Swerve is terrible and corrupt. After two full sessions, and two attempts at the driving test, we will never return to Swerve. They retaliated against my daughter by filing a false complaint about her with the DOL. Approximately one month ago, a Swerve Ballard employee (you know who you are) filed a report with DOL containing false and defamatory allegations regarding my 17-year-old daughter. The Swerve employee falsely claimed my daughter had "medical issues" impacting her driving, which led DOL to initiate a review of her license and require various retesting with the possibly of losing her provisional license. My daughter does not have medical issues that impact her driving. This false report was retaliatory in nature. The same individual who filed this report was the driving instructor overseeing my daughter's second failed driving test. At the conclusion of the test, my daughter was understandably upset and questioned the instructor about what she perceived as inconsistencies in aspects of his scoring. She also asked to review her prior test results, which he did not provide us. After her requests were denied, my daughter left the building. We have sent repeated emails and phone calls to Swerve to follow up on this incident, all of which they have refused to answer. Rather than addressing her concerns professionally, the instructor appears to have retaliated by filing this false report with inaccurate claims related to her health. At no point during the driving test or in my direct communications with this instructor, either in person or via email, did he express any concerns about health-related issues that could impact her driving. For him to subsequently allege such issues without basis is deeply unprofessional and constitutes an abuse of power. I wonder how many Swerve student have to take the driving test multiple times, each costing approximately $100, because of subjective and inconsistent scoring. Each new test lines the pockets of the Swerve franchise owners. I'll be exploring this further via complaints to the DOL and the Washington Attorney General. read more

Their policies are robbery. Do not sign up for their courses. Their owner couldn't even call me to talk about a policy. You cant reschedule more than four courses. And if you do they 'let you' pay $375 to reenroll. Do not give them your business. read more

As a purveyor of bad UI and admin clusterf*cks Swerve excels, but as a driving school they're pure sh*t. For starters they did an awful job of communicating the times for their Zoom classes, sporadically emailing my wife, who signed up my son for the course, but never emailing my son. They also neglected to send any login info about the student portal where he could access (not much) more info. After my son missed the second Zoom class b/c Swerve never sent us a link, I demanded a refund; they instead coughed up all the information that'd been lacking to date, which mollified me somewhat. (Btw you'll have to really hunt to find a useful email address for these boneheads. I found one near the bottom of an FAQ page, along w/ a phone # that was useless--every Swerve phone # is useless.) Then in the middle of the 4th Zoom class, after the break, the class instructor neglected to let my son back into the class. No reason was ever provided. I again demanded a refund, but they still refused and instead "kindly" offered to charge us less than half their fee for my son to retake the course if he should fail *even if the reason he fails is THEIR screw-ups*. I ultimately did get a full refund after enough b*tching on my part. I'm not revising my rating upwards, though, because Swerve doesn't deserve it. As Duane D. opined below on 10/22/23, "[A two-star average] rating is charitable for this incompetent group". That's still true nearly 18 months later. Don't give Swerve your business--or your money. read more

Terrible customer service and policies. Because of the limited drives it is impossible to complete the course within the time they give you. They do not have enough drive spots for the amount of students they take on and their business model is built on extra fees and penalties. Their customer service is impossible to work with even if you are completely willing to pay the regular extension fees, they are set on making students redo the course in almost all circumstances and their time limits are impossible with the drives and classes available. read more

