Driving lessons

lister

top_drawer wrote: »

I'm not sure how you can justify saying I'm unreasonable based on what little information I am willing to bore you with.

You are not the only person the driving instructor has to accomodate. The reality is he may have 30 or more clients on the go in one form or another, many of whom, just like you, have particular issues with their availability.

He is running a business and wants his diary to be pretty much full as far as possible - he also has to try and satisfy a broad range of clients, many of whom will make sudden changes to or demands on his availability.

For example I recently had space coming up in my diary so took on a couple of new students. Within days, two of my regulars had decided they needed to cram in 10 hours of extra lessons each in the run up to tests. That then completely destroyed my diary for three weeks, which meant I was struggling to offer new appointments for a couple of weeks after the new clients' first lessons. I couldn't leave the space free in my diary, but equally know that my position in terms of availability can change dramatically within hours - was I wrong to take the students on?

Most instructors worth their salt have a pretty full schedule. Most would therefore struggle to meet your expectations. I would expect to be able to offer a number of slots a week in advance most of the time, as your instructor has, and would feel that was pretty reasonable. Sometimes those slots will suit the student well, other times they won't, that is just something people have to accept if they are not able to commit further in advance.

top_drawer wrote: »

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.

Personally if you were my student and complained along these lines I would happily just refund the remaining money. I don't need students who only know their availability a little way ahead but then aren't happy with not always being accomodated due to the vagaries of my timetable. I already turn away well over half of my enquiries, so can always find a more flexible replacement. One of the best business lessons I have ever learned is to only take on the clients that suit you, rather than the ones you think you need.

top_drawer wrote: »

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.

I wouldn't worry about the extra lessons. In my experience some extended gaps between lessons is a real positive for learning and students usually come back better after a break from driving. I sometimes even recommend a break for students who are really struggling with something because I know how well it works.