I had stopped in on two other driving schools before choosing ADDS. One felt like a wrong fit,…read moremostly due to availability and the other (also in Evanston) had a front desk person who was condescending and gave what I knew was incorrect information. As an elderly woman, new to Illinois and not having driven for over a year, this challenge was almost overwhelming. From the minute I entered the office of ADDS, I felt comfortable. First contact was the very busy Kemyta, who was juggling phone, paperwork, walk-ins and still smiling. When she was free, she asked me a few questions, then showed me how to maneuver their website, which had practice tests and much other information. There was also a voice behind a partition - an instructor giving a lesson to a group of high school students. Kemyta and I discussed my tailored requirements including pick-up and drop-off as well as instruction for written test, driving test and all the crazy paperwork associated with an out-of-state elderly person licensing situation. Kemyta assured me that the owner Doug Whitmore, a retired state policeman, would lead me through the process. When I met Doug, I asked him to be very straightforward with criticisms because I wanted to get this right. In turn, he gave encouragement, precise feedback, directions and kindly-phrased criticisms. After each session, I received a detailed summary from Doug's wife Andrea, while Doug was off giving CDL lessons for truck drivers. Text messages and emails were answered in reasonable time. This group has so many dimensions but operates very compatibly. I was apprehensive about taking the test and asked if I should have one more lesson, but Doug said he thought I could pass and gave specific issues on which to focus. He easily could hae had another payment from me, but he took the high road (no pun intended). I passed all the testing and got a license. Yay! This company is like family. They care about your success, know what they are doing, kind, moral and truly a pleasure to work with.

On the plus side, they teach the kids the necessary theory and the driving instructors are great…read more It would do them a lot of good to be well mannered on the phone with parents. The person on the other end of the line is rude, unhelpful and should not represent this school. I have had more than one child learn from them and their manners just don't seem to improve, to the point where they have a reputation for being nasty. Would love to write a more solid review as your instructors are great and I like how you teach them the theory with realistic scenarios. You seem to care that they do well, just change the person at the other end of the phone!

I haven't driven since I've gotten my license almost 18 years ago, because I had a lot of anxiety…read moreabout driving. This year, I decided it was finally time to relearn it. Eddy was my instructor, and I honestly could not have asked for anyone better. He was incredibly supportive, knowledgeable, kind, and made driving fun. He carries a mini whiteboard and draws visuals to help students learn which is great for visual learners like myself. He will challenge you as you progress and continue taking lessons which helped build my confidence for different possible scenarios on the road. If you're looking to learn how to drive, look no further!!

Had an absolutely great experience here. Everything was very organized and easy to schedule. My…read moredaughter actually enjoyed the classes and really benefitted from the one on one lessons. I ended up adding extra one on one lessons because my daughter is a nervous driver. It was great how he picks up from your house for lessons and how Brian gives the final road test. He's a great teacher , highly recommended

So disappointed with this school. Nothing is working with them. Their online lessons don't work…read more They don't respond to my messages and phone calls. Can't schedule driving for my daughter because they keep delaying. Will work with other families that have this issues to report this scam business.

Extremely unprofessional and degrading to the students, AndThe teacher Adam Bitterman had seen a…read moregirl go onto on her phone to check the time as there was a video playing. He proceeded to pause the video, get down to eye level with her, and proceeds to call her a bitch and use extremely foul language with her. It seems as if he was on some kinda drug?

Pedro with Nova was a great instructor. I did the 1 hour behind the wheel instruction with road…read moretest. He showed me the route and all the things to remember while taking the road test. We drove the route multiple times. And I passed first try with flying colors. Definitely recommend.

The WORST customer service. They don't answer the phone. When you try to reschedule days in…read moreadvance- they don't return calls and then tell you that you didn't give enough notice - so they can charge you a cancellation fee. If you don't want the headache- choose a different school. This one is terrible for correspondence.

They suck, classes don't teach anything, lessons are expensive and a waste of time, customer…read moreservice sucks, their policies are so ridiculous

I can never book a driving lesson, they open the list and it's immediately filled, I email them…read moreabout And get rude responses, I wish I had known this before paying for the class.

Twice the instructor did not show up for behind the wheel. You can not schedule driving instruction…read moreon line and they have no times open except months away. I asked to be refunded for the two times the instructor did not show and they refused.

