Western Slope Driving Institute - Grand Junction

Fantastic experience: Great driving test , great guy , great owner , much better than the last experience I had in this town with a different driving place , would definitely recommend western slope driving institute to anyone needing their services

Fantastic experience: The most professional driving school in grand junction I highly recommend coming here for your needs.

Negative experience: WARNING read the reviews before you go. I didn't do my research and deeply regret it.

Negative experience: Don’t take your kids here if you want them to know how to drive. The instructors are sweet and nice but have no experience as professional drivers nor any training on how to be an instructor. The company offers no training for their instructors!!! You have as much knowledge about driving as these instructors do. This is not a professional driving company.

Fantastic experience: Great instructors.

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Very relaxed instructor was very nice

Fantastic experience: It was fast, easy and passed!!

Fantastic experience: Amazing people work here! They made the whole experience more comfortable and less nerve wrecking. Would highly recommend to anyone who is just starting or overall anxious to begin.

Fantastic experience: I had an amazing experience with western slope driving institute! My driving instructor was very thorough and made conversation, explained what you should do, what you shouldnt do, and gave you plenty of reaction time before any decisions. I highly recommend Adrian, thats who my instructor was. Very quick and very easy!

Positive experience: It’s was pretty nice.

Negative experience: Very disappointed in this company. I thought they would be more flexible when working with teens and their schedules. I tried to get my daughter scheduled early on after she got her permit not realizing it would take her a lot longer to get her required 15hrs in first, before my son, and also knowing it is hard to book appts with them. We inevitably had to reschedule those as she did not have enough hours. Had to do that another time, but did not seem like it could be that inconvenient. When she finally had her hours, I called to schedule, and they had dropped her from the appts already on the books without telling me and refunded my money with no explanation. I called back several times and was told someone would call me back. Finally got someone to tell me that apparently they did not want to accept me as a client!! Very odd and weird, and frankly maddening. Only one other choice in town.

Negative experience: Went through WSDI with our oldest and had zero issues. With our second son it’s been a nightmare, he attended the classroom program. He chose to not rush in getting his hours because 1) he wasn’t in a hurry to drive, and 2) he just wasn’t comfortable behind the wheel and we were going to FORCE him. We finally got him enough hours to schedule his first drive session and it went AMAZING, the instructor was PHENOMENAL. We had his final 2 sessions scheduled and then Doreen contacted us to reschedule one of his drives due to terminating an employee for “the safety of the students.” THEN, my son hurts his leg in basketball and is told to not be on it due to the nature of the injury and I advise Doreen, as well as WSDI, of his injury and our need to cancel his next 2 drives until he’s cleared and Doreen went OFF on me and “the problem with my son’s program having been in it for 16 months,” and how we had cancelled one drive session already that she rescheduled for us, which in fact we had not being it was the one THEY requested to cancel/reschedule. I simply asked her for the same graciousness we offered when she needed to move things around now that we were dealing with an unexpected injury, completely out of our hands. Then I receive a text that we’ve incurred an $80 fee for “late cancellation.” My son’s schedule to drive account was then all of a sudden deactivated and Doreen proceeded to simply ignore further communication to resolve this professionally. VERY disappointed and wouldn’t recommend

Fantastic experience: 10/10. Whole test was just 1 chill drive. The testing gentleman was a funny guy and really made the trip feel more mundane and less testy. Very nice car to test in. And the whole process in a nice, timely manner.

Fantastic experience: The customer service was incredible and Gladys was a true professional, making my family feel comfortable and very clear on what steps we need to take. I cannot recommend them enough! Thank you Gladys! Justin W

Negative experience: What a joke of a company. Two separate times their online billing software failed miserably. Once it took FOUR payments but indicated the transaction had not processed on any of them, but it came out of our account! Both times I called their office and they said they'd take care of it and call me back, but didn't. Finally out of frustration my family went in to pay at their office (really? you can't get your online payment software to work in this day and age???) and they told my wife we were 'too difficult' to deal with and they weren't sure if they could provide us the service. Wow! I'll gladly find a more professional company!

Negative experience: Buyer Beware! This company will take your money and not provide the service you purchased. If you have any problems and need help, the owner Doreen will get angry and berate you and provide zero help. We purchased an online course for a learners permit and are unable to complete it through this company. The owner does not issue refunds for any reason and is extremely hostile. Trust the negative reviews!

