A Complete Scam: Unprofessional, Inconsistent, and Unethical Driving School Experience…read more
I would give Ultimate Drivers zero stars if I could. This was my second experience with them, and I will not be returning. My first instructor was consistently late--often up to an hour late--for every lesson, which was incredibly frustrating because I have a busy schedule and can't afford to waste time waiting around. His constant tardiness was so discouraging, especially since I would often end up late to work, appointments, or meetings because of him. It ruined my schedule and caused a lot of stress.
On top of that, he would often cancel lessons last minute and make up excuses, making it even harder to rely on the schedule. Instead of focusing on my driving, he would use the lessons as an excuse to run his own errands. He'd make me drive him to stores so he could do his groceries, then we'd have to drive back.
The first instructor was so bad at teaching that he would constantly tell me I needed more lessons, even after saying I'd be ready with 10 more lessons each time. It became clear that he was just trying to get more money, since every time we got close to the 10 lessons, he'd tell me I wasn't ready and needed more. He would also tell me I wouldn't pass the driving test, but never explained how I could improve my driving. When I asked for advice, he couldn't provide any concrete feedback, which made it clear he was just padding the lessons to make more money.
Additionally, the first instructor tried to move lessons off of the school and charge me more privately, which felt incredibly unprofessional and made me very uncomfortable. At first, he quoted me a price for private lessons off school grounds, but later denied saying that and tried to pressure me into agreeing to a higher price for those lessons. I eventually asked to switch instructors because of how bad my experience was, but I ended up with an instructor just as bad. He was perhaps better at teaching, offering more concrete feedback, but there were plenty of other issues. One of those issues was that he smoked during the lessons, which I found incredibly unprofessional and distracting, especially in a confined space like the car.
For my second set of lessons, the instructor was just as bad. At the end of my last class, he pressured me to write a 5-star review and forced me to do it under my real name and mention his name, praising how good of an instructor he is. I said I didn't know what to write and he had a fake review typed out on his phone he wanted me to copy and paste under my name and email while making a few edits. He raised his voice when I tried to leave without doing so, which made me extremely uncomfortable. It felt wrong that he was forcing me to do this under my real name, and his behavior during that time made the entire situation worse. The fake review he had prepared on his phone makes it clear that the school pressures impressionable young adults into leaving 5-star reviews on Google, or at least their instructors do since they might get something out of it. He kept saying how amazing my driving was, which honestly felt like over-the-top flattery, and it was obvious he was just trying to get good reviews. To top it off, he was often inattentive during the lesson, spending a lot of time on his phone, which is absolutely not okay. The review I wrote is since deleted, but the whole experience felt unethical.
It's also suspicious that their Google reviews are all 5-stars, but their Yelp reviews are much lower. It seems like they're actively inflating their online reputation.
The instruction itself was terrible. I didn't feel like I was learning anything new.
I would highly recommend avoiding this school if you want serious driving instruction. It's just a waste of time and money.
