I'll give them credit for actually helping me get my license. I also give them credit for being affordable (note I'm only aware of prices from back in 2015). Hence, two stars. I heard about them through my mother. My mom got her license through them and because she had zero experience with vehicles (my grandma never learned to drive) she knew they'd be good for me if they were good for her. ANYWAYS the first couple of lessons I got when I was 17 and everything went relatively well, I learned how to operate the vehicle and I practiced my turning. All of my sessions were with Adelino (I believe that was the one) and then one with Carlos.
A couple of issues:
1. They would book out very quickly. I first was going for my license at 17 but didn't get it until 19 because I was in college and needed them to work with my schedule, I had to book months in advance just for them to get me in with consecutive lessons. I didn't want one lesson here in June and then the next in August because by then, as a new driver, my skills would be gone.
2. I had to advocate for myself about getting more comfortable with parking. After my second lesson I felt I knew what I needed to know about basic driving (moving forward, switching lanes, braking, etc.), however, I needed to know how to park and I needed to know how to reverse in a straight line. When I asked for this the instructor seemed kind of surprised but my gripe is if this is what I'll be asked to do on the road test let's not stray away from it. If that's too difficult for you to teach you're in the wrong profession.
3. Someone else mentioned it on here, the perversion. You're here to teach me to drive, stop trying to flirt with me or make gestures towards me. I made sure to block every advance. It happened with the same instructor I'd always had but it happened on this one particular day and never happened again. The only reason I continued working with them is because I really wanted my license and I know I was close to getting it. I was already aware of the road test location and knew how to navigate the path. I didn't want to start all over again with a different company. However, for this reason alone I'd never recommend them to anyone and I'd never allow my child to learn through them. Completely inappropriate behavior, especially in such an intimate environment. These are not the old days, he could go to jail for that.
4. Whoever answers their mainline needs to get it together. When I was reserving my road test they told me the date, I accepted, they told me the fees I'd need to have paid and everything. I even confirmed with them to please come pick me up and bring me to the road test location because I live in Roxbury and their road test was in an odd part of Dorchester that isn't like right off of a main T line. They agreed to accommodate me. So the day of the test Adelino (I believe) came and picked me up from my house. The 19 y/o me (this was back in 2015) was so excited because I just knew I'd pass and get this out of the way. On our way to the test site, Adelino hands me a stack of papers (printed out copies of learner's permits) and tells me to find mine. I search through the papers and I don't see mine. I tell him and he tells me that if I'm not in that pile then I'm not in the testing line up for the day and that he'd have to bring me back home. At that point I was pissed off. My whole thing is a. Why didn't the person who booked me for the road test have my information in? b. Why would Adelino drive all the way over to me if my name wasn't even in the line up? He just assumed I was booked? Whoever told him to come get me didn't even have enough sense to actually put me in the line up? So I came back home and of course my mom knew something was wrong as I had only been gone for 10 minutes. I explained to her what happened and of course she called them telling them off and telling them how disappointed she is in them because she learned through them and they used to be so good. So they "made it right" by booking me a week or two later and at that point I passed. Like another person said on here, you have to bring a relative in the mix before they do what you ask of them. Between that whole mix up and the flirting I knew I was done forever with this place.
5. I don't remember the exact fee anymore but they charge you their own fee for taking your road test through them. When you get to the DMV, be prepared for them to charge you that exact fee all over again. So it ended up being like I paid double. My understanding was: I was paying them the fee for getting my license through them, like an external service fee, but then when I went to the DMV, they would just charge me for the license card. NOPE! The DMV charges you for an external fee as well. I just paid it because I didn't want to continue to argue, I just wanted to be happy I finally got my license.
A real crap show but when I did finally get behind the wheel on my own I knew what to do. read more
