Music & Arts — Local services in Bothell

Today I walked into Music and Arts without any expectations of what i was planning on getting when it came to electric keyboards. Theres so many options online, as a brand new beginner, it was overwhelming. When I was first looking at their selection I was interested in the weighted keys from the pricier keyboards but I when i saw that the 2 cheaper keyboards had a screen that showed the note youre playing. I was very interested in that and new I was ready to buy. The associate helping me with this and I chatted about this feature before we started looking into the music books. At the same time, another person behind the counter was boasting that he is not the manager he previously had and learned everything he knows by doing the opposite of this previous manager. While I was browsing the books, the same associate informs me that she is getting me the newest one keyboard. I asked what the difference is she said it was just the item number. Unfortunately it wasnt until i drove all the way home that i noticed just from the image on the box, the keyboard i took home was not anything similar to the one i purchased other than the same brand. it did not have the feature on the screen i was interested in. I called them and the same associate picked up the phone, i started with saying that i was the woman just there interested in the keyboard with the notes on the screen, she responded stating she remembered me. I told her the keyboard doesnt have that feature and if i could exchange it for the one i wanted, she said yes. When I arrived, she was not in the store front, another individual was with the suspected manager still behind the counter where i last saw him. i updated the 2nd associate since it didnt seem like she told anyone about my issue even though i told her i was heading straight back to the store. I brought the keyboard over to the section and confirmed that it was nothing like the one on display. at this time the first associate comes to the cash register next to the keyboards, sees me with the box as big as im am and didnt say anything. I was already annoyed but was extremely agitated by this this. when i pointed out the screen to the 2nd associate i then pointed to the first that was in ear shot and brought up that we talked about this. she then said "oh those show the notes". At this point i was not a friendly customer. I asked why she gave me this model when it didnt have the only thing i was looking for. she informed me that they did not have any more of that model due to it being an older model but they would be able to sell me the display version. i asked about the price and she said it was the same as the new one. I didnt think there was anything left to blow my mind but how could they sell and open product that has been touch or used by anyone at the same price as an in the box brand new product. She then told me that she would apply the same sale that i got from my previous purchase, she didnt seem to understand that it still ends up at the same value even though this is a used product. Although im not yelling im clearly at my limit with my tone. the 2nd associate had already walked off at this point. and the person potentially the manager standing there watching this train wreck happen and doing/saying nothing. She tells me there isnt anything she can do about the price of the display keyboard, i believe her. I asked for a refund. I could have gotten the next model that did contain the feature however that was 70$+ more and i dont believe its that complex, i can probably find that feature and price point somewhere else. As she is processing my return, she repeats that i can trade the one i bought for the display. Trying not to blow up, i repeated why im not buying a display anything at full price. She gave me the receipt and I left I will not be returning to that store or...

I should have trusted online reviews. I am in a hunt for a Cannonball Saxophone for my daughter during summer break. The one she currently uses is a loan from school. Kalen called me the next day and let me know that they had a Juniper saxophone available for rent. It is a used tenor sax and shows quite a bit signs of wears and scratches but I was told it is a "step up" instrument (from the student level) so the monthly rental is $50 per month plus $8 for maintenance plus tax. He told me the instrument costs over $1700 rent to own or $1200 to buy right away. He said it costs $2300 for brand new one. I also expressed that my daughter really wants to own a Cannonball Sax. He said they can totally order one and all the rental money will go toward the new purchase. While it costs $30 to rent an student instrument at Kennelly Keys, I agreed to sign the rental agreement on Saturday June 14 around 4:30pm and paid $63 for the first month rental because I thought I am renting a "step up" instrument. Because the instrument looks so beat up, I asked if he can clean and polish it before we pick up. He said it's ok to pick it up on Monday. On Sunday, I had a chance to look up online and finding out more about this Saxophone and found out that a brand new exact Jupiter Saxophone is sold for only $1300!!! I went back in the store today Monday June 16 at 10:30am. Kalen wasn't there so I talked to the Manager, Brad. First , I found out that the saxophone we are renting is a Student model. The manager Brad told me Juniper doesn't make intermediate or professional saxophone. I don't believe it is true. Second, Music & Arts is not a Cannonball authorized dealer so I can't use any rental money toward a new Cannonball instrument in the future. After hearing all the things Brad said, I asked him if I can cancel the rental and get my refund. He said I can't cancel the rental because I already signed the agreement 48 hours ago! I have to pay minimally one month rental even the instrument never left the store. I feel I've been misleading and overcharged for an instrument rental. I'm extremely disappointed! *This is the follow up after my initial reviewed. The district manager reached out to me and resolved the issue with my rental. I greatly appreciated all her effort meeting me at another location (so it wouldn't be awkward for me). It shows this company does care and want to provide good service to their customers. I hope the store manager Brad will follow her example and be more flexible with his...

My son took piano lessons with Craig, who is excellent and understood my son's learning needs from the start. The two stars are for him. Zero stars go towards Music&Arts' lesson payment system. It is a near-fraudulent mess that will suck money out of your pocket for lessons never received. There is no online system that lets you see how much you paid and whether you actually got the lessons you paid for. Scheduling can be hard due to limited teacher availability, and if you can't make the few open slots work, your make-up lessons expire with no warning.

The in-store clerks are friendly and helpful, but can only do so much to make the ridiculous payment system work. They pass on messages to their central office and promise a call back, but there is no follow-up and no response.

We were promised a refund for a lesson we could never take due to cancellations on their end - which we never received. Emails to Music&Arts support went unanswered. No one picks up the phone at the support number either.

My son was excited to resume his lessons with Craig after our summer break, but we will be looking for another music school with better service that only makes you pay for lessons you get.

Edit: Raising it to three stars since I did eventually get the refund. Still only three stars because scheduling and only paying for what you actually get shouldn't...