Potomac Swim School

This issue was resolved around the same time she made complaintI intend to provide a written response - She was a customer we could not make happy I removed her family from our private swim school and Potomac Swim School began processing her refund June 26, Donna B

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Ms. B [redacted] is living up to the reputation she has achieved online prior to any account of this recent event. Further, she has taken an unprofessional approach to this entire matter from the very beginning, not once showing an ounce of concern for our children or any attempt at understanding the root of our concerns.It is unfortunate that Ms. B [redacted] is lying on all accounts in order to protect what she believes the reputation of her business to be. We have no interest at all in attacking her business, and that has never been a motive for a single word we’ve stated. Our initial interest was in peacefully parting from Potomac Swim School and being refunded the remainder of the week because, 1) based on the incident we didn’t trust the instructor to properly safeguard our child’s well-being, 2) the management would not hear our concern about the incident related to our child’s safety, and 3) the lesson and subsequent interaction with the business did not meet the standards of the company as descried on their website. Our current interest (as the original was rejected completely by the business) is in stating for the record the truth: that our children’s safety was endangered, and nothing was done by Ms. B [redacted] or her staff to remedy it, work with us through it, or resolve it afterwards. Instead we were stone-walled, then ignored, and then called liars. Had we known all of the problems we would encounter, as well as all of the problems dozens of other customers have encountered, at the hands of Ms. B [redacted] and her staff, we would not have enrolled our children in a one-week swim camp there. Even if, in the end, we surrender the $170, we are at peace knowing it is more about safety than the money, and we are thankful that nothing worse happened to our children at that facility. I would think it is in everyone’s interest to know, truthfully and sincerely, that there is a significant safety risk here.And so, one more time, I am countering Ms. B***’s list of lies with the truth:1) Regarding the day of the incident (the most dangerous lie):Ms. B***, operating completely on the word of the instructor under her employ, emphatically states that my wife told the instructor to dunk my 3 year old, and that the instructor asked, “Are you sure,” and my wife yes, “Yes. Dunk her.”This is 100% fabricated and is being used as a cover by the instructor and, subsequently, by her employer. This is also where the communication broke down. Even if there was a misunderstanding on the part of the instructor, it wasn’t handled well. My wife definitely didn’t tell her to dunk my daughter, and then she emphatically told her not to dunk her again, yet the instructor proceeded to do it 2 more times. There was no consoling on the part of the instructor. There was no effort on the part of the management that day in the facility to work on correcting the communication issue, either.My wife and I are very much one unit, especially when it comes to the care of our children. I doubt very much that Ms. B [redacted] can trust the account of her instructor to the degree that I know and trust my wife, whom I have known for over 13 years. The reason I have taken the reigns of handling the fall-out of this incident is because I choose to spare my wife the aggravation and frustration of having to tackle it on her own. I will note, however, that I have run all of my responses past my wife to edit my approach and verify the validity of the statements. The only true thing Ms. B [redacted] has said was in her most recent statement at the end of #7: “I was unaware of the full situation.” That is a BIG part of the problem, and she unknowingly admitted it.2) Regarding the phone conversation: Ms. B [redacted] states that I “screamed and yelled” at her. That is not at all how I handle my phone conversations with anyone: the result of my 18 years of customer service work. Further, I spoke with Ms. B [redacted] from my place of work, where, if I even had the notion of screaming or yelling, it would not have been appropriate to do so. Mrs. B [redacted] states she began our phone conversation by “trying to educate me.” That phrase (of her own choosing) could stand alone to showcase her mindset throughout this entire ordeal. She called me to aggressively lecture, not to listen. She called to berate, not to compromise. Her stance was clear to me from the outset. I interrupted her at the point when she called my wife a liar. I stated, “No,” and she jumped right back in, saying, “No, now you listen to me. You’ve given your side, and I am calling to tell you the truth.” From that point on, she became increasingly more hostile. She did not take kindly to my attempt to calmly but firmly make it a dialogue vs a monologue, and she proceeded to speak over me until she felt the need to hang up. Ms. B [redacted] also states that she concluded I “wanted no resolution,” which is not accurate, as it has been clearly documented that both my phone call on the day of the incident as well as my email to her (after days of no return call) both stated exactly the resolutions we sought, which was to pay just for the lesson we took and then to be finished with the business, parting peacefully. It is Ms. B***’s own unnecessary and unprofessional actions (and inactions) from that time forward that have brought us to this unfortunate point. I am attaching documentation from Yelp reviews, none of which were written by me, to help illustrate the unprofessional approach by Ms. B [redacted] that we have unfortunately had to endure as well. This should serve to corroborate my statements above. Regards, [redacted] ***

