This business is HORRIBLE. They sign up WAAAY too many students to actual instructors. There is NEVER availability. Save your money. Go anywhere else. This is the worst business I've ever dealt with in my 50+ years of history on this planet. RUN AWAY. Call your attorney. Call the sheriff. read more

I have read some of the very negative reviews below from before 2021 & 2022. But I have had nothing but positive experiences with my 2 boys since the former owner bought it back in late 2022. Glad I wasn't around when they were having difficulties during the covid years finding instructors, but I would highly recommend them now. I also went to their Google reviews and they are all pretty great since 2022. I'd look at Google verses here. Hope this helps. read more

Both of my daughters have done private driving lessons with Clyde at Memorial Safeway. Clyde is a favorite and reassured us that my girls were ready to drive on their own. Cindy, who is the office administrator, is also great! She is kind, helpful and reassuring with all the steps that are required for getting a driver's license. I highly recommend Safeway to any parent who is helping their teen pursue becoming a licensed driver. read more

I would give zero stars but I cannot. This has been once again a terrible experience. Expect to pay $$ and then never be able to schedule drives. You need to stalk the website daily for openings and there aren't any. This happened at the old location for our other son and I mistakenly believed them when they said it would be better at the new location. DO NOT use them. I am requesting a refund since they cannot offer the services they committed to. read more

SafeWay Driving school is the best in the city. Customer service was first-rate. They made our son very comfortable and eager to learn how to drive. The patience and kindness they showed is much appreciated. The cost is reasonable. Anyone needing to learn how to drive should take lessons from SafeWay Driving School. It will be money well spent. Thanks, SafeWay. read more

I would give zero stars if I could. They don't deserve even 1 star. They charge you upfront for packages and then it is IMPOSSIBLE and INFURIATING to schedule drives THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PAID FOR. They don't tell you upfront that the drive appointments are released one at a time at a certain time each week. Once you find out, you go online at that time and 1) website crashes, 2) slots disappear as you're signing up, 3) you have to stay glued to your computer for 2 hours until all the drives are posted and snatched up. THIS IS EVERY WEEK until you can get all the drives YOU'VE ALREADY PAID FOR. This is terrible and they shouldnt be allowed to charge you for services they can't deliver. read more

The Memorial office manager and the call center people I've dealt with have been so unhelpful - for the amount of money they charge it is unbelievable how little they care. The site where you try to schedule drives is outdated and throw errors but the manager will tell you that you must doing something wrong. I build website so I'm pretty sure I know how to use them. read more

Very difficult to schedule drives, making completion of the course difficult.

This place should be investigated by the State Attorney General. They don't have enough instructors to meet their demand and it is impossible to schedule drive times. Despite their inability to provide the service that you pay for, they refuse to give a refund and tell you that you just don't know how to use their scheduling tool. After our "tutorial", there were still not appointment la available despite trying for weeks and weeks. We gave up and went to Prime Time, where we had a great experience. read more

Finding drive times is nearly impossible. I sit on the computer and refresh from 3 - 3:45 on Mondays every week (its when they upload the drive times). It takes me 45 minutes to get 1 drive time! read more

I can not recommend Safeway driving school to anyone. Their instructive method is solid and their cars are safe, however, my experience is that they have been extremely disorganized and difficult to work with. Here are some other reasons that I can not recommend them: 1. It is extremely difficult to book driving lessons with them. I get the feeling that they have taken in way more students than they can handle. 2. Some of their instructors have been very cranky, even lean toward being abusive, shouting at my son and the other teen drivers. 3. They are very expensive and definitely not worth the money vs. the level of service I received (and I purchased premium package for approximately $2,000). If this is a franchise, I strongly recommend that the corporation take a hard look at Houston's franchise. They need to clean up their act. read more

I have never been more verbally abused and disrespected in my life. A majority of the teachers not only harshly yell at students but berate them to the point where they cannot competently drive. I as well as all of my friends who have used this service have had too many negative experiences to recount in this review. Trust me when I say they are wholly unprofessional and uncalled for. I wouldn't recommend Safeway to my worst enemy. Two stars because despite low quality of most of the teachers, there were few who kindly and legitimately taught me to drive. And although I was repeatedly taunted and told by my "instructors" that I would not, I passed my drivers test on the first try. read more

This is in reference to the River Oaks/Lamar location. I strongly recommend against this driving school. It is extremely rare to actually reach any one by phone either at their 1-844-DriveSafe number or at the local number. A recording is typically what you get. The drive time availabilities is FALSELY stated. They state they have times available from 8am to 10pm at night - never have I seen those offerings. The signup schedule comes out on Wednesday at 5pm. If you do not sign up by 5:10 pm on Wednesdays, you can forget about having any openings that are relevant to teenagers who attend school. The only spots left by 5:10pm are at 2:30pm on weekdays (obviously no one can make these if they go to school - which most teens do). In addition, the pricing of this school is markedly elevated when compared to other schools I contacted. They charge an additional $40 just to "priority mail" a certificate. Obviously, that is way marked up compared to what the US Post office charges for priority mail. And, there is no option to pick up the certificate - you are forced to pay for the marked up mail in cost. My first child used Houston Driving School at their Richmond location for a price of $360. Should have stuck with that school instead of Safeway. read more

Provided incorrect information. I completed my online course and called to check on my completion certificate which I need to carry to the DPS to get my permit, and get on with next steps. I was informed it will be mailed same or next day, but next day get an email they will take 2-3 days to process and subsequently few additional days for mail delivery. This obviously impacted my plan and additionally has resulted in a delay where I would have to be on road that many more days without a permit. read more

It is next to impossible to get drives scheduled. Please don't waste your teen's time. Go somewhere else for a driving class.

Very shoddy administrative support- I was quoted 3 radically different packages for my child's needs- confusing, and rude interactions. Does not make me want to sign up. read more

good driving instructors, nice cars, they are punctual and professional. The online experience, including the classroom course, is spiffy and well-organized. Watch those missed drives, though. They cost you 75.00 if you don't reschedule within 24 hours. If your teen goofs off and fails a drive it will set you back 100.00 for another drive, and you need to pass all the drives to get the course completion certificate. To avoid the added expense of failed drives, I recommend the following: - speak to your teen's driver after every drive, to understand where he/she needs work - schedule the drives at least two days apart. Don't get in a rush - that same day or the next, drive with your teen to practice on the weak areas Otherwise they may diddy-bop back to the center the next day or the next drive and fail right over again. The drivers will unhesitatingly fail anyone any time. You don't want to end up with like 300.00 additional drive costs for failed drives. Also very important: you might want to encourage your teen to be on their best behavior and manners. It might very well make the difference between shelling out another 100.00 or not on a borderline drive. I have seen it firsthand. I definitely would recommend Safeway, if you can afford it. It is not cheap, but they are high quality with nice cars, drivers, and facilities. My daughter was comfortable with the people, the cars, and the drives. I paid for the 10-drive package, and she drove all over the Houston freeway system and became very comfortable freeway driving. She doesn't remember the names of any of the freeways, though :) read more

Ridiculous! If you can please go somewhere else, this place lacks customer service and trying to schedule a class for my daughter is a nightmare! The rude lady at the front desk, and whom I assume is the same person who answers the phone is no help at all! They never have drive time available, they allegedly update the drive times Monday sometime after 3:30, lies!!!!! It is still a pain in the a$$ to get one freaking driving time scheduled. I have been trying for about a month and no this is aver available. I called the "office" for help and the lady returned my call telling she didn't understand why I could not schedule a time because someone always cancels. When I spoke to her it was the first week of January 2020 and when I asked her when the last available class had been she said "oh, it was December 16. And I called on the first week of January. PLEASE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE THIS PEOPLE ARE VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND A NIGHTMARE TO DEAL WITH. read more

SafeWay Driving has terrible service. I signed up for my son to do the basic teenage drive training and was amazed to see they charge a $35 fee to send out the completion certificate necessary to get your Learner's Permit. They used US Post Office Express Mail which insures the packages. (Previously, you could pick up the certificate from your local office.) The post office lost our certificate and sent me the written proof of their mistake. I called Safeway to report the mistake and they told me there was nothing they could do about it. They want another $35 to send another certificate. They also won't let me walk over to the local office and pick up another copy. I would think twice before ever using Safeway. They are overpriced and incredibly unhelpful! read more

I would like to update to the earlier review hat was left. Cindy has rectified the situation and has been helpful in assisting in setting up drive times. Thanks again Cindy for your help. read more

My son said that the online course was fine and that a couple of the instructors were great. However, good luck finding drive times. They want you to buy huge packages with lots of drives --makes sense because the more you drive, the better you will get. Unfortunately, the opportunities to drive are few and far between. For example, as of today, for the month of December, there are three opportunities. And, they are during the school day. Most 15-year-olds can't leave school to drive. Truly--the company is a joke. read more

Please please trust all the reviews on here that tell you that their system often has problems where your child's (or your) work is not saved. They will look into the problem, but it will take 24 hrs. You will not complete your class in time, will be treated rudely by the staff, and then will feel sick when you have to pay to extend your class time. But NOTHING is worse than trying to schedule your drives. You will spend your life sitting by your computer every Monday at 3:30 pm praying to a higher power that you can schedule JUST ONE drive that week. Good luck. When you call in, they will act as if you are nuts to be concerned. I'm sure we won't get our required number of drives completed in time and I'm sure I will have to PAY to extend. Please go somewhere else. I wish I could. read more

The Safeway online course logged my son out after working for 10 minutes today. It would not let him work anymore today because he completed a module even though he had only worked for 10 minutes today. So, this day, one of only a few days he has to complete the course is wasted. Highly recommend taking from another company. read more

I emailed to get pricing for my son who only needed the 14 hours of behind the wheel practice/observation (he had already completed the classroom hours up in Dallas and had his permit). They quoted me $599.00. When I pointed out that this was $100 MORE than their basic package that included the hours he needed PLUS the 32 classroom hours and why would I pay that, they responded with "That is our transfer fee." Needless to say I moved on and the next place I called (Houston Driving School) was only $300 plus a $42 gas fee for the hours needed and much more friendly. These guys must think either their customers are idiots, or they just really don't need customers. Either way, it got them a one star review. Congrats. read more

WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY Safeway driving online courses are almost completely irrelevant and don't teach you about the road at all. 3 different 100 timed-slides on drugs don't tell a kid not to drink and drive but to be fearful. Its excessive, overpriced, and one big fat scam. Before you "invest" in this, DON'T! read more

The website locks out constantly. It also doesn't save progress. Ridiculous wish I had signed up elsewhere

Safeway is a great company!! I Have learned alot from their driving program and I am grateful my parents made me take this because at 1st I didnt know anything about the rules and now I know them and always well prepared to do a driving manure! read more

today i went with Safeway driving school, and passed my G2 test. i have lived in downtown all my life and never need a drivers licence. I am an adult driver and i went with Safeway driving school. Thank you Safeway for helping me get passed my fear of testing. read more

This is what my daughter wrote about this center. She came home multiple times crying about her horrible experiences there. WARNING TO ALL PARENTS!!! "SafeWay driving center is one of the worst experiences I have ever had. Going into it, I thought it would be a friendly learning environment where I could be taught how to drive. However, I was not notified that if I had never driven a vehicle before, I would be called "stupid" and an "outrageous driver" the very first lesson I had. In addition, many of the staff make rude remarks and yell at their students while driving. It is completely inappropriate, distracting, and unprofessional. The last lesson I attended, I was berated to the point of tears from the sheer amount of snide remarks my instructor gave. This was nowhere near constructive criticism; I learned absolutely nothing from that lesson other than to be afraid of getting behind a wheel. Afterward, every time my mother would encourage me to drive the family, I would cry because of how deconstructive this woman had made me feel. I am not the only person that feels this way. Many my friends who have had this instructor previously have also come out in tears, and are afraid of ever retuning. Also, the amount of money that is charged is completely superfluous. It is the worst, most unprofessional system I have ever experienced in my life. (Side note: I did have some friendly instructors. Those are few and far between.)" read more

Great place for teens!!! The first time my son started verbalizing (while driving) what he had learned I knew we made the right choice! A year later he still practices the very things he was taught! Couldn't be happier! read more

The 32 hour class course is in my opinion very unnecessary and the fee for not completing the courses is also very unnecessary you would be much better off with a program like aceable which is much more condensed while still being very informative....p.s. one class course contains upwards of 120 slides which take about 5 minutes each....you do the math read more

Great service excellent staff good at breakinh the ice and talking you trough any anexity you might have nice cars anda great lesson plan. read more

