Reviews of Potomac Driving School Inc (Driving School)

Jade Bristol Verity

I wish I could give this company less than 1 star. My 16 y.o. daughter recently went through their driver's training class and started her behind-the-wheel training with them. There were red flags for me from the very beginning (so shame on me for not backing out and finding another company that I was more comfortable with) including: no ability to register and pay for classes on their website, incorrect information on their website, staff with limited English-speaking abilities which makes it very difficult to communicate/ask questions, bad attitudes from every single staff person I encountered in a variety of roles, a small aggressive dog they keep in the office and classroom that tried to bite one student when she tried to pet it, small cramped poorly-lit classroom space, unprofessional business behavior (example: one time I called in the middle of the afternoon to ask a question and the person who answered the phone said that they had decided to close the office early so they forwarded the office phones to her home phone but she was totally unable to actually conduct any business, access records, etc. and told me I would just have to call back another time). But the absolute icing on the cake, and the reason I am recommending STRONGLY against utilizing their services, is that during my daughter's behind-the-wheel training, THEIR CAR ACTUALLY BROKE DOWN! The car started smoking and overheated so badly they had to pull over. When I asked the instructor (Mr. Frashure) about this, he was adamant that it "wasn't their fault" and treated it like it was no big deal. He even said to me, "Haven't you ever had a car overheat before?" as though this is some routine thing that happens to all cars. No....only poorly maintained cars, I said. They obviously don't maintain their cars and I was so concerned about what else might not be in proper working order (brakes maybe??!) that I pulled my daughter out and will have her complete her training with I Drive Smart. We had used them for my older son and were very happy with them, but were trying to save some money this time -- but you get what you pay for. AVOID THIS DRIVING SCHOOL AT ALL COSTS!

li garcia

If you are first time driver this is the place to learned. Mr marshall and all the staffs are very knowledgeable and experienced. I highly recommended!

J Lee

Don't use this school. They only take your money and don't teach your teens. They push you to sign up but don't tell you that the package expire in one year. After expires, they charge you big fee to extend. The manager Roland is awful person to talk to, very rude and ugly on the phone. All he wants is taking your money and do nothing.

mary joy jorda

I had a wonderful experienced at the Potomac Driving School. Thank you Sir Roland a knowledgeable person with a great sense of humor.He was good enough when explaining topics and always open to students asking questions.The staffs of Potomac Driving School are all friendly and approachable.Thank you so much.Looking forward for my 6hrs BTW

Sam Hidro

I was not looking forward to taking this class at all. I spent 30 hours with Mr. Roland who made a boring subject bearable to sit through. Mr. Roland is very patient and knowledgeable about what he's talking about. His sense of humor made the class a breeze. I highly recommend going through Mr. Roland and Potomac Driving School.

leGOAT

The teacher is cool and you get what you pay for, a course about what to do/what not to do. People seem to give this place bad reviews because they think they know it all.

massimo vicidomini

this school is a disastre very unorganized and with such an attitude would not raccomand

Nickesha Findley

The instructors are very knowledgeable. Not to mention their humor. I took the night class for two weeks and even though I was tired I was able to stay up. Hats off to Mr. paguia

Alana Roales

Amazing experience! Mr. Roland was so nice & funny, he taught the course in the most interesting way. Made a few friends during both the morning & night class. They’re flexible with their schedule as well! 10/10 would recommend this place!

Roopa K

I am not going to give any stars. The page does not allow to post my feedback , so i am forced to give one star. I am not sure how many of you knew this, but potomac rockville has recently been shutdown for some reasons. And they are not at all responsive for the remaining classes, neither they bother refunding the money. There is a mediator who picks up the call but he will never give you a straight answer. You have to chase these people like dogs until you get your work done. Please please do not join here. I doubt will they ever come back after this shut down. I am very suspicious !!

Naomi Berhanu

I loved Potomac driving school a lot. Everyone there is very caring, nice and good at what they do. I easily passed my driving test. I still remember the lessons and advises I got and use them when I drive. There are so many things that stuck to me. I was very pleased with Potomac Driving School.

