My review is based on the instruction I was given, as well as my son was given.
I signed him up for the entire package where he did the class, driving, and the test through the driving school.
Before I signed up, I had a few questions (it's my first born). So i decided to call the school during business hours. For the first few times, there was just a busy signal, but I persisted and finally got through to the voicemail system. Once I left a message, I received a call back the next morning and asked the staff member a few questions about the basics of the driving school. They explained to me the process, told me he would get his driving permit through the classroom and then be able to schedule the appointments online in their student portal for the driving.
That was perfect to me. Before i signed up, I went on here, looked at reviews and was slightly horrified from what I read from the past (9 months and older really).
So this time, I went to sign up in person. I figured if I went into the school that I would be better assisted and then I would have a face to the name with the school so if I had any problem I could speak with them directly. I spoke with two woman and a man (I believe it was Amber, Val, and Christian). and they all let me know how the system works for the online portal, and to not stress the driving hours because my son wasn't going to turn 16 until early July (I signed up in October 2021).
They told me with their online system, sometimes it was crowded and people grabbed many lessons, and that if i had any problems scheduling drives to email or call them. I told them it's hard to get through on the phone since the school gets busy. They told me they suggest to email them DIRECTLY at katydrivingschool@gmail.com
Once I felt more comfortable, I signed him up right there in person. They explained to me that they post the schedule twice a month and that he has an entire year to finish his drives, and to not CRAM them in. I pretty much had 7 months after class was over to schedule his lessons. Which I did! I only had issues with the online system 2 out of the 7 drives I did. I emailed them and they responded the same day! They called me, explained those two weeks were booked because the schedule went fast (they were my fault honestly cause I didn't look at 1pm like I should have) and they put my name on a cancellation list and called me about a week later saying they had an open spot for my son. I told them yes and boom, he was scheduled.
He tested yesterday and passed! The office staff told us to stay safe and his classroom teacher even joked with him since he remembered him (FROM LAST OCTOBER) that he better listen to his parents and drive safe. It made us all laugh.
So long story short, once I went in, explained where I didn't feel good with the online scheduling, the office staff explained it to me and I felt so much better. It was a wild goose chase at times but if i missed one schedule, i didn't worry about it cause he had a whole year to complete.
I asked them about the reviews again yesterday and the staff told me that a lot of people don't ask them for help. I said one of the reviews stated that they don't answer calls and emails and the staff literally told me they never got a voicemail from that person, only an email and they responded to it!
So it seems like a lot of the negative reviews are mainly from people that would rather just make a negative review rather than go into the school and ask for help.
Even though sometimes they didn't have drive times for my son, I still got him done and he got his license!
I honestly want to say thank you to all the office staff, the classroom instructor, the driving instructors, and the examiner for his test. They all made him feel confident. We drove a lot at home so he wouldn't feel pressured at the driving school and the examiner told him to turn his head and that other than that, he's an excellent driver.
I thank you guys for your hard work. Hopefully more people will come in person to you, explain their situations and start understanding a little better that you can always go into the school if the phone line is busy or just EMAIL and they respond to those. I would just go in person if you honestly need help because the staff in there were wonderful people! read more
