Park's Tae Kwon Do

Teresa G.

Joined 7 months ago

DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!! TOTAL RIPOFF!!!

Parks gets you sign a contract with them but the money is automatically withdrawn from debit or credit card from Member Solutions. They do not tell you this so you can research Member Solutions which has terrible reviews, as does Parks Tae Kwon Do. Interestingly I signed contract on 11/11/2011 and stared classes on 11/14/2011, exactly 3days later which is how long they give you to cancel. I wish I would have done more research about them rather than believing their website. Both companies make it impossible to end your membership. The contract is written in such a way that your only recourses is to get a doctors note and even then they will continue to charge your account. Even if your contract is up you have to give written notice or it is automatically renewed and Member Solutions "somehow" never seems to receive your notice. If you do end up in this situation please send REGISTERED mail so you have proof. Also check your bank account promptly because they will try to charge you using a different name. Parks is as unscrupulous as member solutions. Their website says that they give one on one instruction and that is not true. They also say that they fun activities for the students and they do. However, they charge for every single one which is not that surprising, but they will cancel classes to do it. They will cancel classes for holidays and give no reimbursement, even when they close for two weeks in December. They change schedule at least every three months, including days and times which makes hard for the student to schedule according to THEIR schedule. For instance when I signed up 10 months ago they had Saturday classes which is part of the reason I went there, they have not had Saturday classes in 6 months. The class times are as much a problem. Not only does it change every 2-3 months, but they are inconvience for working parents. Right now they 2 days that are before five, one at five and 2 at 6:30 (right at dinner time). The cost is outrageous as well. I paid $289 to sign up, its $150 per month, and in 10 months I have bought gloves, Bo staff, sword, nun chucks all at $30 each. Every testing fee is $59, 4 times so far. Sparring gear for $120 and now they are making us buy a new shirt which is required for $15 even though I have 2 uniform tops. ALL of this gear MUST be purchased from them. As far as weapons are concerned I have bought all three in 6 months and the students have learned ONE combination for each. Then there are their practices. Such as giving little respect for the students, chastising them in front of their peers for things like not tying their belt properly (some of the kids are so young they are just learning how to tie), and hitting them with paddles. To be fair most of this is done by one instructor. Many of the instructors are "students in training" which is also not in their website as it says "highly" trained staff. I don't have a problem with these instructors because they are nicer to the students, but doubt they are paid which is just another way for Master Parks to line his pockets. The biggest problem with this school is that they get you to sign an 8 month contract, they tell you that your child is doing very well before it expires so they get you sign a 3 year contract so your child can advance. How do you explain to child that they cannot receive their new belt/uniform even though they have earned it just so you can end the contract? They also email you about schedule changes, mandatory ceremonies, etc. at the last minute. Did I mention that board breaking is during classes 2 times per month and this is required for advancement, these boards are $5 for 2, and again are supplied by Parks. PLEASE do not sign a contract there, and tell your friends and family not to. This place is a money pit!!! By the way the review under mine is written by "master park", coincidence? I don't think so.

masterpark

Joined 2 years ago

great place. #1 School !!!!! Putting our son here was the best thing we have done for him. He not only loves it , He a total changed. He is growing up and showing respect and discipline that was was tough at Park's Tae* Kwon *Do. The instructors take the time to show him the right way to learn new moves and show big encouragement to him. Everybody at Park's Tae Kwon*Do is amazing !!! They will work with you for your finical situations. There are many martial arts schools out there but if you want your child to really learn and earn his belt then comes to Park's . Ask for Master Yeo , He is the Head Instructor there and will get you a great deal... Bring your child in for a free class they always give you a trail class which is great. You will see the difference right away.. AAAAAA+++++++Alejoandro Herrera

I had the fortune of meeting the Park family back in the mid 90's when I enrolled my son for lessons. Master Shick and Master Park became my son's mentors and culminated in 2000 by him winning the US Junior Olympics gold medal and few days later, his earned his black belt at park's. He later went on to be a five time Mexico National champion and is currently a Kukkiwon 3rd. degree black belt under Mexico's olympic trainer Grand Master Sang Kwon Park. We owe it all to the Park family, specially Master Shick