Karen Schneider

We heard mixed reviews but decided to give this company a try because it had a better class schedule for our schedule. Big mistake. From the beginning, there were signs of problems - they didn't process our payment correctly. Then they cancelled the class but did not tell us. I received zero communication leading up the the class date, so I called the day before to make sure I had the times right. Then they told me the class was cancelled. And they don't know if the next class will happen. ?!?! Then I got an email with one line - class starts April 23 same time same place. Ok, so we'll give them another chance. Again, zero communication leading up to the class. So I called the day before the confirm. They called back the morning of the class to tell me the class is cancelled. AGAIN. Need I say more??? At least they offered to refund my payment.

俐智邱

真的很爛，打電話預約上課打了2個禮拜還沒預約到....說是負責人不在，那請拜託也找個代替的人吧，難道我們這些想要上駕訓課的人都沒差嗎。 I couldn’t even register for instructor class because they have no body to answer my phone call for 2 weeks.

Abdulai Turay

The driving school is amazing with fun people to work with, and the teaching is great with a real life problem.

Chris Cook

I called this place 4 times and they never called back. You ll do best not to waste your time with this company. There are better driving schools that actually care about having paying customers.

Jassir Begazo

My experience at the Potomac Driving School was everything I could have wanted it to be and more. My instructor, Mr. Roland, was so funny and knowledgeable. He was very thorough when explaining topics and always open to students asking questions. When i was done i knew all the essentials for driving and the MVA exam. I would rate it 5 stars.

Joe WIble

This place is horrible, especially the behind the wheel lessons.. Just go to gregsdrivingschool. Its cheaper and its better. We pay for the class room lesson+ the 6 hours of behind the wheel.. But they claimed that the behind the wheel is a "privilege", and the price you pay does not include the behind a wheel. So they can take that away.. The behind the wheel instructor kept bragging about how potomac is the best driving school and I just had to kept agreeing with him, but in reality, I think its horrible.. My instructor was buying McDonalds, taking his time and doing things slowly DURING my behind the wheel time.. So the it was more like a 4 hours of behind the wheel rather than 6 hours... Not to mention, my instructor has a heavy accent and was constantly mocking me. I understand being mocked/yelled is a part of the process.. But he was just very rude. I made a small mistake while filling the paper form, and he mocked me and told me to quit college because I will not be successful in my life. He made me spend about 90minutes of my time driving in a parking lot over and over again while he eats his mcdonalds and checks his phone.. The rest of the lesson consist of driving in local neighborhoods and about 15minutes of parallel parking. My instructor did not even take me to the high way and teach me anything about merging. The only thing that I wanted to learn is reverse parking and parallel parking.. For reverse parking, he told me to park into a space normally, and back into the space behind it.. This is ridiculous because you cant do this during the real road test. For parallel parking, his method was just bad.. I tried doing the samething with my parents afterward, but i realize that if the cones are not at the almost exact position where he placed it, the method wouldnt work anymore.. Oh ya, my instructor is Charles.. Worst instructor ever. Tried to cheat so much of my time that I paid my hard-earned money for.

Kristine Garcia

I am really disappointed to see all of the poor reviews of the driving institution. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with this driving school! The location was very convenient for me, as someone who had to take the bus/ metro to driving school. It is directly across from the Twinbrook station so getting there was no problem at all. The classroom instructor was very entertaining as he shared various life experiences with driving and even little tips that wouldn't cross your mind. Also, you were exempt from taking the final exam if you had something of an A average on all the quizzes which is fair. To be completely honest, I do not remember my driving instructors name, but I know for sure that I would not have passed the parallel parking portion of my driving test without him. He had me parallel park on a hill and on flat roads so that I can feel the difference. To this day, I use the method he taught me instead of the ones my father tried to teach me. I passed my driving test with flying colors on my first try! It has been 5 years since I have taken the driving course (and my test) and I still have not received any traffic violations, moving violations, or tickets. *knock on wood*. Thank you Potomac Driving School!

Sabturia Ebrahim

I took my class room and behind the wheel ok, I got my test in just one time,I can recommend this driving school.

Alex R

Highly Recommend this school. Schedule your in cars with Mr Bartrum. Awesome school, awesome instructors! I never experienced anything negative that the bad reviews talk about. I had Mr. Roland Paguia and Mr. Bartrum, both awesome instructors. I really recommend the class to anyone who needs to take Drivers Ed. I took the in-car evaluations with Mr. Bartrum. Great guy! Awesome in car evaluator. I only missed one question on the final exam. 98% :)

jackilyn batingan

Very informative course. Mr. Roland Paguia was easy to understand. He knows the subject very well. Packed with information and humor to make the class very enjoyable. I will have very fond memories of this class.

