to still handle as much of my work as I could from the road – basically keeping up to date with my emails from my iPhone and keeping in contact with the shops to make sure there were no major snags in Operations. We also made arrangements to have Vice President Chris Long pay a couple of visits to smooth out the transition into my leave.
I recall a phone call from Mark the Friday before I was to leave on tour. He said that he may have some good news for me. The next week, two days before I was to leave, Mark informed me that Box Brothers would be willing to still grant me half of my salary if I could perform some of my duties from the road. This was a life saver. I no longer had to worry about keeping enough money for rent in my account, and I would be able to tour in comfort, rent a hotel room here and there, and have the financial freedom to enjoy the trip.
This kind of flexibility and kindness to their employees is what makes Box Brothers such a great company to work for. I began to realize what Mark had been telling me all along. Box Brothers isn’t merely a company, it’s a family. We look out for each other here. In this company, there is no Mr. Frydman. It’s Mark to us AND to our clients. How refreshing to have a boss that doesn’t want to be called “Boss.”
The traits of flexibility and camaraderie aren’t reserved exclusively for the employees here, but also translate to how we do business with our customers. Box Brothers is always willing to handle a last minute job, to stay flexible with our clients, and to build a friendly rapport with them that outlasts a single job. We know most of our repeat clients by their first name, and a phone call with them consists not only of business at hand, but also a friendly chat. Box Brothers is truly a people-first organization, and I am proud to part of it.
If you’d like to hear more about my band and our upcoming tour dates, please visit http://www.myspace.com/slowtrucksbandband We may be coming to a town near you!
-Bill Carter, Regional Manager, Box Brothers Northern California