Comment:
RANT: Clermont Family Martial Arts in the Winn Dixie Plaza. I simply want to make the community aware of some inappropriate and unethical actions by a childcare provider. My children took classes in the Clermont Family Martial Arts for over 5 years. This school year, they were enrolled in the after-school program and were entitled to afternoon classes, as well as evening classes for more advanced students. Due to some personal issues between adults, the owner decided not to honor the agreement/contract we had in place to extend full services to my children through the end of the school year. In February, instead of speaking to me face to face, he sent me a text indicating that my children had to be picked up by 5:30 p.m. and could no longer attend the evening classes they had grown accustomed to attending. My wife e-mailed him to ask for a discount as a result of the drastic decrease in services and he would not work with us. The response was to continue paying contract price or remove my children from his program, knowing full well that my oldest was just weeks away from earning her black belt and that was not an option for me. Later, in mid-April, he sent another text stating that my children's last day in his program would be April 30. He was not going to teach them anymore after that. Then again, with no forewarning of any kind, my wife gets a final text on 4/22/16 that she needed to pick up the children that early evening, along with their belongings and a refund check for that month's tuition, because that would be their last day. This has been a large ordeal for my children each time we have had to make a change in their schedules as a result of Jim Shipley's last-minute, rash decisions. Not to mention that we have questioned the safety of our children on more than one occasion. As a childcare provider, it's nothing less than disgusting how unfairly he has treated my children and his blatant disregard for the contract we had in place. The fact that he would text me that final afternoon and not be more courteous to give me enough notice to make alternate arrangements for childcare speaks to his lack of concern for the well-being of his students and their families. It's a shame that any adult would be so unfair with the children entrusted to him. If you have considered joining this facility, please think twice. If you do, then just be careful signing any contract or you may be forced to pay for services you are not receiving. With this establishment, you'll just want to be extra careful that you know what you're getting yourself in to.