My three older children went through this driving school pre-pandemic and we had no issues. Based on those experiences, I had no qualms about signing my fourth child up for this program. Unfortunately, our experience this time could not have been more different. I don't know what happened between 2018 and now, but this was nothing like the quality experience that we received in the past.
Navigating through two different websites with different logins and passwords was annoying but not a dealbreaker. The online program content seemed similar to content in the past But when it came time to complete in-car lessons, this program was chaotic, unorganized, and plainly unprofessional. It ruined what might have otherwise been a tolerable experience.
My son completed the online portion of the program in June. The first in-car lesson was not available until August, and then it was only one date. The next three lessons could not be scheduled until September, and in order to schedule those, I had to sit with the website open on the first Wed of the month at noon when they opened the schedule. Most of the available times were during the school day.
We finally made it to his September in-car lessons, only to have the first one cancelled hours before it was due to start. Although I received a test saying that the office would reach out to reschedule, that never happened. I called customer service and was told that I had to once again wait until the first Wed of the following month to schedule. We had to wait until October for him to complete his fourth in-car, FOUR MONTHS from when he completed the didactic portion of the course. AND I had to schedule it during the school day and take him out of school early to get it done or it would have taken another month. With my other three kids, their in-cars were scheduled and completed within 2-3 weeks of completing the course material.
This would all be unacceptable enough, but the behavior of one of the driving instructors was absolutely appalling.
I certainly want my child to be instructed and corrected if he is in the wrong, But telling your student to do something, having them follow your instructions, and then telling them that what you had told them to do was wrong and they should have known better and not done it, is such a fundamentally twisted teaching "method" that I cannot believe this instructor still has a job , as I am sure my child is not the first one he has done this to.
This instructor continued to "teach" in this way throughout my child's driving lesson, leaving my child frustrated, upset, and less confident in his driving skills than he had ever been. The power dynamic between an older man in a position of authority and a nervous teenager who wants to do well should be respected by the older party.
We were told that it would take 7-10 days to receive the completion certificate. A full 2 weeks after his final in-car, we still did not have it, so I finally called customer service, who said they would send an email "to find out what was going on." Less than an hour later, I had the certificate in my inbox.
The only bright spot in this entire experience was Sue, who was a kind instructor who gave useful, constructive feedback.
This program is not worth anything close to what I paid for it.
Save your money and months of your and your child's time, and go elsewhere. read more
