Last week I had to take a pupil to the Barnet test centre for a driving test, and I got lost! Even though I qualified as an ADI at Barnet, I don't go to this part of town at all as there are 3 centres much closer to where I operate my school so there is no need to go that far out of town.
This pupil wanted to get a nearer date than was available in the test centres close to me, so I told him that I would be willing to take him provided he meet me at Barnet, as the appoitment time would not allow me to pick him up from Shoot Up Hill NW2 and get there on time to have a one hour driving lesson before the test.
I arrived slightly earlier than I expected at the agreed meeting place opposite Barnet test centre because traffic was ligher than anticipated on a week morning rush hour, so had quick drive around the block since I couldn't park on the high road. I used the free time to clean the driving school car mats, mirrors and windscreens and when I went back my learner driver was there.
As normal, we would use the hour before the driving test to drive around the local area to get used to the traffic and weather conditions while practising the skills that the DSA examiner will be assessing, and it was during this time that I took a wrong turn with my pupil.
To cut a long story short, we asked for directions, and I had to take over control of the car so that we could make good progress and avoid arriving late for our appoitment. We arrive at Barnet on the dot for the test, only to be met by a surprised examiner who was not expecting us. Apparently my learner had been left a message 2 days earlier saying the test would now be on the monday! All that rushing for nothing.
To compound issues I was pressed to use a toilet, and Barnet test centre does not have any tiolets for its customers, so I had to go to a local pub, buy a drink for £2.30 and then have the priviledge of using the gents. It is going to be a long time if I can help it before I bring another learner driver to this area for a practical car assessment.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Good driving instructors
I got a call recently from someone who was looking for a good driving school instructor, had seen my business website and decided to contact me, but he only had one question: was I willing to offer him £15 driving lessons? I said to him that there was no way I could run a legal profitable operation charging that kind of prices for tuition where I live, and that was the end, I didn't get his custom because he obviously was looking for something else which I couldn't offer to him as a learner
driver.
This made me think, what kind of characteristics do you actually look for in a good instructor. I've listed mine below, I wonder what yours are, especially if you are learning to drive a car, and need professional help which you will be spending your money on.
1. A good driving instructor will be fully qualified, approved by the DSA and undergone the necessary training required to deliver tuition at the standard a learner drver needs to pass the current DSA practical car test. Evidence of this will be by their officially issued green registration badge which they have to display on their driving school car windscreen when giving paid instruction. If your instructor has a pink badge, that means they are a trainee, and have not fully completed the 3 part qualifying process. While being a trainee doesn't necessarily mean they are not going to be a good instructor, personally, it is my opinion that they would not have the necessary experience behind them yet to prove they are.
2. Good quality driving instructors do not come cheap. This is a very important fact that you have to consider when choosing an individual that is going to help you learn to drive and pass the hard uk driving test, as a lot of people quite easily ignore it, thinking that as long as the person has a driving school roof sign or displays 'L' plates on the car, then they will be able to do the job. Currently in London the price for lessons is from £20-£32 per hour depending on where you live and who you take them with either national driving schools like AA, BSM, LDC, RED or Bill Plant charging the premium rates and local independent operations in the lower range. However there are many learner drivers who seek and find driving instructors offering £15 driving lessons in London, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that they are not getting good value for their money because there is no way a legally operating driving instructor can make a profit and earn a living in London charging those prices. Good and dirt cheap driving lessons do not go together.
Now don't think that all expensive instructors are going to be good (even AA, BSM and Red have bad apples in the fold), but you can safely assume that anyone charging peanuts for lessons will have some skeletons in their cupboard.
3. Good driving instructors always act in a professional manner and abide by the DSA code of conduct during all your lessons. Your ADI should not change their behaviour after your first few lessons because they have now let thier guard down and only wanted to impress you and get you hooked to them providing your driver tuition services and hope that would stay till you have passed your practical test. The good driving instructor will always offer the best quality of tuition even if you are only interested in one lesson (motorway, refresher, mock test, pass plus) and not withhold information hoping you will fail the dsa practical assessment and comeback for more driving lessons.
4. A good driving instructor will offer tuition at an individual's level, and not a one solution fits all teaching method (all 17 year old males need 35 lessons before they are ready for the test). The instructor will not always insist that things are done his/her way when a learner has been taught another safe way of carrying out the reverse parallel parking exercise
5. A good driving instructor MUST be able to advice and explain to a learner driver why you have to do things in a particular way, will not consider any questions his/her pupil asks as dumb or stupid, and will be patient with a slower learner helping them to overcome any learning plateaus.
