Puddle Ducks レビュー 

My granddaughter had baby swimming lessons at the Northwich pool, we had to cancel some lessons because of illness, tried to rebook for weekends but nothing available, I paid for 10 lessons 15/11/2022 £175.00. They keep sending me messages to say my direct debit has not gone through where I never arranged one. I paid up-front. I am owed six lessons, told that these are called courtesy lessons. to me this company has stolen my money. I will be sending this complaint to Rib of Britain, as I feel this could happen to others. Avoid this company. It got one star as the swimming lessons are expensive but good tuition. Shame about the managment!

We've been with Puddleducks for 3 years and I have nothing but the highest praise for this company.
Spending time in the pool with my daughter has been one of the best experiences I've had. Watching her grow into a confident independent swimmer has been wonderful. She's been in the water with PD since she was 6 months old. Now she's nearly 4 and can swim independently.

In our experience the classes have always been well organised, and structured to help little ones develop new skills quickly and safely. It's all done in such a way that it's always fun - the kids don't even realise half the time that they're learning vital water skills!

We had the most brilliant instructors too. It seem others may have had a different experience. The quality of the instructors definitely makes a difference.

I would't be put off by the negative comments below. We moved up through the various classes when we were ready. We never felt held back, or as though were were in the wrong class.

As for the cost of classes, and the courtesy vouchers for missed classes - What is the company supposed to do here? They have paid to hire the venue, paid staff. And if no-one turns up who pays for that?
They have a limited number of places for each class. By agreeing to the direct debit you commit to taking your child to the classes, and you have to understand that, even if you don't turn up, they can't find another child to take your place. This is the reason you have to still pay if you don't turn up.

They do offer courtesy vouchers if you can't attend a class, but again, as the regular classes have their places allocated to those who have paid for their children to attend, you can only use the vouchers when there is space, possibly at a different venue.

This isn't the fault of Puddleducks. Their responsibility is to ensure that the space you've paid for is always available. If you don't turn up that's not their fault.

If you want your child to learn to swim, and you want to be part of that then I thoroughly recommend Puddlducks. We had 3 happy years with them. And we saw the same parents/children attending for most of that time. That gives you some indication as to how good these classes are. Same regular faces every week.

Our experience of Puddle Ducks is just ok. The lessons weren’t spectacular but they weren’t awful. We found the swimming teacher to be off a lot and our lessons were cancelled all the time which was frustrating as you lacked progression. We found the lack of differentiation and the age group lessons very restrictive. For example my little one was able to climb out of the pool at 11 months and sit on the side but was not allowed to do this until 15 months in the lessons. They need to be differentiated for the children that have strengths and weaknesses in different areas as it felt progression was stagnant. Our swimming teacher stated our little one was ready to move up at 13 months however as their is no flexibility on age range, he was stuck in classes that didn’t develop him further for over two months. We did like the safety aspect of the swimming lessons but found this to be a limited strength of the company. The cost of the lesson is excessive for what you receive and is actually not worth it upon reflection. I would try your local swimming pool before using Puddle Ducks as we’ve found our child has excelled as they differentiate for each child and adapt to fit their mood and ability which has ensured I as a parent no longer dread the lessons.

We started our puddle ducks journey with our son at around 3 months old. We’ve enjoyed every lesson with him. Watching him gain confidence in the pool learning to splash, kick and jump. He now knows to close his eyes and mouth when we pour water over his head. He has come on tremendously. You’re able to catch up lessons if you miss a lesson which is better than most baby groups offer. Great online system but also great communication from our swim instructor Maria who has always been a pleasure to deal with and speak to. Thanks for such brilliant memories.

Dear Parents, be careful, bring your child to this swimming course if you are sure you can attend all the lessons, otherwise you hardly get any refund. my daughter was ill most of the autumn and winter, and we had 17 lessons paid in advance. I asked them to stop monthly direct debit until we take all the paid lessons, but the answer my enquiry: "you have 13 courtesy class vouchers on your account. These vouchers do not hold any cash value and can't be used to extend your paid for lessons. These vouchers are offered as a gesture of goodwill only." Disgraceful company! Do not waste your money!