After spending $1345 to provide my child with extra driving instructions -- there are NEVER any drivers available. They supposedly post the driving instructor's availability for the next two weeks every Wednesday at 5:00 -- THERE ARE NEVER ANY. I actually couldn't get driving instruction if I paid them a million dollars -- they simply do not have the staff or bandwidth to accommodate their clients. In addition, their online driving school application is so filled with "bugs and glitches" that you will be calling them every day to fix the problems that should NOT exist. Their computer "glitches" will lock your child out of the computer for 24 hours to the point where it is not feasible for your child to finish the class in time. Same problems over and over. I have logged more hours calling up to get things fixed than my son has spent getting his class hours in. Definitely not worth the money or aggravation! read more

I would never use these people again! Horrendous program. The information on the website was incorrect from the beginning. My daughter signed up not realizing she would be unable to start and ultimately complete her drive times within the time frame required. No one in the officer could authorize an extension except the owner of the company so we had to go through a lengthy process of requesting an extension so further costs wouldn't be incurred. We also heard over and over again about students who were unable to get their drive times completed because they lived in Houston. I know of two families who pulled their children out of school so they could actually complete their final drive times! We, however, are in Katy and encountered the opposite problem--my daughter only had two out of 7 sessions where she drove with another student. The driving session is supposed to be setup where half of the session is driving and the other half is observation. My daughter had virtually no observation time and was by herself with the instructor driving the entire time. A bit much for a new driver as there really wasn't a break. Not to mention, I spent my evenings riding around since she was uncomfortable with the situation. As far as the administrative support--incredibly unprofessional. They DO NOT answer their phone. You can call all day long and never actually speak with someone unless you leave a message. For those of us who actually work and have jobs that don't accommodate for personal phone calls--good luck. Oh yes, and the condescending receptionist will be certain to let you know you should have left a message so they could respond much faster! read more

I was very disappointed with this franchise. We bought an expensive package and then due to changes in my daughters schedule and difficulty scheduling drives we ran out of time. We lost a lot of money and got some very poor attitude from the staff - they were rude and talked down to my daughter. I would strongly recommend you try somewhere else. read more

the one drive we have had was great. Driver professional, nice cars and the online class was very thorough. My only problem is we can't seem to get the drives scheduled! We have only gotten 3 of the 7 drives required and I am worried about not making the deadline and having to pay for a new class. It has been next to impossible to schedule a drive outside of school hours. We check every day and there is never anything available except for 10:00 am or 12:00pm during the week. Very frustrating. They need to hire more instructors or something. I am not happy with paying $500 for a course that can't get the required drives scheduled. read more

Totally unprofessional. Rip off. DO NOT send your kids here!!! AWFUL EXPERIENCE. Teachers DONT teach kids, they test certain skills every drive and pass them or fail them!!! If your teen fails a drive it will set you back 100.00 for another drive, because they need to pass all the drives to get the course completion certificate!! the one who really has to teach them is YOU! they only test them! Of course they say they teach them the first 20 min, of the lesson and then they have to practice!! yeah? well, how are they going to pass a set of skills they just learned in 20 min???! There are NEVER available lessons to schedule for drives! Staff is rude and unhelpful!! IT is Terrible!!! I wish I could sue them for misleading advertisement!!! DONT pay for this service its terrible! read more

Expensive and they get you signed up and paid, then its very hard to find any times available for the driving lessons. Only times open are during the day when your teen is in school. They never have enough drivers or lessons available and if you don't get all your drives in they charge you an extra fee. Ridiculous customer service and no one returns calls. read more

worst experience ever! Almost impossible to schedule drives. My daughter has one drive left and I have been trying for over a month to schedule it but there are never any drive times available. Finally today, I log on and see three drives and they are all during school hours the first week of school. Do not use this company! They are extremely rude in the front office and don't bother calling because they never answer the phone. read more

Great instructors. Office staff out of Houston is 'iffy' and inefficient. Warning: check, check and recheck your paperwork especially if you haven't done the entire course with them, i.e. driving hours only. They found a 'discrepancy' the day before our driving test, and we were not allowed to test. Fault: ours? No. Its their JOB. Also their website makes it very difficult to book and schedule lessons. All in all: great instructors, poor administration. read more