A Truly Exceptional Driving Instructor – Walter I cannot recommend Walter highly enough! As a first-time driver, I was nervous and unsure, but Walter’s calm demeanor, immense patience, and deep expertise made all the difference. He didn’t just prepare me to pass the driving test, he taught me every minute detail with the care and dedication like a family member. Walter’s teaching style is thorough and reassuring. He never rushed the process and always made sure I understood the "why" behind every technique. His experience shines through in every lesson, and his ability to tailor his approach to my learning style was remarkable. I waited a month for a slot with Walter, and now, after learning from him, I can confidently say, it was absolutely worth the wait. If you're a first-time driver looking for someone who will guide you with kindness, clarity, and unmatched professionalism, Walter is the instructor for you. Thank you, Walter, for helping me become a confident and safe driver! From, Meenu Read Less

Good place to learn and pass your Driving test. During my practice session nikki gave me suggestions and tips which helped to clear my driving test in first attempt. She is one of the best instructor if you have to start your driving classes. concern: communication between the front desk and me is very disappointed.That is the reason i gave 4 stars only. Read Less

I did not had much driving experience before. I took 5 driving lesson from here and had very pleasant experience. Instructor are well trained and i found them best in their job. I found their guidance very useful when i drive around. I really appreciate both Nikki and John. Your feedback's always have been useful. Read Less

The instructor was really good. During my warm up he gave me good feedback about things I should be doing against what i was doing. We tried all the maneuvers and then the test went smoothly too. Once done, he again gave a few pointers on how i can still improve. Overall it was a really good experience giving the test with 1st Driving Excellence Read Less

A great place to learn driving. Cathlyn is an excellent instructor. She is a warm and wonderful person, keeps her cool during the lessons and corrects mistakes in a friendly way. Her approach makes one drive confidently after just a few lessons. I have never driven a car before and I passed my road test after 6 lessons. The front desk people have always been helpful and accomodative. They offered me the lesson timing I wanted and were always courteous. Would totally recommend this school to any friend. Read Less

I passed my driving test today and I feel like I accomplished a major task for a lifetime LOL!To be honest, I don't own a car and take the public transport to go around. I was more interested in going to 911 rather to 1st Driving Excellence. However ended up here as I couldn't find my way to 911 ( I have to change buses and walk) and 1st driving excellence is just four blocks away from the DOL which is cool and also easy to access.I want to thank Bob, he is such an amazing instructor and examiner. He is very friendly and down to earth guy. I had experiences with other examiners (Other states) and trust me, he is the BEST! He is patient in answering questions and makes sure that the student understands the instructions well.I would definitely recommend this place to folks who are searching for a driving school to learn or for the driving exam.Bob....YOU ROCK!! :) Read Less

I love this school and I'm recommending this to all those who want to learn drivingI am an expat here and driving here in the USA was a tough task for me because i had to unlearn Indian driving and learn more systematic way ... I was not having confidence to drive with this speed. Then my husband (learnt from Kathlyn) asked me to only go here n take just 3 classes n I took it... Her way of teaching was amazing n so perfect that now can drive any where and anytime with full confidence... Now my sister is learning from her n also two of my friends are going to her shortly.... I really thank driving excellence :) thanks Kathlyn :) Read Less

I am bit late to review it, but better late than Never.To Start with, three star rating is highly unfair for this Driving school. My Experience with First excellence was amazing and I went from not knowing how to drive in March 2015 to driving all around US in April 2015.About Kathlyn, she was the best instructor. She will always remain calm, and will provide you all the tricks n tips on how to drive safely. when i am driving good and she has nothing to instruct she would tell me about seattle and all the places where we use to drive. She always made me feel very comfortable while driving which i feel made me learn it well within no time. Read Less

My car driving lessons at 1St driving excellence was the best experience so far. Driving is not fun for me and my fear for driving was a big hurdle. I had been guided by 3 instructors (Erik, Katharine and John) and they all are wonderful. They made sure that I have learnt properly and I can drive safely. After 3-4 lessons, my remaining classes were instructed by John. A composed and patient tutor he is! Due to his patience, I could learn driving. Thank you so much! Read Less

I had great experience at this driving school. The theory class was fun and informative. Never had such an interesting and knowledgeable 90 minute theory class - its a must for all first time driver in US. My instructor Nycci has v good practical driving expertise. She is systematic, repeat the lessons until you get it done correctly, shares good driving tips, explains traffic rules and answered all my queries well. Would recommend this school to anyone who wants to start from zero or brush up their driving skills. Thanks to Nykki and 1st driving excellence. Read Less