The classes are alright (apart from the fact the instructor dunked my baby in the water to make him “dive” and he choked hardcore breathing water, was coughing for minutes, purple, red eyes). But their t&cs and billing system are a joke.

We paid £150 for 10 lessons end of November last year. They already charged extra £15 in jan. We still have lessons paid until 19th of Feb, and there is a next charge in my account for the 3rd of Feb of £66.

EVEN if that’s them trying to charge the 4 classes notice period, as we already have lessons paid until the 19th, £66 is out of order. This is not how you retain customers.

And how come you can’t cancel classes you haven’t had yet independently of notice?! I will definitely be enquiring with citizens advice and our family solicitor, because it doesn’t sound right.

They make it look like you are buying a bundle, but in reality it is a contract for life apparently.

Waiting for them to get in touch with me on the phone as per my request to discuss all of the above.

My account is under name Ivana King.

My daughter started with puddle ducks around 8 months old and we joined in the selby area, I was so nervous for her 1st lesson and it didnt go too well the teacher she had was telling me they don't put the children under water (when they are ready) and the class was just basically floating around in the pool for 30mins, I was in 2 minds wether or not to go back but I am so glad I did the teacher on her 1st week was a stand in. Then we met Sarah and honestly she is brilliant she listens to my daughters body language when doing swims and things and knows when the right time is to let her swim under the water and when not to she has taken time to learn each individual child and my daughter has grown a fabulous bond with her to the point were she will just hold her arms out for Sarah to take her and give her a cuddle and I feel super confident, we are now in kickers and absolutely loving it and I have learnt so much in the short period of time I've been going.

There is a couple of little downfalls like When you can't attend a lesson they offer it as a curtousy lesson the idea is great but the choices are poor the only time I can use a curtousy lesson is mid week and not at the pool were I go now, and frequent cancellations of lessons but that can't be helped when the pool is too cold.

Apart from that we think it is brilliant my daughter loves to jump in and swim around and has learn so much so fast she is now 17 months old and thriving in water I have recommended puddle ducks to everyone I know and I think it's great for the little ones and we have made lots of new friends, it is very welcoming and I felt at ease from day 1.

I take my granddaughter to weekly classes, and we love them, it's a special day out for us. We definitely chose the right provider, not sure how it could be improved on!

Really rude customer service from the Business Operations Manager at Wakefield. As she is the designated safeguarding officer you would think that she is aware of the well-being of others and act accordingly over the phone and in emails. Unfortunately I’ve heard too many stories about the poor customer service and the repetitive, disgraceful emails that are continually being sent to new mums. I received very patronising emails suggesting that I’m unable to understand emails. Do not send your child to puddle ducks - over priced lessons when you can find much better value for money elsewhere. All they care about is taking money from your account.
We have now moved to new swimming lessons and all 6 of the families that attend have previously been to puddle ducks and found the customer service appalling.

Awful company. The teacher didn’t update my child’s profile for the entire duration of our classes. This was only updated because I asked about this. When asking for a refund for a lesson, the owner, Nicola was rude and unprofessional. She was not interested in listening to my thoughts and was clearly only concerned about the prices! Disgraceful company and I am so glad I have found alternative swim classes!

Would not recommend. After multiple lessons being cancelled we’ve decided to cancel our lessons. Even though over 3/4 lessons have been cancelled they still deduct the missed class. Every week (day before or sometimes a couple of hours before) I’ve received an email stating the pool is too cold. A courtesy class is not good enough especially when you’ve taken time off work for the scheduled class.

AVOID.
Gone up to over £17 a lesson.
Also, we have 8 lessons banked, but can not use them as there is never any availability BUT they will not refund the 8 lessons we have paid for but can not use. We have cancelled our lessons and have found swimming elsewhere.

They make you pay for every single week even during the school holidays. You can bank lessons you do not use which sounds good but you will never be able to use them all due to availability.

Unfortunately didn't have a brilliant experience with puddle ducks. Due to illness (so understandable it couldn't be helped) we had a different teacher almost every week, so there was no consistency or a chance for them to get to know my child's ability/confidence level. My child is 3 and was a total beginner and quite nervous, she hadn't had lessons as a baby. Yet on 2 occasions she was ducked right under the water by 2 different teachers who decided they thought she was ready because she happened to lower her head. I understand this is a technique but it shocked her and she wasn't ready. I had to work to get her to go back the next week, she was then always really worried when I had to pass her over to the teacher. Other than that, she did really enjoy herself in the lessons but I felt we made no progress at all in 10 lessons. 8 children with parents sounded good in theory but in fact felt too busy in a very small pool and I thought for the price there would be a bit more one to one attention. It probably works for some kids but wasn't right for us. We decided not to go back after 10 lessons.

Teachers are great that the good bit over with pool is very poor and nearly always broken and cold changing room are beyond cold and the showers have never worked in nearly a year ( John wick gift Academy Grimsby ) The fact my girl loves going is the only reason we stayed the payment method is beyond broken and silly having to be a minimum of 7 weeks in credit to then pay for another month is silly amd if you ever phone up to say the smallest Criticism you have to speak to an answering machine to get them to call you back and if Nicola calls you back from the Doncaster and humber Region she's the most Rude and obnoxious person you have ever spoken to with her favourite words being LET ME STOP YOU THERE as your half way threw a sentence as she speaks over you

That's my input many thanks.
DAN

My children both started at 8 weeks old as Floaties and my daughter is now 4.5 in Swim Academy level 2 and son is 3 and in the Dippers class. They’re so confident in the water, my daughter can swim a few meters on her own now and my son can dive underwater for rings and swim through my legs with a little bit of a push from the teacher. I’m genuinely impressed at how well they’re doing in the water. Yes, it’s a lot of money and I dread to think how much I’ve paid in total, but the water safety they’re taught from learning to float, holding on to the side, monkey walking along to safety. It’s just worth every penny because there’s nothing more worthwhile to spend money on than ensuring your child doesn’t drown. I’ve no experience of other lessons for comparison, but my children both love their swimming lessons, they’re both genuinely excited to go and I’ve never had tears from either of them at any lesson. I’d definitely choose Puddleducks Oxfordshire again given the choice.

A real shame that their teachers are great, as the companies policies are atrocious! We booked 10 sessions, the teacher was fab but the one toilet in the facility for women was NEVER in use, one shower with no privacy to use it after swimming, the changing rooms were beyond freezing with no heating in the winter (Not as advertised on their website as a ‘warm environment’ in the slightest) so we were hesitant on continuing. On the 9th session we postponed due to chicken pox- 48 hours in advance!

I got a call being hounded (As always) to set up a DD & I said thank you but we’ll finish this block & discuss with the children as come Monday each week they were always suffering with colds which was a consequence of being continually cold changing after swimming. I was then told that session wasn’t ours to have as their ‘courtesy’ classes are for paying members? Pardon?! I am paying- I’ve paid?! Apparently unless in a DD you’re not insured in the pool- very contradictory given we never were. I discussed this with Caroline who gave me even less reason to want to wave goodbye to this £30 lesson & the promise of a refurb in the future of the venue but increasing the price regardless of that not being yet is pretty baffling.

Apparently the courtesy class note is in their T’s & C’s but I had to traipse through to find it in their FAQ’s. I would recommend you find another lesson with not such a ‘money oriented’ ethos!

Been a customer of puddle ducks for 2 years, have now given notice (which is apparently 30 days). Lessons boring and repetitive. Pool cold. My child was more advanced than others in the class and was clearly bored. Spoke to teacher and she agreed he was ready to move up. Then the teacher changed and nothing happened so I contacted the office after a few weeks (Bristol/Bath). They apparently asked the opinion of the new and old teacher and they wanted to keep him in the same class “for a few more weeks” which would make it about 2 months and over a hundred pounds since the 1st teacher confirmed he was ready to move up (and there was space, I checked online). Then I went to the lesson after this message for the teacher to ask his name, clearly demonstrating she had given an opinion on his swimming ability but had no idea who he was. Then I had a parent come up to me asking why my child was even in the class, as he was clearly far more advanced than others. I fed this all back to the office and asked about process for giving notice and they simply gave the process and said I could call Caroline to discuss my concerns, but didn’t go out of their way to even contact me.

Puddleducks classes are really good fun and I do feel that my daughter, even though she’s still quite young, is really learning to swim.

The staff are all wonderful, kind and fantastic with the kids and really instil confidence in that they know what they’re doing.

But… the payment thing… which is mentioned time and time again here… it’s just infuriating. I understand that the company needs to ensure that they’re securing income to pay their overheads and I know it must be difficult, especially given current circumstances. But you’re really just alienating your client base with pushy tactics and what feels a little like blackmail when it comes to courtesy classes and securing a spot for your child.

Please revisit your payment policy and talk to your customer base about how they feel about it!

My daughter has been with puddle ducks for 3 years, until a couple of months ago I would have given an extra star not just 5, but I have been forced to remove her from the lessons because of another child’s extremely poor behaviour and sometimes dangerous behaviour both poolside and in the water, including pushing other children out of the way on wet slippery poolside floor right next to the water, grabbing hold of and pushing other kids around in the water, and being a constant distraction during the lesson to the point where the teacher is spending 5-10 minutes out of every half hour lesson, just on this one child. This has been going on ever since my daughter moved up to level 4, I have complained several times to the office about it, not being value for money as a portion of the lesson is wasted on 1 child with behavioural problems, and the nature and potential consequences of the dangerous pushing and shoving poolside and in the water, it got to a point where I said enough is enough and if it’s not dealt with satisfactorily I would not be continuing with my child’s lessons, the office staff, after consulting with another teacher, agreed that this girls behaviour was not acceptable and informed me that they had taken steps between the office and the regular teacher, and that this girls parents would be required to supervise her for every lesson going forward, both for the other childrens wellbeing and the functionality of the lessons. I agreed to continue paying for my daughters lessons, only on the basis that it would be a permanent thing that this problem child would be permanently supervised, I was promised by both the regular teacher, and the office staff, that this was going to happen.
2 weeks her father supervised her, (quite clear from seeing the mothers nonchalant/passive attitude to seeing her child’s disruptive mess that she doesn’t care so not at all surprised when the mother stopped bringing her to lessons when someone was required to stay), those 2 lessons were perfect, no problems whatsoever. 3rd week…teacher allows the parents to leave her unsupervised again…straight back to square one. I counted in my daughters final lesson, 19 times the teacher had to stop the lesson to deal with this child’s behaviour, twice she was made to sit on the floor out of the pool, and once pushing other kids out of the way in the water.

I feel it has been very poorly managed, 1 child has been prioritised over the other 5 in the lesson for some unknown reason, and I was deliberately deceived by both the teacher in person and the office staff on the phone by promising this bad kid would be supervised permanently going forward, I was obviously told that to shut me up for a couple of weeks so I wouldn’t withdraw my daughter from the lessons.
I received an obligatory apology from the branch manager which was pretty much the obvious you’d expect, “we’re very sorry to hear about the issues you’ve been having during your child’s lessons… etc etc”, but when I replied saying how annoyed I was that I had been lied to, I got no response after that.
On the plus side they did refund the outstanding lessons I had paid for straight away.

The teacher is excellent and a really nice guy, the office staff have always been great, but it seems political correctness has been put ahead of what’s right or wrong by allowing a child with problems to adversely affect the swimming lessons for 5 other kids.

People who have children with behavioural problems need to take responsibility for them and manage them, not leave it to swimming teachers and stand at the side at the end of the lesson grinning when their child is being disruptive.

Unfortunately I won’t be recommending it after this fiasco.