Creative Soul Music School Keller — Local services in Watauga

This is a badly-run little music "school" where an aging, paunchy, past middle-prime hippie-type named Joshua sits at the front desk doing nothing except getting you to sign up. Then he gets your credit card information so that they can charge you for as long as they want to. Getting signed up to TAKE lessons there is easy, My story is about trying to STOP taking lessons there. When I signed up Joshua had told me about the 30 -days notice but NEVER said WRITTEN 30 days notice and NEVER said that in addition you had to fill out THEIR FORM which you also have to get from them!

So I took three lessons and decided to quit due to numerous problems with scheduling and teacher no-shows. I gave Joshua 30 days notice IN PERSON but was made to pay for a whole other month after that because of a technicality. I didn't think it was quite fair but OK, I'll pay for another month if that's the rule. THEN Joshua said that because I had cancelled a week into another month I had to pay for that month too. This was ridiculous but just paying THIS $159 was easier than fighting with them and AGAIN, I confirmed with Joshua that I had quit and told him specifically that therefore I did NOT authorize any further charges on my credit card after this one. He said nothing about any form or other notice or whatever.

SUMMARY: When I received notice of this last $159 charge I thought it must just be a mistake but no. I school says they haven't received THEIR FORM back. WHAT FORM??? So I have now been charged $159 each month for FOUR months of lessons...(or 4 weekly lessons for four months) which would equal 16 lessons. SIXTEEN lessons! I've ONLY HAD THREE. So let's see, each lesson cost me $200. A little high to pay for some teenager or 20-something to teach.

It's basically at this point that whether there's a signed form or not or whether they told me about it is really not the issue anymore. I mean, do you really want to do business with someone who thinks it's OK to charge you that much money for nothing based on mis-communication or instead of working with you or contacting you or doing SOMETHING to work it out instead of just smiling at you standing firm and not budging and taking your money no matter what the reason. I don't.

I question their business intelligence. Is it really worth $159 to piss off a client so badly that they write reviews like this? It seems it would be more valuable to STOP charging the client $159 and save the expense of hurting their reputation.

Makes you wonder either how smart they are, how hurting for money they are or who is actually running the ship over there. Hello???....Samantha and Casey Thomas??? Are you there??? Surely this is not how YOU BOTH want your business run so I'm going to assume you don't know how your business is being...

If I could give this facility zero stars, I would. We signed our 2 year old son up for group music and attended his first class. We were informed by both the front desk and instructor that there is often one little boy who shows up and gets a solo class because he is the only one to show up. Not a problem, right?

My husband and son show up for his second group class and are the only ones, which isn’t a problem, my son was very shy the first class and this may help so my husband says it’s not a problem. Wrong. The teacher cancels class to his face for being the only one in attendance and refers us to different locations during the week to attend a class. This is wrong on so many levels, as she discriminated against my son and canceled class because he was the only one to attend, even though the teacher herself and front office told us the other little boy often gets solo classes for being the only one in attendance.

I called the location and explained the encounter, how dissatisfied we were with this as we specifically signed up for Saturdays as two working parents with another son, we cannot drive to other location during the workday to take him to music class. She informed me I do have to pay for another month and he can attend the classes for another month, which I said we have no desire to given the discrimination. She offered for us to donate his spot, but again, I’d have to pay for that.

I was then referred to the manager, Whitney, who was at another location. I called and was informed she was busy but would return my call. Unfortunately, Whitney did not return my call. I submitted to cancel our membership and was FORCED to acknowledge I will pay for another 30 days.

In what world would I want to bring my 2 year old back to an environment that canceled his second class because he was the only one to show up, knowing they honor classes for the other little boy when he is the only one to show up?!!!

Extremely disappointed with this experience, facility, faculty, management, and would NOT recommend this music group to anyone given our experience.

UPDATE: Manager offered to ensure I was not charged for July’s classes IF I DELETED MY NEGATIVE REVIEW. She wrote this in email and text, even after I clarified the only way to not get charged again was contingent on removing my negative review to which she...

I have so many words to express my distaste for our experience here. It broke my daughter's heart to leave, but the incompetency of the ownership and management of the Creative Soul Business is terrible.

While we loved our teacher Brandon, his presence could not be counted on. We would show up about every third class and there either wasn't anyone there, or there was a sub teacher without advance notice. When I questioned it, I was told the instructors aren't allowed to tell the students if they won't be there. However, if as a student you don't give advance notice, you are out the class fee. The time the instructor didn't show, all be it an emergency, no one from the school called to let us know that there wouldn't be a class. My daughter sat there for 20 min and no one called or even let us know. It was only after we called, the main line at the office that we were told anything. There was either no one at the front desk or, someone who ignored you and didn't even talk to you.

They tell you when you start how wonderful their "Token" system is for make up courses. It isn't. It is one of the most confounded programs I have ever tried to use. If you want to make up a class, you have to try and find a make up class from other's students cancellations. Most if not all of them are with other instructors. I was told if I wanted the same instructor I should try the location over 40 minutes away since that is where he taught most of the time. We were never able to schedule a make up.

I feel bad for the people who work here. Due to the owners/management's policies, they are constantly having to make excuses for their bad customer service. I feel that the employees are generally kind, but unsupported.

You may be one of the few to have a good experience here, if only for the sake of the passion the instructors have for music, but for us it wasn't worth trying to deal with all of the mismanagement and apathy of those in charge. Save yourself the time and energy and just go...