RED Driving School - BEWARE!

underlay_guru

Hi,

A couple of years ago I attended an evaluation afternoon for Red Driving School (Then called 'The Instructor College') and since their adverts have recently started popping up all over the place, I thought I would warn people it is not as straight forward as you think....

At the evaluation session, your ego is massaged from the word go. A slick salesman spends a couple of hours explaining:

-How EASY it is to qualify as a driving instructor within 12 months........WRONG! The vast majority of 'trainees' do not pass within 2 years, never mind 1. The training and tests are extremely difficult.

-How you can work flexible hours and earn up to £30k.....WRONG! Your pupils will tell you when they want their driving lessons, meaning the hours can be MASSIVELY INFLEXIBLE. Also take into account travelling between pupils, fuel costs, vehicle maintenence, holiday and sick pay, franchise fee, and you will have to work A LOT of hours to even scrape £30k.


-How you can take on pupils immediately with your trainee badge....WRONG! Potential pupils will avoid a trainee like the plague!

-Get a fully-liveried RED Driving School car!....Yes, but it has to be paid for...around 30% of your total earnings. You will also have to pay a hefty franchise fee to RED driving school for your appointments (From memory, I believe this was £250 per week). they also insist you use their 'sister' insurance company. If you don't use this, the francise fee goes up further still.

-Get a 'guaranteed' full diary of pupils or you dont pay your subsidy for that week!....Yes, you will get a full diary of pupils, but there is no guarantee of their location. Pupil 1 could be 100 miles from Pupil 2. If you refuse a pupil due to location, you will still have to pay your franchise fee.


In other words, Red Driving School instructor college simply want your money. Their instructor tuition is substandard and expensive, with no guarantee of passing the tests. If you fail the tests, you will either have to quit or pay more money for more tuition.

The franchise fee is hideously expensive and rules on new pupils are unfair.

We are told that red driving school is 'the fastest growing driving school in the UK'. How many 'RED' liveried cars do you see in comparison to BSM? The driving school is their secondary concern: the instructor college rakes in much more money.

Also see http://boards.thisismoney.co.uk/tim/threadnonInd.jsp?forum=98&thread=92896&message=381780

michaelvintner

Here I was about to come in and have a go at you but then when I read your post I have to say I agree almost 95% with you.

I went for one of these things as well and they tried to get me to sign up there and then.

I just said I wasn't going to commit to 3 and a half grand without thinking about it and walking out.

Don't get me wrong, it may be an ideal carrear for a lot of people but the slick adverts don't mention all the costs involved.

The car isn't free, you have to pay for it and you are going to have to do a lot of hours to get near £30 grand a year.

By all means go along and check it out but go in wearing you sensible head and don't let them massage your ego, they are just trying to get your money out of you as fast as possible.

It's a good job and you can make decent money but there are a lot of hurdles along the way.

underlay_guru

Just to extend my OP:

By all means, if you are determined to be a driving instructor, and have fully researched what is involved, go ahead.

Just be aware:

Being a driving instructor is not an easy gateway to £30k a year for a casual, flexible career like the adverts suggest.

The tests are very, very difficult;
The college training is very, very expensive;
The pass-rate is very very low;

The hours will not be flexible;
The career is not recession-proof;


IMO driving instructor colleges are not massively concerned in creating new instructors. As long as the fees have been paid they don't give a toss whether you pass or fail.

Why do you see masses of ads for their Driving Instructor College, but not the actual driving school?

Because the college is the money spinner and the driving school is the sideline which drives the 'RED Instructor College' brand forward.

svjenni

The career is not recession-proof;

just wantd to add weight to this, I recenctly learnt to drive with BSM and my instructor was looking to get out as they were really seeing the effects of the recession - he even asked if my place had any jobs going - and I work in banking!!!

cajef

underlay_guru wrote: »

Being a driving instructor is not an easy gateway to £30k a year for a casual, flexible career like the adverts suggest.

The tests are very, very difficult;
The college training is very, very expensive;
The pass-rate is very very low;

The hours will not be flexible;
The career is not recession-proof;

As an ex driving instructor I have to agree with all the above comments, if anyone is considering trying to make it a career the only decent training school for instructors is BSM, they are a professional company with a good training school but be aware they are not cheap and as commented above the pass-rate is not high, people think it as an easy way to earn money but the final exams are not just a walk over.

BSM do guarantee employment if you qualify and a lot stay with them for a couple of years to gain experience, however their franchise fees are high and you have to work excessive hours to make any money with them, consequently most instructors leave and go independent.

It is a extremely competitive industry with lots of cowboys offering lessons at silly rates so do not expect to earn decent money until you have built up a good reputation.

I never advertised for pupils they all came by personal recommendation but it takes several years to become established with a good first time pass rate and to get that reputation.

Having said that it can be interesting and there is job satisfaction, but you do need good nerves and plenty of patience.

Before anyone asks why am I an ex instructor, it was never my main occupation I have good pension from my previous occupation, and while I was making money I did not consider it enough to make carrying on worthwhile.

michaelvintner

thriftymanc wrote: »

So normally you're in the habit of having a go at people without reading their posts first?!

No, I read the post name "Red driving school, beware" and assumed it was another person moaning about Red driving school because their instructor had turned up late or they had failed their driving test.

As it happened it is actually a rather intelligent post and warning of the pitfulls of driving instructor training.

It is not easy, it is very hard and you have to be very committed to qualify and earn anywhere near 30 grand a year.

LeeSouthEast

Can safely say, having driven across half the country this year and over 8,000 miles, I've never seen a Red car.. except on TV.

Enfieldian

Funnily enough, since reading this post I have "noticed" a lot more of their cars.

Three this morning alone, on the way to work from Enfield to Harrow.

No pupils in them though!

L6MCT

These adverts are on so often cos there is a lot of redundancy money floating around. They make it all sound so simple but it is bloody hard work and, in the end, pass or fail is down to the person with the clipboard.

When I started training some years ago there was a saying going around about the entry requirement for some ADI training establishments "all you need is 2 arms, 2 legs and 2 Grand - arms and legs optional!"

It is in a training establishments interest to take up front lump sum payments as the chances of you actually completing your course isn't actually that great. If anyone does want to train as an ADI find a company who will let you Pay as You Go and that way if it isn't for you then you haven't lost a lump sum.

The chances of someone starting the ADI process actually passing Part 3 are actually quite low. According to the DSA'S own figures, say there are 100 who sat Part 1, approx 49% progress to Part 2. Of those 49 approx 22 (45% pass rate) will go on to Part 3 and of those approx 6 (28% pass rate) will actually qualify.

littlegirllost

As well as passing the ADI training, after a couple of years of having your badge. You also have to sit a check test.

This is to ensure that you are giving good quality instruction.
If you fail after 3 attempts you could lose your licence.
This is also not easy to pass as they are very strict.

abacab

LeeSouthEast wrote: »

Can safely say, having driven across half the country this year and over 8,000 miles, I've never seen a Red car.. except on TV.

I saw one the other day,pulled over at a layby with white hatted copper at drivers window:beer: