Smarts

I have had my two children enrolled in drum lessons for the past two years, and the quality of instruction from the teacher was great. However, recently my children's drum lessons were canceled by the school due to their policy concerning payment. I have never missed a payment and have always paid for my children's lessons by month, prior to their first lesson of the month. When my children and I showed up for our cancelled lesson and I inquired why they cancelled, I was told that it was for non payment. I said that was impossible, I have always paid for my children's lessons and I am prepared to pay for the next set of monthly lessons here and now. I was informed that, that couldn't work because they already sent the teacher home and it goes against their policy. I asked why their policy would turn away paying customers and deny their employee work? They replied that it must of been a scheduling misunderstanding, to which I replied that we have been coming here at the same time for the past two years. Our schedule was not misunderstood by anyone. The staff continued to come up with varied reasons as to why my kids lessons were cancelled, and not once trying to resolve the situation and avoid losing a paying customer. When all reasons failed them, they resolved to stand by their policy. Given the outcome I will no longer be sending my children there for lessons, I pointed out that this must be a bad policy if it led to this. I left with my children, informing them I would be leaving a review and I will be informing people I know about this situation.

I am surprised and appalled at your recent response to my husband's review. The number of false accusations and the personal attack on our family speaks volumes of who you are as the owner and of SMarts music school. To clarify, • We are more than happy to review the registration we signed, which I can assure you, did not have the policy changes you have claimed. • We have always paid for each month’s lessons at the first lesson of every month. This has been our past practice since we started at your school. My husband and I were never once informed of a policy change until this month, and have never had our lesson canceled because of this. I was once an owner of a music school and am currently in the education system, and I donated suitcases of my own music books to SMarts music school to support the teachers and students and promote SMarts music school. And instead of having the simple courtesy of allowing us to pay PRIOR to November's lessons as we have always done, you chose to cancel our children's lessons and send the instructor home, and insult and embarrass our family in your review of us. This lack of good customer service and insulting behaviour is an embarrassment to the music education system and music educators alike. We are satisfied with our decision to leave.

Thankful for the option to learn online! It's helped my daughter keep going with her guitar lessons when we are out of town, and even more so during the pandemic. Using Zoom is easy, and without the option, she may have lost interest in music entirely. Steve is great to deal with, and Joel is an excellent teacher. My daughter gets to learn songs she likes, and he makes the lessons fun! Online lessons aren't perfect, however being able to maintain a routine, and being able to continue doing something she enjoys during this time has been so important for my daughter's mental well-being. I highly recommend this school!

My daughter has been taking online lessons from SMARTS for almost two years now as we live 2 hours south of London. Joel has been a great teacher for her, as he’s always on time, extremely reasonable and she really enjoys learning new songs. Steve and his staff have been great to deal with even though we have never met in person!! Would highly recommend SMARTS for anyone wanting to take music lessons.

I'm so happy I signed up for voice lessons! Such a great opportunity and the school is very close to me. Can't wait to start! There was a really fun Open House today too!

From our first contact, we have been very impressed at the level of professionalism and quality of teachers. Our daughters are both thrilled to attend every lesson. They love their instructors, both Joel and Jasmine are engaging, knowledgeable and really talented as music teachers! We are sooo happy to be apart of the SMARTS community. I would highly recommend! Reach out to Steve, he is very responsive and truly cares about providing a safe and inviting school.

I started guitar lessons at SMARTS over 3 years ago. I was nervous to try to learn an instrument as an adult well into my 30’s with no previous experience or musical training but my teacher, Andrew, did an amazing job at helping me understand the basics and work my way up to more advanced lessons. For me it was learning a new skill and challenging myself on a daily basis that lead me to learning guitar. All the staff at SMARTS played a part in my learning from the friendly greetings and encouragement from Steve and Andrew to the easy to use online portal resource. I am happy to say I can play songs from start to finish on both my acoustic and electric guitar. I’m still learning new skills today ! I highly recommend School of Music Arts for any age student whether they are starting from the beginning or have some experience. - Alyssa

My son goes to SMArts for his piano lessons. The lessons are one on one and his teacher Ms. Jasmine Ruffo is just amazing. She is really patient with him and she also motivates him to do better. She also helps him learn his own favourite tunes which are not in the books. The school is well organized and professional. They are very flexible with hours and class schedules. Seeing the progress of my son in piano, I've also started taking guitar lessons from SMArts. It has been a wonderful experience so far. Way to go SMArts.

We're very happy at SMArts! My daughters have been taking piano lessons for the last few years, currently meeting with Jasmine who is great!. My eldest daughter has even completed and passed with flying colours her very first RCM Piano exam, with the fantastic support of Jasmine and Steve. Steve is fantastic to work with on scheduling, supplies purchases, and general music lesson advice. He happily answers all my questions thoughtfully and with great kindness. The new location at Activity Plex is great, too! Lots of comfortable seating on the main floor, many other options in the building for lessons/classes, and some restaurants in the adjoining plaza for dinner after class! Our go-to spots are Asian Wok, Vera's Pizza next plaza over, Mr. Sub, and the newly-opened London Sweets & Restaurant Indian cuisine. Hopefully the increased traffic at Activity Plex will bring some more options to the plaza!

I had a decent amount of singing lessons at SMArts and I really did enjoy all of them!! I was definitely nervous in the beginning but the environment there helps to calm your nerves. Everyone is so nice and welcoming! I've learned a lot and now that things are opening up again I cant wait to continue my vocal coaching ! I recommend this school to anyone :