Record store in downtown Poitiers, Jrme Thir has recently become a school bus driver. He now rolls his bump with his two activities.
American singer Weyes Blood’s latest album is spinning around on the turntable. The artist’s harmonious pop resounds in a small shop in rue des Vieilles-Boucheries: the Charivari coffee.
Inside, the boss Jérôme Thiré is busy wrapping a vinyl record under the eyes of a customer. Christmas is just around the corner and the gift rush is in full swing in the shop. This prosperous period, the record store is no stranger to it, with nearly twenty-five years of business.
Driver in the morning and evening, record store during the day
“I started in Gilbert. Initially, it was a student job. I told myself that I would stop when I got tired of it. I stayed twenty years there,” he recalls. The following ? Four years ago, he opened his own store, rue des Vieilles-Boucheries in Poitiers. He then describes “a happiness to live from his passion, while feeling useful to customers”. Because indeed, Jérôme is very useful, in particular thanks to his sharp advice on multiple musical genres. Even if he does not hide his appetite for “current underground rock, something quite noisy. He cites Tropical Fuck Storm as his favorite band.
The economic decline of the record
When he’s not in his shop, the man never lets go of the music. Avid for concerts, he does not hesitate to go to Nantes to see scenes. “But it may be more complicated now…”
Why ? For a few months he has been preparing for a dual professional activity. “The record market is in economic decline, he regrets. Especially when you are independent. The price of records continues to rise and competition is fierce against the big brands that allow themselves to sell by the board, when we try to make a margin to be able to eat…”
To supplement his income, Jérôme Thiré looked for a profession that could complement the schedules of a tradesman. He then tried himself as a night watchman in a hotel. “But it really wasn’t for me!” Then he comes across an ad: “Vitalis is looking for bus drivers. » Jérôme Thiré applies.
Three month training
He was quickly received by management. But this makes him understand that a double activity would not be possible with the schedules at Vitalis. The company redirects it to the carrier Transdev, which transports hundreds of schoolchildren every day to colleges and high schools in Grand Poitiers.
Jérôme Thiré goes for it and commits to a three-month training course. “We have gone over the code. There was theory and a lot of practice,” he recalls. Then come the hours of driving where he discovers the impressive dimensions of a coach and the “delicate coexistence with other road users. »
However, the permit is validated. On November 14, he became a school bus driver, in parallel with his business as a merchant. What allow a contribution in his remuneration. “Even if the profession of driver deserves an upgrade”, submits the new driver.
Good music in the bus
Since then, Jérôme Thiré has been launched at a frantic pace. From 7:14 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., he drives the students. From 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., it welcomes customers. Then from 4:30 p.m. to 7:05 p.m., he hits the road again. “It’s a rhythm that I’m testing. We will see in the future if it holds. But I really like this new job. »
And since Jérôme Thiré would probably not be Jérôme Thiré without his CDs. He makes young people enjoy his music in the bus. The radio is thus banned to make way for the discography of the record store. “The opportunity to create a small exchange, because young people sometimes ask me what I pass on…” Rocksteady, girl!