The Driving School

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] The refund you gave us is now now not enough You have wasted our time beyond the amount you felt you owed us As stated in a previous response your refund does not make senseWe are requesting another $ We are currently paying another driving school to do what your company couldn't doYour website states, "it's clear that we're not just meeting our goals-we're exceeding them.Obviously, based upon your last comment your goals are clearYou stand by your employees rather than your customers Your employees are charged with serving your customers Not the other way aroundAs the manager of your business it is up to you to support your employees so they can meet the needs of their clients, which means not scheduling beyond their means Having a curriculum that is engaging and interesting for students Give your employees the tools and training they need to do their job Because if you are treating other people the way you have treated us, your goals also include profit over anything else.In regards to your comment that you do not accuse people of lying, frankly is laughable You are accusing us of lying I do believe that there are two sides to every story, but in the end, we are the customer Based upon our discussions with the State of Maine Driver Education we are not the only ones who are not satisfied with how your business is being run I urge you to have a system in which your instructors and your program can be rated by each student and parent Only with this data can you make claims that you are exceeding your goals And lastly, we have never received an apology We have only been met with excuses and never have you said to us that you or your employees have messed up and you are working to improve.Thank you We stand by everything that we have said We have spoken to our instructors involved and got their side of the storyWe do not accuse people of lying, but we do stand by our employees Everything from tuition to longer driving times were given to you or the student in writing (either on paper or email)Thank you Regards, [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] To Whom it May Concern: I am writing this letter in response to Mr [redacted] 's account of my daughter's first driving lesson Unfortunately, Mr [redacted] makes an assumption that is false [redacted] was scheduled to meet the driver, ***, at Edward Little High School in Auburn, and not Lewiston Regional Technical Center Initially, I suggested that *** meet [redacted] at LRTC when she finished her class at noon However, when he stated he would meet her at 12:45, I replied that she would be at Edward Little by then, and that he should plan to meet her thereI sincerely believe that *** made an honest mistake However, instead of acknowledging the misunderstanding, *** proceeded to do the following: - refused to pick up my daughter at her actual location, thereby essentially stranding her there (she had already signed out of school) - spoke to his next driving client about my daughter's (stating her by name, which is a clear violation of her educational rights) "irresponsibility" continually and in a derogatory mannerThis client in question happens to be my daughter's best friend, and she gave us a detailed account of *** hostile comments - hollered at me on the telephone, and accused my daughter of being "irresponsible" - neglected to respond to one voice mail and three text messages left by me over the next five days This incident left my daughter waiting outside her school for minutes She was unable to contact me at work, and unable to get ahold of *** She was scared, shaken, and crying hysterically This was a fairly traumatic experience for herOnce we learned that *** slandered our daughter to another student, it became evident that we could not entrust her safety or well-being to The Driving School This is our primary complaint, and the one that prompted us to remove [redacted] from The Driving SchoolI would also like to address several other points Mr [redacted] made in his letter: 1) Mr [redacted] mentioned the fact that one of the instructors was very late to class upon one occasion He also stated that we were the only ones to complain He appears to be inferring that we are not being truthful in this manner Wow! It seems that Mr [redacted] 's (and his employee's) response is to accuse students and their families of being liarsMy husband and I are respected professionals in this community and resent the implication that we are liars simply because we are calling attention to inept business practices2) Mr [redacted] 's monetary breakdown is laughable Yes, we inadvertently underpaid the class fee by $(something that was not brought to our attention earlier) We do not dispute this, or the $"administrative fee." However, the notion that the classroom portion of the $is $(for a class with approximately other students), but the hours of 1:driving time is only $(or and hour), is absurdWhen I asked Mr [redacted] how much it would cost to hire their company for an hour of driving time, he responded "I have no idea." Huh His website says it costs $an hour Mr [redacted] 's check to us in the amount of $is sleazy at bestWe are extremely disappointed and frustrated by this experience We are not quick to complain, and did not make the decision to remove [redacted] from the program and contact the Revdex.com lightlyWe have chosen not to respond in a manner that is unkind or unprofessional, such as posting derogatory or damaging comments on social media Nor will we make public negative reviewsIt is, however, our hope that the Driving School will reconsider some of its practices in hopes that other students have a better experienceSincerely, [redacted] and [redacted] Regards, [redacted]

