tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post1039678719989241821..comments2024-02-20T14:04:33.512+00:00Comments on Pass Your Drivng Test 1st Time!: Red Driving School FranchiseSholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12384969511399760312noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-24856503661425545712013-06-12T09:12:12.802+00:002013-06-12T09:12:12.802+00:00RED have apparently sacked all their instructor tr...RED have apparently sacked all their instructor trainers - training is now conducted by newly qualified ADIs - the mind boggles!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-90914262358870108522013-03-19T00:20:27.988+00:002013-03-19T00:20:27.988+00:00The answer to this question is NOOOOOOOO!! I am le...The answer to this question is NOOOOOOOO!! I am leaving the school after a few years for the reason that they do not supply pupils when you request them as they have way too many instructors on their books. They are trying to hold onto and scam money out of you left right and centre. Whether it be their 750 excess fee or difficulty in determining the date of termination of the contract. Not 4 weeks although they say it is. More like 5 weeks. Don't trust what they say. I have been trying to leave for a while and now finally managed to do it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-16339307871920504172013-03-06T20:14:05.780+00:002013-03-06T20:14:05.780+00:00Over 47,000 ADIs on the register. Pupil numbers at...Over 47,000 ADIs on the register. Pupil numbers at an all time low due to financial climate, cost of car ownership etc. Why would anyone in their right mind commit to training which requires a non returnable £3000 plus fee with little hope of getting on the register!!!! mind boggles<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-60685322316793883802012-09-05T16:20:18.866+00:002012-09-05T16:20:18.866+00:00all franchises seem expensive but remember any hel...all franchises seem expensive but remember any help to get a foothold in a very competitive market i have run a very successfull franchise with red whoever you decide to go with get ready to work hard its a business not a jobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-63104400077164364052012-06-18T14:17:17.341+00:002012-06-18T14:17:17.341+00:00You will need at least 2 lessons with an ADI train...You will need at least 2 lessons with an ADI trainer if you are serious about passing part 2 first time, and there are many people offering PAYG part 3 tuition, so you don't have to use RED, AA, BSM or any of the national driving schools. The problem will be finding the right person.<br /><br />The question I would be asking if I were you, would be. Is this the right time to become a driving instructor?Sholahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12384969511399760312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-81962803511381384402012-06-18T10:38:24.823+00:002012-06-18T10:38:24.823+00:00Hmm..Worrying.. As someone who is looking at getti...Hmm..Worrying.. As someone who is looking at getting into this field, I think I may have to seriously rethink it!.<br /><br />Do I HAVE to go with a school to get through my ADI?<br /><br />I feel fairly confident I can pass Pt 1 and Pt 2 without them, but I need Pt 3 obviously.<br /><br />I have looked at Red and the AA, but after reading all this, I really don't know now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-14303243650714835312011-08-17T13:58:06.662+00:002011-08-17T13:58:06.662+00:00I have been with RED since Feb 2011, and after six...I have been with RED since Feb 2011, and after six or so months I owe them franchise money, I think the most ive worked in a week is 32 hours, I average about 20 hrs a week at the moment,sometimes as little as 16.All this is to be expected in this line of work, after all pupils are human, they go on holiday, get ill and sometimes just don't have the money.To survive, or just make an average wage I need to work at least 30-40 hrs a week, which hasn't happened yet.Yes, Red did send a bunch of pupils when I pointed out my difficulties..but,they don't take into account the ones that don't show-up ,or just drop-out after a few lessons.Just today I was emailed 'amendments' to my contract, which includes charges for paying franchise fees with Visa card and 'Administration fees' for failing to honour standing orders and various other financial penalties.All this came with a Moral boosting statement from the GEO telling me how great RED was.How do I get out of this ? thoughts please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-16836530437839914962011-07-11T18:37:05.279+00:002011-07-11T18:37:05.279+00:00these comments are fantastic,how ever some of them...these comments are fantastic,how ever some of them are baseless but my advise is every one born a different day and different reason,so why do u say mr x or y earn that much if you personally wish this job try it if not stop it simple!!!!!