Negative experience: The online classes are terrible. The program is glitchy and locks my son out constantly. Tech support was unable to assist and the owner of the company, Doreen was rude and unhelpful. We are very disappointed. The drive times are booked out and we doubt we will be able to schedule the 3 driving classes. This was an expensive mistake! Read the other 1 star reviews and use a different program.

Fantastic experience: Staff was wonderful. The driving instructor was very good. She reminded me of some mistakes I am making. Good job.

Fantastic experience: Samantha and her colleague both were very nice and professional. It was for sure a great experience. Highly recommended

Fantastic experience: Excelente atencion .personal muy amable les recomiendo hacer sus exámenes para tramitar su licencia en western Slope Driving Instituto Grand Junction

Fantastic experience: Exelente trato buena atención me gusto mucho hacer mi examen de manejo en wéstern Slope Driving institute … yo lo recomiendo

Negative experience: There is no “customer service” here. It seems they are only in this to make money, not safe drivers. I really wish I would have read more reviews before choosing them. If I knew what I know now I would have gone with a different company. Do NOT use Western Slope Driving Institute! Absolute crooks! After kicking my son out of their program (for writing an honest review for other parents) I was promised a reimbursement for the instructor drive time that we didn’t receive. When later contacted for the reimbursement I find out it’s $0.01. This is completely laughable. Looks like their lack of costumer care has issues like mine happening all the time and so they have to stiff it to their costumer to make sure they got their own backs. Such crooks. Other companies in town charge $89 for the in person 30 hr class time. This company charges (essentially) $450!!! So incredibly disappointing that we have such a horrible business in such a great town. Please, Please tell all your friends NOT to use this company. I know I am!

Negative experience: Over priced, will charge you 80 dollars if your child forgets their permit even though you can easily get it to them within the 15 minute grace period, and are so far booked out for drive times that my child will not be able to get her license in time. Do yourself a favor and drive to Delta for that school.

Fantastic experience: great staff

Negative experience: I bought the AAA drivers learning course (which is ridiculously expensive for the very poor experience). I had trouble logging into the course with the password and username they gave me. I reset my password and got into the course but then when I went to log back in the next day and it didn't work again, soon I realized the only way to get into my course was to reset the password every time I wanted to continue. I tried calling the phone number they gave me for tech support to find out that I was given the wrong username. This was so frustrating to find out. Not only did I have problems logging into the course I had problems with the content, there would be pictures that you had to click on but the pictures wouldent load and it wouldn't let me continue the course. This happend quite frequently and I had to get help from chat support to fix it. However not always was the chat support able to help me which was very irritating. Overall experience was very frustrating and it took me way longer to complete the course than I intended.

Positive experience: The driving tester was really nice

Negative experience: Unfriendly staff. I was told by the DMV that they offered walk-ins and I could save myself an extra fee if I went in and took care of this in the same day. Upon coming in, there were two older ladies in the office. The one lady who I spoke with was very curt and rude when I asked to take a test and was told that they were appointment only. When I brought up that I was told they do walk-ins, she condescendingly told me they do when there’s someone there to provide the service but that they didn’t have anyone there that day. Meanwhile during this conversation, I was told by my friend that the other lady was rolling her eyes as I was speaking. Both of these women need to find a job elsewhere they are clearly miserable human beings.

Fantastic experience: Great training and fantastic instruction

Fantastic experience: Very detailed explanations given after the test. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. 10/10 would drive here again

Fantastic experience: Very nice people. Quite fair administering the drive test and would recommend anyone to come here.

Fantastic experience: V good experience and v good instructor. 10/10 would recommend

Negative experience: Awful, absolutely awful. After our child got sick, they refused to finish the driving ed package because it had been too long time past. That's what happens when you have a sick child for 18 months, time passes. They had no empathy or care that we spent $400 and only finished a portion of the class. DO NOT GO TO THEM. A-1 DRIVING SCHOOL IS THE WAY TO GO.

Negative experience: Awful, absolutely awful. After our child got sick, they refused to finish the driving ed package because it had been too long time past. That's what happens when you have a sick child for 18 months, time passes. They had no empathy or care that we spent a $400 and only finished a portion of the class. DO NOT GO TO THEM. A-1 DRIVING SCHOOL IS THE WAY TO GO. Dorrine Rossie is incredibly rude, will not ever reccomend to even my worst enemy.

Fantastic experience: Personable and professional! Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: The staff here are great, fast, polite, and know their buzz.. big thank you to Samantha for the tips and conversations.

