Driving lessons

top_drawer_2

Hello ...

Well I'm not sure whether I am right to start a new thread for this as its on a similar theme to a previous pos but I have zero replies since the last issue was resolved.

I went with a completely different driving instructor (a franchise) as a result of the advice on here and he is a great instructor and I've recently paid up for me first set of 10 lessons (am upto No 6).

However, now I simply cant get any time with him. My last lesson was the 14th and prior to that I asked him should we book further in advance and he said it wasn't necessary. However, on the 14th he then said his car was off the road for one day and he was booked up for the rest of the week. I said Oh ok if anything came up at short notice then please text me as I am off all week.

I am on a zero hour contract and so only find out my hours on a specific day each week. I've confirmed my hours for the coming week today and he's texted to say that he can do two particular days this week. I can do one of them apart from a period a of 2 hours in the middle of the day to which he's replied he can only do time which covers that ........ He's suggested 9am on two other days but I start work at 7.30am. He's now replied that I should get back to him when I have more time off work.

I feel aggrieved as I have the majority of three days available to pick from Monday / Tuesday and Thursday this week which I feel is adequately "available" to fit in an hours driving lesson while he isn't available.

As always though I am not sure whether I am "right" to feel this way and what to do about it. I am desperate to learn to drive (desperate to pass) and its this instructor who has said that I need to alter my belief in myself otherwise I will never pass and we've even talked about a relatively close date by which I would like to pass.

Thanks
TD

scotsbob

You are the paying customer. If he can't fit you in then you ask for a refund and go to someone who is more obliging.
Personally I would not pay for so many lessons in advance to prevent this sort of thing happening.

scheming_gypsy

To be honest TD, he can only book you in when he's got a free spot, you'll probably find yourself in the same position with every other driving instructor. He / any other instructor has to take bookings when he gets a call, they can't leave big spaces open as they won't get paid.

Bob.. with TD being in Lancashire, if she's in / around Preston I'm guessing the school she's with is the one I see quite often that advertises something like 10 lessons for £99, but you have to book the 10 to get the price

top_drawer_2

Yes I can understand he can only offer lessons when he is free but he does only seem to do a 9-4 day, with no evenings/weekends. There was no mention of this when I was assessed by him at the beginning of starting lessons although I was clear regarding my working hours plus that what I earn this month does not decide whether I decide to have lessons or not.

I did live in Preston for years, however circumstances change and I have moved back to live with parents to a small Lancashire town, where I am originally from.

This franchise does not advertise widely although has people working in both places and he doesn''t offer the deal you mention. I went with him specifically because I found the person who I was with in Preston to be fantastic.

TD

Sharon87

If it's a franchise are there other drivers in it you can transfer the rest of your hours to? Sounds like you need a more reliable driver or one that does evenings/weekends.

I went with a national company, it was a bit more expensive but the instructor was reliable and booked me in at times I could do to suit me. And also with national companies you will be able to transfer your hours that you've paid for to another driver if one doesn't suit - if you pay them over the phone anyway. I never had to change instructor, which in the long term saved me money, as I had no gaps in which I forget things and have to relearn

top_drawer_2

Sharon87 wrote: »

If it's a franchise are there other drivers in it you can transfer the rest of your hours to? Sounds like you need a more reliable driver or one that does evenings/weekends.

There is only one other working in my area. I am going to ring the main switchboard and speak to the lady who runs the company and see what she suggests.

TD

atrixblue.-MFR-.

you need a tutor that is more flexible.

my tutor (going back 12 years now), would shuffle around his lesson times with people on his books that would be flexible with him.

i had a few calls off him to say hi atrix, i need to fit someone in their working double shifts this week and only have Thursday off to get in a lesson, would you mind him/her having your booked hour(s) and ill fit you in on the weekend say around 6pm and get you some night time driving hours in (if winter time) he didn't work weekends but if he something like this come up would do his rearrangements on the weekend so it didn't have a knock on affect that would take 2 weeks to return to normal.


with paying in block they have your cash and don't care when you have your lesson and wont be as flexible when you need them to be.

i'd say ask friends and family and look at online reviews about specific tutors private or not to see if their willing to be flexible and do more hours than this guy does.

after another re read. to expect 3 lessons in one week at short notice is unreasonable.

i was lucky to get 1 2 hour lessons at short notice with my instructor.

but this instructor is not working many hours from what i can see 9-4 weekdays only. so you may have better luck going with a tutor that's working weekends and late evening.

top_drawer_2

It seems to be a fine balance; my last tutor wasn't very good and I put up with a lot ... he did all the hours he physically could. Although I suspect that I would never have been "quite ready" for my test partly because he didn't pick up on issues (too busy on his phone etc) and partly because he could play on my low confidence.

lister

As a driving instructor myself, I would say that you need to start seeing this from the instructor's side as well, as I would regard your expectations as pretty unreasonable. I am also confused as you say you asked about booking further in advance, yet you say you only know your shifts the week before - seems fairly contradictory to me.