Best investment I've ever made! MY son Anthony started taking Tae Kwon DO at Parks over a year ago and has been addicted ever since! We go at least four times a week to class and never regret a minute of it! They offer classes 6 days a week to accommodate everybody schedule. I finally feel like he can defend himself and feel more aware of his surroundings. Anthony has shown major improvements in class work, making friends, discipline and commitment. He has support from us as parents and under the guidance of such a amazing school and instructors. It has been an extremely enriching and life changing experience for all of us. He went from being a very shy little boy to be a confident Young man, top of his class, student council officer, fit, secure, outspoken, popular among his peers and very responsible and resilient. Tae Kwon Do Is a very valuable skill that he could not have obtained in any other school except Park's Tae Kwon Do. Master Park & Master Yeo are true martial artists and their team of instructors ... MY son Anthony started taking Tae Kwon DO at Parks over a year ago and has been addicted ever since! We go at least four times a week to class and never regret a minute of it! They offer classes 6 days a week to accommodate everybody schedule. I finally feel like he can defend himself and feel more aware of his surroundings. Anthony has shown major improvements in class work, making friends, discipline and commitment. He has support from us as parents and under the guidance of such a amazing school and instructors. It has been an extremely enriching and life changing experience for all of us. He went from being a very shy little boy to be a confident Young man, top of his class, student council officer, fit, secure, outspoken, popular among his peers and very responsible and resilient. Tae Kwon Do Is a very valuable skill that he could not have obtained in any other school except Park's Tae Kwon Do. Master Park & Master Yeo are true martial artists and their team of instructors made all the difference in my son's education and training process and that is the key of his success. I highly recommend Park's Tae Kwon Do as it offers a balanced program that prepares students as true martial artist for life. Tae Kwon Do is not a sport, is a way of life. Thank you Park's Tae Kwon Do for all that you have done with Anthony and we look forward to him becoming a black belt .

Recommends

sunemorihuela

Joined 5 years ago

Parks is Awesome!. Park's is a great school, my experience over the years has been positive, it is a family environment and they focus on life education beliefs, Masters Club program has been a positive impact on my family. The instructors demand and challenge all their students to be their very best and not to mention the school is immaculate and safe environment.

What I love about this school is that it's taught by a grand master from Korea, he was raised here but brought up old school, so he has a way with modern day approach with an old school flair, best of both worlds, as a single parent of a 6 yr old ,the discipline,confidence,self defense skills and concern for the students taught at Parks has helped in such a positive way for the development of my son. He has been attending the school for approx 2 years. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ANY PARENT OR PARENTS TO UTILIZE ALL of the benefits PARK'S has to offer, you will be very impressed and happy with the results...

Doesn't Recommend

Bocamom

Joined 2 years ago

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO PARK'S TAE KWON DO. We have had a similar negative experience to several of the reviews posted here. Here are the highlights:

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION FOR PAYMENT. THEY WILL WITHDRAW FUNDS WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION.

1. Park's is only interested in having you sign expensive, long, unrealistic contracts for children of such a young age.

2. They will say almost anything to get you to sign a contract.

3. The staff turnover is so high, you don't know who is teaching your child week to week.

4. The expense for tuition, plus testing every 10 weeks is overpriced. If you want your child to advance, you must pay to have him/her tested. It gets expensive!

5. My husband tried repeatedly to meet with Master Park to talk about our son and he never got a call back. This is not a way to do business.

When my son started at Park's, we had some good instructors who seemed to care about the kids and who were good role models. They are no longer working at Park's. We are completely shocked at the underhanded way Park's does business and strongly advise families looking for a quality martial arts program to look elsewhere.

Doesn't Recommend

Davids Dad

Joined 2 years ago

CAUTION: Park's is a BUSINESS, not a school for KIDS. As so many of the other frustrated parents have pointed out, the management at Park's is focused on your money, not your kids. At first, we thought the school was going to teach our son, but as we got to know the place, we realized that it really didn't add much value and didn't have the programs, staff or peer attendance needed for our son who was already a black belt.

When our son ran into some academic difficulties at school and had to focus on his schoolwork for a semester, Park's was very inflexible and confronted us with a very polished speach about not having the ability to negotiate a fair deal. Having singed their very one-sided contract, we knew we'd likely have to buy out the remaining 26 months in some way, but Mr. Park wouldn't even entertain the idea of a negotiation and even laughed at us as we left. Kiss $4000 down the drain!

