Driving lessons - experiences please

top_drawer_2

Hello

I've recently decided to bite the bullet once more and learn to drive (again). I chose someone based on their profile on yell dot com as they mentioned having a lot of patience + willingness to teach people who have a learning difficultly etc (no disability just can't get driving). Plus that is willing to do block booking as I feel I would benefit from several lessons, or at least 2 over a week than taking the more scenic route (which I have already tried and failed at).

However, I feel that he is short changing me on a number of accounts.
- Yesterday I had a lesson 10-12 and was home for 11.50 am, during the lesson he received 2-3 phone calls (one mid-reverse!) booking appointments for dog grooming services
- On lessons we have been a garage to get petrol where he went off into the garage to pay and 5 minutes or so later emerged with his dinner and ate it in the car (a very smelly tuna and sweetcorn sandwich)
- Today we met a DHL driver where we stopped and he went off and took a parcel to the driver around the corner
- He had no spaces for lessons for pretty much all of this week so has booked me an 8am, I am to be returned home by a "Young man from x,z (a town several miles away) for around 9.30 am" I would guess I'm driving over to get him!

I feel I am being taken the p!ss out of looking at this list. But as I have had almost as many driving lessons as I have had hot dinners (4 different instructors, 2 I really liked, 2 I didn't + this one) I wonder whether to just stick with him as just by practicing I am learning.

OddballJamie

Lessons aren't cheap, I'd find another one who actually wants to teach you rather than a p*** taker.

Strider590

Being driven home by the next pupil is not uncommon, it gives you each more driving time, but with less time wasted between. The rest is just bad practice, but I can't see it happening every single time.

Remember, learning to drive is not a fairground ride, you don't have to be going anywhere to learn something, your not paying for putting miles on the clock, you are paying to learn.
I had to put a friend in their place once because they were moaning about the driving instructor spending half their first lesson talking about theory.

CKhalvashi

I learned with a local instructor, who left his wife to take the bookings on a landline, and he got on with the tuition.

OH learned with AA (as this is who the independent moved on to), and it was the same story.

Ask him to turn his phone off, or threaten to go elsewhere.

Also, with several years of booking students onto free lessons as part of a charity, I've never come across an instructor that ever has another pupil in the car.

CK

cajef

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Also, with several years of booking students onto free lessons as part of a charity, I've never come across an instructor that ever has another pupil in the car.

CK

Agreed, as an ex instructor I would never have had two pupils in a car and it is certainly not common practice, I knew most of the instructors that worked in my area and none of them would either.

Lessons should be timed to allow for driving time to pick up and drop off pupils between lessons and should be the full time booked, that does not mean stopping in pupils paid time for personal reasons or shopping etc., etc.

OddballJamie

The instructor I learned from had two people in the car a couple of times, didn't bother me as he was cheap £12 and I always got a full hour.

Couple of times on a Saturday he called me and said can I come early, he came at 8.30, I drove us to McDonalds, he bought me a muffin, then at 9 the lesson started until 10. Top bloke. Only had about 15 lessons with him too.

It's the same with any industry, there are good people and bad people. At least it prepares you for car sales and then garages later on.

bluenoseam

The person described in the reviews doesn't sound like the sort of person I'd learn with - perhaps it's just me but I have a little shorter fuse when I'm paying for services! I'm in the middle of taking lessons and ultimately have already marked one strike against the instructor for a no-show where he phoned last minute.

I simply wouldn't accept half of those things, one of them is illegal (instructor is there to supervise, which you cannot do whilst on the phone effectively!). Do you know of any people who've passed recently that you could ask for "recommendations"?

daveyjp

Stop using him. My wife had similar, short lessons, getting fuel, putting the tea on etc.

If he didn't use hands free to answer the calls he commited an offence and a quick call to DSA may be in order.

scotsbob

Dump him and report him to the DSA.

I hope he didn't persuade you to pay for a whole lot of lessons upfront, you may have difficulty getting that back when you dump him

Johnmcl7

I agree with the comments above to dump him as I'd do so without a second thought, that sort of behaviour is remarkably unprofressional and not something you should have to accept at all.

I was a bit lucky with my instructor as I chose him purely because he was the only one local with a Mitsubishi which was the same as my parent's car, they have the indicator/wiper controls the other way around so I wanted to learn in a car with the same layout. However despite being just a small local instructor he was extremely professional, always turned up well on time for lessons and always a full hour purely for tuition as it should be.

John

Ratboy

I had an instructor that started to take the wee, and two tests later, and failing, went elsewhere, and the difference was amazing, took 2 or 3 lessons, test done.

If you are not happy OP, fire them off, and explain why you are not happy, in order to get the block booking money back.