Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromReeba S

  Date: 06/13/2024

  1 star
  If I could give this sketchy company Zero Stars I would. Aside from all of the other valid complaints, their requests during class is incredibly inappropriate. They basically ask parents to leave the room so that we don't " distract" our children. Then they casually mention that all of the videos taken of our child during class are recorded and stored with the company. They then refuse to answer to what they use these videos for or why they even need to save them. When I voiced my concerns and refused to let them record my child, I received an aggressive email from the teacher saying that he needed to be recorded. I objected and refused and then received an email from her supervisor. I went into even more detail as to why that's incredibly inappropriate and she only responded to me saying I was getting a full refund and not welcome to come back to class. It is incredibly unsettling that in today's world we would be asked to allow strangers to record our children on the internet while they are alone in a room with internet access. This is just incredibly unsettling.
  

  Institute Of Reading Development

  Date: 06/21/2024

  We include our full Recording Policy which can be found here: ********************************************************** in every email that we send to parents for their child to join an online class. We adhere strictly to this policy and protect recordings from any other use, by any other party. We retain recordings for a short period of time and use them only for supervision purposes. Recording online classes allows us to protect everyone involved. It provides accountability for teachers, plus reassurance for parents that everything that happens in class is available for our management to review. While rare, we understand that occasionally a parent might not agree with our perspective, so we explicitly invite them to contact us with their concerns. If they strenuously object to attending recorded classes, then our online program is not likely to be a good fit.

• Review fromCatherine S

  Date: 04/11/2024

  5 stars
  My kids (13yo boy and 10yo girl) do this program every summer via zoom and have gotten so much out of it. I have had excellent customer service every time I've registered them. So personable and knowledgeable and helpful.. I am honestly quite confused by bad reviews for this organization. They did an excellent job engaging my kids. My son enjoyed learning to speed read and still refers to Where the ************** as his favorite book. If he's had to miss a class they reschedule him seamlessly. Considering their schools do not have summer reading requirements, I am a huge fan of using this program as a replacement. Love it!
  

  Institute Of Reading Development

  Date: 04/16/2024

  Dear *********,Thank you for your positive feedback about our summer program. We are delighted to hear about your excellent experiences with our customer service and how much your children enjoy the program.Our team is committed to providing an engaging and seamless educational experience, and it's wonderful to know we are meeting your expectations. We look forward to another great summer with your family!Best regards,***************************, **************** Manager

• Review fromCristina A

  Date: 07/13/2023

  1 star
  I wish I had seen these reviews before registering my child for their reading programs. They have horrendous customer service, the program is solely to make money. I wish I never crossed paths with them. I had EXACTLY the same experience as the individual below. I have lost $300+ dollars with nothing to show for it. DO NOT ENROLL in this company. ***************** should revoke their contract with them -- I signed ** because of my faith in the quality of ** and have been sorely mistaken.

• Review fromJudy A

  Date: 06/06/2023

  1 star
  This business that runs this program should be criminally charged for scamming people out of their money. I am an elderly woman raising my 7 year old grandson and thought this reading program would help him, as he is struggling with reading in school. I paid $300.00 to get him enrolled in the program and the website I was given to log into and access the learning material was down. I was not able to log into it and my grandson has not got anything beneficial learning wise out of this program. I only would receive late emails regarding Zoom sessions that were supposedly being hosted, but how was my grandson supposed to adequately participate in those sessions without the appropriate learning materials I could never access. When I called the customer service number, the only thing that I was told by the lady on the phone was that she could not refund my money because "the system was down". Either this is a scam, or the this business is totally incompetent. I hope this review finds its way to the right people and ****** anyone from using this reading program in the future.

• Review fromRuby H

  Date: 10/22/2022

  1 star
  Negative review for Reading Developments (Multiple complaints on BBB in the past years of similar experiences)Be aware: Manipulating and disrespectful customer services. Poor quality classes. Kids dislike classes. ******** service supervisor (*************) was rude and humiliating. After **************** reported poor quality so I called for a refund. The customer service supervisor refused to refund nor to answer whether or not shes authorized. She kept saying Im not prepared to do it. Then she stopped responding to the phone for 15+ minutes. When she overheard I was calling credit card company she came back to phone telling me she could do partial refund. I told her I do not want partial refund; I want full refund. She hung up on me. A few hours later partial refund was credited to my account without my agreement regardless I told her I did not want partial but I want full refund. Not acceptable how manipulating their customer service was. Will work with my credit card company for full refund.