<br /> <br />thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-32457747809727437842011-06-28T13:21:03.737+00:002011-06-28T13:21:03.737+00:00I am with RED Driving School at the moment. I am w...I am with RED Driving School at the moment. I am working in east London areas. I've been with RED since January '11 when I started as PDI, training was good enough however part 3 took 2 attempts to pass. Still would say I am quite happy with the trainers. I went on headboard with RED and it costs me £102 per week (Full franchise for PDIs is £280). I found a car to hire for just under £300 per month. I get pupils when I ask. Maybe not as many as I would want, but sometimes there are a few. If I would extend my contract for another year - headboard (decals on the car, pupils, posters and business cards) would cost £91 per week or £185 for full franchise which includes car, pupils, insurance, car maintenance, posters and business cards. But as I just meet my ends right now I decided to buy my own car and take it from there. For those who want to start as a driving instructors, I would advice to think if this is really the job you want to do. As someone mentioned if you want to "work round your kids" or have a part time job - it just doesn't work. You must work hard to earn. It is possible to earn decent money but not straight away and only by hard working. So if you're up for it forget evenings and weekends with your friends and family. Good Luck!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-20485633333467985772011-06-13T23:00:55.917+00:002011-06-13T23:00:55.917+00:00I agree with the above comment
ThanksI agree with the above comment<br /><br />ThanksEastendhttp://www.goeastend.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-40610096823925141532011-02-12T20:54:12.586+00:002011-02-12T20:54:12.586+00:00IM WITH RED IN THE NORTH EAST I PAY £200 PER WEEK ...IM WITH RED IN THE NORTH EAST I PAY £200 PER WEEK FOR A DUAL CONTROLLED CAR I GET A PUPIL ONCE A MONTH IF IM LUCKY WENT 10 WEEKS WITHOUT A PUPIL TILL I COMPLAINED I ONLY MAKE ENOUGH TO PAY MY FRANCHISE IM LEAVING THEM VERY SOON THE ARE USELESSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-34632419196532208562011-01-11T00:56:52.206+00:002011-01-11T00:56:52.206+00:00Im with a driving school franchise in London, have...Im with a driving school franchise in London, have been with them for a while now (3 months) they supply me with many learners on average 20-30 a month, during one month i was simply over booked! i would recommend them to driving instructors looking ffor franchises. The other benefit is also that they offer short flexible contracts (1-2 months). You can call them on 0800 955 2344<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wantdrivinglessons.com/instructors" rel="nofollow">London Driving School Franchises</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-78307346416770764022010-12-05T22:46:00.274+00:002010-12-05T22:46:00.274+00:00i trained with red about 3 yrs ago. there training...i trained with red about 3 yrs ago. there training was totally useless. very few people actually pass with red. i passed all 3 parts but i only did so because i had the brains to train with a private instructor.at a cost of £900 on top of the £3495 i paid red. wen you go out for the part 2 and part 3 in car training you do about 45 mins of training then 45 mins of sitting in the local cafe then you sit in the back of the car for the remaining 45 mins and thats it. i think they take advantage of peoples ignorance and desperation for a job. its just unbelivable that thay get away with advertising all those lies about a guarantrrd job and 30k earnings. after i got my badge i went to bsm. its unbelivable that they are just as bad with there franchises. its all about them making the money and tying you down to long contracts. and our government just allows it to happen.my advise is dont bother its a very low paid long hours and unsociable hours type of jobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-17720900266527711792010-11-27T15:50:21.644+00:002010-11-27T15:50:21.644+00:00Im in franchise paying £90 per week (exc a car) I ...Im in franchise paying £90 per week (exc a car) I am getting lots of pupil introductions with many of them paying for 10 lessons when they start, keeping me always busy! Im with Want Driving Lessons franchise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-49476281386376165022010-11-12T16:37:37.521+00:002010-11-12T16:37:37.521+00:00So much in the Red Driving School advertising is m...So much in the Red Driving School advertising is misleading. Research carefully before you spend your moneyKeane Driverhttp://www.keanedriver.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-15322998441824375412010-11-09T20:40:17.866+00:002010-11-09T20:40:17.866+00:00Ive been an independent for 8 years in the Bedford...Ive been an independent for 8 years in the Bedford area. Its not an easy way to make a living and £30k pa for a newbie is just misleading you WILL NOT earn that much. The franchises are just expensive car rental companies and theyre all struggling, just check the many money saving offers advertised. Who lowers their prices when theyre busy ?<br /><br />Please save yourselves a lot of money and do something else the market is saturated. Things may improve if one of the major players fall over but dont hold your breath.<br /><br />Finally.... one local 'company' is offering 5 hours for £55. Their franchise equates to around £8 per hour, add your fuel and you are working for nothing. So 'dont just drive' get a proper job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-84348758427165268462010-11-04T21:29:25.091+00:002010-11-04T21:29:25.091+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10648543276007538301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-30845443832717600602010-11-04T21:18:48.399+00:002010-11-04T21:18:48.399+00:00whoever joins red or bsm has to be dumb, im sorry ...whoever joins red or bsm has to be dumb, im sorry if you think im being childish and unreasonable. i will explain why, the franchise for bsm per week is £275, yearly that works out 16,500 pounds. thats someones salary.