For the price we paid, the whole experience with this driving school was horrible. First, for the…read moreclassroom portion, the teacher would come late, let the kids out early, and give them a twenty-minute break every day. So, a class that was supposed to be 2 hours turned into an hour and twenty minutes. Not to mention everything is out of date. The books we are given are out of date by about 3 years and some of the rules are different, but the videos they watched looked to be about 10 years old and from another state where the laws are different. Now for the on-the-road portion. Today, I came from my LAST lesson very upset. My instructor, Mr. W, would constantly make snappy remarks at me. It's a LESSON. He's supposed to teach me; not to yell when I don't know something I haven't done before. Like today, when I was learning U-turns, 3-point turns, and 2-point turns and he was getting really frustrated when I didn't grasp it right away. That's just one of many examples. First, he told me to pull into a gas station, which I had barely done before. He snapped and told me to pull into the other entrance (which I didn't even know I had to do). After pulling in, he snapped again for me to pull around the pumps because I went too far (he didn't tell me to stop). After turning, I pulled forward and he yanked the steering wheel to turn and yelled at me and said, "What are you doing!", even though he didn't even tell me what to do in the first place. After pumping gas and I left the gas station, he called me something along the lines of a horse on wheels. Later, I had to do a tight turn at an intersection with another car, but I felt completely in control. He thought otherwise and harshly stopped the car and snapped again. Again, at stoplights, I wanted to turn right. He told me to turn even though it was a red light. I said, "But it's no turn-on red. Oh, wait! Only when pedestrians are present." So, I understood right away. This was still unacceptable to him and he snapped again and harshly told me I needed to read signs. I was literally pulling into the lane. I started to turn maybe 15 seconds later. It's not that big of a deal; I was just trying to be safe. I also hesitated because, in a previous lesson, he snapped at me for turning on-red even though I knew I could. So I didn't know if he made a mistake or not again. Later on, at a neighborhood intersection where there weren't any stop signs, I slowed down because I wanted to be safe. He snapped AGAIN and told me to not do that because there "clearly" wasn't a stop sign there. I just wanted to be safe because a few minutes before he told me to stop. Not to mention, as I was driving, he was like, "Keep driving, I'm just going to fix something" while reaching over and changing the dashboard settings. He was obstructing my vision and just told me to keep driving. Earlier, we heard good things about him. But, my mom and I agree that he's no longer patient enough to teach lessons. He told my mom I panicked too much. But, the truth is, it's him who's panicking and doesn't even give me a chance to try. I had lessons with two other instructors, and there weren't issues and I was told I'm a really good driver. But Mr. W is truly too old and impatient and creates problems that weren't problems to begin with.

Everything was smooth at the beginning, and they were quick to collect payment. However, once the…read moreclasses were completed, the experience became extremely frustrating. I made multiple calls requesting my certificate of completion. During one of those calls, the representative was rude and repeatedly told me to stop talking when I tried to explain the promises that had been made to me on three separate occasions but were never fulfilled. I could hear her speaking with her manager in the background, and the manager refused to address my concerns, stating that he had multiple other things to do. The explanation I was eventually given was that they were transitioning to a new system, which had never been mentioned during any of my previous calls. Instead of resolving the issue, they expected me to drive all the way to their Morton Grove office just to pick up my certificate. Overall, this was an extremely disappointing customer service experience. Communication was poor, commitments were not honored, and the lack of professionalism made what should have been a simple process unnecessarily stressful.

After a rocky beginning as listed above from a few days ago, Mayra and David really went above and…read morebeyond to fix things. They were responsive and booked my child for an appointment the next morning. They were kind and apologetic. My child said he learned a lot from working with David in the car. A huge thanks to them for taking our concern seriously!!

This school is one of my best choices i made. Staff members are very friendly, educated and treat…read moreyou like your family Thank you Vikings helping my next adventure

Viking Driving School helped change my life! it only took 2 months for me to obtain my CDL A…read morelicense. Now I'm working as a professional driver on track to making over $100k this year. The owner Kaisa personally helped me from the day I walked in and continues to help me with career planning and guidance. The secretary Veda has the most welcoming smile and greetings every time you walk into the school! All the teachers and instructors are experts in their field, they're so good they could teach a monkey how to drive! Viking Driving School is more than a school it's a family.

Safe Start has been a pinnacle in my learning to drive. Steve, my instructor is very knowledgeable,…read moreinsightful, and respectful. It has taken me a long time to learn, but Safe Start is a gem of a school and I look forward to being on the road.

Great place highly recommend. Our son was very happy here and the instructors were all very good.read more

To know Hackstudio is to love Hackstudio! And that really is the key- to get to know this unique…read moreprogram. SO much more than just a place for kids to 'make things' (although with the amazing facilities that includes a professional looking wood shop, craft supplies, various computer technology and lots of interesting spaces to dream, create and build- there's a great chance your kids will be making some cool stuff) it's more of an incubator for young people to learn how to support and be supported in their own personal paths. Kids are grouped roughly by age, and then work alongside adult mentors who help guide them through their projects or 'quests'. It's a really neat program and our child who is on the timid/shy side has really blossomed in this class that supports her love of creativity and learning while boosting her self esteem. She adores this class and the friends she's made there and can't wait to go every week. I highly recommend- and if you are interested in joining make sure you speak with the staff who can better explain the awesome ideas at play here- it's so much more than just a place to make things! A+++

Hackstudio is one of the coolest after school programs I have ever experienced. In the program,…read morechildren pick their own goal and work through the process to accomplish their own "definition of done." Hackstudio teaches resilience, persistence, and teamwork. My most favorite thing about it is that my child said "Mom, it's a judgment free zone." How amazing to have a creative space with amazing adult mentors who create a supportive environment where children PRACTICE EMPATHY through doing -- not just talking about it. I highly recommend Hackstudio -- we love it!