I reject Mr***'s response: MR*** WAS NOT PRESENTHe is attacking the company and me from every angle and he has no personal experience with us and was not present on the particular day HE is attackingHe never requested a phone call from meI was quite unawareMy managers are well equipped to interact with our familiesMr*** overwhelmed my team and I was made aware of all his concerns late in the weekThey had meticulous notes of his concerns and I was given an email which attacked Potomac Swim School from the time his wife and children walked in the front door, the entire time they were here until his wife and children leftI called him, of my own accord, at the end of the week, when I was made aware the issue was not resolvedI apologize if his wife felt his daughter was in dangerHis daughter was in no danger Potomac Swim School has coaches, deck assistants, and a hospitality team member, with years experience, that was present that day. The fact of the matter remains, that no matter what I say, Mr*** wants to continue to argue and twist my wordsTheir family judged Potomac Swim School on one minute lessonHad he actually heard my proposal they would probably still be with us todayHe would disagree but experience and working with many, many families over years tells us differentlyHis tends to put a lot of emphasis on negative online reviews which he does not know that some are fake people and some are situations in which he is hearing a person's side of the story.Again, I won't become defensive over what a few will say. For Potomac Swim School to give Mr*** his money back would set a negative precedent that if one bashes a company, its' team of employees, its' management, owners, all over the internet, screams, yells, and chooses to behave in such a negative fashion, then it would be unjust to all of the understanding, loving families who sign the same policies, entrust us with their children but know Potomac Swim School is a safe, fair, positive and equitable company in which to enroll their children for swim lessonsIf our families come to us with a concern, the majority of the time it is resolvedHowever, we know any one company or person will never please everyoneAmerican Express did not refund Mr***'s money because he signed the same policies as everyone else. Mr***, your friend MsWatson, has stated that she showed up at Potomac Swim School with the police and received her money backYou do not know the entire storyI do want to advise you against that behaviorShe did not receive her money back due to "the police officer". If he and his wife had tried to work with Potomac Swim School, which takes more than days, with any company serving people, then, we could have come to a resolution I do believe they would have been very happy. Mr***, if you would and your wife would like to sit down with me, calmly, and discuss the proposal I have for you all, I will be happy to do thatPlease call and if I am unavailable or in the water teaching our precious children leave a messagePlease leave a few good days and times for me to reach youI am in the water teaching some of our precious children from 3:30-8:each night.I am trying to work with youPlease accept my offer to sit down face to face and calmly discuss the issue and all we do for , learn to swim, safety and the development for childrenI do want to educate you all to how Potomac Swim School operates which was one of your main complaints I do want to answer all of your questionsIt does not involve a refund, that would be unjust and unfair to all of our families that we do come to healthy resolutions. Otherwise, there is no other optionI have opened the door to a solution. Regards,Donna B***, M.Ed.Founder and PresidentPotomac Swim School