Communication sucks. Nothing is clearly outlined. The Student Welcome Kit is full of links that don't work so the document is pretty much useless AND they don't follow the info in the document anyway. It's not clear when anything happens or should be scheduled. If EVERY driving school in Seattle suddenly disappears and you find you absolutely have to use Swerve, book mark the sites since none of their communications include a link or phone number. It's the 20's, who doesn't include a link in their email?!?!!?! My son finished the course, we purchased and schedule a package called 'Test Prep, Drive and Tests' thinking, stupid me, that it included a drive and the tests. Unfortunately, 4 hours before the class, I received email with a Zoom link and instructions that it's just a 90 min online session and it doesn't include tests or drive. WTF?? We found out WHILE IN THE ZOOM class, those have to be scheduled separately on the student portal. I have been searching the student portal for 30 min and can't figure out how to schedule them. I click 'schedule drive test' which seems promising, but it pops up with 'Schedule Lesson', not Test. So, I have no idea what I'm scheduling. Meanwhile my son is dying to take the test and these people have completely ruined the excitement for him. Older son went through another school, and I hate myself for dealing with GoSwerve. Do yourself a favor and SWERVE away from this place. 2 Star averaging rating is charitable for this incompetent group. read more

I did not like this driving school, I took 8 hours package never did they even take me to the highway, the instructor was weird he never corrected any mistakes that i did when it was time of taking my test i was so confident because he made me believe i was ready but he barely taught me anything and i failed of course he had very low voice and he seemed to not care about the student at all. as an international person my English is advanced but i barely understood what he saying and he mad zero efforts to speaker louder he was nodding to everything and he kept coughing and coughing he did not even have a mask on . i asked to use the car that i studied from they said no it was very simple request but honestly they were so mean to me. I wouldn't recommend it. I went to a different driving school believe me i learned more in one hour than I did in the 8 hours at Swerve ballard! read more

Excellent experience and highly recommended! I am an inexperienced adult driver who needed driving lessons and to take the road test. Isaiah was an excellent instructor, very nice, calm, and patient. He made observations and recommendations when needed, and was always very calm. He inspired confidence on me for driving, despite I was nervous. I highly recommend the Northgate Swerve Driving School and Isaiah as instructor. read more

I paid $700 for this and they refused to send the course completion despite having passed all required tests. Useless waste of time and money. read more

If I could give zero stars I would. Their customer service is very poor and they are not client centered at all. Nearly impossible to get drives scheduled. There are other options in the Seattle area - we chose poorly. read more

I am an adult driver, not super nervous but just EXTREMELY inexperienced and starting from scratch. My instructor was really kind and gave compliments when appropriate but also had a good eye on what I was doing. His instruction was based not just on cramming for the exam but on being very safe and meticulous, which I appreciated. They were very open about the fact that it's difficult to schedule in the summer when all the schools are out, but I was doing a la carte lessons so that didn't bother me too much. It was also possible to book some lessons outside of their posted work hours, which was nice for someone who works an office job like I do. read more

I just wanted to let you know that your ops manager, I believe her name is Kerrie, was very helpful and very courteous when I came in to ask questions about driving school. She answered all my questions and made very good suggestions. She was very knowledgeable and very thorough. I would definitely recommend swerve to everybody that I know just because of the service that I received when I came in to your office. Thank you. John read more

Avoid this driving school. Communication is horrible and they do not deliver the services paid for. We had two teens enrolled and we have to eat the cost of our mistake in picking Swerve and enroll teens in another school so they can actually get drives with an instructor! Over all a truly awful and disappointing experience. read more

I was scheduled to take my drivers test in swerve and there's no way that this was in any way the best driving school. The instructor when I took my license test told me to drive in a bike only lane, and verbally say out loud that I was checking my mirrors because he couldn't be bothered to check for himself. And when I didn't break the law for him, he failed me. He wasn't paying attention to our drives, he checked his phone while we were driving, and he mocked me for crying when he failed me. the instructors are full of themselves and egotistical, the classes are too expensive, and I couldn't even take a test drive until almost a year after the classes were done. This place sucks. read more

I can only speak for the one on one instruction, as I did not take the sit-in class. I am a late in life driver, as I could not afford a car through my college days. I cannot praise Garrett enough-excellent instructor. He gets to know you, and adapt his techniques to serve you. I tried two other driving schools before coming here, and he was the best. Specifically, he broke down parallel parking, driving on the freeway, left turns and changing lanes and made them easy and fun! read more

Incredibly grateful for swerve training two of my teenage drivers. The team was thoughtful and skilled with teaching my kids. The kids graduated with a sense of confidence! read more