We have issued our response, and refund. We stand by everything that we have said. We have spoken to our instructors involved and got their side of the storyWe do not accuse people of lying, but we do stand by our employees. Everything from tuition to longer driving times were given to you or the student in writing (either on paper or email)Thank you

I apologize for the delay in my response, I have been very busy lately It is true that we need to have a minimum of students to attend a class. If we hold a class with fewer than 5, we are spending more money to get them through the class, than what we earn Mr*** had signed
his children up for the South Portland, ME class starting October 30, 2015. Unfortunately, they were the only that signed up for that class. As procedure, I called Mr*** and told him that we needed to cancel the class due to lack of interest. I did offer for him to sign up in another location (yes, the price was higher), but Mr*** chose to sign his children up again for the next South Portland class; which was scheduled to start November 23, The November 23 class only had students signed up (including the *** siblings). We were going to allow the class to run with just students (even though we would have lost money). I did apologize for the inconvenience of needing to cancel the first day of class (due to an unforeseen issue with the instructor). When I called everyone on the list to cancel just for the first day, the third student had cancelled out of the class completely due to transportation issuesHe could not get rides back and forth to the classes It is beyond our control if a student chooses to cancel out of our classes. If we had run the class with just students, we would have doubled our financial losses. Therefore, we needed to cancel the class I read through Mr***'s complaint and I am confused where he thought we had students signed up for the class. We only had 3, in which we were willing to run, if all were attending If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact us Thank you*** ***Office Manager Mullen's Driving SchoolPh ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  The refund you gave us is now now not enough.  You have wasted our time beyond the amount you felt you owed us.  As stated in a previous response your refund does not make sense. We are requesting another $195.00.  We are currently paying another driving school to do what your company couldn't do. Your website states, "it's clear that we're not just meeting our goals-we're exceeding them.Obviously, based upon your last comment your goals are clear. You stand by your employees rather than your customers.  Your employees are charged with serving your customers.  Not the other way around. As the manager of your business it is up to you to support your employees so they can meet the needs of their clients, which means not scheduling beyond their means.  Having a curriculum that is engaging and interesting for students.  Give your employees the tools and training they need to do their job.  Because if you are treating other people the way you have treated us, your goals also include profit over anything else.In regards to your comment that you do not accuse people of lying, frankly is laughable.  You are accusing us of lying.  I do believe that there are two sides to every story, but in the end, we are the customer.  Based upon our discussions with the State of Maine Driver Education we are not the only ones who are not satisfied with how your business is being run.  I urge you to have a system in which your instructors and your program can be rated by each student and parent.  Only with this data can you make claims that you are exceeding your goals.  And lastly, we have never received an apology.  We have only been met with excuses and never have you said to us that you or your employees have messed up and you are working to improve.Thank you    We stand by everything that we have said.  We have spoken to our instructors involved and got their side of the story. We do not accuse people of lying, but we do stand by our employees.  Everything from tuition to longer driving times were given to you or the student in writing (either on paper or email). Thank you
   Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #333333} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #333333; min-height: 16.0px} To Whom it May Concern: I am writing this letter in response to Mr. [redacted]'s account of my daughter's first driving lesson.  Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted] makes an assumption that is false. [redacted] was scheduled to meet the driver, [redacted], at Edward Little High School in Auburn, and not Lewiston Regional Technical Center.  Initially, I suggested that [redacted] meet [redacted] at LRTC when she finished her class at noon.  However, when he stated he would meet her at 12:45, I replied that she would be at Edward Little by then, and that he should plan to meet her there. I sincerely believe that [redacted] made an honest mistake.  However, instead of acknowledging the misunderstanding, [redacted] proceeded to do the following: - refused to pick up my daughter at her actual location, thereby essentially stranding her there (she had already signed out of school) - spoke to his next driving client about my daughter's (stating her by name, which is a clear violation of her educational rights)  "irresponsibility" continually and in a derogatory manner. This client in question happens to be my daughter's best friend, and she gave us a detailed account of [redacted] hostile comments - hollered at me on the telephone, and accused my daughter of being "irresponsible" - neglected to respond to one voice mail and three text messages left by me over the next five days This incident left my daughter waiting outside her school for 30 minutes.  She was unable to contact me at work, and unable to get ahold of [redacted].  She was scared, shaken, and crying hysterically.  This was a fairly traumatic experience for her. Once we learned that [redacted] slandered our daughter to another student, it became evident that we could not entrust her safety or well-being to The Driving School.  This is our primary complaint, and the one that prompted us to remove [redacted] from The Driving School. I would also like to address several other points Mr. [redacted] made in his letter: 1) Mr. [redacted] mentioned the fact that one of the instructors was very late to class upon one occasion.  He also stated that we were the only ones to complain.  He appears to be inferring that we are not being truthful in this manner.  Wow!  It seems that  Mr. [redacted]'s (and his employee's) go-to response is to accuse students and their families of being liars. My husband and I are respected professionals in this community and resent the implication that we are liars simply because we are calling attention to inept business practices. 2) Mr. [redacted]'s monetary breakdown is laughable.  Yes, we inadvertently underpaid the class fee by $40 (something that was not brought to our attention earlier).  We do not dispute this, or the $20 "administrative fee."  However, the notion that the classroom portion of the $465 is $300 (for a class with approximately 15 other students), but the 10 hours of 1:1 driving time is only $165 (or 16.50 and hour), is absurd. When I asked Mr. [redacted] how much it would cost to hire their company for an hour of driving time, he responded "I have no idea."  Huh.  His website says it costs $50 an hour.  Mr. [redacted]'s check to us in the amount of $105 is sleazy at best. We are extremely disappointed and frustrated by this experience.  We are not quick to complain, and did not make the decision to remove [redacted] from the program and contact the Revdex.com lightly. We have chosen not to respond in a manner that is unkind or unprofessional, such as posting derogatory or damaging comments on social media.  Nor will we make public negative reviews. It is, however, our hope that the Driving School will reconsider some of its practices in hopes that other students have a better experience. Sincerely, [redacted] and [redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

