Originally enquired for 1 to 1 lessons for my autistic daughter who has struggled in normal swimming lessons and works better with a 1 to 1 focus.Alistair who I spoke with originally after enquiring was brilliant and gave loads of information, booking in the first taster session and sending over brochures.I then told my daughter as she doesn't respond well to surprise events.At 10pm the night before, I was dropped into a WhatsApp group for the centre in question by the instructor, seeing replies from other customers expressing their continued frustration at lessons being inconsistent at the centre, and couldn't see the message from the instructor as I was added after it. One of the other customers had to copy and paste it for me as the instructor himself wasn't answering (Luke). Apparently there were ongoing issues and the pool was frequently unavailable, none of which was told to me during the booking process, so my lesson was cancelled at 14 hours notice.Two days later I get a call a call from them asking how the taster session went and I told them it hadn't happened and I didn't really want to rebook it yet if there were continued issues with the pool and I'd revisit this when they could tell me the pool was consistently available again.The following Saturday, I get a call from a mobile number and answer to be greeted with "hi, are you bothering to turn up for this swimming lesson or what?" from Luke, the instructor. No one told me this had been booked and I'd specifically asked for it not to be so. I explained this to him, after which he sends me a WhatsApp to apologise for the confusion, with a WhatsApp picture of him wearing a lime green mankini on a ski slope - just the kind of character you want doing 1 to 1 tuition with your 7 year old daughter. Whilst I appreciate SwimNow are probably making him use his personal mobile for organising this (which I disagree with and they should provide him a work number), if you're going to do so, present yourself professionally and SwimNow should be policing this if they're advertising as appropriate for children and those with SEN difficulties. I'm again contacted by their customer service team to ask how the lesson I neither booked nor attended went.Disgruntled with the whole experience in October, I didn't revisit this until February despite having paid for a lesson that didn't happen. When I did, I arranged this lesson for 1:30PM on a Saturday as I was working in the morning, arranged the Tuesday prior.I'm then contacted 3 times in the 4 days between the booking and the lesson to ask to move this as the instructor doesn't want a gap in his schedule that leaves him waiting around for me. Boo hoo. Your employer is charging £80 an hour for your services and has been utterly useless thus far. I'm working in the morning and not leaving myself short of income by cancelling work so that you can have an easier day whilst I pay 3 times my wage rate for your services.Finally I get to the lesson, and the instructor (Josh this time, not Luke, and thankfully not clad in a mankini) was actually a really good instructor, so much so that I think I'll give SwimNow a FOURTH chance to get things right. After contacting me nearly immediately after the 2 lessons that didn't happen, they make no effort to reach me after the one that did. I even try to reach out to them to give them my money, and can only get through to a voicemail, ultimately not leaving me able to reach them in time to pay for the lesson id arranged with Josh for the following Saturday, meaning it couldn't take place.I'm done at this point, and have found a competitor who offers the first month of lessons for £10, and the ongoing lessons at half the price of SwimNow, and has fixed things into a weekly achievable timeslot.Hilariously, SwimNow have now reached out to me three times this week (it's only wednesday) to try to get my business back. They won't get it. Don't touch them with a barge pole.
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