Safeway Driving School
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Reviews
Brianna
14 Apr 2026
REPORT
Mari was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to my son in a condescending, sassy tone. When he asked questions she would answer in a tone that made him feel incompetent and that he...
Mari was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to my son in a condescending, sassy tone. When he asked questions she would answer in a tone that made him feel incompetent and that he should already know the answer. She also frequently grabbed the steering wheel and applied the brakes without explanation making him feel anxious and unsafe. She made him do the 90 degree back 15+ times with condescending criticism the entire time until he completed it to her satisfaction. There was not one positive comment the entire session but she made sure to fill his sheet front to back of all the things he did wrong. Behind the wheel instruction should focus on teaching, building confidence, and reinforcing safe driving, not intimidating or belittling students. I hope Maple Grove Safeway addresses this behavior immediately. she should not be allowed to ‘teach’ driving because this type of instruction is harmful and does not help students learn or prepare for their driving test. I will be reporting her and making sure no student has to feel belittled by her in the future.
Trinity Curry
9 Apr 2026
REPORT
I recently had a behind-the-wheel lesson with an instructor at Maple Grove Safeway, and I felt it was important to share my experience.
During the lesson, the instructor was extremely harsh and disco...
I recently had a behind-the-wheel lesson with an instructor at Maple Grove Safeway, and I felt it was important to share my experience.
During the lesson, the instructor was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to me in a condescending, sassy tone, questioning my decisions in a way that made me feel dumb rather than guided. For example, she said things like, “Do you always drag in a neighborhood?” which caught me off guard because I was intentionally driving slower to be safe around pedestrians, construction, and potholes.
She also frequently grabbed the steering wheel and applied the brakes without explanation, which none of my other instructors ever did, making me feel anxious and unsafe. Her repeated criticisms, coupled with statements like “it doesn’t feel like you’ve been driving long,” left me shaken and nervous about driving.
Behind-the-wheel instruction should focus on teaching, building confidence, and reinforcing safe driving, not intimidating or belittling students. I hope Maple Grove Safeway addresses this behavior, because this type of instruction is harmful and does not help students learn or prepare for their driving test.
Tamara
30 Sep 2024
REPORT
Everything about our experience with Safeway has been negative. We did the online course. It was poorly designed from an instructional perspective, technologically glitchy which required constant cont...
Everything about our experience with Safeway has been negative. We did the online course. It was poorly designed from an instructional perspective, technologically glitchy which required constant content repetition to get through it, the narration was dull and not engaging. My son spent more than 10 extra hours just trying to get through the content without glitching. He suffered through but learned little. For behind the wheel lessons, they canceled on us twice on the day of the lesson, costing us weeks from his timeline. (You have to wait a certain period between lessons to progress.) We found no value in any of the lessons online, and only minimally from behind the wheel. It’s an expensive hoop to jump through and Safeway just made it all so much more difficult for us.
Rebeccah Shankweiler
17 Jan 2019
REPORT
Two of our daughters attended classes at Safeway - Maple Grove. Our 2nd daughter said that her instructor, Mr. Young, was the best teacher she's ever had. Thanks, Mr. Young!
Kathryn Smith
11 Oct 2017
REPORT
Kyle the teacher through spring lake park high school. He is the best, he is so nice and takes time to answers our questions and doesn't make driving that scary. He was nice and helped us out, I will ...
Kyle the teacher through spring lake park high school. He is the best, he is so nice and takes time to answers our questions and doesn't make driving that scary. He was nice and helped us out, I will definitely keeping for my behind the wheels. He helped us through every worksheet and wants us to understand the martieral and prepares us for the permit test. I would recommend this driving school
Michael Wheeler
25 Mar 2017
REPORT
For our first son Safeway worked because he himself was in a rush and plowed through the training etc. With our 2nd son he has been more conservative and wanted more practice between lessons which ext...
For our first son Safeway worked because he himself was in a rush and plowed through the training etc. With our 2nd son he has been more conservative and wanted more practice between lessons which extended his time. By being careful and cautious we now have to pay an additional $50 to extend the time he can take behind the wheel? Why would it cost $50 to let him proceed at his own pace instead of rushing him through it?
I would recommend finding another driving school.
Kaylee Kouri
4 Aug 2015
REPORT
Gabby R.
22 Oct 2013
REPORT
First I booked driving lessons for my son with another local driving school, they never showed up, never returned my calls. We waited for nearly 4 hours once because they told us they were running la...
First I booked driving lessons for my son with another local driving school, they never showed up, never returned my calls. We waited for nearly 4 hours once because they told us they were running late, only for them never to show up, talk about frustration hardly the "A" experience. I called Safeway and they were wonderful, I received email reminders and they were right on time, even a couple minutes early. My son loved his instructors and he passed his driving test the very first time. I would very highly endorse them. Wonderful experience.
