Adams School Of Driving

I needed to cancel my daughters driving appointment. There is a $ 65 charge BUT they filed the time so no charge in that case. Just FYI

This is my second round with Adam’s and I am not sure why we went back, but it was convenient and my son is an agreeable child who thought his instructors both in class and behind the wheel were very good. However, the administration of this company is completely incompetent. I would never recommend them to anyone again. It is a shoddy outfit, pure and simple.

Well, let me start out by saying this class was not set up in a manner that I thought it would be. Traditionally, when I was a teen, I signed up for and took my class (class AND driving) at a scheduled time that was consistent for the entirety of the class. It was not exactly clear how their method would affect us and be much more inconvenient for our teenage daughter and us and our time. Even with the information provided, prior to the class’ beginning, it just wasn’t that clear how their methods would play out. So, my daughter started with the in-​class portion at a scheduled, consistent time, but as soon as she was clear to drive for her class, it became a struggle to schedule those times, unless we wanted to pay more money apparently (for private lessons, I guess). It then got dragged out to unbelievable wait times and my daughter got scheduled out nearly a month later for a session, and truly, it may have been longer than that. The day comes that she’s been scheduled, and guess what? She’s forgotten. I understand making a person responsible, but I think, in the modern day, that a courtesy notification, especially with such large time lapses, that you could receive a text, an email, a call, something, but alas, nothing. I mean, even adults get courtesy notifications for appointments where there’s a time lapse (dentist, eye, doctor appointments) and yes, you are charged a fee if you don’t show, but as a courtesy, they remind you so they can get business and the person shows for their appointment and everyone wins. So, I (an adult) get hit with a $ 65 dollar fee and am told we cannot continue with the class and won’t receive proper certification, unless we pay it. I do not want to pay this fee, and in reality feel that unless I’m notified about the appointment, that they shouldn’t be able to legally charge it since it’s technically a contract with a minor, but I have my hand forced. The best part? I tried multiple times (four to be exact) to try to speak with a manager concerning this charge, asking for a call back, so I could at least give some input on how they might consider sending a courtesy notification, finally to be treated very, very unprofessionally by an employee named Sandy. There was another unprofessional exchange with another employee prior to this, but not to the level I had with Sandy. I understand defending your company’s position, but I got yelling, while I kept my composure, I even got hung up on but had to call back immediately as I needed to pay this fine just so my daughter could drive for the day. It was horrible. I had to give money to people who were unprofessional and rude. I had to swallow it. Blah. I’ve left messages for the manager (who’s apparently Casey?) to call, but this Sandy assures me there will be no call because it doesn’t serve their interest just because SHE knows. She may be right, as I’ve waited weeks, but have not received said call. Truly disappointing. Truly unprofessional. I want to discuss this fine with an employee who has the authority to discuss it with me and in a fair manner and take my input into consideration is all, and I can’t have a civilized conversation with their employee and am not getting that opportunity from a supervisor. It’s not fair to take my money, yell at me, especially when I’m not yelling, and not even offer to leave another message for the manager to call me back. Because of this inconvenience, hassle, and unnecessary drama, I do not suggest their services to others. I know that they probably have a near-​monopoly situation in this area for driving schools, but suggest looking elsewhere for your driving school needs and will continue to tell others the same.
And another thing. It’s not like I wanted these employees to refund my money or waive this fee. I merely wanted a conversation with the appropriate person, to voice my concern and give my feedback is all. I got much more than that. Me thinks this Sandy should not be a representative for this company, or should get a serious talking to as she need not go there. I feel I at least deserve an apology for such behavior and guess I’m letting the manager (again, Casey?) know in this forum, as I seem to be unable to reach her in the traditional manner, along with other possible consumers who are are in need of driver’s ed courses.

My son took driver’s ed here because they were offering Sunday classes to fit with his schedule. While I knew they cost more, I expected more for what I was paying. We had to switch instructors mid lessons because she was not teaching him anything. Our new instructor was better (so we thought) and he completed. However, they never (8 months later) certified my son. He was unable to take the road test because they insisted that we owed for an imaginary missed appointment. It was something set up between the instructor and my son, who had no idea what he signed. They would not work out with me to certify my son and we even had to get Secretary of State involved.
I was offered no education as a new teen driver’s parent and turns out that he was not taught to the road test (he still required several hours of driving with us to learn basics they never taught like lights, reversing and really just basics) and they were overcharging for this crappy education.
I would NOT recommend Adams to anyone looking for a positive experience in driver’s school.

Thank you so much to Adams — especially my teacher, Bob DiPego. I successfully completed the driver’s test and got my license today.
HOWEVER — a brief update and complaint. If you are living in the northern suburbs of Chicago, your teacher may recommend the DMV facilities in Deerfield, which is what my teacher did. He even took me up to the premises and had me practice on the actual course. I found this very helpful and did not feel nervous at all on the days preceding my test because I knew exactly what to expect — EXCEPT WHEN I ACTUALLY GOT TO THE DMV. The tester made me incredibly nervous because she was berating me about everything, from the cleanliness of my car to the shoes I was wearing. I’m sure that I just barely passed, even with all the training and help that I got from Adams School. SO – ask your teacher to choose another DMV to go to! I don’t know why my teacher would so highly recommend a facility that is beyond horrible.