Saf-T-Swim Schools

We have been going to Westbury since October. We actually just signed up for the biggest lesson package. We had Danny and he has been great. My daughter has shown great progress and loves going. For a 20/21 year old male he has shown great maturity and reliability. My niece also goes and her instructor has also been reliable. I can definitely see the potential for there to be a rotten apple in the bunch, but over all I see the same instructors there week after week and they all appear to be good at the basics. The only negative is the front office. There has been 1 time that a make-up instructor called out and they didn't call (but after stomping my feet ingot another instructor). They are not great at organization but if just keep in them a little a few times they appear to get their stuff together. The front desk is very polite. I have talked to many parents who have been going there for 2, 3, 4 years with all positive things to say. more

Saf-T Swim is not cleaned regularly. My children have accumulated many make-up slips because of illnesses that they have picked up at swim. Now I'm stuck with some 30 Make-up Moolah Slips that mean nothing because my boys instructor won't make herself available for these make-up lessons. Also they won't honor them in lieu of future sessions payments. more

I love our instructor. She's great. But she is just about the only saving grace at this place. The cuddles and strokes class was a waste of time and money. Instructors sucked and were more interested in each other than the kids. Its really the one on one instuctor we work with that makes it all worth while. If she leaves so do we. Facilities are kind of gross and gloomy. Showers don't work, and the interior is industrial shabby at best. Rules are not observed as men enter the women's dressing room without regard or consideration and staff doesn't really work to maintain the rules. Parents will also act confrontational if you ask them to leave the dressing room. Managers are not great. They really lack any kind of communication ability you would consider important in such a position. I think they just get any unskilled idiot to pose as a manager. They don't bother to call if class is cancelled and they don't handle paperwork well. I would think they would do better if they had new management. Last but not least, location sucks and so doea parking. more

We have had a remarkable experience with the staff at the Westbury Saf-T-Swim location. From the moment we inquired about enrolling our son in classes the staff has been pleasant and helpful. We originally signed up for your Cuddles and Strokes class. We took this session with Jason and it was a fun class. My son and I loved spending each week in the pool together. After the session ended, we decided it was time to send our 2 1/2 year old son for individual lessons. We thought consistency would be best, so we scheduled his lessons with Jason. At first our was not happy about going in the pool without Mommy, but Jason assured us that this was a normal reaction. I am thrilled to report that our son loves swimming lessons with Jason and he tells everyone so. From the minute we leave the pool, our son talks up how much fun he had at ?swimming lessons with Jason? and also tells anyone that will listen how many times he ?went under?. We are so proud watching his progression each week and could not rave enough about Jason. He has been patient, understanding, flexible and successful gaining our trust. We will always be grateful for the instruction our son is receiving, plus his excitement each time he speaks about his experience with Jason will be moments that we will cherish forever. As for the negative reviews below about the cancellation of classes, we did not share the same experience. We only had one class cancelled on us due to the heater in the pool being broken and they called prior to the lesson and the instructor contacted us later to reschedule. They were timely and professional. We have also not shared the same experience with cleanliness or hygiene. The pool and changing areas have always been clean. more

All 3 of my kids went to this saf-t-swim! They loved their instructors! I would recommend! more

FYI the swim teacher was fired. Now heis nerd raging about his job . As you can see by coment's, you wouldn't want him teaching your child which is why he is no longer an instructor. There are people with no jobs on long island right now, so im sure its insulting to people that at age 17 your ONLY making 9 bucks an hour and are crying about it. You mad bro? more

As a 17 year old employee of Saf-T-Swim I can assure you that we do not have any sort of fun ""Swimming all year and still getting paid"" if thats what they are calling our meager pay of 9 dollars an hour which translates to 4.50 for the half an hour spent with a lesson. Almost every instructor hates there job there and the 4 dollars 50 cents we are getting to deal with the kids(especially the ones that scream and cry and scratch) is not enough incentive for us to care at all. It isnt our business so we truthfully wouldnt care if it failed miserably. They treat there staff miserably. When we close the pool due to throw up, do you think we enjoy that? We get to get out of a lesson? We dont we actually dont get paid that gets deducted at the end of the day. And its the same when some inconsiderate parents just decided not to show up without calling ahead. We are there not getting paid. Managers are bribed with trips to Las Vegas and Jamaica if they keep an eye on our pay rolls cutting hours where ever possible or when we arnt there. We dont use a punch in system so our managers are big fan of white out changing the hours we put down at the end of the week. Part of the problem is that Saf-t-Swim trains there staff themselves so they are able to hire people who have not taken the WSI(water saftey instructor) course. This means many people walk in off the street with no swimming back ground what so ever. All of this is part of the reason I am choosing to leave Saf-t-Swim. I am a lifeguard during the summer and and I am sick of the lack of experience of my co-workers. Kids who cant do the strokes themselves trying to teach them. They will come up to you and ask you how to teach them the stroke at the end of the day so they cant eacht he kids. This is my favorite part. One Session cost $216 dollars divided by 6 lessons i $36 dollars each lesson. Subtract the $4.50 we make for the lesson. $31.5 per lesson in the pool. That doesnt seem that impressive but when you multiply that number by the ten instructors they force to work at the same time in the pool and you have a pretty signifcant number. $315/per half an hour. On a monday afternoon we can easily break 2000. For what? mediocre swim lessons tought by a bunch of idiots.(there are a few exceptions) But Im done and I am extremley happy back to lifeguarding and I wont be returning in the September. more