Terrible business that doesn't honor its obligations. DO NOT use them. We're still waiting months after the classes for the promised drives with instructors that are needed to finish read more

I called the Swerve Driving School - Northgate location to get some information on behalf of a family member. The person who answered could not answer any of my questions. 1) Price- told me to go look it up! 2.) Locations - Didn't know any locations other than Ballard. No information on Northgate at all. Suggested I look at a different driving school "there are lots out there" who would be able to answer my questions. Worst customer service experience ever WOW WOW WOW! read more

Swerve Driving School has "crashed" recently and is nothing like it used to be. Customer service is non-existent, the online scheduling system is problematic when it works at all, and there is no way to do work-arounds with them (they are some kind of franchise operation with no central office to help customers). It is important to note that Swerve is not Better Business Bureau accredited and the BBB complaint system rates them a "D" . . . http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/driving-instruction/swerve-driving-school-in-seattle-wa-22632243 Swerve has had excellent instructors who really care about their students and do an excellent job of teaching - it is too bad that the company has let them down by failing to provide any customer support making it impossible to schedule drives and tests. read more

As another reviewer mentioned, I wish I would have vetted the school better before we selected it (although I'm not sure that there are many other choices - 911 is run by the same company). Our teen's feedback is that the classes and instructors are okay. I think the approach to teaching the material is overly kitschy and overly complicated. We'll see how her driving turns out. The administration of the program is the real problem, and it's a DISASTER. Yes, the on-line system was horrible and they implemented a new one. The cross-over has not gone well and the system is still pretty awful (a lot doesn't work and what does work is hard to figure out). Having been on the other side of that equation, I cut them a bit of slack for the system problems. I even cut them some slack for slow response times as I'm sure they've been inundated. But their response time has been abysmal. It took more than a week before I got my first response, and all it said was to "call them back" even though I had left explicit instructions about what I needed in both voice mail and email. They have never picked up the phone and I have called at ALL times of day, once even about 10 minutes before they close but they were already closed and I couldn't even leave a message. Oh, and by the way, the number from which they call doesn't identify as SWERVE and doesn't look anything like their two public numbers. The real kicker was when the second message I received included the comment, "I'll call you back on Monday since it sounds like you are having a hard time getting a hold of us." Outbound communication clearly leaves much to be desired in addition to their lack of responsiveness. For example, they also asked parents to be at the first classroom session, but failed to make that request until about five hours before class (which was at 2:15 on a workday). Their automated voice mail is three weeks out-of-date. Mass emails have been poorly written and unclear. Throughout all of this, no apology. It's the worst customer experience I've maybe ever had. read more

I took a series of adult driving lessons with Swerve and while the in-car instruction was quite good the scheduling aspect of the business leaves a great deal to be desired. I had gotten my license at 16 so I already knew how to drive but had not behind the wheel of a car in about 15 years so needed a refresher. I was able to my learner's permit without any trouble so I just needed the in-car instruction. The instructors showed up right on time and had quite a bit of practical advice. The in-car instruction is very good and got my confidence back up to feeling comfortable being behind the wheel again. I was able to pass the driving test with a nearly perfect score so no complaints with their instruction. Where I did have a great deal of issues was with the scheduling. It often took several calls and emails to get a lesson scheduled. This dragged the process out over two months when I was hoping to get things nailed down over a few weekends. Then I received an email that I was scheduled for a driving test that I had never asked for (I went to another driving school for the driving test because I didn't trust that they would be able to fit me into their schedule). So great service, if you can get their attention. read more