6. The good ADI is always puntual with their driving lesson appointments, don't cancel on short notice and will usually call you if they are running late, give you as much notice as possible if they have to cancel and might even offer compensation even if it is only a 30 minute extra training session.
7. Most good driving instructors are usually very busy due to recommendations from former pupils or friends, so might have waiting lists especially in the summer months.
You usually won't be able to fully know after your first driving lesson if your instructor is going to be absolutey the right person for you, so don't be afraid to look for a replacement if things start going bad after a few weeks. Good driving instructors will always pass the test of time, and they are the ones who deserve the acolade of putting you through the dsa practical car assessment and helping you get that full british licence you long for.
driver.
This made me think, what kind of characteristics do you actually look for in a good instructor. I've listed mine below, I wonder what yours are, especially if you are learning to drive a car, and need professional help which you will be spending your money on.
1. A good driving instructor will be fully qualified, approved by the DSA and undergone the necessary training required to deliver tuition at the standard a learner drver needs to pass the current DSA practical car test. Evidence of this will be by their officially issued green registration badge which they have to display on their driving school car windscreen when giving paid instruction. If your instructor has a pink badge, that means they are a trainee, and have not fully completed the 3 part qualifying process. While being a trainee doesn't necessarily mean they are not going to be a good instructor, personally, it is my opinion that they would not have the necessary experience behind them yet to prove they are.
2. Good quality driving instructors do not come cheap. This is a very important fact that you have to consider when choosing an individual that is going to help you learn to drive and pass the hard uk driving test, as a lot of people quite easily ignore it, thinking that as long as the person has a driving school roof sign or displays 'L' plates on the car, then they will be able to do the job. Currently in London the price for lessons is from £20-£32 per hour depending on where you live and who you take them with either national driving schools like AA, BSM, LDC, RED or Bill Plant charging the premium rates and local independent operations in the lower range. However there are many learner drivers who seek and find driving instructors offering £15 driving lessons in London, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that they are not getting good value for their money because there is no way a legally operating driving instructor can make a profit and earn a living in London charging those prices. Good and dirt cheap driving lessons do not go together.
Now don't think that all expensive instructors are going to be good (even AA, BSM and Red have bad apples in the fold), but you can safely assume that anyone charging peanuts for lessons will have some skeletons in their cupboard.
3. Good driving instructors always act in a professional manner and abide by the DSA code of conduct during all your lessons. Your ADI should not change their behaviour after your first few lessons because they have now let thier guard down and only wanted to impress you and get you hooked to them providing your driver tuition services and hope that would stay till you have passed your practical test. The good driving instructor will always offer the best quality of tuition even if you are only interested in one lesson (motorway, refresher, mock test, pass plus) and not withhold information hoping you will fail the dsa practical assessment and comeback for more driving lessons.
4. A good driving instructor will offer tuition at an individual's level, and not a one solution fits all teaching method (all 17 year old males need 35 lessons before they are ready for the test). The instructor will not always insist that things are done his/her way when a learner has been taught another safe way of carrying out the reverse parallel parking exercise
5. A good driving instructor MUST be able to advice and explain to a learner driver why you have to do things in a particular way, will not consider any questions his/her pupil asks as dumb or stupid, and will be patient with a slower learner helping them to overcome any learning plateaus.
6. The good ADI is always puntual with their driving lesson appointments, don't cancel on short notice and will usually call you if they are running late, give you as much notice as possible if they have to cancel and might even offer compensation even if it is only a 30 minute extra training session.
7. Most good driving instructors are usually very busy due to recommendations from former pupils or friends, so might have waiting lists especially in the summer months.
You usually won't be able to fully know after your first driving lesson if your instructor is going to be absolutey the right person for you, so don't be afraid to look for a replacement if things start going bad after a few weeks. Good driving instructors will always pass the test of time, and they are the ones who deserve the acolade of putting you through the dsa practical car assessment and helping you get that full british licence you long for.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
You pay for driving instructors time but
As a learner driver, you agree to pay the driving instructor a set amount of money for his time, use of car and his knowledge that gets imparted to you as you prepare for your practical dsa car test. This means that you are not doing each other any special favour, a service is provided to you, in exchange the driving school ADI gets given money.
As a business owner I'm grateful for your custom (each additional driving lesson taken means you agree that you had value for money the last time and were satisfied), and would always love you to return until you no longer require my tution services because you've passed or moved out of town, but no matter how much you have paid me in the past, I don't owe you anything, but more importantly you DONT OWN me.