The owner of this business, Donna B***, has a history of treating her clients very poorly, as shown by several Yelp reviewsWe fell victim to her "I'm right, you're wrong" mentality ourselvesOn our first day of what was supposed to be a week-long swim camp at this facility, which we'd never been to before, the instructor dunked our year old against her will multiple times, and the management, rather than working with us through the situation, coldly stated "that's how we operate here" and that we should "hide in the back or go for a drive." When a complaint was lodged and a refund requested (same day), management didn't respond (despite MULTIPLE attempts to contact them) for daysAnd when they did contact me, again there was no customer service or humble approach by the ownerShe called my wife a liar and refused to acknowledge any responsibility, though she wasn't even there on the day in questionApparently this is not an uncommon issue with management at this company

The owner of this business, Donna B***, has a history of treating her clients very poorly, as shown by several Yelp reviewsWe fell victim to her "I'm right, you're wrong" mentality ourselvesOn our first day of what was supposed to be a week-long swim camp at this facility, which we'd never been to before, the instructor dunked our year old against her will multiple times, and the management, rather than working with us through the situation, coldly stated "that's how we operate here" and that we should "hide in the back or go for a drive." When a complaint was lodged and a refund requested (same day), management didn't respond (despite MULTIPLE attempts to contact them) for daysAnd when they did contact me, again there was no customer service or humble approach by the ownerShe called my wife a liar and refused to acknowledge any responsibility, though she wasn't even there on the day in questionApparently this is not an uncommon issue with management at this company

On July 11, *** *** enrolled his two children at Potomac Swim School for a 5-day swim camp to take place July 17-21, 2017. At the time of registration, he also agreed to and electronically signed Potomac Swim School's Policies and Waiver (see attached document)This document clearly
states the following: Refund Policy Potomac Swim School does NOT offer RefundsWe hire coaches and schedule our classes based your registration? I have read the above and agreeMr*** checked the box next to this policy, and signed the document at 11:AM on 7/11/Mrs*** brought both children to the first 30-minute swim lesson of the camp on Monday, July 17, 2017. They participated in the class. Potomac Swim School has always operated like a school Parents do not sit or stand with their children poolside during class Ms*** was asked to have a seat in the "family room" with all the other parents where she could observe the classBefore exiting the pool area she informed the coach that her daughter was a "dare devil" and very comfortable going under water. Normally, beginning- level swimmers are never submerged on the first day of lessons, unless as in this case, encouraged to do so by a parentHer daughter became upset when submergedMs*** decided not to bring her children to the remaining days of the swim campMr*** requested a refund for the days of camp THEY CHOSE NOT TO ATTENDIn accordance with our Refund Policy, clearly communicated and agreed to at the time of registration, this request was denied. Potomac Swim School goes out of its way to offer excellent service to its familiesWhen owner, Donna B***, became aware that the issue had not been resolved, she called Mr*** in an attempt to educate him about our proven and successful methods, and to offer a solution His response was rude and irate He immediately began to shout, berate, and degrade the Potomac Swim School employees, the company and her personally, to the point that she had to end the call In years of business, Potomac Swim School prides itself in being fair, equitable and honest. Potomac Swim School has recently once again been voted the #swim school in the area by the community. It is an honor, a passion and a pleasure to be in the business of teaching children life-saving skills in the water

This issue was resolved around the same time she made complaint
I intend to provide a written response - She was a customer we could not make happy I removed her family from our private swim school and Potomac Swim School began processing her refund June 26, 2015.
Donna
B

