Open Arts Studio — Local services in Tacoma

I don’t usually write reviews but I couldn’t hold back on this one. Absolutely terrible customer service. I’ve been trying to coordinate a summer camp at Open Arts for my daughter, 7 and niece, 9 for the last few months, even registered and paid for one. When I tried to then move my daughter into a “Bigs” class, so she could join her cousin, I was told she would need to interview with the instructor since the age limit is 9, to see if she’s ready. More then willing to do an interview, because I know my daughter could handle it, I waited to hear from the instructor to see when we could set it up. After not hearing anything for weeks, I called and followed up only to be told that they hadn’t reserved my spot in the class and the instructor wouldn’t do an interview because he works long days and doesn’t have time. Finally, I asked for a refund and they wouldn’t even refund me in full, even though we’re weeks out from the class, because of credit card fees. This was hands down, one the worst customer service interactions I’ve ever had and I could never recommend this place...

I used to take ceramics classes here, and did for at least a year. The biggest issue I have with this business, and the reason why I stopped supporting them with my money, is their poor treatment of employees. I witnessed multiple instructors come and go, always citing poor treatment as the reason for leaving/quitting. One of the most egregious things I learned while taking classes was that if someone didn't show up for class, the instructor's wage would be decreased for that session. The owner's sister told me this PROUDLY. I witnessed multiple instructors come and go, citing poor treatment as the reason for leaving when they would inevitably quit.

Please support local artists and craftsmen with your dollars, instead of those who seek to take...

We signed our 9 year old up for after-school drawing class here, and after a few weeks of class the instructor, "Big John" as he calls himself, decided to call a few hours before class to let us know our son was being suspended for a class for being too talkative. My wife had observed several classes and said that all of the kids were talkative at times, but he would only pull her aside after class to talk about our son's behavior. He was the only black child in the class, and my wife mentioned that he has ADHD, so we suspect that one or both factored into the instructor's decision to single him out. We decided to pull him from the class entirely and asked for a refund for the classes he...