An incident happened to me today while giving a driving lesson to a student which highlights how some people (not everyone shares this view, in fact most of my clients respect me as an instructor) think of ADIs. It was towards the lesson, and as usual another road user had overtaken us dangerously because they felt my student was being too slow. My student responded that why do the keep doing this and added 'this area is full of F%$& Indians' so I responded no swearing in my car. My learner driver then got all defensive saying I too swore (which I don't) and that I had called other road users Idiots in the past (which I have when they behave like one), and that anyway they had paid for my time and if they wanted to swear in my car then they could. I immediately put the person straight saying if they thought that because they gave me some money they could pour filthy junk into my ears then they could go and look for another instructor. The person kept quiet and didn't talk to me for the rest of the lesson, even driving a bit erratic and not responding to any prompts given.
I've got another lesson booked during the week (person has paid in advance so I'm thinking they would have cooled off by then), so hopefully we can continue to work together otherwise it would be the end of the road.
As an instructor I'm not going to let anyone think I'm their puppet just because they give me money in exchange for tuition, I'm not a desperate driving instructor and while you might think that many of us do the job because we are not good at anything else (which is far from the case), I do this because I love the job, the benefits and flexibility (now that the driving school business is established) and will not take nonsense from no one.
Okay rant over, you pay for my driving instructors time and get high quality tuition which is what you deserve, no sexual, racial or emotional abuse will come your way, and I don't expect or will tolorate it coming at me either.
As a business owner I'm grateful for your custom (each additional driving lesson taken means you agree that you had value for money the last time and were satisfied), and would always love you to return until you no longer require my tution services because you've passed or moved out of town, but no matter how much you have paid me in the past, I don't owe you anything, but more importantly you DONT OWN me.
An incident happened to me today while giving a driving lesson to a student which highlights how some people (not everyone shares this view, in fact most of my clients respect me as an instructor) think of ADIs. It was towards the lesson, and as usual another road user had overtaken us dangerously because they felt my student was being too slow. My student responded that why do the keep doing this and added 'this area is full of F%$& Indians' so I responded no swearing in my car. My learner driver then got all defensive saying I too swore (which I don't) and that I had called other road users Idiots in the past (which I have when they behave like one), and that anyway they had paid for my time and if they wanted to swear in my car then they could. I immediately put the person straight saying if they thought that because they gave me some money they could pour filthy junk into my ears then they could go and look for another instructor. The person kept quiet and didn't talk to me for the rest of the lesson, even driving a bit erratic and not responding to any prompts given.
I've got another lesson booked during the week (person has paid in advance so I'm thinking they would have cooled off by then), so hopefully we can continue to work together otherwise it would be the end of the road.
As an instructor I'm not going to let anyone think I'm their puppet just because they give me money in exchange for tuition, I'm not a desperate driving instructor and while you might think that many of us do the job because we are not good at anything else (which is far from the case), I do this because I love the job, the benefits and flexibility (now that the driving school business is established) and will not take nonsense from no one.
Okay rant over, you pay for my driving instructors time and get high quality tuition which is what you deserve, no sexual, racial or emotional abuse will come your way, and I don't expect or will tolorate it coming at me either.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
What Car Driving School
A new national driving school was launched today by the consumer magazine what car, with ambitions of being in the top 3 learner driving organisations spot.
The venture is the brainchild of 2 ex BSM directors who are looking to join AA and BSM as the first choice of learner drivers in the UK.
Whatcar driving school is current looking for driving instructors to take up franchies with them and are hoping to be operational by the end of the year 2009. There are 2 options available a half franchise costing around £50 per week and a full franchise option at about £150 per week. The full franchise does not include pupil referal fees which is additional.
New BSM driving school cars.
Driving school car
The venture is the brainchild of 2 ex BSM directors who are looking to join AA and BSM as the first choice of learner drivers in the UK.
Whatcar driving school is current looking for driving instructors to take up franchies with them and are hoping to be operational by the end of the year 2009. There are 2 options available a half franchise costing around £50 per week and a full franchise option at about £150 per week. The full franchise does not include pupil referal fees which is additional.
New BSM driving school cars.
Driving school car
Driving Standards Agency on Twitter
If you are a driving instructor or a learner driver, you might be interested in knowing that it is now possible to follow the DSA on twitter.
Twitter is a micro blogging/social networking site that allows you to send short twits (messages are 120 characters or less) to your followers.
The DSA plans to send the latest driving stories, press releases, learner/ADI consultations and important updates about the driving test and other driver related issues via twitter, so you can learn of these first and be adequately prepared for any changes or let your pupils know in the case of instructors.
