Welcome to
JODA COLLINS
DRIVING ACADEMY LLC
Behind-the-Wheel Training
Serving Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties since 2008!
850 981-3355
850 981-3355
MY RESPONSE
TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS
I do not pay agencies to get rid of negative reviews, buy fake positive reviews from those who sell them in bulk, give discounts in exchange for positive reviews, or ask my friends to write bogus positive reviews. When you see a business with 100% positive reviews, be suspect. Jesus was absolutely perfect, but even he did not get 100% positive reviews.
Some web sites do not allow a business owner to respond in print! The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the accused the right to know, face and cross-examine his accusers. This fundamental right is denied business owners as anyone under any name or no name at all can accuse a business of anything without fear of repercussions to the accuser for misrepresentation.
In 17+-years of service, training more than 3,300 drivers and working for more than 4,700 parents/spouses (8,000 people in total) I have, at last count, 18 negative reviews, an average of about one per year. I usually get a five-star or a one-star review. When a student drives in an unsafe manner, I correct them. Those too arrogant to make an attempt to correct their deadly driving, receive strong confrontation from me to do so. Those are, mostly, the one-star reviews.
I am sure that three one-star reviews come from the same person who posted under different names.
Two, one-star reviews, are from a crazy woman in Miami that I never met! She telephoned and screamed like a lunatic for about five minutes. Her original post was several years ago, and she re-posted it recently on another platform.
Yelp has 22 reviews. Two are negative and 20 are overwhelmingly positive though Yelp did not grant any stars. Yelp scored me one-star stating the 20 overwhelmingly positive reviews do not meet their criteria for consideration because, I was told, those people have not commented enough on Yelp to be considered trustworthy by Yelp standards! So, my Yelp star rating is artificially and wrongly, low. Twenty, overwhelmingly positive (five-star I assume) reviews and two, one-star reviews is 4.6, not one.
Elsewhere, four negative reviews use full names of people I have never had met.
I am sure one negative review comes from an impetuous man behind me in a hot-rod pickup at a stop sign honking his horn (it appeared the day after the event) because I did not make a right turn from a residential area into 5PM congested and fast approaching oncoming traffic on Hwy 90 quick enough for him. I knew this from his incessant horn honking.
One is from a woman who took offense because I attributed her son's very dangerous driving to his severe ADHD. Her son posted his dislike that I was able to identify his severe ADHD that he tried to hide. Both the driver and the mother took offense in a highly childish manner. I knew this immediately but finished the lesson anyway and added fifteen free minutes in an attempt to try to satisfy them. Unable to do so, even with my best and extra effort, unsolicited, I returned 100% of her payment to her including a significant travel fee and toll bridge charges to another city. No, "Thank You," followed from either of them. All I got for the 1.5-hours of unpaid training and unpaid door-to-door service was a bad attitude from two childish people, a slammed car door by the driver at the end of training, and two negative reviews; one stating that I said I knew more about ADHD than all the doctors in the world, which I never said. Some people are just nuts vailed in flesh.
One negative report came from a teenager who appeared to be on drugs when we first met. She was argumentative and irrational from the start. I let her know she needed to calm down and quit verbally attacking me or I would not serve her nor allow her to be behind-the-wheel of my car. She ignored my request and continued in her out of control behavior, so as gracefully as I could, I excused myself from those toxic individuals.
That leaves eight negative reviews out of about 8,000 people I have done business with, as students, parents, or spouses, in my 17+ years of business. That is a negative review of one out of every 1,000 people.
Part of my contractual agreement with everyone I serve is they promise to give me an opportunity to make them happy by telling me their concern BEFORE criticizing me on social media. None of those who wrote negatively about me on social media honored their word to do so. That makes their character, judgment, honesty and credibility suspect, not mine. Consider the source!
By any business or personal standard, one negative person out of every 1,000 served is a highly respectable record. Also, some people only feel good about themselves when they slander, liable, ridicule and complain about others. We all know such people.
In addition to that, 4 to 6% of Americans, by the standards of the American Psychological Association, qualify as mentally unbalanced (narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths and/or having Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Four percent of the 8,000 I have served is 320. By that standard I am significantly successful at working, even, with mentally deranged people.
I am a Christian man, served as a caring and gracious pastor for more than 20-years, and am a long-time affiliate with the BBB with a consistent A+ BBB rating for my business.
I only ask for payment for the first lesson to start with. If you (the client or the student) find me repulsive or my teaching unacceptable, stop the lesson before the 30-minute mark and ask for your money back. You will get it mailed or charged back within 24-hours, excluding any door-to-door fees. EXCEPTIONS: No refund if training is State or Court mandated, or paid for by any agency, or the student-driver is enrolled in the Pass the State Driving Exam Only Course since I can often teach a new driver to pass the State exam in one lesson. This offer is for lesson one, only.
