Swerve Driving School

Just...no.

Young drivers are already feeling nervous enough before their first exam, they don't need to be yelled at by the examiner for things beyond their control. I was rudely admonished for taking a moment to put on my seat belt before demonstrating my brake lights. The reason? It was raining (lightly) outside. I don't control the weather, and as far as I know it's against the law to not be wearing a seat belt. Aren't you supposed to be testing on safety? There also needs to be better communication about how to proceed after the test. I was told many times to take a picture of the URL before my test (it's a paper at the desk) but not what the URL link was for. Because we had a little miscommunication at the beginning regarding vehicle usage, and the instructor was late, all I got was a quick "you passed" and the instructor took off. No receipt, no paperwork, no license, no proof. I had to drive back to the place to even ask her to verify if I passed or not, and how I could get my permanent license. To which I got a fairly unhelpful reply.

I just have to say, I was made to feel very jumpy and nervous before my test and it really doesn't make for a good testing experience. Props to the examiner for keeping a pleasant, neutral tone during the test itself, though the terse voice came back the second it was done.

The extra star goes to the woman I spoke to on the phone prior to my exam. While it's hell getting through to a live person, she was very kind and helpful.

Not open, but still TOOK MY MONEY. They sent all the follow-up emails, I got the reminder email the day prior with instructions so of course, I drove my kid out there at 9 am on a Saturday to find a CLOSED BUSINESS.

I just have no idea who the fuck thinks this is acceptable - 16-year-old kid DEVASTATED, over $700 I have to try and get back now.

These people should be shame walked across the 90-bridge naked in November.

Took a number of days to get hold of someone to schedule a driving lesson after having paid it online. Couldn't get hold of someone on the phone after 30+ calls over a period of a week. One of the driving instructors gave me his number when I took my knowledge test in order to book a lesson with him but proceeded to ignore my texts when I tried to schedule a driving lesson. Emails take days to get a response (if you're lucky) and even going in-person to the local testing office didn't help because no-one was present and doors were locked. When I eventually got my driving lesson scheduled, the driving instructor never pitched up. Emailed the driving school for a refund and 5 days later I'm yet to receive a response. There is no way your mailbox is that busy that you cannot respond for days. Clear lack of professionalism.

Very dissatisfied. Signed my daughter up for a road test and skills test combo nearly two months ago. Went in for the test and only then found out that she had to pass the written portion (which she did) and we had to come back for the driving portion.

We tried calling and e-mailing them to get the driving portion scheduled. After two weeks, they sent what looks like an automated mail saying to be patient and they would call us to schedule the drive. Its been a month now and that's the only communication we've gotten from them. They don't seem to ever pick up the phone and they don't call back or respond to any attempt at communication.

At this point, we're just going to go ahead and schedule the drive someplace else. I'm going to try and get a refund for the road test portion of the combo, but not holding my breath on it. Zero customer service. Zero responsiveness. They seem completely uninterested in actually delivering the service that I've paid for.

Utterly disappointed.

Edit: Just after writing this review, I finally heard back (when I left a message asking for a refund). They said they texted the number on file, but didn't hear back. After checking, we didn't get a text, so not sure what happened. Would have been great if they had followed up. Good thing is that they did give me a refund on the road test without any issue. Still disappointed, but somewhat happier since they were reasonable on the refund.

My teenager took the classes when she was 16, but did not take the written or the drive test until she was 18. We paid for the tests with the classes, so we reached out to Swerve to complete the testing. First, since it had been a couple of years, we could not schedule on line. Second, it took a series of calls each time to try to reach someone. We left 3-4 messages each time with no call back. We finally got through, and were able to schedule the written. After she passed, We then tried again to schedule the drive test, and again left a series of messages with no return call. They have been so hard to get through that my husband and I were both calling on the same day to get through. We ended up making two appts that day, I made mine first and then his. We called and cancelled one, no return call. My daughter wrote an email. Then, we get a call that day that states we were a no show. We told them what was going on, and they said they now see the email, and for customer service would write off the fee (really, for customer service?). We stated we cancelled that one, as we had another one later in the week that worked better. At that point they should have told us they had already cancelled the second appointment. So, on the day before the scheduled test I called (and called and called), finally got through to someone, and they had cancelled the one I made when my husband had called in to schedule. They did not tell him she had one already and were cancelling it to schedule his.
So after all of this I asked to speak to a manager. She listened, told me she did not understand why I was upset about the "no show" as I was not charged for it. She also told me she had no record of any of my calls. I felt it was not a useful conversation. (which is why the have some many one stars, I would imagine).

Side note: The instructor that administered her drive test (Lincoln) was fantastic. She was super nervous, and he joked with her and put her at ease.

When my Son went to Swerve 10 years ago, it was an amazing company I did highly recommend to everyone. This is not the same company, and I would never, ever go there again.

A horrible experience! I booked a 1 hour driving course about 10 days ago, and have been trying to reach them since to schedule an appointment without success. I called, emailed, yelled...nothing! And now I just want my money back! This is the worst customer service and worst experience I've ever had!

Horrible website for scheduling and horrible customer service. Never return voicemails or emails.

Just horrible. Scheduled us for a road test, but their instructor didn't show up because their office didn't tell him about it. We drove 30m out of our way for that time slot in Issaquah and they didn't even apologize or take any responsibility for their screw up.

Then, to make it worse, Carrie (apparently the "boss") calls us from a blocked number and leaves a message but never calls. A couple days later after we call again, someone finally gets word to her and she call from another blocked number. Still no apology. No acknowledgement of the mistake, no offer to make it right. Carrie was contentious, disagreeable and arrogant.

Unbelievable, especially considering how much money we'd already spent on instruction with this company (which is a whole separate story). I'm glad they're not the only choice in town. My advice to others: don't waste your money if you have any other choice.

If I could give negative stars I would. This is a perfect example of a business that takes advantage of a public requirement. Since the DMV doesn't administer driving/written tests any longer, companies like this are happy to pocket your money and provide shitty service because there are few alternatives. To be an adult and have the testing admin be so rude when talking to you is humiliating. I think she thinks all teens are annoying by now in her job, so she has developed the shittiest jaded attitude. I feel sorry for anybody who has to take classes here.

Update July 27th: received a very nice, apologetic call from Jessica, who listened to my side of the story and was very kind. I do appreciate the apology, and was relieved to hear that it was NOT company policy to read each student's score out loud to the entire class. I hope they address the situation by either requiring Linda to be kinder to students, or take her out of the public/front line.

Good luck scheduling a drive with Swerve.

You've signed your teen up for driver's ed, and you'd think there would be available drives to coincide with your teen's current enrollment as a driver's ed student at Swerve. Think again. Swerve seems to way over-enroll students in class time compared to the amount of driving time they have available. A certain amount of drives have to be completed before class is over, and it takes constant logging in to their website checking for available drives to make it happen.

I get that the summer is a busy time for Swerve. So hire more driving instructors and create your schedule farther out so people can schedule drives and plan their summer.

As far as instruction, the classroom teacher was great. The driving instruction was hit or miss, depending on the instructor.