If you are not already a member, you can join at twitter.com. To follow the dsa, go to http://twitter.com/dsagovuk
Don't forget that twits can be sent to mobile phones as well, so you don't need to be online.
Twitter is a micro blogging/social networking site that allows you to send short twits (messages are 120 characters or less) to your followers.
The DSA plans to send the latest driving stories, press releases, learner/ADI consultations and important updates about the driving test and other driver related issues via twitter, so you can learn of these first and be adequately prepared for any changes or let your pupils know in the case of instructors.
If you are not already a member, you can join at twitter.com. To follow the dsa, go to http://twitter.com/dsagovuk
Don't forget that twits can be sent to mobile phones as well, so you don't need to be online.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Late Notice Cancellations
There have been many times when a learner driver has turned up for a driving test only to be told that it would not go ahead due to no dsa examiner being available or they get a late notice cancellation phone call from the booking centre a day before the appointment. Most learners don't like this happening because it causes a lot of inconvinience and loss of money, and while the DSA does offer some compensation when it happens, it is not the same!
If the learner feels like this, how do you think a driving instructor feels when a pupil calls 30 minutes before a driving lesson, or worst still no notice is given, and the ADI turns up to an empty house or a dad or mum telling you the pupil is not at home and not answering their mobile phone.
There are always times when emergencies occur, and it is easy to cancel a driving lesson, but if you have to consider that the instructor could have fitted in someone else if good notice was given then you can see why he/she does not take lightly to such a loss in income.
Short notice cancellations are not good whether it be for a driving test booked online at the dsa website or a 2hr lesson on test maneuvers with an independent instructor.
If the learner feels like this, how do you think a driving instructor feels when a pupil calls 30 minutes before a driving lesson, or worst still no notice is given, and the ADI turns up to an empty house or a dad or mum telling you the pupil is not at home and not answering their mobile phone.
There are always times when emergencies occur, and it is easy to cancel a driving lesson, but if you have to consider that the instructor could have fitted in someone else if good notice was given then you can see why he/she does not take lightly to such a loss in income.
Short notice cancellations are not good whether it be for a driving test booked online at the dsa website or a 2hr lesson on test maneuvers with an independent instructor.
Monday, 7 September 2009
National Driving Schools want Instructors
Just a few days ago, I posted an article about a red driving instructor looking for more work in my area, and posting her school business card through my door because she saw what appeared to be a family car with 'L' plates and hoped we might bring some custom her way.
The very next day I got a letter in the post from the Red driving school saying they needed more instructors because their marketing campaign had been so sucessful, in particular the TV ads currently running. How ironic!
When ever there is an economic down turn there are people who want to capitalise on it, and RED is one of them. Their TV ads have been very successful just because many people believe that being a driving instructor will give them financial earnings they've dreamed of, and the flexibility to work the hours they want. All Lies.
As you can see, that instructor would not be wasting money or time dropping cards in letterboxes if she had enough learner driver to teach being provided to her. She is tied to a 6 month contract, not getting enough work, can't get out of it, so has to do the extra work herself.
To make matters worse, today a letter arrived in the post from the AA (all ADIs details are made available for sale by the DSA), also singing out their praises of being one of the UK's leading motoring organisation, and that they have a good franchise to offer you.
All they are after is your money. While the AA franchise can be cancelled with 30 days notice, it is still not as successful as they would want you to believe, you will still need to find your own pupils if you want a full diary, and now more than ever, they will not have as many learner driver pupils to give you because those needing lessons will seek cheaper offers since BSM, AA, RED and LDC are more expensive than local independent driving schools.
Don't be fooled by the brand image, taking up a driving school franchise with these big organisations will still need you to work hard promoting your self-employed job, and they still will be making money from you, even if you are not satisfied with your earnings.
The very next day I got a letter in the post from the Red driving school saying they needed more instructors because their marketing campaign had been so sucessful, in particular the TV ads currently running. How ironic!
When ever there is an economic down turn there are people who want to capitalise on it, and RED is one of them. Their TV ads have been very successful just because many people believe that being a driving instructor will give them financial earnings they've dreamed of, and the flexibility to work the hours they want. All Lies.
As you can see, that instructor would not be wasting money or time dropping cards in letterboxes if she had enough learner driver to teach being provided to her. She is tied to a 6 month contract, not getting enough work, can't get out of it, so has to do the extra work herself.