This program has changed so much between my 1st and 2nd kid attending. Make up classes are offered due to scheduling conflicts for kids in high school activities but they still penalize the student by only allowing 4 changes to the schedule and they still call it missing class. This makes no sense if you are attending the class just on another day at another swerve location why you are penalized. Then half way through the class a link it sent out for another 4 hour mandatory curriculum that is outside the date range of the class. We purposefully signed up for the range of class we did to accomodate the students sports and school activities and now he will have to miss two events to do more driving requirements to pass the class outside of the original range of the class. Meanwhile they also told me they can not offer zoom classes any longer due to state requirements. This is not true as other programs are offering zoom the same time as my kid is having to attend in person and is being penalized for "missing" class when he has made up all the classes offered. This program is out of touch with convenience and flexibility. Consider another option unless your nights are basically free of commitments. read more

WOW, I REALLY WISHED I WOULD HAVE READ THESE REVIEWS PRIOR TO PURCHASING. I showed up twice to the northgate office to take my test during open hours. The sign was on saying "OPEN" but office was closed. Total waste of my time. Then i went online to purchase the online knowledge test and driving test package. You can purchase it but no way to schedule the drive. And the website says, "Once you have registered in license express, click on one of the purchase buttons above, or call 877-779-3873 to book your exam." So I called the number. It is the corporate office and they can't schedule anything. So now I'm waiting for someone from the corporate office to call me back. Bottom line: I should have gone to the DOL, would have saved time. So far with Swerve, I have tried to go to the storefront in person (twice during open hours and the office is closed when I get there). I have tried calling to schedule my test, but the phone rings and rings and there is no voicemail. Then, I tried to schedule it online, but I had to purchase the package first. Fine. But once you purchase it, there is no way to schedule it. This business is a joke. read more

It's a terrible school and has very poor communication. A call my parent made a month ago still hasn't been answered

I rarely write reviews unless something is exceptionally good or exceptionally bad and Swerve is beyond terrible. The coursework was fine but you also have to complete 6 drives with an instructor and it is IMPOSSIBLE to schedule drives. My daughter finished the coursework 7 months ago and still can not get her drives done. You can only schedule one drive at a time and have to book weeks sometimes longer ahead of time and by the time you complete that drive and can schedule another drive everything is booked out and you have to wait another month for your next drive. Right now when you look at their calendar they aren't even offering drives Mondays Tuesdays or Saturdays. Furthermore there are never drives available on weekends. So basically if you have a kid in high school they have to miss school in order to schedule their drives. Swerve blames it on covid and being backed up but if that's really the case they should stop accepting new students so that they can catch up. Although I have friends who did this pre covid and they said it was the same back then so I think that's a lame excuse. My daughter has friends who took the course at other schools and none of them have had this problem. Also their communication is terrible. I wish I had done my research and gone elsewhere. read more

Very very mean guy for testing. My daughter has been driving in utah with an actual license for more than a year at and he failed her. This was just protocol necessary for Washington to issue a license now that she lives there. Crazy! She has driven her own vehicle for more than a year and never been in a single accident. He failed her. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. My daughter finished the program a month ago and has yet to get a drive with the instructor. Apparently they fell behind on drives during COVID (which is understandable) and they are extremely short of drive instructors. But instead of limiting enrollment in new classes until they can catch up, they are still accepting students AND THEIR MONEY, without being able to provide the services that people purchased. All classes are virtual and have over 100 students. They put it on us saying that we need to check the website every day for newly listed drives, which we do, but there aren't any available for the entire duration of the calendar. Several of our neighbors are in the same situation and we all four text each other want to drive becomes available. But by the time we log on it's not anymore. They took my money without being able to provide a service. Don't go here. read more

My 15 year old is taking driving lessons with Swerve at Northgate. I cannot comment on the actual classes. However, while signing up for classes isn't always easy online, Amy at Northgate is incredibly. I was having a hard time trying to get everything scheduled before leaving town and she was great. I then needed to make changes a week or so later and she made it happen. She is pleasant and patient. read more

I would really love to give them a higher rating but we filled out the form, gave them a credit card payment and they have not responded to my daughters phone calls or her email for the past two weeks. I am not really sure what else we can do but since she's going off to college she can't take a drivers test. This is unconscionable behavior. This was for scheduling a drivers test. read more

My 15 year old son is in the program this summer. Trying to reschedule a missed class has been impossible. No one has returned my numerous emails and phone calls in over 10 days and there is no one to talk to on the phone. I understand the website had problems and was redesigned; it still doesn't work. read more

Took my road test there. The examiner really made me feel comfortable unlike the guy at shield who made me very nervous read more

I gave my test there, and I am really happy with them. My instructor Nikki was great. I will definitely recommend.