Please be VERY careful what you sign and I'd recommend using one of the other SCHOOLS in the area that focuses on providing the right services to their students rather than just on making a dishonest buck off their parents.

Doesn't Recommend

jenevaA

Joined 2 years ago

WORST STUDIO EVER!. i wish there was a NEGATIVE rate button. this is the worst place EVER to take your kids! they stole money from my someone and then use sneaky tactics (uses a different name) to continue stealing the money after she had them banned from her account. Now they've taken 1000$ from her and she's fighting to get it back. there are SO many other dojos that are kid friendly to choose from that you are doing yourself a favor NOT even considering this place. bushido knights ryu is one that is VERY good and VERY nice people! still in broward area too! so go for ANYONE but them!

Doesn't Recommend

ja714

Joined 2 years ago

THEY WILL STEAL MONEY FROM YOUR ACCOUNT!!!. These people are scam artists! Stay away! After refusing to accept the paperwork they stated would be sufficient to cancel my membership I was FORCED to block them from my bank account. I guess 6 months not being able to take anything got the manager quite frustrated so he went through a different name and stole over $1000 from me! I'm still fighting with the bank to get that money back!

Recommends

juano

Joined 4 years ago

Park's TKD is very good. My daughter and I been coming to parks for 3 years now and have achieved black belts together, the testing lasted for three days and was challenging but this experience has brought us closer. We have learned so much together from Park's, my daughter was shy but now she has changed so much. The encouragements we get from the instructors is incredible. They are a no non-sense school that demands nothing but the best from their students. I recommend that you should come by and check out the school for yourself, we have has nothing but a positive experience.

Recommends

HenryJoe

Joined 4 years ago

Best School in Town. Go see all the rest then come see Park's, you can see the difference. You will learn from Korean Instructors that offer authentic training. They demand respect and discipline. My child has become more focused and confident. I Love their life skill curriculum that they teach, it's a must for every child especially these days and age. I'm a single parent and I need all the help I can get. Master Park along with other instructors have become a positive role models for my family. There are many schools but only one Parks!

Doesn't Recommend

NomoreTKD

Joined 4 years ago

Greedy Park - A Disgrace!!!. Park's Tae Kwon Do in Coral Springs is THE WORST business we ever encountered. The negative reviews by others here are also experienced by us.

Park's lured you into signing the termed contract saying it's for automatic payments managed by another company, while they're tying you down for that many months of payment, whether you complete them or quit half way. Couple months after you joined, he wants to increase price by offering the master's program, otherwise you'll keep learning the same stuff with the beginners for the rest of the contract.

During the winter break there are no classes for 2 weeks and they still keep your month's payment. If you want your kids in the winter camp, you have to pay additional $200 per week. That's money rolling in for them. Park was so eager for us to sign the contract before the winter break that he called constantly. He even started our contract for the master's program with a week overlapping with the current program so he's getting double payment for the week.

Since we signed and paid ($150/1st mo) for the master's contract, we asked Park to refund the $119 that's already deducted (through automatic payment) for next month's assessment level classes. He said the $119 will be used as a down payment for the new contract, even though that's not on the new contract (he made it up). Seeing how greedy he is, at the end of my daughter's first class in the master's program, we told him we don't want to upgrade to the master's program anymore. When asked about $150 refund for the master's program, Park said it will be sent in the mail, but it never came.



My daughter continued to take classes in the assessment level until that month is done. We already paid $119 for the month, why let him keep it for nothing. Park never refunded the $150 for the master's program even though he said that would be in the mail. What came in the mail a few weeks later was a letter accusing my daughter of attending classes in the master's program after canceling and claimed that we now owed him $225 instead ($75/canceled class minus the $150). His proof, was a copy of the attendance card my daughter used to sign in when she attended the assessment classes (now has "master's program" stamped on it). We don't know when that stamp got on there, because the kids are the ones who take their own cards out of the box when attending classes. The attendance card only tracks dates of attendance. Different level classes are being taught at the same time. So we don't know how Park can be so sure in his accusation. For Park to not even willing to listen to my explaination that my daughter did not attend any master's level classes after we canceled, that tells me he's not looking for the truth, but only to keep our money.



The contract plus the attendance cards can be a potential set up for you as well. So BEWARE!!!

Because of the nightmare experience with Park's, we won't be taking Tae Kwon Do lessons, ever!