Halfords BSM Driving Lessons

hollydays

In purchasing these vouchers BSM has got several customers it wouldnt otherwise have had.Anyone who gets involved with franchises needs to be aware of the risks and take legal advice if you are thinking of joining a franchise-other than that I find it hard to believe driving instructors sign up to a contract that allows them no control over what they are paid.Whats to stop them paying them 1p!

Dealmad

I totally agree , also i wouldnt of used BSM myself i was going to do an intensive training course with another driving School but took this offer up instead.

Most of us didnt get as many as we liked either ....so most likely will be paying the full price when our vouchers are all used up.

jackashton1

so no1 has any spares! or knows anywhere around reading or sw london??
thanks

KittyKate

Congrats to whoever managed to grab this bargain - I went to my local Halford's and they weren't on offer, boo! But after having 15 hours with a fairly poor local instructor a few years ago I decided to book with BSM anyway. I have 2 2 hour lessons a week at £22 an hour - certainly not the cheapest but well worth it, my instructor is brilliant - we always go over the 2 hours, he has me driving for well over half the lesson, he tests me on my theory on the drive home. If anyone wants his name and lives in the Leeds area I'm happy to PM he's an absolute star

dollywops

KittyKate wrote:

Congrats to whoever managed to grab this bargain - I went to my local Halford's and they weren't on offer, boo! But after having 15 hours with a fairly poor local instructor a few years ago I decided to book with BSM anyway. I have 2 2 hour lessons a week at £22 an hour - certainly not the cheapest but well worth it, my instructor is brilliant - we always go over the 2 hours, he has me driving for well over half the lesson, he tests me on my theory on the drive home. If anyone wants his name and lives in the Leeds area I'm happy to PM he's an absolute star

Did you ask an SA to check the price on the till. As far as I am aware, these reductions are nationwide. There is no barcode on the box, and they can either key in the code from the shelf edge label, or scan the driving lesson voucher in the box.

hollydays

agree i reserved several over the phone,most were wrongly priced and i had to ask the staff to scan them-all confirmed at the lower price-being discontinued

odorus

Dealmad wrote:

You have to remember that a lot taken lessons are students who probably find it difficult to get £25 for maybe 2 lessons a week in total £50 in one week , yes alot of parents do pay for this but our parents are not made of money so you cant blame it if they want to find the cheapest driving school possible and quite frankly BSM is not.

I would agree with that comment, but from my experiences with a lot of students that I teach, their mobile phone bills can be well over £100/month.

It's down to priorities, and learning to drive is not a huge priority, learning to pass the test is.

As to the instructors, the adverts from instructor training companies say 'earn over £600/week as a driving instructor', people see that get suckered in, and then learn that after they pay their costs it's more like £250/week. It's not always the business savvy who become instructors.

And yes I did choose this profession, my gripe is not about the job but the attitude of the general public that we're making easy money.

But going back to my original post I was only making the point about buyer beware. If you see a driving school advertising 10 lessons for £100, as an example, treat with caution. You often get what you pay for.

Good luck to all who are learning to drive.

Oakey22

KittyKate wrote:

Congrats to whoever managed to grab this bargain - I went to my local Halford's and they weren't on offer, boo! But after having 15 hours with a fairly poor local instructor a few years ago I decided to book with BSM anyway. I have 2 2 hour lessons a week at £22 an hour - certainly not the cheapest but well worth it, my instructor is brilliant - we always go over the 2 hours, he has me driving for well over half the lesson, he tests me on my theory on the drive home. If anyone wants his name and lives in the Leeds area I'm happy to PM he's an absolute star

I would be very disapointed if you wasnt driving for the full 2 hours as that is what you paid for.

ben500

odorus wrote:

And that remark is why I'm leaving the profession.

Becoming a driving instructor involves a lot of hard work, you have to pass 3 exams-written, driving to a very high standard (only allowed 6 minor mistakes), and the ability to teach. If it's so easy then why is the pass rate only around 35%.

Like a lot of people, Dealmad, you just see us as money grabbers who are doing a job that anyone could do. Well I'll let you have my car and my pupils for the day, and see how you get on. Oh and that includes the pupils who's hygiene standards fall way below what's considered normal.

I'm glad people are having good experiences with the vouchers, all I'm saying is you often get what you pay for. If BSM are paying the Instructors the normal lesson rate, then that's great for all concerned.

I'm sorry but your arguement falls flat as these lessons have been purchased at a negotiated price by Halfords and irrespective of the price paid by the consumer BSM will get that price, as for the instructors I'm also fairly confident that if any reduction is made to their fee this will also have been advised/negotiated, there is no way whatsoever that an individual instructor or BSM can know how much you have paid for a voucher unless you tell them, I appreciate you are disappointed with your chosen career but this offer has no bearing on your predicament. As for a reduction in time/quality of service due to the customer presenting a voucher that should be dealt with in the same way as any other purchase, if you went to Tesco and bought a jar of coffee and presented a money of coupon as part of your transaction you wouldn't expect to get home and find it was half empty! Just because you used a coupon!

Horlock

Just managed to get a kit 3 (4 lessons for £29.95) in Cardiff halfords near tesco extra - bargain.