Leia Walker

I had an amazingly helpful experience. Mr. Roland was my classroom teacher and made every 3 hour class enjoyable and worthwhile! The staff is so friendly and you could even befriend the dog, Baja, who makes frequent appearances. For behind the wheel instruction, request Mr. Bartrum! He is extremely calm when it comes to worried teens and is intelligent. Not only will your teen enjoy driving, but can even engage in a friendly discussion. Every dollar you spend at this school is well worth it and every instructor wishes for EACH student to succeed!

Jessica Sun

The Driver's Ed course: Taught by a man who really should be retired. No offense, he was a sweet man and everything, but I could barely hear or understand him from the second row of the tiny, lacking-air-conditioning and proper lighting, smelly little room that they crammed us into. The course is already boring, but it was made even more boring by the teacher. The facility: extremely old and in need of repair. I'm pretty sure there's mold growing in the walls, and there are like, 10 dead potted plants just drooping by the windows. It's obvious no one maintains this place. The place is falling apart, and it's only a two room facility. The Behind the Wheel Experience: The people scheduling my class obviously had no idea what the heck they were doing. The person who booked me gave me no information on who my instructor was and where he would pick me up (other than "He'll be at your school at 2:00). So, I asked them for more information, and they just threw my instructor's phone number at me, telling me to call or text him. So what did I do? I texted him asking about where exactly he'd pick me up, like they told me. The instructor texted me back, practically verbally assaulting me about how I should "leave him alone", "give his phone a break" and "show some respect". Obviously, I was flabbergasted, since the driving school acted like I was SUPPOSED to call him. On my second session, the instructor was late by 20 minutes, during which time I called the driving school about his whereabouts. They told me they didn't know where he was, and once again, *they told me to call him*. At this point I had nothing else to do, so despite the fact that he verbally insulted me the last time I contacted his phone, I called him. My mistake, since he would then spend the first 20 minutes of my in-car session just screaming and yelling about how I was breaching his privacy and that I shouldn't have listened to the driving school, and how he used that phone number for family and private matters. Every time I tried to explain, he'd just cut me off and yell at me some more. He compared me calling his phone like him coming to my house and eating my food. In fact, he would often bring up coming to my house like a joke, even though it frankly freaked me out at the idea of a complete stranger coming into my home. What's more ridiculous is that he would then use my two hour session to use his cell phone to CALL OTHER DRIVING STUDENTS about changing their times. If he can use his cellphone to call the homes of other students, why couldn't I call his cellphone back? And how was I supposed to know to "respect his privacy" when the school explicitly told me to call him? Obviously there's a lack of policy and communication in these in-car sessions. And don't think that you have the chance of getting a better instructor because this place literally has only four employees: two secretaries, the driver's ed teacher, and the one behind the wheel instructor. I've seen the behind-the-wheel car around and it's ALWAYS the same man teaching.

Issah Iddirisu

Very educative and we had dedicated students also like dalia,Farsi and Michel .

Gian Ω

Accomplished the task at hand without issue.

Beatriz Winkelspecht

I have yet to take the driving portion, but recently completed the in-class instruction at this school. The school is very conveniently located directly across the street from the Twinbrooks Metro, and while the room is a bit small and cramped, like others here mention, I'm not sure you can expect much different from a driver's ed facility. With his witty commentary and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, our instructor Mr. Roland Pagula, made what would otherwise have been a dreadfully boring 30 hrs, pass by much more quickly. Further, he provided comprehensive and easy to understand explanations of the material, as well as specific examples of situations that offered real-life applications to different scenarios. Roland also shared interesting and insightful stories to complement what we were learning. My main issue here, was not with the school itself, but with the extensive MVA requirement. 30 hours is WAY too long for the in-class material that we learned, which frankly could have been taught in less than half the time, so sitting there was often an exercise in futility. This of course has nothing to do with the school itself, as every MVA certified institution has to do the same. As an adult getting my license for the first time, I certainly could use a lot more than 6 hrs behind the wheel instruction, and could have used a lot less classroom time.