Swerve is the driving school that is recommended by our high school. I looked at classes last week and on Friday morning, was ready to sign my teen up for an online class session that starts today (Monday). When I logged on to the website early Friday morning, the class session option was gone. I called Swerve and left a message requesting a callback and sent an email right away because no more than 12 hours before, the option to register was available on the website. I called again that afternoon. The Swerve message said 'we value your business so please leave a message so that we can provide excellent customer service'. The weekend passed and no reply to my email or phone call. I understand that in light of the current business climate, business hours are being adjusted, however, why offer excellent customer service when there is no reply to messages or emails left for 3 days? On Monday morning, I finally received a reply to my email stating that the class was removed in order to prepare for the upcoming class. I replied within 30 minutes of the email being sent to me asking if there is any way I might still be able to register my teen as the upcoming sessions being offered are not possible with her schedule. No response. I called again 2 more times during 'business hours' today, 8 hours prior to when they are actually starting an online class session and no reply. Swerve obviously does not want to provide excellent customer service, nor do they value our business. We have chosen another driving school. Our teen is registered to start an online teen driving session that starts tomorrow at another driving school within 5 miles of Swerve. One that answered my call within 2 rings and has the option to enroll online for a class that starts tomorrow, today. Did I mention it's $30 less expensive and offers exactly what Swerve offers? Now that's value and excellent customer service. read more

I took a knowledge and drive test through Swerve here in Seattle, and had an excellent experience. Specifically, Mike Lucky (I hope I'm spelling his name correctly) was extremely helpful. Real stand-up guy. Would highly recommend their services. read more

After 2 classes at Miller Community Center in a 90 degree classroom with a roaring fan competing with the instructor, my son withdrew from the class. After requesting a refund, I finally got a response after 1 month. Horrible customer service that does not include a name in their email responses so one does not know who they are speaking to. Stay away from SWERVE!!! read more

We've used Swerve twice and the second time (summer 2017) was much better. Instructors were great. Scheduling is much easier than 1.5 yrs ago. One tip is to look for driving slots at the end of the month for the next month. Being able to do drives from several locations is helpful. read more

SWERVE has proven to be extremely difficult to navigate. They have been overwhelmed this summer with the number of kids who have signed up for Driver's Ed, but have simply not been able to figure out how to respond to the demand. Their online scheduling system is being revamped and while it is under revision there is no online access to rescheduling. One would think that as a result they would staff up their phone lines and customers could simply call in to reschedule, but they did not. I have left numerous messages to try to reschedule, to no avail. If we can't reschedule the missed class my son can't take the final driver's test and can't take his Washington State DOL test to get his license; we could end up having paid for the whole class with no way to take the test so he can get his license - a bit frustrating after paying them close to $600. read more

Swerve schedule dirves and then never shows up! We waited 30 minutes for the driver instructor who was a no show!

John reached out to me about 2 months after we ended lessons just to check in and see if I had met my goal of passing my driving test (I had). It was so thoughtful of him to follow up, and I was pretty impressed that my driving instructor did that. Great teacher, great experience. read more

I highly recommend one of the instructors - Victor Moore. He's very helpful, supportive, and gives you the confidence to become a better driver. He's a really chill guy to talk to and he gives a lot of good driving advice. I give him 5/5 stars. read more

Quite possibly the worst customer experience I've ever received. They are extremely difficult to get a hold of, take forever to respond to emails and/or voicemails and honestly totally incapable of completing pretty standard business operations. Terrible experience and with several competing companies out there wouldn't recommend them. Go somewhere else, not worth the hassle. read more