Most of my students are teenagers. Some come to me mad at me, their parents and the world, because their parents are making them take driver training. I am not always successful at helping young/immature people overcome their bad, condescending attitude. Those that do not overcome their bad attitude rejoice to slam me on social media as fast as they can and with as much venom as they can muster because they are convinced they are great drivers when they are not, believe they have nothing to learn from anyone, including me, resent being told they drive in any manner short of perfection, and because I do not allow them to drive dangerously without correction.
Some of my students are deemed too dangerous, by the State, to be allowed to keep their license without professional safe-driver training and required to take four-hours of driver training in order to keep or regain their driver license. Many of them come to me with a boiling hate for the State and for me. Like the young immature, they have never matured and after four-hours of giving me a hard time, they love to go on social media and rant about me.
When you read such rants of those who criticize me, thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt by realizing the source might be poisoned.
I am easy to get along with as long as the student-driver is not determined to try kill me on the open road by ignoring my instructions for safer driving or treat me with obvious and unrelenting disrespect because I refused to be their personal spittoon.
Thank you for reading this.
12. I (Joda Collins) do all of the training. I drove bob-tail truck for 10-years, package delivery truck for UPS, 18-wheeler, 27-foot motor home with vehicle in tow, 15-passenger military transport vehicle (in the US Air Force), and as a chauffeur. I have provided more than 10,000 hours of driver training instruction to more than 3,000 student-drivers covering more than 245,000 crash-free student-driver miles in my training vehicle except for one super light bump in the rear from a driver who tapped us when we were stopped at a traffic light while she (the other driver) was texting; no damage and not a mark on my car. 13. I will not teach a student that is committed to not following my directions if they do not like them or disagree with me. I will not put my life, the life of my driver or the lives of others around us at unnecessary and excessive risk just because a driver is convinced, he or she is the final authority behind-the-wheel with me in the passenger's side. 14. I will not serve people that will not honor their contractual commitment to me.
My Business Philosophy
THE GOLDEN RULE
To check for available start times, read the left column.
Email your request to JodaCollins@aol.com or call 850 981-3355.
JODA COLLINS DRIVING ACADEMY LLC
Better Business Bureau Accredited. A+ Rating
55595CALL TODAY
Email: JodaCollins@aol.com
WEBSITE TABLE OF CONTENTS
Policies and Procedures...Contracts 4 and 5
Charges/Fees.............Contracts 6 through 12
Registration...............See Registration Page
You can copy and paste from this website if doing so will make the content easier to read. I will mail (US Postal Service) a paper copy of anything on my website, upon request.
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CALENDAR OF AVAILABLE START DATES/TIMES 1. Up to two-hour lessons: Select any time in any color unless you are otherwise directed.
2. If you have had three crashes or three tickets relative to one or more crashes in the past three years, your Contract with me may specify you cannot schedule sooner than eight days after I receive your payment.
3. If you are a 3-in-3 driver and taking all four hours of your training consecutivelythen only the times noted in bold purple print are available for you, if you are taking all four-hours of your training at consecutively on the same day, unless other arrangements are made and in print. (If you do not know what a 3-in-3 driver is, then you are NOT one.)
4. To avoid duplication of requests, I only schedule via one format, which is from this page via email request.
5. This is NOT an interactive page. You cannotclick on a time or sign anything on this web site. Request via email to JodaCollins@aol.com your desired time and corresponding date from the list below. 6. The best way to learn to drive at night is to train at night.
7. Please read this entire section before making your appointment request.
8. Drivers must have a permit or license.
CALENDAR OPENINGS
Please read everything above before selecting an appointment. Appointments, once requested in accordance with directions above, must be confirmed.
Monday is my only day off. I am a Baptist preacher, and I am in church much of every Sunday. Sunday is not a day off for me. I will work on Monday to accommodate client's and/or drivers with no other good option, but there is a 6% surcharge for Monday appointments in an attempt to best protect my health. Working on Monday = 13 days without a day off.
The best way to learn to drive at night, is to train at night.
Lessons must be completed by 10pm. Training costs less on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
We mourn the assignation of Charlie Kirk and the 9/11 Islamic attack on America.
Sept 17: 11AM, 1:30pm not to exceed 1.5-hour lessons.
Sept 18: 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 8:30pm
Sept 19: Any start time between 10:30am and 8:45pm.
Sept 20: 10:30am not to exceed a 2-hour lesson. No door-to-door service.
Sept 23, 24, 25: Any start time between 11am and 8:45pm. No AM door-to-door service.
Sept 27: 10:30am not to exceed a 2-hour lesson. No door-to-door service today.
Sept 30: 11am, 12Noon, 1pm, 2pm (not to exceed a 2-hour lesson).
Oct 1: Any start time between 11am and 8:45pm. No AM door-to-door service.
Oct 2: 11am,12Noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm (not to exceed a 2-hour lesson)
Oct 3 through December 23: 10:30am, 11am, any start time between 12noon and 8:45pm.
Please read everything in this column before scheduling. Questions? Just ask via phone (850 981-3355) or email (jodacollins@aol.com). Thank you!
Behind-the-Wheel and Internet Training
My Commitment to You!
Excellent teaching from a
patient and experienced Instructor.
My business is crash free using my vehicle for training (17-years).
My Business Philosophy is
THE GOLDEN RULE
My Specialty is Defensive Driving.
I have driven 1.4 million miles (including 18-wheeler, bob-tail truck, six-by 15-passenger military transport vehicle, motor homes with trailers, UPS Package delivery truck, as a chauffeur and a driving Instructor) and developed safe-defensive driving skills at the highest level. As a driving Instructor for more than 3,000 than 3,300 students about 14,500 lessons, 20,000 training hours and 250,000 training miles. I have gained the ability to work with every kind of student at every level of driving skill. However, I try to avoid serving narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, the super immature, and those with a psychological mindset of entitlement (everyone owes them everything because they consider themselves at the center of the Universe and everyone else existing only to praise and please them, no matter what).
Life is too short, and I have too much life-experience to spend time with, energy on and place trust in psychological predators that demand I quietly and passively tolerate their excessive childishness and deadly demeanor behind-the-wheel. Been there. Done that. No thank you! I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. So far, out of more than 3,300 student applications, I have only refused service to eleven. I should have refused service to fourteen but I learned.
My Business Structure
I have a very small business. I (Joda Collins) do almost all of the administrative work and all of the training. If I am out of the office, I try very hard to answer every voice mail and email within two-hours. I seldom answer the phone because doing so eats up my very limited free time talking to people who have a ton of questions that are answered best and clearest in the Contract. I do respond to voice mails and emails by email if I have the email address or by phone if I do not have the email address.
My Business Goal
I have only one goal. That goal is to be the best defensive driving school in the world. What does it take to be the best driving school in the world?
1. An experienced, dedicated instructor (me) that will train you and yours with the mind-set that the driver's
life depends on the quality of service he/she receives, and a devotion to invest in each student as if the student was his own child, sibling or parent.
2. A commitment to do everything, exceptionally, well. I am not perfect, but I seldom make the same mistake twice.
3. A Client-centered and Driver-centered business that makes the needs and desires of every Client and every
Driver the priority, second only to safety and, at least, a moderate degree of reasonableness expected from others. Without reservation of thought, I tell you that because of my driving and training experience and expertise, love of what I do, commitment to your safety, and willingness to work hard to help you, I offer you the best defensive driver's training that you can find anywhere in the world. That is a bold statement; however, I believe it to be an accurate statement. Some driving school has to be the best. This is it! In reality, since few businesses have highly experienced staff who are dedicated, first and foremost, to your success and to pleasing you as a priority, the field of top-quality businesses, in any business, is not large. When the person providing the service is the business owner, highly experienced and devoted to your welfare, those are, usually, the best contributors providing the best service.
1. Very few driving instructors have the vast experience behind-the-wheel that I have. And, driving instructors come and go often. Very few have trained 3,300 drivers!
2. Full revelation of details. I am a man of many words because it takes a lot of words to reveal all information. I would rather lose your business than have your business and you be confused about what you are paying for or what to expect. I do not like confrontation. I will do my best to explain to you exactly what to expect. I do not bait and switch, misrepresent, lie, conceal or withhold information. I have no small print where information is hidden that is designed to hurt you or take advantage of you. I will answer any question you have as honestly and as fully as I can. I have never failed to keep my word, and no one has ever accused me of failing to honor my word.
I (Joda Collins) do all of the training. I drove bob-tail truck for 10-years, package delivery truck for UPS, 18-wheeler, 27-foot motor home with vehicle in tow, 15-passenger military transport vehicle (in the US Air Force), and as a chauffeur. I have provided more than 10,000 hours of driver training instruction to more than 3,000 student-drivers covering more than 245,000 crash-free student-driver miles in my training vehicle except for one super light bump in the rear from a driver who tapped us when we were stopped at a traffic light; no damage and not a mark on my car.
Copyright © 2016. Joda Collins. All rights reserved.