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Chappells has always been one of my favourite music shops in London. They had charm by the bucket load and the staff were simply brilliant. Always excellent natured and genuinely friendly, always knowledgeable, and always ready to shave a bit off the price for loyal customers.
The shop was always a bit on the quirky side, but with a light and open atmosphere and with lots of stuff to amuse yourself for a while.
In late 2013 they had a massive blowout sale (in which I picked up a couple of genuine bargains) because they were changing name to Yamaha Music London and focusing more on Yamaha products. This change included a shop re-fit, and boy did they change things!
I went in there recently and was shocked by what I saw.
Firstly it now looks super modern and characterless, its darker, and the products are laid out more as a showroom under blue lighting, rather than an actual shop. The place has completely lost its soul and now feels very corporate.
It's a bit like walking into an advert for Yamaha.
And the worst part, all those excellent staff have gone, too much of a change I guess, but I don't blame them.
I've been going to that store for nearly 20 years. Such a shame that the vibe is over. I hope the new guys get their act together, but I'm not holding my breath, and if I'm completely honest, it's put me off the brand a little.
Such a shame
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Great! As I say, hopefully with time the store will re-find it's groove. But as of now the look and feel of the store has completely changed, and from what I understand, the sales approach that staff must now adhere to is vastly different from what it used to be.
To be clear, I don't see this as a issue with the staff, its more that the direction laid down from above appears to have swung around. I just hope all those guys that left because of this have found a similar work environment to what they were used to at chappells, because for over 20 years those folks proved themselves.
And the long dead Milton Keynes branch - all Yamaha gear.
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I remember going in there during the 70s, loads of Pianos and men in suits. The stereotypical blind piano tuner in one corner and a few nice guitars in the other. Even though I was a sweaty smelling long haired recast hippie aged around 15 and 2 months, they always treated me with respect and called me 'Sir'.
I once bought some sheet music during one visit to show I was a real customer - Christ I did some stupid things when I was young ;(
Indeed, but not just Yamaha gear, they also used to stock Fender, Music Man, Danelectro, Mark Bass, Boss, Novation, Epiphone, Ibanez amongst others.
Now its just Yamaha and Line 6.
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