Music & Arts — Local services in Hockessin, Delaware

tldr; Visited the store for the first time, impressed by the customer service, sales person was never pushy or tried to upsell, listened to my request and needs, walked out with a piano and the discovery of an amazing store that really seems to appreciate your business and your visits!

This place is amazing, the staff... these guys really know how to make you feel welcomed.

I was in there about a day ago for the first time looking to buy a digital piano as someone who has never played a piano at all and all I felt was love and support and the passion of the staff helping me pick one.

I know what you're thinking (This guy probably got upsold like crazy for being a newb) and trust me I'm really not that novice when it comes to spend my money, being an eBay seller and what not I HAVE to see where the best deals are with any decision I make regarding my money.

Before I went to the store I did countless hours of research on their online store and all over the internet ( I'm not the easiest person to convince to make a purchase).

After standing there for about 20 minutes doing a little more research on the pianos that were available in the store I could not make up my mind, I did not want a crappy super entry level piano but I also did not want to spend more than I needed to get started.

My requirements were simple,

Sensitive to touch keys weighted keys digital

I already knew that Sensitive touch keys were mainly available after a certain price range just like the weighted keys, so I knew I wanted a piano in the 200-350 range to get everything I needed before I even walked in there.

When I began talking to the staff at first I was thinking in my head, "Let's see how this jerk tries to upsell me, I've done my research and I'll only be paying 5-10% more of what it would cost online on whatever I get" Of course I consider myself and avid merchant and thus this is how I think... of course I don't know this person the "jerk" thing is just a figure of speech. Well I was incredibly surprised by this staff member or sale associate? Anyway, he walked up to me and asked if I needed help I explained to him my lack of experience (usually a mistake when buying locally, keep this a secret most sales people work on commission and will try to upsell... hence my expectations stated above) but I was surprised this guy listened to me and he never used the word "Should" or "Have to" and that was impressive! I was blown away. This guy felt like a long lost friend, he truly cared about my expectations and my budget and the patience was incredible he even put the piano in my car.

Conclusion

If you want too feel welcomed and informed about making a purchase of any instrument I'd say visit this store, these guys seem like the kind of people that will talk to you and give you advice even if you don't buy anything from them. Think of this place as a mom and pops business were the employees actually care and want to listen to you and your needs (musically). I give this business all the...

This low rating is not a reflection of the Kirkwood Highway store personnel but rather Music & Arts Corporate and their “customer service”. We have been a customer of the store for years including lessons, instrument purchases and instrument service and repair. Everyone we’ve ever dealt with IN THE STORE has been lovely, helpful and knowledgeable. At the beginning of the summer we signed up for weekly lessons for half of June plus July and August in preparation for marching band season. I cancelled, in store, (on August 13th)our weekly lesson effective end of August and specifically requested that the auto debit be cancelled effective immediately as we had already paid for August. In spite of that we were charged for lessons for the month of September. I called the store immediately and was told they had cancelled the lessons on their end but were experiencing issues with a new company-wide system. They put through a request for a refund that day. After a week I called the store again and told them the money had not been refunded. They assured me it had been reported to corporate and that was all they could do from their end. Today I called the corporate number and experienced the worst possible customer service. The woman was cranky and short with me right off the bat and would only tell me that a refund would take 4 weeks. When I asked why she said, “that’s our policy”. She had not bothered to ask my name, my location or any dates. When I requested confirmation that the refund was in process she reluctantly took my information and treated me like I had interrupted her lunch break. And then, she told me she couldn’t tell me anything, had no idea if my refund request had been made, told me to wait 4 weeks and call back. When I said that wasn’t a good enough answer she told me I’d have to call the store. So, total waste of time, including the 15 minute wait on hold. I did call the store back and though they were apologetic they could not do much as they have no control over the refund process. Kevin, the store manager, took all my info again and said he would email the lesson coordinator and his district manager and would let me know if he had any further information. I understand this has happened to a number of customers which is outrageous. In this day and age how can a large corporation not be able to timely cancel an auto deduction or at least have a system to log refund requests and be able to tell you if the request has been received? Further, why the hell would it take 4 weeks to refund my money? Absolutely unacceptable. I can’t imagine we would deal with Music & Arts again and certainly would not recommend the company which is a shame because the employees and teachers are great. Seriously, who wants to deal with illegitimate automatic deductions from your bank account???For that matter who wants to loan M & A’s $150. (interest free) for a month at a time??? Imagine if you had 2 or 3 students and were out $300-400 for that amount of...

Stopped in to try out a few guitars of the type that I am in the market for. An employee was seated on the only stool in the guitar area, playing on his phone. He did ask if he could help me, and I told him I wanted to try a few guitars, but otherwise, he just ignored me as I was looking at the selection. I picked up a few and looked at them, and I tuned and tried to play them but there was nowhere else to sit to play, and he was obviously more interested in whatever was so interesting on his phone so I left the store. The other employee behind the counter never raised his head from the paperwork that he was working on other than to say hello and maybe welcome when I first walked in. I know that you probably get a lot of kids who come in and play around on guitars with no intention to buy them, and many times just need to be watched so they do not damage the instruments, and I get that, but I am a senior musician who is there for the purpose of finding and buying the right guitar. A little customer service and courtesy would be appreciated and might possibly...