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Ms. B[redacted] is living up to the reputation she has achieved online prior to any account of this recent event. Further, she has taken an unprofessional approach to this entire matter from the very beginning, not once showing an ounce of concern for our children or any attempt at understanding the root of our concerns.It is unfortunate that Ms. B[redacted] is lying on all accounts in order to protect what she believes the reputation of her business to be. We have no interest at all in attacking her business, and that has never been a motive for a single word we’ve stated. Our initial interest was in peacefully parting from Potomac Swim School and being refunded the remainder of the week because, 1) based on the incident we didn’t trust the instructor to properly safeguard our child’s well-being, 2) the management would not hear our concern about the incident related to our child’s safety, and 3) the lesson and subsequent interaction with the business did not meet the standards of the company as descried on their website. Our current interest (as the original was rejected completely by the business) is in stating for the record the truth: that our children’s safety was endangered, and nothing was done by Ms. B[redacted] or her staff to remedy it, work with us through it, or resolve it afterwards. Instead we were stone-walled, then ignored, and then called liars. Had we known all of the problems we would encounter, as well as all of the problems dozens of other customers have encountered, at the hands of Ms. B[redacted] and her staff, we would not have enrolled our children in a one-week swim camp there. Even if, in the end, we surrender the $170, we are at peace knowing it is more about safety than the money, and we are thankful that nothing worse happened to our children at that facility. I would think it is in everyone’s interest to know, truthfully and sincerely, that there is a significant safety risk here.And so, one more time, I am countering Ms. B[redacted]’s list of lies with the truth:1)       Regarding the day of the incident (the most dangerous lie):Ms. B[redacted], operating completely on the word of the instructor under her employ, emphatically states that my wife told the instructor to dunk my 3 year old, and that the instructor asked, “Are you sure,” and my wife yes, “Yes. Dunk her.”This is 100% fabricated and is being used as a cover by the instructor and, subsequently, by her employer. This is also where the communication broke down. Even if there was a misunderstanding on the part of the instructor, it wasn’t handled well. My wife definitely didn’t tell her to dunk my daughter, and then she emphatically told her not to dunk her again, yet the instructor proceeded to do it 2 more times. There was no consoling on the part of the instructor. There was no effort on the part of the management that day in the facility to work on correcting the communication issue, either.My wife and I are very much one unit, especially when it comes to the care of our children. I doubt very much that Ms. B[redacted] can trust the account of her instructor to the degree that I know and trust my wife, whom I have known for over 13 years. The reason I have taken the reigns of handling the fall-out of this incident is because I choose to spare my wife the aggravation and frustration of having to tackle it on her own. I will note, however, that I have run all of my responses past my wife to edit my approach and verify the validity of the statements. The only true thing Ms. B[redacted] has said was in her most recent statement at the end of #7: “I was unaware of the full situation.” That is a BIG part of the problem, and she unknowingly admitted it.2)       Regarding the phone conversation: Ms. B[redacted] states that I “screamed and yelled” at her. That is not at all how I handle my phone conversations with anyone: the result of my 18 years of customer service work. Further, I spoke with Ms. B[redacted] from my place of work, where, if I even had the notion of screaming or yelling, it would not have been appropriate to do so.  Mrs. B[redacted] states she began our phone conversation by “trying to educate me.” That phrase (of her own choosing) could stand alone to showcase her mindset throughout this entire ordeal. She called me to aggressively lecture, not to listen. She called to berate, not to compromise. Her stance was clear to me from the outset. I interrupted her at the point when she called my wife a liar. I stated, “No,” and she jumped right back in, saying, “No, now you listen to me. You’ve given your side, and I am calling to tell you the truth.” From that point on, she became increasingly more hostile. She did not take kindly to my attempt to calmly but firmly make it a dialogue vs a monologue, and she proceeded to speak over me until she felt the need to hang up. Ms. B[redacted] also states that she concluded I “wanted no resolution,” which is not accurate, as it has been clearly documented that both my phone call on the day of the incident as well as my email to her (after days of no return call) both stated exactly the resolutions we sought, which was to pay just for the lesson we took and then to be finished with the business, parting peacefully. It is Ms. B[redacted]’s own unnecessary and unprofessional actions (and inactions) from that time forward that have brought us to this unfortunate point. I am attaching documentation from Yelp reviews, none of which were written by me, to help illustrate the unprofessional approach by Ms. B[redacted] that we have unfortunately had to endure as well. This should serve to corroborate my statements above.
Regards,
[redacted]

This issue was resolved around the same time she made complaintI intend to provide a written response - She was a customer we could not make happy.  I removed her family from our private swim school and Potomac Swim School began processing her refund June 26, 2015. Donna B.