To make matters worse, today a letter arrived in the post from the AA (all ADIs details are made available for sale by the DSA), also singing out their praises of being one of the UK's leading motoring organisation, and that they have a good franchise to offer you.
All they are after is your money. While the AA franchise can be cancelled with 30 days notice, it is still not as successful as they would want you to believe, you will still need to find your own pupils if you want a full diary, and now more than ever, they will not have as many learner driver pupils to give you because those needing lessons will seek cheaper offers since BSM, AA, RED and LDC are more expensive than local independent driving schools.
Don't be fooled by the brand image, taking up a driving school franchise with these big organisations will still need you to work hard promoting your self-employed job, and they still will be making money from you, even if you are not satisfied with your earnings.
Friday, 4 September 2009
Red Driving School Instructor Marketing
My current driving school car does not have any roof signs or graphics advertising my business, so unless you look out for my ADI registration badge in the car window or sit in the passenger seat and notice dual controls in the foot well, you could easily think it is an ordinary family vehicle being used occassionally to teach a teenage provisional licence holder how to drive. So I wasn't totally surprised when I came home yesterday and found a Red driving school instructor's business card lying on my doormat advertising the fact that she was my local driving instructor and that her school was highly recommended.
In a previous article, I've mentioned the fact that one of the most effective ways of marketing your business in today's technology savy society is via a driving school website, and this red instructor's card just strenghtens the case.
Now I don't know if the cards were dropped in all the houses in the street by the ADI, or if she paid someone to do it for her, but her efforts in this case would not bear fruit with me, because it has gone to the wrong target.
On the other hand the beauty of instructor marketing with a website is that it is more likely that anyone landing there is interested in your services (a first step in getting a sale).
So while it is possible that if you drop 1000 cards in the doors of houses in the area you work in, that you might get maybe 10 calls to enquire about your services (price is always a factor here in closing a deal), if you got 1000 visitors to a website, the enquiries will certainly be more (50 or more), especially since your website will have the price, and thus people know the cost (there will still be people who want to ask for discounts, but at least you have a chance of meeting half-way).
So if you are that red driving instructor who left the card in my post, I strongly suggest you start focusing your marketing efforts online with a good driving school website.
In a previous article, I've mentioned the fact that one of the most effective ways of marketing your business in today's technology savy society is via a driving school website, and this red instructor's card just strenghtens the case.
Now I don't know if the cards were dropped in all the houses in the street by the ADI, or if she paid someone to do it for her, but her efforts in this case would not bear fruit with me, because it has gone to the wrong target.
On the other hand the beauty of instructor marketing with a website is that it is more likely that anyone landing there is interested in your services (a first step in getting a sale).
So while it is possible that if you drop 1000 cards in the doors of houses in the area you work in, that you might get maybe 10 calls to enquire about your services (price is always a factor here in closing a deal), if you got 1000 visitors to a website, the enquiries will certainly be more (50 or more), especially since your website will have the price, and thus people know the cost (there will still be people who want to ask for discounts, but at least you have a chance of meeting half-way).
So if you are that red driving instructor who left the card in my post, I strongly suggest you start focusing your marketing efforts online with a good driving school website.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Another Illegal Driving Instructor convicted
I mentioned in a previous article how the Driving Standards Agency was cracking down on illegal driving instructors, well another fake ADI has been sucessfully prosecuted and convicted for fraud.
You can read the latest story as published by The Star. In this case the illegal driving instructor was an individual who had failed a check test, did not turn up for the second one, and was sub-sequently removed from the ADI register, and thus no longer allowed to take money for giving tuition.
The individual however continued to offer cheap driving lessons to some students probably giving an excuse that she was now operating independently and could afford the discount! Well she got away with it for a while, but in the end, the long arm of the law caught up with her.
If you are currently learning to drive, and are using dirt cheap driving lessons, you could be aiding someone to break the law, always check your instructors dsa registration badge to confirm they are legal.
The video below gives more advice on how to avoid illegal or doggy instructors.
You can read the latest story as published by The Star. In this case the illegal driving instructor was an individual who had failed a check test, did not turn up for the second one, and was sub-sequently removed from the ADI register, and thus no longer allowed to take money for giving tuition.
The individual however continued to offer cheap driving lessons to some students probably giving an excuse that she was now operating independently and could afford the discount! Well she got away with it for a while, but in the end, the long arm of the law caught up with her.
If you are currently learning to drive, and are using dirt cheap driving lessons, you could be aiding someone to break the law, always check your instructors dsa registration badge to confirm they are legal.
The video below gives more advice on how to avoid illegal or doggy instructors.
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