Ellie McKennirey

April 3 2016 I just completed the 30 hour classroom course. At first the place was not what I expected, a little cramped and not what I expected of a driving school business. Though after the first 10 minutes that didn't bother me anymore. The instructor I had, Mr. Roland, was very knowledgeable and a great teacher. He was more than willing to answer questions and explained everything clearly and simply. I passed the final test with only 1 question wrong. Update In-Cars: At first I was very upset with the in-car portion of the driving school but the problem wasn't the school, it was the teacher. Do not schedule your in-car with Mr. Bartrum. He is rude and mean and makes driving really scary. However the next teacher I had, Mr. Fields, was great! I felt so calm and safe. He teaches really well and is calm himself which makes the whole experience better. He really is the best instructor/teacher there. It makes using Potomac Driving School worth it.

Joseph Ghormley

Come to this place two times and was totally ignored by the instructors. Very unprofessional, even lock the doors before closing time. Last gentleman I dealt with older African-American men with balding white hair, complete skip me in line which turn me off apply for classes

Janice Cepeda

This place is awful! They are rude all the way and they forgot my son for the actual driving lesson part! Will def not recommend!

Sam Jee

The instructor constantly complains about how students are not participating and how he has to force us to get a responce. Also before I signed up I tried to see from previous if they still had the same instructor and they siad that because of the bad reviews they changed instructors but they never did and most likely never will because the instructor is the manager . The instructor trys to show his knowlege about many diffrrent languages to the class. Also the classroom its self is bad, the airconditioning unit is inside the class room and because of it, it is very noisy inside the classroom and the only way for the noise to stop is to turn off the ac causing the room to become warm. I won't advice anyone who doesint want to deal wish complining teachers or noisy ac units.

Najah Mills

I have had a pleasant experience learning and working with Potomac driving school. I was nervous about completing my two weeks, 30 hours of classroom curriculum only to end with a final test that i passed with flying colors. Not only was my enthusiastic instructor Mr.Paguia kind, but genuine and made class exciting to look forward to. I honestly haven’t enjoyed a class in a long time and I’m 21! If you’re looking for an extensive course to prepare you for a life task, this is the school to attend!! Very flexible, affordable, and accommodating. No complaints and would gladly return if necessary.

Tovohaja Rabemananjara

I was really surprised to see so many 1 star reviews. I honestly had an awesome time at this driving school. The instructor, Mr. Roland, was very knowledgable and crystal clear. Furthermore, it didn't hurt that he had a good sense of humor, kept the classes interesting and always involved the students.

Howard Kirk

I thought the driving school was great! My teacher was Mr. Roland. He taught the material well, had good tips for real world driving, and made the class pretty bearable which you can't say for most places. For my in-cars, I had Mr. Bartrum. I don't get why some were saying they didn't like him. For me, he was really pleasant to talk to and was quite patient. He's lead a very interesting life and makes for a great driving instructor!

Bill Simmons

My daughter begged me to let her go with her friends and I regret it . The students were jammed into a small room and she learned nothing. She said that the driving instructor played on his phone most of the time.

pillow tyme

The in class portion is tolerable and will get you what you need. However, Mr.Charles, one of the driving instructors, has THE WORST attitude and will barely teach you anything. If you are looking to actually learn and have a pleasant experience, do not have him be your teacher. All he does is sit next to you while he is on his phone, calling his friends or watching videos. He also made me wait for him while he got food at McDonalds, which is a waste of time that I am PAYING for. When I tried to ask him a question about hitting the curb, he made fun of me saying I ask dumb questions. He refuses to answer any questions and will instead mock you for asking. Talking to him is difficult and his attitude is unprofessional. He does not actually want to help you at all, and is very unpleasant. He should be fired! Do not go here.

Azaria Johnson

I wasn’t looking forward to this at all but with Mr.Roland as my teacher the learning experience was more fun and i comprehended more of the material. I passed my final exam and probably couldn’t have done it without mr.roland. I suggest it 10/10

aynur uluatam sumer

Mar 5, 2014 by aynursumer I would highly recommend Potomac Driving School to potential drivers. I took a limited number of lessons and was able to get my drivers license at FIRST try with a full score (100) !. The school is at a convenient location. The premises are pleasant, the managers are very polite and kind, but most importantly, the INSTRUCTORS are SUPER ! They first teach the THEORY of parallel and reverse parking and safe driving. Then they let you practice. They become very proud if their students pass the test. With this school, you will PASS !

blubablubahumbug

Had a great time going here, they taught everything i needed to know and prepared me for the test. Never had any of the experiences these reviews are saying.