Get there on Tue noon for knowledge test. The guy just keep talking on the phone and doesn't really care us. I wait for 15-20 mins and leave. I then head to 911 driving school 3min drive away. Get the knowledge test right away. Don't recommend here. Read Less

I had a great experience at First Driving Excellence Driving school. The theory class does help to know what to expect. My instructor, Eric is very good instructor . He was very patient and calm. First Driving Excellence Driving school is best. Overall it was great. Read Less

Excellent place. I took my driving test here, my driving instructor was Bob. He is so polite and also made sure I was calm too during the test which was so nice of him as first time drivers like me tend to be bit nervous during the test. Also, after the test, he went through clearly on what mistakes I did and how I can correct it. Overall, my experience here was great! Much respect to him! Read Less

I've been driving out of state for over 20 years, so I just came here to do the written and road tests, not for lessons.  The price was the lowest of all competitors & I passed both tests on the first try with over 90% score in each, so I suppose that I should be pretty happy.  However, here are some notes & tips:Road test:--------------- I strongly recommend that you buy the 45-minute warm-up session before the exam.  Your test giver will take you through every single thing on the test and show you the right way to do it.  It's perfect for experienced drivers like me who don't need lessons but could do with fine tuning.  Make sure you come prepared with any questions.- Be confident and drive confidently but safely.  If the test giver feels safe with you at the wheel, then the test will probably go smoother.  Note that they are still very exacting about the rules -- I lost points for parking maybe 1" further from the curb than I should have been!  I thought that was too much but since I passed, I didn't really care.Written test:----------------- Written test has multiple versions.  After I passed, the test giver remarked that I must've studied a lot since I got the "harder" test with trickier questions and still did well.  Why is there a harder one?  All tests should be the same difficulty -- That's the point of a standardized test!   - The test indeed had odd situational questions that do not test actual rules.  Example: There's a college girl who needs to go on a long drive. It's midnight. Should she have a coffee and leave immediately or wait until the morning after a long night's sleep?  The "correct" answer is the safer one, but neither answer breaks any rules.  I don't believe questions like this have a place in these types of exams. They're meant to test knowledge of rules, not your ability to make judgement calls. It's telling that none of the online practice exams had questions like this.- Test room is noisy.  They let others in while you take the test, plus the paper thin walls mean you can hear every "hiyaah" from the Tae Kwon Do kids next door.Booking:------------ The office person who takes your name and books your exams is the one who chooses which written test and which road instructor you will get.  I had the distinct impression that the guy who did it didn't like me and gave me the hardest written test and the toughest 'master instructor' (Caucasian lady featured on website; she was actually a nice person).  I studied & practiced my ass off so I still passed, but you might want to be at maximum charm when you are booking.  If you're like me and have all the charm of a bowl of oatmeal, then prepare your ass off for the tests so they can't help but pass you.  Cream rises. Overall:----------Despite my concerns above, I still passed on my first go and paid less than I would have at most other places.  If you prepare enough, then you will pass and that's all that really matters.3.5 stars Read Less

Was here to do my written test, was very unprofessional.  The room the test was conducted was like a small classroom, the door kept on opening, people were talking loudly on their phones and families chatting outside, the invigilator kept on leaving the room, and people were allowed to bring bags, coats, everything into the room, I even caught a lady opening her bag and looking for at least 5 min. through her book.  Shame that there are no standards, everything seems to fly here. Read Less

Unprofessional. The first time I took my driver's test here, I had to wait for 15 minutes. Before I began my exam, my examiner said, "I hope I don't die today." Regardless of whether it was in a joking manner or not, I was extremely offended and discouraged which made me feel even more nervous. I did not pass the first time so I rescheduled again, did not pass the second time,  and was told to reschedule again. I decided to take my exam elsewhere and passed with a much higher score. Overall, it was a very unfair experience and I would not recommend anyone to take their driver's test here. Read Less

If I could give no stars I would. While I was taking the written test the woman Margaret left the room and two foreign speakers started talking about the test I assume and sharing answers. They did not pass there test and Margaret started sharing answers to the test. 30 mins later they had completed there second test a past. While I sat trying to figure out my own answers.The phones were ringing and arguing was happening between big fat woman and a younger man.  Then I was kicked out of the office I was taking my test because a class was starting. I failed my test and Margaret did not go over answers with me. She disappeared and someone else graded my test. I was told I could take it for free again when I originally called but now I was being asked to pay cash to take it again. This office and staff are so unprofessional I am surprised they still have a license to operate. Read Less

