Yale's Music Shop — Local services in Athens

I have heard great things about Dave (the owner), his craftsmanship, and his shop so despite living over 50mi away I took my mother’s violin in to him to have him look at it. Dave looked at it for me and said that the sound post inside of it had come loose and that it also had a few small cracks in the top as well. He asked if I would like these fixed before he put on the new strings. I said that it made sense to me that this was done as well, and that I would appreciate it. He said he would try his best to get it done by Christmas. I left him my cell and work phone number to contact me on the status of the repairs. 20th of December- I still hadn’t heard from his shop. I called and Dave said that he hadn’t had a chance to look at the violin yet and it wouldn’t happen before Christmas. While I was disappointed I told him that I once again understood, and would let my Mom know he was working on it for her. Middle of January- still no phone call. There were no messages from Dave on my work or cell phone and I still hadn’t heard from his shop yet. I finally got a hold of Dave and he said (chuckled) he hadn't made it through his backlog of repairs that came before me. Fast forward now to 3/27/18. More than 3 months after I brought my Mom’s violin in to be serviced. STILL NO MESSAGE regarding the status of her instrument. I called several times on 3/27 and was finally able to get through to Dave’s son. I told him that I was concerned that I hadn’t heard ANYTHING and wondered what the status of the repairs was. He kindly said the violin was on his father’s workbench, and he would ask him about the status of the repairs and have him call me when he got back. Friday of that week came (3/23) and I still hadn’t heard anything. I tried calling a couple times and started to leave a message to let Dave know that I was really getting frustrated and needed some confirmation on what was being done, since it had been over 3 months since I brought her violin to the shop. In the middle of leaving a voice mail message his son picked up the phone abruptly and in a rude and nasty tone asked me what I was calling for. Obviously he knew since he was listening to the VMS and picked up in the middle of it. I started to explain regardless and he cut me off and said to me that “he told me that he would have his father call when he got in”. I asked him if he always talked to his customers that way. He said “If you don’t like waiting for the instrument then COME DOWN AND GET IT” in a nasty tone once more. At this point I was livid and told him I would be down to get it. My weekend was booked so I couldn’t come pick up the violin until Monday 3/26. Dave apologized to me (did not feel the sincerity although he was nice enough about it) and sent me on my way with a violin that was more deconstructed than it ever had been. He did smooth out the fingerboard some which I thanked him for, and he let me know there was a construction flaw (cracked block) in the tail end of the violin. He sent me with a couple contacts on a sticky note and I was on my way. I just don’t understand how you could have an instrument in your shop for over 3 months and not make any significant repairs on it…..let alone never ONCE call the customer letting them know about the progress (or lack of) that you were making on it. Then act like it is not really a big deal. The only time I was called was when it was already too late and I was frustrated to the point of wanting the instrument back. If you can’t repair it or don’t want to…don’t string the customer along. In the future perhaps the customer should be notified. His son’s rudeness was also inexcusable in my book. Good luck taking over the business with an attitude like that. I would not recommend this shop to anyone who values reasonable communication and service as a new customer. I will never shop here and have let all of my friends and co-workers (I have a lot of them) know of my...

I bought an old 70s epiphone from Dave as my daughters first guitar.We took guitar home and after a couple weeks went by our daughter got it out and played it.The string started to fall off the neck some so we decided to take it back to yales and see what they could find out.I showed jediah what it was doing and he said he was going to restring it and tighten neck down because it was loose..He changed the strings tightened the neck and did something else.The guitar plays great now!.These guys have been doing the same thing for years and really know what they are doing!.I highly recommend...

Yale's Music Shop is a gem for music enthusiasts! Despite being super busy with a large phone order, the staff, particularly the lady who assisted me, made sure I was attended to promptly. Her politeness and extensive knowledge about the store's inventory were impressive. She knew exactly where to find the item I was looking for and was exceptionally nice throughout the interaction. The shop's commitment to customer service, even during hectic times, really stands out. Highly recommend checking this place out for all your...