Choosing an instructor

 

There is a lot of advice out there about choosing a driving instructor. Some people feel that going to a larger driving school with many instructors offers some protection. However, the service you receive and quality of tuition will depend on the individual instructor you are allocated and there is no guarantee that you will keep the same instructor. In my experience, many people prefer the personal, local touch and base their choice of instructor on word of mouth; they like to deal with a person, not a big corporate name. If you choose an instructor who can give you lessons the next day, even the next week I would wonder why they are not busier! I would expect a decent independent instructor with a good reputation and who provides a professional and competitive service to be very busy, so please plan well ahead.  It has always surprised me how many enquiries I receive from people who already have an instructor but want to change as they are unhappy with the service they receive from them. My advice would be talk to your friends and family and try to get personal recommendations; certainly most of my pupils come to me through recommendation. I have also had many pupils come to me from other driving schools as they were not happy with the service they were receiving.  

 

Pricing structure.

 

My pricing structure is based on giving the best prices to my customers that I can in a competitive market and takes into account that I cover a rural area ( I generally cover over 40,000 miles per year), am fully qualified and have over 20 years experience teaching full time in the driver training industry. Did you know that trainee instructors who are inexperienced and not fully qualified are allowed to charge the same, or even more than a fully qualified instructor? They are not even obliged to make it clear to their pupils that they are not fully qualified.  I do not offer the first few lessons at a vastly reduced price with hidden conditions or penalties, only to then charge more later. My prices are presented in a clear, easy to understand way. Please contact me if you have any particular payment needs. When you have lessons with Billingshurst Driver Training, you will always have lessons with me, Paul Berry and therefore will benefit from my experience and reputation. Unlike larger driving schools, your instructor will not change to someone who may not be fully qualified and who may lack knowledge and experience. 

 

Intensive training

 

There are differing views as to what intensive training actually means. Most commonly, I feel most regard intensive training as a one-week course with the driving test at the end. Others see having three or four lessons per week as intensive. I would not offer an intensive course over a few days or a week, as I do not necessarily think this is the best way to learn and it would be unfair on my other pupils who may have to miss out on lessons. My concern with intensive courses is that there is often not sufficient time to build up a pupils experience or confidence, or for them to fully experience the sort of things they will face once they have passed their tests and are on their own. That is not to say that a pupil is limited to one lesson per week; I am happy to discuss a pupils individual lesson requirements. The Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency suggest that the average pupil when passing their test would have had 45 hours with a qualified instructor, along with around 20 hours of private practice; most of my pupils pass in less time than this. Please be aware of any driving schools who offer a ‘guaranteed’ pass; there is no such thing. The Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency’s examiner will assess each candidate individually and only they can decide if a candidate passes or not; if they reach the required standard they will pass, if they fall short they will not.