If I could give less then one star I would. I called to schedule a written test. I had to pay 70 bucks to do it. So I paid, got my date and took scheduled my time off work and everything was fine. Then.....Margret calls me and leaves me a me message saying that my time was confirmed for the wrong date, wrong time and that they will see me there. So I called Margret to see what was going on. She answers the phone and says yes we have you scheduled for three days later at some random time. I said that's wrong. "Oh, your right its for Thursday at 3." That was right so I said OK Thursday at 3 it's confirmed then? Yes. she says. Then I said see you on Thursday. "NO, NO wait its Friday at 4". Now I am super confused. She messaged me one day confirmed with me the right day then right before hanging up the phone changed it to the next day. I took off work and had it all set up. She said she wouldn't change it and that I can "take it or leave it". I asked for my money back and she said "Fine you'll get you money back in a few days" Then I got mad. I want my money back now and you are the worst person to talk to. Unapologetic, dumb, and extremely rude. Don't ever go here, the place is trashy and so are the people. Read Less

I moved to Bellevue 3 years ago from a big city where you don't need to drive at all, so I had to learn to drive and decided to take some lessons here. Worst idea ever.Three years later I'm still too scared to drive.First lesson (I was already in my thirties then) the instructor showed me a car that had a terrible accident and told me the driver had died in the crash.Every time I was scared during the lessons, the instructor would scared me more, instead of encourage me. And would find some kind of entertainment assuming that in my country we drive horrible instead of the amazing driving in america and the great roads (pretty ignorant and offensive).I need to take lessons again, now to lose the fear to drive I've got when I tried to learn to drive. Don't waste your money. Read Less

I had a terrible experience here because they have an unprofessional staff. They only care about getting your money and not so much about your learning. They only provide 90 minute lessons which are too long. After taking 3 90 minute lessons from here, learning very little and having a terrible experience with the customer service, I went to 911 driving school which was the exact opposite: 60 minute lessons, instructors who care about your learning and a professional customer service. Read Less

The only star this place deserves is for the driving instructor who was civil and explained to us how incompetent the DOL can be when their site goes down during business hours. Prior to her walking in, my brother and I were yelled at, laughed at, and immediately and persistently not assisted by the most incompetent staff I've ever seen at a business. I called the DOL twice and they provided manual/paper solutions in having scores sent to the DOL. The staff laughed and didn't verify that this could be a possibility. Then they yelled at us when we told them that we expect better customer service than this from anyone. It wasn't until the driving instructor came back and told them to call DOL that they did anything remotely useful. Oh, you can call the agency you service and ask for clarification yourself? What a novel idea. Stay away from this place. I'd rather drive 50 miles to another school than deal with a staff so degrading. Ohh and while I was sitting and waiting earlier, I overheard one employee say to another, "Got any hookups on any girls?" Yeah. Crude. Disgusting. Horrible. Read Less

I am bit late to review it, but better late than Never.To Start with, three star rating is highly unfair for this Driving school. My Experience with First excellence was amazing and I went from not knowing how to drive in March 2015 to driving all around US in April 2015.I do agree I had my negative experiences initially with 1st Driving excellence. I took an option where they would pick me up in seattle for my classes. The first instructor who came had no idea where he would teach me in seattle and would often ask me where we should go and in confusion would mostly end up telling me things theoretically instead  of practically. I sent a mail about this to first driving excellence and told them everything. I received a quick call from them and they not only apologized but kathlyn herself came as instructor and adjusted my lost time in her further classes. That's what i loved about this school.  About Kathlyn, she was the best instructor. She will always remain calm, and will provide you all the tricks n tips on how to drive safely. when i am driving good and she has nothing to instruct she would tell me about seattle and all the places where we use to drive. She always made me feel very comfortable while driving which i feel made me learn it well within no time. Read Less

I absolutely enjoyed this driving school and would recommend it highly to anyone interested in learning safe driving. Kathryn is a hard working and knowledgeable instructor and being taught by her was a pleasure. Read Less