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10648543276007538301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-6984096389507111152010-10-25T12:49:29.034+00:002010-10-25T12:49:29.034+00:00I was an instructor with BSM almost 20 years ago. ...I was an instructor with BSM almost 20 years ago. We were using 1.1 Rover Metro's then. Instructor training with them then was around £1,500 and the weekly franchise fee was £295 a week. For this you got the car, insurance and whatever pupils they could drum up. You were not allowed to advertise for yourself so you relied on what they could get. The reality was that most weeks you struggled to pay the franchise due to lack of work. I think their adverts then were suggesting that you could earn £20,000+ a year. They failed to mention that they would take nearly 75% of that !gmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-19386441574658885282010-09-06T02:11:05.585+00:002010-09-06T02:11:05.585+00:00For Part 3 you will need a specialist instructor t...For Part 3 you will need a specialist instructor trainer. Pay by the hour is my recommendation. If they want large fees up front tell them to sod off. Paying per session means that if you don't like it you haven't lost a great deal of cash or gone into debt. The trainer also has an incentive to turn up for your sessions and do the work.<br /><br />Only take the exams when you are sure you are ready and follow precisely the advice you are given, it can be expensive to rush things.<br /><br />If you are currently in a job it's probably best to stay in that job while you train/qualify.<br /><br />Income? It depends on how quickly you can build the business but think about this, If you take out a franchise, will the franchisor supply you with enough work to pay the franchise fee, your fuel bill, your tax and still leave you enough to live on? Only you can do those sums for yourself.<br /><br />Once qualified, don't touch any franchise that locks you in for more than a month and don't believe any promises about pupil supply especially from companies you've never heard of because learner drivers won't have heard of them either.<br /><br />Once you are qualified you could also go independent which would mean lower costs but you have to sort out your own pupils. It's usually best to do this after you have used a franchise to fill up your diary and learn the game.<br /><br />You could go Red but I would urge you not to do this unless you can afford the course fees out of your own pocket. Don't go into debt to qualify, it's a stupid thing to do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-17119246308407614562010-09-06T02:10:30.848+00:002010-09-06T02:10:30.848+00:00If it's the job you want to do and not the £3...If it's the job you want to do and not the £30K then it's not the worst option you could take. I make a living at it but a lot of people don't. That has to be your decision after weighing up the pro's and cons and doing your research.<br /><br />Who is best to go with?<br /><br />Do part 1 using the Focus CD 'Driving Test Success'. It contains the ADI question bank and should get you through Part 1 if you splash out a few quid on the necessary books. The list of books is contained in the ADI 14 pack that you can obtain from the DSA for a small fee.<br /><br />Do Part 2 by asking a local instructor (find a good one by word of mouth)to check out your driving and then go away and follow their advice/practice hard until you think it's perfect. Go back to your 'tame ADI' and ask him/her to have another look at your driving before thinking about the Part 2 Test.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-44892324896970838392010-09-05T23:12:15.003+00:002010-09-05T23:12:15.003+00:00Look at the SQUIDOO website about becoming a drivi...Look at the SQUIDOO website about becoming a driving instructor and also look at the Business link/DirectGov website to discover the real qualification rates and what qualifying involves.<br /><br />You could go Red but I would urge you not to do this unless you can afford to pay the fees without going into debt. The truth is that the qualification rates are so low that going into debt to pay for the course is a stupid option to take.<br /><br />Why not Pay by the hour for your training?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-23731492041949685892010-09-05T14:42:23.963+00:002010-09-05T14:42:23.963+00:00I am intending to become a driving instructor with...I am intending to become a driving instructor with RED. However, having read all the posts on this website, it seems a vast majority of them is against RED.<br /><br />At this juncture, my humble questions are:<br />1.) Is it advisable to become a driving instructor or not (If one really has passion for the job but wants a reasonale financial retun);<br /><br />2.) If so, who is the best instructor company to go with?<br /><br />Every advise will be appreciated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-22314549973844714112010-08-13T23:51:26.991+00:002010-08-13T23:51:26.991+00:00'Can you deflect all that blame?'