Fantastic experience: Just had my son do his driving test with an appointment and the ladies in there were very friendly!! I would definitely recommend them, we didn’t do the school just the driving test!!

Fantastic experience: Very friendly knowledgeable and nice to work with

Negative experience: Bad experience. The girl that was testing my daughter was very rude.

Negative experience: Over the past few years we have recommended several to Western slope Driving Institute (Grand Junction) for drivers education due to our pleasant experience with our oldest child. Ray was thorough, caring, and informative. He has since retired from what I am told. We DID NOT have the same experience with our second born. It saddens me the company has gone so far “down hill”, in my opinion, in just a few years. Their online program was always faulty, making it frustrating for an already nervous teen. Scheduling drive times timed-out or failed to issue confirmations resulting in us showing up for appts we thought we scheduled but didn’t show on their books or being scheduled for appts we did not know we had and therefore were charged for missing. Our teen was frequently kicked out of her online account and it took weeks for anyone to return her call to fix the problem. Which again resulted in delaying her progress and being charged for it. Drivers Ed is expensive as is. Having to pay for their poorly ran business is not ok. We spoke to someone about our experience and they seemed to care very little and just wanted more money to remedy anything.Fed up, we took our child to finish her experience to In & Out Driving School. Her faith was renewed after one drive time. She felt amazing and gained confidence from one experience and wish she’d been there the whole time. It’s important to feel confident on where we are sending our young drivers. I highly Highly HIGHLY recommend choosing someone OTHER than Western Slope Driving Institute. Read their responses to poor reviews on google and you will get a clear picture of the lack of integrity this company has.

Negative experience: The absolute worst! Continually scamming for more money for their own incompetence and ineptitude. Unfortunately, my daughter turned 15 in the pandemic, and understandably drivers education across the board was relegated to online classes. This we understood and we’re fine with. However, after signing up and paying, the online course was about as poorly designed and bugged as could be. My daughter would complete required modules, only to have progress not save, time spent not recorded (which was huge as specific hour requirements had to me met), and login was constantly being reset causing delays and further issues with the program. This all caused her to miss her completion target and ability to get her permit to almost 2 months after her birthday. Being that a permit must be held for 365 before license can be acquired, this was very annoying to say the least. Fast forward to the required (and paid for) supervised drive times. The first couple went fine, however upon scheduling the 3rd, we were sent the incorrect date, which even showed on her account. One day we received a call from the driving instructor asking why we were not at the appointment. When I explained that she was not scheduled that day, they insisted that she was on their calendar, and we owed $80 for a missed appt, and her account would be locked until it was paid. When I went into dispute, I was effectively met with an attitude, and had the blame placed on us, regardless of emails being shown proving the scheduling error. Needless to say, I paid another $80 to get her account active. We were also instructed to wait until shortly before she was eligible to get her license, to schedule her final two drive times. Two months out, she began trying to do so, and was unable still to get into her account, to schedule. Numerous calls and messages were left, as well as emails, with no response or reply. Finally, a month before, someone got back to us after we expressed our serious displeasure. They opened her account, only to then inform us that they were booked for two months. She scheduled drive times as soon as she could get on (both after the 365 days of holding her permit), and hoped for cancellations to get in earlier. Immediately before her year was up from finishing the initial course and getting her permit, we received an email, letting us know that her contract was up, and to keep her drive times, she would have to pay an additional $200. Additionally that they would charge for her drivers test that was included in the package/course we paid for. After explaining this entire chain of events, we were told that if we didn’t like it we could go somewhere else. No explanations were given, no offer to make anything right, no reasons for why they couldn’t schedule drive lessons in a timely manner, nothing. This business is a complete scam, and should be avoided at all cost. We have paid another company to fulfill the rest of her requirements, which makes me angry, but I will not give these clowns another cent. Hopefully people read this review, and take their business elsewhere as well.

Negative experience: I paid for $240 in supervised driving time that they would not allow my child to use because the contract expired 2 weeks prior. Owner was very rude when I requested to use the service I paid for. She told me she didn’t want me to use their company in the future because I requested this. Unreasonable and unprofessional. My son is 16 and a few months- still with no license and the company I paid to provide the services to get a license won’t let me use the service I paid for. Unreal.

Negative experience: Poor customer service, Inadequate scheduling/calendar for employees. Unable to be concise or precise with information. Poor communication skills. Always in a rush and over talks with useless information. Try scheduling online, could be a great help.

