TakeLessons

Paul M. is absolutely right-​this is a very poor business model. My oldest daughter takes Japanese lessons online through them – her instructor is wonderful, but for the life of them Take Lessons cannot get my automatic payment to function correctly. I get emails saying I have to pay, blah blah, when all of the information is on file. But what really gets my goat about them is a recent encounter I had regarding my youngest daughter. She expressed an interest in lessons, and this time they would be in person. I found an instructor a few miles from our home. As with Paul M., I was quite surprised to learn (from the pushy salesperson that called me from TL-​that UNWELCOME solicitation annoyed me to no end) that, unlike every other business in major metropolitan areas I have taken performance classes from over the years, it would not be possible to speak to the instructor directly over the phone. I informed the salesperson that I am a busy person who does not have time to run around and screen several instructors-​I expect to screen someone first on the phone! I got nowhere with him, and just let the issue drop out of frustration, until my daughter asked if we could try to get a lesson with the instructor in person. So, I reluctantly pull up the instructor’s page in order to purchase one lesson to see if it’s a good match (again-I’m from New York, and NO ONE does it that way. You first talk on the phone!) Well, lo and behold you can’t purchase one lesson, the minimum is three. I send a message to the instructor telling her I would only purchase one lesson to see if it’s right for my daughter — this saves time for EVERYONE, people. Guess what? I get an email from the same guy I spoke to on the phone that gave me a run around, saying we first had to talk about what would work best, and then he could set up lessons (plural) for me! I responded that I didn’t wish to speak with him, I didn’t wish to purchase a block of lessons if it wasn’t a good fit, I would only consider purchasing lessons IF my daughter and I liked the instructor, and I was only interested in ONE lesson (though of course, I should be able to speak to the instructor ON THE PHONE to begin with!)
What Take Lessons needs to understand, ESPECIALLY when it comes to children’s lessons in person, is that parents will not tolerate the run around when it involves their children’s safety and well being. They must allow for the parents’ to have a reasonable screening process – what they present is utterly ridiculous and unreasonable, and I would encourage instructors to break ties with them post haste because they’re losing business for you. Take Lessons’ thinly veiled attempt to push more lessons on the customer will only hurt you in the long run. I wonder if the instructor even knows about my attempts to contact her – if you are an acting instructor near my town, please message me through Unilocal.
edited to add-​response I received when I said I only wanted one lesson:
«Whenever you’re ready, go ahead and reach me at (blah blah blah) and we can get you all set up! We have a great Satisfaction Guarantee as well, so keep that in mind.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee: We want you to have an awesome lesson experience. If you are not completely satisfied, we’ll gladly help you find a new teacher or refund any future unused lesson credits, no questions asked. Simply contact TakeLessons at least 24 hours before your next lesson to cancel your subscription and receive a refund.»
So they offer a «refund» which of course means you have to go through the hassle of contacting them, and hearing the pitch to attempt to get you into lessons elsewhere. I predict you’d have to put in a couple of hours on hold, getting hung up on, etc. etc. to get that refund!
I’m so done. I’ll close by saying this-​Take Lessons has succeeded in annoying me more than any business I can recall in several years. Including TimeWarner and AT&T!!! Congratulations on that dubious distinction!

This is an incredibly lame service. I was interested in violin lessons for my daughter. I found an instructor that was close to where I live and entered my info on the website. Then I got a call from someone at TakeLessons wanting to schedule a lesson, and I told him that I wanted to be able to call or email the instructor first to make sure it was going to be a good fit for my daughter. Basically, I was told that I was not permitted to talk to the instructor until after paying for lessons. Somewhat flabbergasted as a person who took piano lessons for years growing up, I pressed the issue and was told that I could only communicate with the teacher until had paid up front and there was no flexibility on that. No way I was going to do that, so I found the teacher online and contacted her directly and bypassed TakeLessons entirely. I should add that the violin instructor was not happy with TakeLessons either. Pretty poor business model.

I recently took organ lessons, after having taken piano lessons years ago. Spencer was great in helping me build on my past skills as I learned to play a new instrument. He is very professional and enthusiastic. I highly recommend him as an instructor.

jordan m. and the take lessons staff have been wonderful. as a new student i am interested in an expert teacher who is also a good communicater. i am very happy with my choice of instructors and the company he works with