Hanley’s Chess Academy

Disappointed by Hanley!

UPDATE: 11÷30÷15 Joe cannot get his story straight. My boys didn’t attend the whole week b/​c 2 of 5 days weren’t avail (Joe stood us up, etc.). The credit card co. didn’t award in his favor and gave us a partial refund. Through Unilocal,another family messaged me to tell of similar treatment by Joe.
Highlights:
–Hanley was a no show at his own afternoon chess camp on Monday, 7÷20÷15. After calling me back, he gave no apologies but plenty of excuses (none of which made sense and had any connection to why he stood us up). He did say he would pro-​rate this canceled day if we would continue with his camp. There was only one other student there and they said they would only come back to the camp if my children would (since there would be no other children to play chess with otherwise).
–I gave Joe a second chance and on 7/​21, my three children and two others showed up. I asked Joe if I should take one of my three children home since there were an odd number of players and while she’d be ok playing with the boys, that she was really there for the social aspect and hoping to meet other girls as well. I told him that I could leave my daughter there for the day and she would be well behaved, or I could take her home and gave him the option. He said to take her home (before the camp started that day).
–I expected a refund for the entire $ 150 I paid him for my daughter’s camp fees since he told me to take her home before even speaking once to her (and Joe stood us up the day before). He subsequently said that he would be not refund any part of that amount and that he was applying his cancellation policy of no refunds. This seemed absurd since I could have easily left my daughter in the camp that day with my two boys, and I am not in the habit of throwing away hard earned dollars for no services. He had told me to take her home, and he expected to keep the fees as well for no work!
–On 7/​21, I picked up my children and there was one other student in the office. Joe told this pre-​teen boy that his mother was outside and the child left the office. There was no direct hand-​off of the child to his parent. I saw the child in the parking lot of the office complex and he said he was calling his mother on his cell phone. She did arrive quickly, but I thought that if those were my children that Joe sent out into the public without a direct hand-​off – with my children just standing by themselves in a parking lot – that I would be very worried for their safety.
–During my boys’ time in the camp, they were left alone with no adult supervision while Joe stepped outside the office on at least one occasion. My youngest child is 5 y.o. and should never be left without adult supervision. This is dangerous not just because someone with bad intentions could’ve entered the office, but my 5 y.o. could’ve wandered outside looking for the bathroom and into the street or hurt himself in some other way in the office.
–On 7/​23, I arrived early to avoid traffic and saw Joe leave the office and spoke with him in the courtyard of the office complex (while as it turns out, the children were inside the office by themselves). He did not appreciate my questioning him and said my children were not welcome the next day (loudly, unprofessionally, and causing my 5 y.o. to cry).
–I reminded him of his promise to refund us for the day he stood us up, to which he responded that he’d give me «a refund when I feel like it.»
— Shocked again by his mature behavior, I reminded him that the chess community is small and that he should really consider his behavior, to which he replied that if I «open up (my) mouth to talk with (his) customers, (he’d) call the police to haul my a** away». I responded that if he really wanted to make a scene, to please go ahead and call the police (he didn’t call the police after threatening to call them several times in front of all of the children) because what would the charges be? Expressing my first amendment rights to tell the truth? I promptly left but not before unfortunately, my 7 y.o. daughter got very upset and repeated, «Mommy, I don’t want you to get arrested!» I reassured her that I would not get arrested for standing up to someone who was threatening me and demonstrating bullying behavior.
–Not seeing an immediate refund, I filed a dispute with Paypal/​my credit card company.
–As of 9÷7÷15: Joe reported to my credit card co. regarding our refund dispute that he had called his on-​site manager ask me to leave the premises. I never spoke with or met mgr.
−9÷10÷15: I did an internet search and found this property mgr’s name and gave him a call. Of course, he confirmed that he had never met nor talked to me previously.
–Joe also changed his story saying that no other family showed up for class and he stayed until 1:50 on the day he stood us up. I have the other family’s phone number which I obviously obtained because they did show up and also found the doors locked upon arrival.