Yes, I ...'Can you deflect all that blame?'<br /><br />Yes, I think so.<br /><br />I think so because when you are talking about a course which will PROBABLY not be successful for the vast majority of applicants then responsibility has to be taken by the people selling the course to sell it with honesty, clarity and without the use of misleading statements whether that is as part of the advertising or as part of the behind closed doors sales pitch.<br /><br />Have applicants been told that they will probably be qualified in time to pay off any finance or loan agreement?<br /><br />In the vast majority of cases is that true?<br /><br />Have applicants been told that qualification will be straightforward and relatively simple?<br /><br />In the vast majority of cases is that true?<br /><br />Have applicants been sold the idea that they will probably earn £30,000 per year?<br /><br />In the vast majority of cases is that true?<br /><br />Have the applicants been sold the idea that there will be great demand for their services once qualified even though the ADI register is at an all time high and there is a definite shortage of work for many established ADI's?<br /><br />The truth is that most established ADI's earn much less than that figure of £30,000, some of them earning so little that they feel the need to advertise lessons at £10 an hour or even less.<br /><br />Is the company selling the idea of some sort of guaranteed job with secure and high earnings or that the company is actually looking for driving instructors when what they are actually doing is looking for people to sell ADI courses to?<br /><br />What are prospective applicants ACTUALLY TOLD by the company regarding qualification rates?<br /><br />Are applicants ACTUALLY TOLD that once qualified it isn't a guaranteed job on offer but a franchise opportunity with no guarantee whatsoever of enough work to cover the franchise fees once qualified?<br /><br />Is it a good deal to be locked into a company when it's perfectly possible to pay for any training you need on a pay as you go basis?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15515786.post-42316811604127626702010-08-13T18:47:06.767+00:002010-08-13T18:47:06.767+00:00I Really liked Andy from Birminghams comments as h...I Really liked Andy from Birminghams comments as he is not only experienced in the industry but clearly objective.<br /><br />I started my training with red in March/April 2010, after the "sale pitch" which I grant you was high pressure but no more than when you walk into a car showroom and the salesman approaches you and say "can I help you...." I did not let this harass me to rush a decision. I took plenty of time to look at the options, such as paying for the units separately in case of complication, actually reading the finance option, assessing the number of instructors in my area V the demand for them, and most importantly reading all the small print. A handful on months later, I am about to sit my part 2 test. I have not had long gaps between training sessions, I have been able to drop into the college with questions and seeking guidance between sessions, I have had continuity of instructor, and I cannot complain about any part of the training process. The HP training material is the only dubious bit. (poor quality video’s) but very easy to deal with using a £6 commercial equivalent.<br /><br />However through this process it has become clear to me that red will train anyone, some of the people I have encountered are clearly not built for being a driving instructor, some just have aspirations of sticking greedy fingers into what they perceive to be a very lucrative pie for very little effort on their part; others have just sat and watched TV, seen the adverts and a light bulb has been switched onto the dim setting. If people bothered to do the leg work themselves they would realise that the adverts are clearly airbrushed pap with “this is too good to be true” written all over it. Next time you’re watching the TV and you see an advert for any other random product pay close attention to it. They all lie and mislead to the point of technical legality – that’s advertising. Be smarter than that and prove that we are an intelligent species. <br /><br />My personal reason for taking this path is that I wanted a change of career and life. I have considered doing this on and off for years. Not for the “30k”, “work your own hours” or any of the other sales pitch - to take this literally is naive. This is a self employment business opportunity not a job.<br /><br />The bottom line for RED, is that they are a business like any other (out to make money) and all businesses, at their core, are ruthless. (for my part 3 and PDI franchise, I am shopping around and I am looking to BSM as one option. But do you really think they will be any less ruthless) <br /><br />As for the issues some people have. Essentially the ones who feel hard done by because they have failed to read and understand the contracts, misunderstood the difference between verbal and written contracts, all the small print that is presented and especially APR rates. Can you really deflect all that blame? Would you feel as hard done by if you had signed up to a bank loan or would you have looked more carefully in the first place?<br /><br />As many mother’s used to say to their children “if Gareth jumped off a building would you do it” the answer should be no because we need, as individuals, to learn to think for ourselves, take some personal responsibility and stop passing all the blame onto others.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com