The student was scheduled to drive and meet our instructor at a predetermined place, but she was not there.  In which, we do charge a $60 no show fee, but we did not charge it in this case.  After 15 minutes, our instructor called the student’s mom and she asked if he can pick up the...

student at her high school (which was not the predetermined place).  This was not possible for my instructor to do and he told her so.  We had given a letter to everyone (and an email) stating the the driving time will take longer to accomplish because summertime is our busiest time of the year, and thanking everyone in advance for their patienceWhen Mr. [redacted] contacted us with his concerns, we explained about it being busy and the driving times would be longer to accomplish.  When he told us that the instructor was 30 minutes lates to class (in which we received no other phone calls regarding this matter), he was told that we would be speaking to the instructor.  We are committed to holding class for 3 hours by the State of Maine.  So if the material is covered, and there may be a few minutes before the end of class, our instructors try to keep the kids engaged with games (related to driver’s ed and terms).We ask for all parents to attend the last hour of the last class, as well as do a 1 hour ride along in the car (parent involvement is mandatory per the State of Maine).  This is announced on our website, emailed in the confirmation when the student signs up for the class, and is reiterated verbally to the students on the first day of class. The phone conversation with Mr. [redacted] & Mrs. [redacted] involved discussion of the refund, and a breakdown of the refund.  Although the driving was not in the timely manner that was expected by Mr. & Mrs. [redacted], the service of the classroom portion was given. The breakdown was as follows:Tuition amount:  465 (in which you paid $425 on check #XXXX)    30 hours of classroom time at $10/hour:  $300    Administrative fee:  $20 This gives you a refund of $105.  Therefore, I am sending you a refund check. This note and a refund of $105 was mailed to Mrs. [redacted] on Oct 2, 2017. When [redacted] (the instructor) found out that Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] wanted a refund, he felt that the student would be the one who was really losing.  He had the opportunity to schedule the student and get her driving time in that week.  [redacted] reached out to Mr. & Mrs. [redacted], but they ultimately refused the driving hours and the refund was then issued.