You won't be his only student who expects to be able to book quite specific slots at short notice. Generally my diary is heavily booked two weeks in advance with just a few small gaps, and evening/weekend slots are usually fully booked 4-6 weeks in advance (and I work up to 9pm many nights, and all Saturday/Sunday, taking just one day off in the week).

I have clients who like you don't know their shifts until a few days before. They are all quite happy to accept that sometimes they can't fit in for a couple of weeks, and then might be able to do 2 or 3 lessons close together if their free time and my gaps happen to coincide well.

If there was an easy way to move someone around, I might on occasion do it, but generally it is very difficult (especially at relatively short notice), and can also be very time consuming. As a rule I only make complex rearrangements to accomodate unexpected test bookings (students picking up late cancellations or appointments being rearranged by the DSA).

If someone came to me with a specific timeframe in mind to go for their test, I would expect them to be able to tell me their availability up to the test so I could see whether they could be accomodated.

Mostly, where I teach people who have very uncertain working hours and specific timeframes in mind, they book an intensive course well in advance so they can take time off work to fit in the lessons (anything from 10-30 hours+ depending on their previous experience).

top_drawer_2

lister wrote: »

As a driving instructor myself, I would say that you need to start seeing this from the instructor's side as well, as I would regard your expectations as pretty unreasonable. I am also confused as you say you asked about booking further in advance, yet you say you only know your shifts the week before - seems fairly contradictory to me.

You won't be his only student who expects to be able to book quite specific slots at short notice. Generally my diary is heavily booked two weeks in advance with just a few small gaps, and evening/weekend slots are usually fully booked 4-6 weeks in advance (and I work up to 9pm many nights, and all Saturday/Sunday, taking just one day off in the week).

I have clients who like you don't know their shifts until a few days before. They are all quite happy to accept that sometimes they can't fit in for a couple of weeks, and then might be able to do 2 or 3 lessons close together if their free time and my gaps happen to coincide well.

If there was an easy way to move someone around, I might on occasion do it, but generally it is very difficult (especially at relatively short notice), and can also be very time consuming. As a rule I only make complex rearrangements to accomodate unexpected test bookings (students picking up late cancellations or appointments being rearranged by the DSA).

If someone came to me with a specific timeframe in mind to go for their test, I would expect them to be able to tell me their availability up to the test so I could see whether they could be accomodated.

Mostly, where I teach people who have very uncertain working hours and specific timeframes in mind, they book an intensive course well in advance so they can take time off work to fit in the lessons (anything from 10-30 hours+ depending on their previous experience).

I'm not sure how you can justify saying I'm unreasonable based on what little information I am willing to bore you with. I work bank and so do only get confirmation for certain shifts the week before while on other occasions I know already that I have x number of shifts and am not going to seek out any further in the weekly distribution. I'm also willing to a point to sacrifice some shifts to be available but in this case I think three full days off is ample time to be available to receive something I have already paid for.

The point is that they aren't specific slots; three full days I have off work but he can only do one particular time spot (where I have an interview in a different town miles away). As I've said he doesn't work evening / weekends, if he did this would open things out for me much more as I am willing to take lessons after work / anytime most weekends.

I didn't have a specific time frame and I certainly didn't go to him dictating it. He asked me to set a date by which I would like to pass and then make plans how I intend to achieve it.

I spoke to him extensively during my "assessment" which cost me £30 in which I explained my working hours. He suggested a particular way forward (one hour lessons, 2-3 times a week) and now isn't able to work with this. My situation has altered in any way. As I say two full days available + 1 day (unavailable for two hours) but he can't fit me in.


I've paid for something which I now can't obtain, as a result of which its likely I will need further lessons to restore the situation. Plus should I stay with him, I will need even more lessons as I will never be able to grasp something and then be able to practice sit in the the same week. Maybe you need to see it from my point of view.

top_drawer_2

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

you need a tutor that is more flexible.

my tutor (going back 12 years now), would shuffle around his lesson times with people on his books that would be flexible with him.

i had a few calls off him to say hi atrix, i need to fit someone in their working double shifts this week and only have Thursday off to get in a lesson, would you mind him/her having your booked hour(s) and ill fit you in on the weekend say around 6pm and get you some night time driving hours in (if winter time) he didn't work weekends but if he something like this come up would do his rearrangements on the weekend so it didn't have a knock on affect that would take 2 weeks to return to normal.


with paying in block they have your cash and don't care when you have your lesson and wont be as flexible when you need them to be.

i'd say ask friends and family and look at online reviews about specific tutors private or not to see if their willing to be flexible and do more hours than this guy does.

after another re read. to expect 3 lessons in one week at short notice is unreasonable.

i was lucky to get 1 2 hour lessons at short notice with my instructor.

but this instructor is not working many hours from what i can see 9-4 weekdays only. so you may have better luck going with a tutor that's working weekends and late evening.

No I don't expect anything apart from being able to use the lessons I have already paid for. He suggested that the best way forward was for me to have one hour slots 2-3 times a week. I didn't say I expect that.

We've managed two usually plus an odd very short notice one due to cancellations.