TPE PPBA

I had a great time at Potomac driving school. Despite the long 30h requirement of in-class courses (by the MVA), Mr. Roland was able to make it very enjoyable. Any questions we had, dumb or interesting, he answered them. Then, when it came to the 6h behind the wheel instruction training, I had the pleasure to be with Mr. Benjamin. He was always on time and glad to be there. Just like Mr. Roland, he answered every one of my questions. Furthermore, the car was in perfect shape: clean and running. In general, the teachers that I had were extremely knowledgeable and courteous.

Grace Sierra

They do not return phone calls, they say 1 thing and do another and it was not a good leaning environment.

Elizabeth Andrade

Potomac Driving School closed down and disappeared with my money! I paid for the Driving class for my Son and when he was scheduled to get behind the wheel classes, they left town! They closed and left us without the money and the classes.

Brayan Herrera

Mr.Roland the best

Gabriel Trier

Potomac driving school was a very good experience. I had Mr. Frasier for the 6 hours behind the wheel and he was very good. He gave great instructions and was clear.

Daniel Wang

Mr Roland and Mr. Frasier were great teachers. Would definitely recommend

Pear Yukkasemwong

The worst driving school ever. DO NOT go to potomac driving school. The driving instructor I had was really rude. He would literally laugh at you OUT LOUD and keep telling you how you don't know how to drive. I went there hoping to learn, not to be judged. But he was very disrespectful. He was late to all 3 of my behind the wheel lessons. One time he asked me to drive him to Giant because he wanted to get food. He was gone for 40 mins. I'm not even joking. He left me in the car by myself for 40 mins. The lesson was supposed to be 2 hours but I only got to drive for less than an hour. He also made me drive around a parking lot for 25 times and spent only 10 mins teaching me how to do parallel parking. Please go somewhere else if you really wanna learn how to drive. This school is terrible.

Hermon Feleke

I took my classes there. The instructors are nice and flexible for hours. The bad thing is that it is expensive. I called to schedule a driving road test with their car and it’s 350$!! Omg!! Like the one in Rockville pike Cyrus driving school charges only 130$. I mean damn it’s more than half. My people don’t get fooled and waste your money. I took the classes there and wanted discount they refused.

Suat Alpay

First of all it hurts me to see all these bad comments. I was a student there and I just finished my 6 hour in car. to start with its right next to Twinbrook Metro Station , which is amazing. Somedays my mom couldn't drop me off so i had to use the metro. Talking about in car in car instructors, i know all of them and rode with all of them. Mr.Charles, what an amazing guy, he is fun, funny and a chill guy, his teaching is also amazing, he makes that two hours of driving fun. He was my first in car instructor. The second time i had some problems with the timing so i had Mr. Fatai, the Nigerian instructor, he was amazing too, he teached me stuff that would help me in the real road test and in real life , he mainly focused on that, if i didn't know all that good information i probably would have failed the road test. Even tho I got a perfect score of 85 on my in car, there were many informations that i did not know . To complete my 45 min of lateness, i also rode with Mr.Bill, i had no idea who he was but we had a fun 45 min of driving, he is fun to talk to and a nice instructor , he thought me some very good information too. Lastly i wanna focus on Mr.paguia, i went to potomac driving school in summer and nobody wants to waste their time in a school while you can be on the beach. But Mr.paguia made that fun i forgot how long i went there but i think it was four weeks, and i had an amazing time. Some lady wrote in the early comments that he was trying to show off with his multi language speaking, is she crazy in the head. thats not showing off, when he talked to me in turkish and he only knows the basic words like hi or how are you, i was like wow thats nice i wish i could talk in so many languages. That man is funny, his stories are amazing, they are exciting, so i don't remember a moment where i was bored in his class and i get bored very easily. I met a lot of new people here and became friends with everyone. These people are super friendly and nice. They don't deserve a 1.8, they deserve more then a 5. This place is also cheaper, my friend went to a driving school that was 800$ dollars I asked him why it was that expensive, do you guys get thought better or something. When he told me how it was and its the same exact as potomac driving school. My brother will be going here too. So parents who read these reviews i was a student here and nobody told me to write a review, i felt bad for these people because they deserve so much better with the high quality teaching they have. Everybody i talked to likes this place and has no problems. I guarantee your children will too