Negative experience: I would not recommend. I had a question for the driving instructor after my sons test. Still needing clarification I contacted the owner. She was rude, condescending and unprofessional. We went downtown and took the test, for less money too. Their scheduling system is faulty and kept kicking us out. We won’t be going back.

Fantastic experience: The website as well as customer service over the phone was extremely informative. I went in to take a driver's test and everything was handled quickly and professionally. I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Negative experience: I really wish I could give this company zero stars as they are, by far, the most unprofessional company I've ever dealt with in Grand Junction. I do not reccomend sending your child through their program nor do I reccomend giving them any of your money. Do not fall for the scam as I did:( They could care less about you or your child, it's all about the $$.

Positive experience: Don't deal with the owner in Denver, rude and unprofessional. Don't email question, will not get correct advice. Deal with the ladies in the office at Grand Junction. They truly run a professional business with kindness and compassion. Maybe the owner could learn from her employees.

Fantastic experience: They had me an appointment the following day and my instructor was very professional and direct thank you.

Negative experience: We have had nothing but problems with this place since we started. They have very poor communication and they double booked us calling to cancel our drive time five minutes before we were supposed to start. If you are looking to take a driver's Ed class I recommend just doing it online or through someone else it will save you so much time and stress.

Negative experience: I wish I would have read reviews before choosing this business. Their communication is non-existent, and the owner, who lives in Denver, is extremely rude and unprofessional. I urge you to choose 1st Skills Driving School. A much better experience all the way around, from their communication to their office staff to their driving instructors.

Negative experience: Horrible experience here. The owner is a very angry, rude and mean person. Go to In & Out instead.

Negative experience: The owner was very unprofessional and began cursing on the phone with me when I was trying to explain that my son had ankle/foot surgery and couldn’t drive. They wouldn’t accept the note from the doctor and extend his contract. The worst customer service that I’ve encountered and they cancelled his drive times without notifying me. I would never recommend this driving school to anyone.

Fantastic experience: The best driving instructors in town plus the best prices. Friendly and professional. I was very impressed!!

Negative experience: Go somewhere else. We signed up for 3 driving lessons, all 3 were cancelled w/ little to no notice (keep in mind you will be charged a fee if you don't give 72 hours notice if you need to cancel) and 2 rescheduled at their convenience. The last driving session was cancelled indefinitely and we were given the excuse that "all the cars had been tampered w/ and would be in the dealership for at least a week" according to the owner. We had to setup a new drive time w/ a seperate company, and had to pay again. THIS IS AFTER WS Driving charged us for all sessions upfront. The owner was also rude and unprofessional on the phone.

Fantastic experience: Great place if you don't feel like waiting to take the test at DMV you can just go down there and take the driving test right away the guy down there spends a little time making you feel comfortable before you go which is a great help also if you read the reviews before you go that will also help you like for instance the one fellow thinks you can just sit at a green light and pass well I found out you can't you have to go when they turn green the other fellow thinks he can drive without looking at the road well I found out I need to look at the road so after reading these reviews and seeing what I needed to do I Passed the first time and he didn't tell me to come back tomorrow it is a great place to go very friendly and professional people

Fantastic experience: The guy i took my test with was really professional and made me feel comfortable when I was driving. I recommend this company to anyone who is looking to take their driving test.

Negative experience: We were very disappointed with this driving school. The classroom instruction had over 30 students taking the class all at once. When trying to schedule driving time online, it was always booked out by two months. When contacting the office about scheduling issues for driving, the owner of the business who is located in Denver, spoke to me with such disrespect that I finally disconnected the phone call. After this experience, we sent our child to a "locally owned" driving school and had a wonderful experience. They were able to schedule driving times immediately and within two weeks of each other. I would NOT recommend this school! Check Google and take your child to another driving school to give them a better experience.

Fantastic experience: Both my kids gained skill very quickly. These folks are professional and safe. I would definitely recommend.

Fantastic experience: We have sent all of our kids here, and it gives us confidence as they begin their driving lifestyle. The staff at Western Slope Driving Institute takes their work seriously and ensure they are training effective and SAFE drivers. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: We purchased a package with WSDI that provided an online course, the permit test, and 6 hours of drive time with an instructor. All of the interactions with instructors and staff were great! They were all very knowledgeable, helpful, and made my daughter feel comfortable during what can be a very stressful time. We chose to have her take her driver's license test at WSDI as well. They were very professional, clearly followed state standards, and even though they were very busy that day, they took the time to discuss the test with us and answer questions without making us feel rushed.