Worst company to do business with and the owner is hostile and verbally abusive. They are the cheapest in town for a reason and this is not an area where you want to save your money because your child's safety is at stake. In mid-February I began the process of trying to sign my daughter up for the teen driving program. From the moment I began this process there were issues. First they had to cancel the classes that I was trying to sign her up for because they "lost" instructors. After my dealings with the owner I now know why. Then when I agreed to put her in a class that didn't start until May, they lost my paperwork. After several trips down there and making my payment we got her enrolled.Once the class started it became even more clear how unorganized everything was. It took them three weeks to get the drives scheduled which put the end date of the class a week later than it should have been. They said that the reason it was taking so long was because they were waiting for other students to turn in their preferred times. We turned ours in right away and still got our last choice, which was a choice that wasn't really possible for us, but we put in on the sheet because she insisted that we choose six different times. We did not think that we would get our last choice since we turned our forms in right away. I sent an email explaining that the time we got would be very difficult for us and that we needed to get a different time. I did not receive a response so my husband went into the office in person. When my husband brought this situation to Kathlyn's attention she told him that everyone else only gave her a few options and had sob stories for why those were the only options that would work for them so she had to give us whatever was left. We were angry at this point but agreed to keep the time and try to make it work. On May 22nd, which was about 10 days after my first email regarding the drive time, I finally got a response from someone named Celeste stating that they could not change my drive time unless I wanted a weekday time. I became angry that it took so long for a response and this response was given after we had already discussed the issue with the owner. It just further showed how unorganized this school was and how there was a lack of communication between the people in the office. At this point, I replied to the email and explained to Celeste that we had already dealt with this issue with Kathlyn and that we were very unhappy about the disorganization of this program but at this point we were going to try to make her drive time work and just get through the last five weeks that were left of the class. The next morning I received an email response from Kathlyn stating that I would be given a full refund and that my daughter would not be scheduled for any more classes or drive times.I thought that maybe there was a misunderstanding regarding my email so I called Kathlyn. She angrily answered the call and immediately stated that she was on a drive with a student and could not talk. So why did she answer her phone? I asked her if there was a better time that I could talk to her about her email, and she began screaming at me about how I am impossible to please and that I need to take my business elsewhere. She then told me that no one in my daughter's class got Saturday drive times, which is not what she told my husband. Also, if those times were not even available then why were they on the sheet to choose from in the first place? I could not point this out to her, however, because she would not give me the opportunity to speak. After she screamed all of this to me over the phone in front of her student driver, she hung up on me. I then sent an apology email even though I felt very justified in my frustration and felt she should have been the one to apologize after the way she spoke to me, but at this point I was just trying to keep my daughter in the class because she was the one being affected by this. I did not receive a response so after a couple of days by husband thought she would have cooled down so he called her. Again, she yelled at him and told him that I was the one that was out of line and she did not want to do business with me anymore. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE!I feel that her behavior was very arrogant, hostile, and unprofessional and she could be a danger to new drivers who are trying to focus on the road while having their instructor screaming at someone over the phone. I have now received my refund and am very glad to not have my daughter be a part of a program that is taught by someone so hostile and verbally abusive. It is clear that she does not care about the kids that she is teaching and will just throw them out the minute you bring up any issues. When I told my daughter what had happened she was relieved to be out of the class because she said that she felt Kathlyn was very rude to everyone in general and not a very good teacher. Read Less

I love this school and I'm recommending this to all those who want to learn driving I am an expat here and driving here in the USA was a tough task for me because i had to unlearn Indian driving and learn more systematic way ... I was not having confidence to drive with this speed. Then my husband (learnt from Kathlyn) asked me to only go here n take just 3 classes n I took it... Her way of teaching was amazing n so perfect that now can drive any where and anytime with full confidence... Now my sister is learning from her n also two of my friends are going to her shortly.... I really thank driving excellence :) thanks  Kathlyn :) Read Less

In short I would advise to avoid this place at all cost. I took the knowledge test here and it turns out to be a pain. There management is least interested to serve you from the moment you walk in. The written knowledge test took place right in open sitting within the waiting area with people taking calls and kids playing around, highly non conducive and nonprofessional environment.  Also the staff at the reception have snobbish attitude, I asked a for a simple clarification while filling the application form and lady at counter nag for like 10 mins and his colleague unnecessarily pass some comments.After I successfully passed the knowledge test the same lady deceived me by asking me to fill application for driving test right away and use there facility for take driving test. I was surprised and asked her why that's so and she end up saying that we require our candidates to take driving test here and not in any other institute and she even mention that DMV require it so. I later check with DMV and there is no such need!If you live in Bellevue/Redmond area try other institutes because this one is totally waste of your time and money. Read Less