Why even bother?

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Over the past week or so i’ve been firing off some emails to various driving schools with regards to C and CE courses, some local, some not so, enquiring about prices, paying a visit to have a chat to get the feel of the place and the like.

It’s not small investment, several thousands, so i want to be sure that the school i end up using is the right one for me.

But only one school has responded, and that was within a couple of hours.

Why even publish an email address if you do not respond?

yes, i could have simply rung them up, but i would rather let them respond when they have a minute spare, which they may not do over the phone, plus it’s handy to have responses in writing, plus being hard of hearing, phone usage is not always easy!

(seems to be a widespread problem these days - i’ve had responses to be invited to interviews 6 months after i’ve sent my CV over, sorry i’m now in a job, too late, your loss)

I will be paying a visit to Peter Smythe this coming week (the only company to respond - thank you!), and most likely to book a course.

Maybe all the rest are too busy to take new bookings, or have enough cash in the bank not to worry about new customers, but as a potential new customer, a distinct lack of communication and customer care signals red flags, once they have my money, how much worse will they be?

Just a little moan, that i know won’t make a difference, but hopefully some companies will take this on board, don’t ignore thousands of pounds of potential business!

2

greendiff:
Over the past week or so i’ve been firing off some emails to various driving schools with regards to C and CE courses, some local, some not so, enquiring about prices, paying a visit to have a chat to get the feel of the place and the like.

It’s not small investment, several thousands, so i want to be sure that the school i end up using is the right one for me.

But only one school has responded, and that was within a couple of hours.

Why even publish an email address if you do not respond?

yes, i could have simply rung them up, but i would rather let them respond when they have a minute spare, which they may not do over the phone, plus it’s handy to have responses in writing, plus being hard of hearing, phone usage is not always easy!

(seems to be a widespread problem these days - i’ve had responses to be invited to interviews 6 months after i’ve sent my CV over, sorry i’m now in a job, too late, your loss)

I will be paying a visit to Peter Smythe this coming week (the only company to respond - thank you!), and most likely to book a course.

Maybe all the rest are too busy to take new bookings, or have enough cash in the bank not to worry about new customers, but as a potential new customer, a distinct lack of communication and customer care signals red flags, once they have my money, how much worse will they be?

Just a little moan, that i know won’t make a difference, but hopefully some companies will take this on board, don’t ignore thousands of pounds of potential business!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
use the same logic when your passed your test and are ready to get a job .
emails are useless,mostly unread and largely ignored.
telephone calls will have not as bad,but similar chances of failure.
agencys are just bottom of the barrel but serve their purpose if you can stomache their lies and indiffernce till you find a decent proper job.
if you want to work at a specific firm,then go in the gate and ask to be considered,or if they have a waiting list to be considered,then keep in touch with them as sooner or later,someone will leave and your name might be fresh.

3

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Just take your wod of cash and wonder off to Peter Smythe’s place anyway, you won’t regret it and you won’t find a better training centre full stop.

Peter Smythe and his work force really know how to operate and run a business, it has that kind of old skool feeling where the customer is still always right but yet everything is super moden, new and well looked after.

Peter Smythe has some of the most talented and experienced instructors in the country, some of them with 20 and 30 years instructing experience and 15 to 20 years professional lorry driving before that, Peter himself has been instructing for 46 years, what Peter doesn’t know about instructing, isn’t worth knowing.

Then there is his setup, his yard and his vehicles, all of which is as top notch and as perfect as you will find.

If you’ve never been to Peter Smythe’s place before, then you are in for a real treat when you do go there.

Watch this little video to get a glimpse of what to expect.

youtube.com/watch?v=IyacqhPLf9U
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4

As above, go and see Peter Smythes it’s fantastic.
Peter Smythes returned every email full of my stupid questions and answered every call over the 6-8 months I was deliberating/saving.
Service was fantastic.
Training was awesome and I passed class c first time with them in october.
Back there monday for my c+e training.
They do residential if you need to travel.
Definitely worth a call/mail/visit.
The place is spot on all the way through, whoever you deal with from initial contact to booking/medical/training, everything.
Cant recommend them highly enough.
Good luck with your journey!

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

5

I found when when I was doing my training that alot of the trainers were one man bands. So they wernt going to be picking up their phone and replying to emails while they were teaching people to drive. That’s just rude. I found I would often have to wait until weekends before getting a reply.

6

I did my Class 2 and Class 1 at Peter Smythe’s place and highly recommend them

I passed my Class 2 first time and Class 1 on the second attempt.

Compared to the other training schools I visited beforehand, Pete’s place really is one of the better places out there.

Free accommodation if you are more than 70 miles away. They have a pretty decent pass rate too !

I think they have some Christmas offers on at the moment too ?

7

I think they have some Christmas offers on at the moment too ?

Yes, here it is.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=163085

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

8

I’ve said it many times. Peter Smythe is the place to do it. I passed my class 1 & 2 there. The staff are professional and friendly. Facilities were excellent (very important to note they have their own reversing areas). I cannot fault the service I got from them.

They are not the cheapest, but in their case it is definitely worth paying a few quid extra - insignificant amount in the big scheme of things.

9

Thanks for the comments Captain. No bs. I’ve spent the last 35 years trying to make the process as straightforward and comfortable for folks as I possibly can. And although it’s now very good, still not sitting on my hands! Always trying to improve. It has to be said that the divide I set out to get between us and others is getting wider all the time. And that’s not a bad thing.

Thanks again for the recommendation.

Have a great Christmas, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

10

After my visit a couple of weeks ago, speaking to Tracey, i decided to sign up, hoping to be able to be booked in for Feb or Mar once the theory has been done.

3 weeks after sending an email i got a response from another school - bit too late now! 2 hours v 3 weeks - customer service is obviously chalk and cheese between PS and others!

11

greendiff:
After my visit a couple of weeks ago, speaking to Tracey, i decided to sign up, hoping to be able to be booked in for Feb or Mar once the theory has been done.

3 weeks after sending an email i got a response from another school - bit too late now! 2 hours v 3 weeks - customer service is obviously chalk and cheese between PS and others!

Glad to hear it. Good luck & all the best for your new career.

:smiley: