Arcade Drivers School

Review: I signed my son up for driving school. An appointment was scheduled for my son on April 24, 2014. When he came home with the appointment, I call Arcade to cancel it as we would be out of town on Easter vacation. I do not recall the person I spoke to but said that I would call back as I did not have his schedule with me at the time to see when he would be available for the next behind the wheel. I received a letter from Arcade in May stating that I owe $40 for the missed appointment. I called the office and spoke to I believe [redacted], but I can't find the original letter that I have the name written down on, however, I explained to her that I had called to cancel that appointment knowing we would be out of town and she explained to me that they NORMALLY don't just cancel appointments, the reschedule them right away. I explained that did not happen and she said she would have to talk to the manager and get back to me. I never heard back from her nor did I receive any further bills stating I owed the money so I assumed this was taken care of. My son had his last appointment and the instructor informed my son that he will not get the certification until we pay the $40 missed appointment charge. I called the office up and explained everything again and and then I was told that by "state law" they have to reschedule the appointment, they can't just cancel. I said well it was cancelled and the person I spoke to never said I had to reschedule or it would not be cancelled. So I said you are hiding behind the "state law" and that one of their employees could not have made the mistake of course it has to be me the customer that has the error? They are not willing to work with me and now they hold my son ability to receive his driving license. I asked them to send me another bill as I could not locate the first one and along with the bill the sent the agreement highlighting "A charge will be made for each lesson missed which was not cancelled 24 hours in advance", where does it state and not reschedule by state law? They also sent copy of the Arcade Drivers School Classroom Information form that states "throughout the behind the whole course, the student MUST have an appointment at all times. Failure to do so may result in the revocation of the student's instruction permit. I don't see that it say it has to rescheduled at the same time one is cancelled it was rescheduled a week later. The 5th paragraph highlighted on the sheet, clearly states " Sutdents are required to contact the office 24 hours in advance to cancel or change a schedule lesson, which we did. It never states that you can't cancel and reschedule on a different day, it just states if you don't cancel with a 24 hour notice or don't show you will be charged.Desired Settlement: I am mailing the payment out today to them, so I can get my son scheduled for his test to get his license. I would like a refund of this as I did what I thought to be correct based on the documents I had and the same ones they sent to me highlighting the information I provided above.

Business

Response:

All cancellations policies are printed in writing on both a classroom information sheet and a state agreement, both of which require parent signatures. When the parent contacted the office to cancel her child's appointment, she was informed that we cannot cancel the appointment without reschedule date. As a condition of a student having a temporary instruction permit they must always be "active" on the behind the wheel schedule. Therefore, we cannot simply cancel an appointment without a reschedule date. She was informed of this when calling to cancel and was informed that the appointment would not be considered cancelled until she called the day before with a date for reschedule. She did not do that which resulted in a no show fee. This is all outlined in the information sheet she received on the first day of class.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I can no longer see their response, but I believe from my memory they quote the contract that states no cancellations, I believe they refer to the contract and that it states cannot cancel without rescheduling an appointment, I am attaching the contract and I have highlighted or circled the information regarding cancellation and I don't find it anywhere that is states you can't cancel and that you must always have an appointment scheduled at all times. Again I called them once my son came home and informed me of this session as we would be on Easter vacation, I explained that I did not know my son's baseball practice schedule and would need to call back to schedule and she was ok with that. So I guess I'm not satisfied with their response. I don't know if the person I spoke with on this occasion was new because after this cancellation, when I had to cancel the next time, they did ask me to reschedule right away.

Arcade driving is one of the best schools around Mr.B[redacted] is a teacher who actually cares about his students. Sussex Hamilton is an amazing host. Thank you Arcade thank you.??

I had a very great experience with arcade drivers school. My drivers instructor Mr. B[redacted] helped me to have a positive experience while driving, and feel very prepared and comfortable while I drive. He helped to improve my driving skills, and helped me to become a very great driver. I would highly recommend Arcade driving school.

This class is very calm and layed back. It is just the right mix of being fun and challenging. The instructor is nice and helpful. I can walk away saying I feel confident and ready to take on the road.

Mr. B[redacted] was the best driving teacher I've had. He has taught me how to be the best driver I can be! He should win employee of the month if that's a thing! Once he receives this award I would like a picture mailed to me.

Our son had a great experiance with Arcade. His teacher was so good and taught him so much. The office was very friendly. We will recommend this driving school to everyone!

Review: Due to illness my daughter attempted to call and reschedule her behind the wheel appointment and was treated very rudely by a young lady named [redacted]. I contacted the office and the above named rep answered an was given sub par customer service from the moment she answered. After she answered the line without giving her name, I asked who she was she gave her name and I proceeded to ask for her name and then asked for a supervisor. She stated she could not give out the supervisors name and that the supervisor would not be available until some undetermined time on Monday. I would never reccomend their services to anyone I know.Desired Settlement: An employee is a direct reflection of the business and maybe some additional training in customer service would help.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted]'s daughter attempted to cancel her scheduled behind the wheel appointment with less than our required 24 hour notice. At that time, Ms. [redacted]'s daughter did NOT indicate the reason for cancellation but was informed if she did cancel there would be an additional fee added due to the late cancellation. Ms. [redacted]'s daughter did not seem to agree with this policy and ended the phone call with my employee. My employee did report that Ms. [redacted] called back and was very angry in regard to the way she felt her daughter was treated. My employee informed Ms. [redacted] that the office manager would be available on Monday. To our knowledge Ms. [redacted] has not attempted to contact management. Other employees that were present at time of Ms. [redacted]'s daughters initial call have all been interviewed privately. They are all in agreement that they do not feel that Ms. [redacted]'s daughter was treated poorly. My employee was firm regarding our policy but that is different from "rude". Considering, that neither Ms. [redacted] or myself were on the line for the call, I do not feel that filing this complaint is justified. I apologize if she felt her daughter was treated poorly, however, through my investigation into this incident, I am not able to find her complaint factual. I would hope that Ms. [redacted] would find it important to recommend a driving school based on the safe driving instruction her daughter receives rather than issue with policies she signed at the time of enrollment.

Consumer

Response:

I have received a response from Arcade and I think their explanation is totally ridiculous. It states that management has spoken to other staff in respect to how my daughter was treated. I would first be inclined to ask how other employees were aware who was on the phone at the time poor customer service was given was there some form of an announcement made or was the call monitored and shared with other office staff. I would also want to know at who decides as to what is fair customer service if not the customer. My biggest concern was not the fee associated in rescheduling the appt. , but in the quality of customer service. I have already paid 320.00 so a fee of 40.00 would not be an issue and the insinuation of money being the problem is poor customer service as well. Last my issue does lie with the instructor who has done a descent job, but again is with the mediocrity of the office staff.

Mr. B[redacted] is a great teacher and prepares us for test. I like arcade driving school and am glad I enrolled in this class.

Arcade driving school is very good, particularly a teacher named Mr. B[redacted]. He really knows what he's talking about!

MR B[redacted] IS AWESOME and so is Arcade Driving School

Mr. B[redacted] is a wonderful driving instructor. He knew everything that we needed to know.

Mr.B[redacted] is grate! He teaches us a lot and is super friendly.

I had a VERY good experience with Arcade Driving School. My instructor, Mr. Scott B[redacted], made learning how to be a safe driver both fun and easy! He made sure that we all knew exactly what to do on the road, as well as prepare us for classroom material and tests. His instructing skill and friendly, helpful attitude by far made my experience with Arcade. I would recommend him to ANYONE who is going to attend Arcade classes, and I hope to work with him again in the future.

My wife is an adult learner. We live in [redacted]. This business sent a very unprofessional instructor who has stalled my wife's ability to learn how to drive.
The older male insructor yelled at my wife before she even made her first turn. He proceeded to yell at her during her only lesson. He even told her to pull over and he yelled at people on the street.
We did not complain right away but I recently saw him driving with another student.
The instructor's unprofessionalism took my wife's motivation away :(

I had a wonderful experience with arcade mostly because Mr. B[redacted] was my instructor I feel I really learned a lot because of him. I would definitely recommend arcade to other students.

Mr. B[redacted] the instructor is always a very positive instructor. He's fun to talk to, and he teaches very effectively at the same time. The program is great for kids learning to drive

I have been trying to reach the owner of the company I was given five different stories about she does have voicemail I had on lady get on the phone to identify herself as someone else when I'm good with voices I wonder if she knows her employees talks to parents the way she did I keep trying to hold my peace because my child worked very hard for his dl but I just can't take it anymore maybe she will see this post and call me !!!

Arcade Driving School has been a great experience and I have a learned a lot! Mr. B[redacted] is a knowledgable teacher who brings fun to the classroom while learning the rules of the road. I would highly recommend this to any future driver who is looking to learn lots and have fun. This class will help me as I become a new driver.

Arcade drivers school is a really great choice to learn everything you need to know about driving. I have learned so much and it really is a great and helpful experience. Mr. B[redacted] is also an amazing teacher and I really recommend this school to anyone who is beginning to learn how to drive.

My experience in my drivers ed class of now has been more entertaining than I've expected. Not only am I learning the necessary tools to become a driver but i'm also having fun being in such a loose, enjoyable environment. Personally my instructor is very knowledgeable as well as humorous. I feel that my instructor sets me and my classmates up for success in both the class and on the road.