We wanted private lessons for our kid to learn to swim and found this place. After one lesson, the teacher quited and we were informed half hour before the class starts. They said they would assign a new teacher next week. New instructor called a few days later and said he could not make it that week. One week later, the instructor called again and said there was an accident in the pool. The class was cancelled. We called the office and complained. The manager said they would assign a new instructor again. Guess what, a few minutes ago, they called again and informed us that the class is cancelled again this week. I do not know what kind problem they have in this place. I certainly will NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone to go through the experience we have. more

The only reason I've been taking my children to Saf-T Swim in the past year and a half is because I haven't been able to find a place that offers private swimming lessons. I feel like we've been putting up with their lack of professionalism long enough and will never go back. I STRONGLY recommend against all of Saf-T Swim locations. I have tried a few and they're all the same. First, I don't know on how many occasions they never notified us when the lesson is cancelled. Sometimes due to snow days, teacher's cancellation or pool clean up. Regardless of the reasons, they never called me. Second, the hygiene is appalling. Swimming instructors would drink their coffee or soda while they?re teaching the children. They literally leave their drinks right next to the pool. They would slurp on their drinks while they?re still in the swimming pool talking to children. I understand that people may do that in their own swimming pools but this is supposed to be a professional environment, not to mention the possibilities of spilled drinks. They really cannot wait??? Third, aside from the drinks, sometimes children have accidents in the pool eg. vomiting or #2. Sometimes they would vacate the pool, sometimes they won?t. I?ve been there during a number of occasions when all of these happened. I really wonder what kind of measurement they take to decide how much vomit of feces is enough to warrant the pool clean up. The last time we were there, they asked everyone to leave the pool after a kid threw up. However, they told the parents whose kids were going to start their lessons 10 minutes later that it?s ok for them to go back in. I?m not an expert in pool cleaning but is that really enough time? Last, when I?m paying over $1/minute for the lessons, I expect them to be punctual but I?ve had a lot but when you think that the lesson only lasts 30 minutes, not to mention how much it costs and it happens every week. Everything adds up. The whole office is run by bunch of very unprofessional irresponsible young people. When Saf-T Swim was looking for swimming instructors, their ad. simply said ?Do you want to have fun swimming all year round and still get paid? That?s exactly what you get at Saf-T Swim?a bunch of young kids who are there just to have fun on your dime. more

Price very reasonable for private lesson (especially w/packages). Seems to be run by younger folks (16-22) & there are older desk folks there occasionally (not anyone older than 30) it does appear as if the kids at the desk are more interested in socializing. But that's kids at that age. The building isn't easy to find (its got paintings of sea animals on it - but no sign). Street parking is reasonable. The building accomodations good (& clean) - boys & girls separate bathrooms & changing rooms (w/showers but no hair dryers), family rooms, viewing room, snack/drink machines, selection of purchaseable items - bathing suits, towels, diaper covers, goggles, etc. There are several levels of achievement & your kid starts w/the first one - depending on how good they already know how to swim or fast of a learner they are (obviously age is a factor) your child moves step by step thru the levels. When a kid moves from one level to the next, the instructor announces it to the whole pool & the kid gets a ribbon. (very touching, actually) The 3 instructors my daughter has had were all good. There are sometimes issues w/the pool (a kid gets sick and everyone has to get out, the chemicals are off) & they have to cancel lessons. But it is rare. Sometimes cancellations happen when parents have already left the house & it's too late to contact them. I see the staff talking w/angry parents & after they have already had 10 sets of parents scream at them, the 11th set doesn't get the very best communication skills that staffer (and remember, they are usually 16-18 years old) has to offer. The swim lessons are well organized & progressive - you can see your child make progress week after week. Instructor gives verbal summary each week (3-4 sentences) on child's progress. 4 star rating is based on the facility and lessons - not the staff behind the desk. There are 3 good desk folks I have dealt with & I try to look for and only work with them. I'm happy with StS & recommend it. Pros: lessons logical, can see progress of child, warm water, cleanliness, instructors Cons: altho friendly, staff behind desk is not superior more

My daughter has attended Saf-T-Swim at Westbury for the past 2 years, but lately we had so many scheduling issues with the facility, I have decided to pull my daughter out after the end of this session and warn anyone who are thinking about taking swimming lesson there. more