Fantastic experience: The connection and availability of this institute is great! They've taught me how to be a safe driver, and as a plus, going to this school gives you a discount on insurance. I purely recommend the class. There is so much more information in the class than online will ever give you.

Fantastic experience: Great school! Great and friendly staff!! Thank you !

Fantastic experience: I felt it was a great investment to have an 3 party instructor. Family instructors don’t always used up to date, best driving habits. These folks give feedback to correct driving mistakes. Then they go over it after the drive to give the driver a reminder of what to work on so they don’t forget. Thank you for your help!

Fantastic experience: Did a great job. Was very patient with my daughter and made sure she could pass her driving test. The instructors were very professional. Just remember that you need to schedule drive time a few months in advance.

Positive experience: We highly recommend the in class instruction for all young drivers. As parents my husband and I felt our daughter was very well informed about driving safely and being aware of her responsibilities as a driver. The cost is very much worth it!

Positive experience: I have not encountered rude staff. The classes and driving instructions worked out well for my son. He is a cautious new driver and learned a lot from the in-person classes. We know other families that have sent their children to WSDI and everyone seems to be satisfied with the program.

Negative experience: Don't go to these people, unless you Like throwing your money away. I've been driving for 20 years with no problems. And they failed me for not taking off soon enough when the light turned green. And said come back tomorrow and try again. No thanks crooks!

Negative experience: How's this even possible? I've been driving for 15 years without a ticket I moved to Colorado, to get a Colorado license I had to retake my driving test. Went to this company and they failed me said I wasn't Keeping my Eyes on the road really? I think these people are just crooks they told me to come back tomorrow and try again no thanks. There's three other driving schools in Grand Junction. I would not recommend this place to anybody unless you want to get ripped OFF!!!!!

Negative experience: If you're poor or in a hurry don't go to this place, their rude! They'll take your money and tell you to come back and try again, three violations for not looking in the rearview mirror after merging, horrible and ridiculous place. Don't waste your money on these scammers!!!

Negative experience: If u wanna get ur license without 2 or 3 bs test go to A-1 driving or inandout. Great people and wont bs you!!!

Fantastic experience: I love the instructor she did awesome with me and it only took me time to pass I would Recommend in body there

Negative experience: I personally went here in the past month as student for the 6-hour drive time. The instructor was creepy, rude, and incredibly condescending. I did not feel comfortable driving with him. His instructions were confusing and misleading. Not only that but after weeks of waiting for my next appointment, they cancelled. Bad experience.

Fantastic experience: Four of our teens have had classroom plus drive time instruction through WSDI, and three of them also took the precision skills course. The classroom instruction helped them each quickly learn the necessary information to pass the permit test, and it was delivered in a way that was interesting and memorable. The six hours of drive time helped solidify the driving skills they were practicing with mom and dad. I also highly recommend the precision skills course, which provided a focused day of intense training as each driver gained a greater ability to maneuver their vehicle in hazardous situations and become a safer driver.

Fantastic experience: Professional and humorous. Best place I've seen so far. Super fun taking the class vs online! Learned a lot in class!

Fantastic experience: I highly recommend the Drive Test. Great learning experience.

Fantastic experience: Very friendly, yet professional! They were prompt with returning calls and scheduling drive time. Would highly recommend the class room sessions vs. on line. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: The instructor was great, very nice highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: Well worth the money, Our 5th child just finished taking the class and will take his permit test soon. All the other kids passed their written test, passed the driving test, received a discount on our car insurance, and none have had a ticket or an accident. They were well prepared to drive thanks to this class.

Negative experience: One of the worst experiences of my life. Instructor was rude and had a mean sense of humor. Also when it comes to scheduling they are extremely bad and I had to wait for a month for them to authorize my paperwork so I could take the test. Horrible overall

Positive experience: Driver instructor was very patient kind understanding and experience in all variations when it come to driving and driving related questions thanks again

Negative experience: Lead guy is extremely rude and creepy. Was hitting on a 16 year old

Fantastic experience: My teenage daughter just took her driving test today and passed!!!! I must say I was so impressed with the professional service and the kind way the staff treated my nervous daughter....Samantha was super to deal with and the driving instructor was equally professional and very courteous....I would not go anywhere else in Grand Junction because I felt my daughter was in good hands...my daughter was so pleased with the instructor and his attitude....Thank you Western Slope Institute!!!!!