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Safeway Driving School
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Reviews
Brianna
14 Apr 2026
Mari was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to my son in a condescending, sassy tone. When he asked questions she would answer in a tone that made him feel incompetent and that he...
Mari was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to my son in a condescending, sassy tone. When he asked questions she would answer in a tone that made him feel incompetent and that he should already know the answer. She also frequently grabbed the steering wheel and applied the brakes without explanation making him feel anxious and unsafe. She made him do the 90 degree back 15+ times with condescending criticism the entire time until he completed it to her satisfaction. There was not one positive comment the entire session but she made sure to fill his sheet front to back of all the things he did wrong. Behind the wheel instruction should focus on teaching, building confidence, and reinforcing safe driving, not intimidating or belittling students. I hope Maple Grove Safeway addresses this behavior immediately. she should not be allowed to ‘teach’ driving because this type of instruction is harmful and does not help students learn or prepare for their driving test. I will be reporting her and making sure no student has to feel belittled by her in the future.
Trinity Curry
9 Apr 2026
I recently had a behind-the-wheel lesson with an instructor at Maple Grove Safeway, and I felt it was important to share my experience.
During the lesson, the instructor was extremely harsh and disco...
I recently had a behind-the-wheel lesson with an instructor at Maple Grove Safeway, and I felt it was important to share my experience.
During the lesson, the instructor was extremely harsh and discouraging. She repeatedly spoke to me in a condescending, sassy tone, questioning my decisions in a way that made me feel dumb rather than guided. For example, she said things like, “Do you always drag in a neighborhood?” which caught me off guard because I was intentionally driving slower to be safe around pedestrians, construction, and potholes.
She also frequently grabbed the steering wheel and applied the brakes without explanation, which none of my other instructors ever did, making me feel anxious and unsafe. Her repeated criticisms, coupled with statements like “it doesn’t feel like you’ve been driving long,” left me shaken and nervous about driving.
Behind-the-wheel instruction should focus on teaching, building confidence, and reinforcing safe driving, not intimidating or belittling students. I hope Maple Grove Safeway addresses this behavior, because this type of instruction is harmful and does not help students learn or prepare for their driving test.
Tamara
30 Sep 2024
Everything about our experience with Safeway has been negative. We did the online course. It was poorly designed from an instructional perspective, technologically glitchy which required constant cont...
Everything about our experience with Safeway has been negative. We did the online course. It was poorly designed from an instructional perspective, technologically glitchy which required constant content repetition to get through it, the narration was dull and not engaging. My son spent more than 10 extra hours just trying to get through the content without glitching. He suffered through but learned little. For behind the wheel lessons, they canceled on us twice on the day of the lesson, costing us weeks from his timeline. (You have to wait a certain period between lessons to progress.) We found no value in any of the lessons online, and only minimally from behind the wheel. It’s an expensive hoop to jump through and Safeway just made it all so much more difficult for us.
Rebeccah Shankweiler
17 Jan 2019
Two of our daughters attended classes at Safeway - Maple Grove. Our 2nd daughter said that her instructor, Mr. Young, was the best teacher she's ever had. Thanks, Mr. Young!
Kathryn Smith
11 Oct 2017
Kyle the teacher through spring lake park high school. He is the best, he is so nice and takes time to answers our questions and doesn't make driving that scary. He was nice and helped us out, I will ...
Kyle the teacher through spring lake park high school. He is the best, he is so nice and takes time to answers our questions and doesn't make driving that scary. He was nice and helped us out, I will definitely keeping for my behind the wheels. He helped us through every worksheet and wants us to understand the martieral and prepares us for the permit test. I would recommend this driving school
Michael Wheeler
25 Mar 2017
For our first son Safeway worked because he himself was in a rush and plowed through the training etc. With our 2nd son he has been more conservative and wanted more practice between lessons which ext...
For our first son Safeway worked because he himself was in a rush and plowed through the training etc. With our 2nd son he has been more conservative and wanted more practice between lessons which extended his time. By being careful and cautious we now have to pay an additional $50 to extend the time he can take behind the wheel? Why would it cost $50 to let him proceed at his own pace instead of rushing him through it?
I would recommend finding another driving school.
Kaylee Kouri
4 Aug 2015
Gabby R.
22 Oct 2013
First I booked driving lessons for my son with another local driving school, they never showed up, never returned my calls. We waited for nearly 4 hours once because they told us they were running la...
First I booked driving lessons for my son with another local driving school, they never showed up, never returned my calls. We waited for nearly 4 hours once because they told us they were running late, only for them never to show up, talk about frustration hardly the "A" experience. I called Safeway and they were wonderful, I received email reminders and they were right on time, even a couple minutes early. My son loved his instructors and he passed his driving test the very first time. I would very highly endorse them. Wonderful experience.
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