A Typewriter Repairman Grows in Manhattan
I read a
delightful story from BusinessWeek this morning entitled, "The Last Typewriter Repairman?" It's about Paul Schweitzer, a 69-year-old New Yorker who still offers typewriter repair services in Manhattan--and he makes house calls, no less. It occurred to me that Schweitzer's story in many respects parallels--and in some ways overlaps--the history of medical transcription, and perhaps there are some lessons to be learned from his journey.
According to the article, Schweitzer's father opened Gramercy Typewriter in Manhattan in 1932, selling and repairing typewriters. "At one time, there were millions of typewriters in the city," says Schweitzer, who began working for the family business in 1959 and took it over when his father retired in 1975. "You would go in an office and there were a hundred desks and each one had a typewriter," he says.
Over the years, Gramercy earned a reputation for quick repairs and excellent customer service. The elder Schweitzer gave out wooden rulers that bore the company's name and logo as advertising. The shop's client base spanned from the tip of Wall Street up to the top of Harlem.
The Schweitzers were quick to adapt to changes. The first big one came in 1961, when IBM introduced the Selectric typewriter. (Ring any bells with you seasoned MTs?!) The Selectric used a typeball that could be changed to display different fonts. The ball replaced the traditional pivoting type bars and the need for a moving carriage with a paper roller. Gramercy, like every other repair shop, had to learn how to fix and overhaul the new machines. Aside from new iterations of the Selectric, for the next 30 years, the typewriter business remained relatively steady.
With the introduction of the personal computer in the 1980s, Gramercy's business customers began replacing their typewriters with desktop computers. By the early 1990s, the shift had made the typewriter practically obsolete. A number of competitors went out of business, and Gramercy gained business as other repairmen shuttered their shops.
While Schweitzer carried on, he noticed that most of the offices that he serviced were purchasing Hewlett-Packard laser printers along with their computers. Recognizing that those printers would break down and need repairs, Schweitzer took Hewlett-Packard-sponsored training courses to learn how to fix the machines and added that to the firm's service menu. Before long, he included fax machine repairs as well. As Schweitzer made his rounds, he informed customers that he was also available to repair these office staples. Schweitzer, who to this day has never owned a computer or used e-mail, says diversifying has allowed his company to retain a good number of its clients, with about 75% of the business now involving printer repairs.
The key elements of Schweitzer's story for me are his willingness and ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions and to diversify in order to stay relevant. I know many MTs who are reaching a point in their careers where the hands just can't take the pounding any more, but they're not really ready (or able) to retire either. At the same time, there's no question that the medical transcription field continues to undergo rapid changes and staying current is more important than ever. The challenge that all of us in the field should be taking seriously is to constantly be on the lookout for ways for MTs to diversify when (not if) the need for diversification arises. I personally don't think MT is going to go the way of the typewriter any time soon, but nowadays complacency is a luxury none of us can afford. Keeping our options open makes good sense in these uncertain times in which we live.