I was completely surprised by Ault. I had John as my instructor, and he is the only instructor for the entire Tampa and St Petersburg area. From the get-go John hated my questions, all of my questions. He seemed to misinterpret me even though I just asked him questions as we were driving so I could understand the situation better. He would say "Are you putting me on?" And I was stunned because he was serious as to think I paid 859 dollars for a 15 hour course just to mess with him in the car! At the end he said he never had a student in all his career ask as many ridiculous questions as me. Not only was I utterly disrespected by this so called driving instructor, but I was also intimidated that he may get violent with me in the car as I was driving. I also felt suppressed where I had to walk on egg shells for him and could only ask questions that he deemed "acceptable". I got through only 4 lessons with him (6 hours total). I brought it up with Sheila, a woman who worked at the head quarters, and she supported John who lied that he apologized to me and that one time I asked a question and then nearly clipped a car, as if those are correlated even if that did happen, which it didn't. Sheila told me that I could have an I -pad and ask questions at the end of it all, and I said no because I would forget the questions I had and it would defeat the purpose of getting hands-on lessons. Sheila told me she would refund the rest of my 9 hours. However, I wanted a refund of the last 90 minute session since from the start John treated me with contempt and disdain and I didn't "learn" anything because I could not ask questions without getting a shit fit from John (whose irrational anger must have been steadily simmering and increasing since the beginning of knowing me). I also got 50 dollars less in the refund than I figured based on what the hourly cost was. I showed Sheila the math on it and this was her disrespectful response to me, showing that there are major problems that stem from the top with this company: Eric,
I only work here and I do what I am told. Please speak with Brad the Owner, he comes in around 10 am or so,he is the one that figured it out and he is the one that makes all the decisions. You do not have to tell me math I've been doing it and was graduated before you were born, so I am very familiar with how to do math.
Thank you,
Sheila Birge
In-Car Coordinator
Ault's Driver Education Center
That was the last straw for me so I called up Brad, who is the owner. I kept everything together as I explained to Brad how John treated me that last day. Brad responded by saying that on the driving test, they don't let you ask questions, so therefore the driving school and instructor won't let you ask questions as well. As you might think, I was flabbergasted and appalled by this response. I told Brad I want my money refunded for the last 90 minutes of hell I had to go through, and he said at best he can refund half the money of that lesson because "John drove the car out and you drove the car". However, I didn't get any service that I paid for as I couldn't ask questions and then he completely disrespected me and insulted me and intimidated me the whole time. Brad would not budge and just said good bye and hung up. I would not go to this driving school, at least not if you live in Tampa or St Petersburg, because John showed to me that he is not patient and does not care if a student understand what he teaches, and he has a very short fuse! I don't know what happened here really, as my sisters took this driving school but had a man named Larry who they had no problem with. But something has changed here for sure and it's a waste of your money to spend it here... you will not feel comfortable or wanted here, as they do not care if you learn anything from your experience.
Yours truly, an honest ripped off customer read more
