A little postscript to my my last post: As I said, Tuesday was very disappointing, especially for Anna. As she walked away from Elgin test centre the thermometer on my car read 6C. Later on, at 3.30 that afternoon, I was back in the TC car park teaching another pupil Bay Parking. The temperature had now dropped to 3C, so I was surprised to see the examiner who had cancelled Anna's test taking someone out on a test. How did it become safe to go ahead with a test at 3.27pm, when it was judged 'not safe' at 11.41am, when it was three degrees warmer? Not only that, but I received a distressed text message from Anna this afternoon: She said that they had given her a new test date of January 13th 2010; five weeks away. Hardly the "few days" the examiner guessed it woud be. Worse still, Anna will have left Elgin to go to university before then. I have promised her that I will keep looking for cancellations (test slots that become available with short notice because someone else has cancelled, or moved, their test).
You may have read one of my posts, at the end of October, saying that, with all the tests I had coming up, I would have gaps in my diary for new pupils. That was a slight understatement. My diary was beginning to look worryingly empty, hence my willingness to travel to Ullapool for more work.
On BSM's Instructor forum, there are often moans from instructors around the country that BSM do not provide them with enough pupils. But BSM cannot conjure pupils out of thin air. BSM have spent money sponsoring the telly programme 'Skins', advertising on football ground hoardings, securing prime positions on search engines and offering 20% off blocks of lessons. I always sympathise with instructors who are struggling with the lack of pupils because I know exactly what it feels like. However, don't just sit on your backside, moaning. DO SOMETHING!
Concerned about the lack of pupils, I printed posters and put them in local shops, I took the time to get myself listed on Yell, Google and other free means of advertising, I gave out business cards to all my pupils, I opened up my diary to cover more days and hours, and, as I have said, I was prepared to travel greater distances to find work.
With the exception of the 6 or 7 Ullapool pupils that were passed on to me, I was disappointed with the result of my efforts; there was still a significant shortage of pupils. Then, in the last ten days, it has suddenly gone mad. I have had several new pupils and enquiries each day and my diary has become very full indeed. Some of them have come via BSM, several have come from recommendations from previous, or existing, pupils, and some of them have found me through my own entries in Google et al. The nice thing is that they are from different areas: Michelle, Eilidh, Laura, Stuart, Ryan, Karen, Michael, Fin, Chris and Kim in Ullapool; Andrea, Mark, Duncan, Jed and Kevin in the Inverness area; and Ryan, Imogen, Eddie, Paula and Henry in Elgin/Forres.
I even had an enquiry from Reigate, Surrey this afternoon, 605 miles away! I should explain: Mascha lives in Reigate but is staying with family in Ullapool over Christmas, so she searched for driving instructors in Ullapool (I only listed my services in Ullapool last night) and found me. She has booked her test, in Ullapool, for 23rd December, and has asked me to give her sufficient lessons to take her to test.
All of this means that I am going to be a very busy boy over the next few weeks, with my only day off, between now and Christmas, being Sunday 20th December (we are taking the grandchildren on Santa's steam train in the Cairngorms). I am not complaining. Far from it. This time of year is traditionally quiet for driving lessons so I am going to make hay while the sun shines (or should that be 'make snowballs while the snow falls'?).
What is starting to concern me is where to draw the line. If I get any more new pupils I will find it hard to fit them into my diary (existing pupils will always get priority), but I hate the idea of turning any away. When I ran pubs I used to hate turning tables away, but I think it is sometimes better to give good service to a reasonable amount of customers than poor service to too many customers. Who knows, I may not get any more new pupils for weeks, so I should be grateful of this sudden deluge of customers.
So, for any instructors who want more pupils, you have a choice: Sit there doing nothing and feeling sorry for yourself; or get out there (geographically and on the internet) and get those pupils yourself - give yourself a happy Christmas.
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