Goldfish Swim School - Burlington ONT

We're 4 weeks in and nothing makes sense. We're constantly given conflicting information about our swimmers and their progress. Messages aren't being passed along, ex. We called to report an absence and get the credit, but we're sent the email condemning our lack of notice. We have to call every week and re-confirm the details. All the administrative concerns are impacting our swimmers as classes/instructors keep changing. And they keep hanging up on me. I love the concept, but the execution needs work.Update: Thank you for the reply. This reply goes very well with the overall review. Yes, it was the Burlington location that we attended for February/March.

Two kids enrolled since Dec. Dec was great and then it started going downhill. An instructor issue led to a replacement, which impacted progress, because my child lost weeks of proper instruction that we paid for but didn't receive.It continues on, both kids have been in Glider 2 for three months ($750+ so far) and still more to pay. One of my kids is so ahead in his class, so noticeable, that other parents are asking us why he is in the same class as their kids, because he is so advanced. My other kid needs more help.On the Goldfish website, it says they have specially-trained instructors that pick up on skill differences very quickly and are aware of the abilities that your child needs to have in order to maintain placement at their level. Our instructors observe and adjust teaching methods as needed. We’re constantly evaluating our students and are very flexible when it comes to working with each child’s individual strengths and weaknesses, so that they see Extraordinary Results!Unfortunately, we have not seen any of this with either of our children after December. Similar to another reviewer, the concept of Goldfish is great but execution not there. At other places, prices are also much lower with better execution and quality - YMCA Burlington $24 bi-weekly, Tinsley Woods $97 per level, both with amazing pools, which we've used pre-pandemic - great for adult swimming as well.

** update: Derek (owner) has reached out. I appreciate him reaching out to discuss my below review. It was a great conversation on both ends to discuss the issues that have come to light. I will say that my nephew has walked away with more swim skills since we started the swim school, and is more confident to go into the water on his own then he was when we were doing courses through the city. We certainly will be back in the future for junior lessons to work towards life guarding. **On April 1st I called 3 times, and left a message asking for a call back to schedule a class. I do not have a reoccurring bill payment for the month of April so I cannot complete this in the app. All of March I have had to reschedule classes via telephone and did not have any issues while doing this.Today I called to schedule back to back classes so I can finish my makeup tokens. The customer service I received today was disgusting. I was basically shamed for not having a reoccurring booking and this is why I cannot schedule in the app. I was then told I cannot use the tokens even though I have paid for these classes and one of the tokens I received was due to the power outage on March 25th. Even in the app it says that these tokens do not expire until 2024.Last month when booking my makeup tokens, not once did I receive any problems.When on the phone asking for classes for April 8/9, I was told they needed to ask the manager. I then proceeded to ask to speak to the manager as I was just astonished with the service I have been receiving by this specific employee the last few times I have called. Once we found a time that worked for me, she booked me in. As I was on the phone still I checked my email for the confirmation and as I was saying thank you for the help but I noticed the dates are wrong she hung up on me.I called back and told the employee I didn’t appreciate her hanging up on me as I was telling her she booked me in for the wrong dates. She then proceeded to tell me they were closed this weekend due to Easter and make me feel like I was suppose to know that they were closed on Saturday. When she never stated they were closed and I made it very clearly with the dates I was looking for.There is a reason I’ve canceled our membership as the customer service you receive when you need assistance is outrageous. Especially when you walk into the build the front desk is extremely cold towards the members. It’s not worth the money or the drive to deal with this swim school.

Goldfish has helped my kids learn how to swim in record time! They are learning skills much faster than in the community center swim lessons. We love the small class sizes and the individual attention.

The facility is always clean and in good condition. I love that they have everything you need, i.e., hair dryers, swimsuit dryers, etc. The instructors are attentive and engaging. My son loves going there and has improved so much.

It's an excellent school with amazing staff. We love Goldfish Burlington and will continue lessons for our daughter there until she 's outgrown the age criteria :) It's a positive space, with encouraging and hard working staff.

Love taking my daughter to this facility! Very friendly staff, well maintained, very clean, and Ms.Rachel is so much fun when running her classes!

I am beyond thrilled with the entire set up and skills Goldfish Swim School brings to both of my children. Their staff to student ratio and constant eyes and support ensure the kids are set up for success. LOVE!

When I cancelled my enrollment, I was told that I could use the make up lessons for up to a year afterwards. Turns out that you have to be actively enrolled to use them. They also need a month notice to cancel, so if you cannot attend after you cancel, not only do you lose all those make up classes but also the remaining 4 classes left that month. We are sorry for the miscommunication.""

Great Facility and Great staff. Well maintained. Always clean. Staff are great with the kids. Nice big viewing windows allows you to see the entire pool. 4:1, 2:1, 1:1 ratios.I love this place BUT my only issue is the staffing problems. My daughter has been thru 5, maybe 6, different instructors in the short time we've been there. As well, they are poor with notifying you of the change. I am not too sure if I am the only parent annoyed by this but I truly believe this has hindered my daughter's progress. I think it's made it harder for her to build a trusting relationship with whom is teaching her and therefore she doesn't always do the things asked of her like dipping her head under all the time or letting go of the instructor. Sometimes she doesn't even want to go and that's not like my daughter at all. She loves going to the pool/beach to swim and play in the water. She just has a fear of getting water in her nose and choking.This may not be the case for all children but if your child has a fear of water this maybe something you need to consider before enrollment, unless you do private lessons. Which to be honest I'm not sure if your child would still have the same instructor every class because they seem to have different instructors on the regular.