The customer is always right, but your instructor still knows better.

Yes, yes. I know it's been a while since my last post. Get over it.
I'm in a bolshy mood. I'm going to blame it on my pupils. I spend my working hours sat in close proximity  - is there such a thing as distant proximity? - with my customers. No, this isn't a hygiene rant, most of my customers are fresh and fragrant. But imagine spending an hour, two hours, even three hours, in a lift with one other person. Fortunately, some of my customers are expert raconteurs, blessed of wit and warmth. And most of them are capable of constructing a meaningful sentence. But, every now and then, I look at my diary and see that my day includes an hour (or more), trapped with someone who will barely say a word.
In the early lessons I accept, almost expect this. They may be nervous, or just heeding the advice they were given by their parents not to talk to strange men. But, after a lesson or two, I do expect a little bit of interaction. Learning is a two-way process. I try to encourage people to work things out for themselves where appropriate. At the moment I have someone who just doesn't answer when I ask them a question. They just stare ahead and wait for me to tell them. I try rephrasing the question, but often, still no answer. I had someone pass earlier this year who had the strangely amusing habit of, whenever I asked them a question, would ALWAYS put their finger on their lip, screw up their face, as though they were thinking, and then reply "I don't know". I knew the answer would be 'I don't know', but it used to fascinate me watching them get to that answer.
I wouldn't ask someone such a baffling question as 'Why did that person overtake us when they were going to turn off the road ten seconds later?' Or 'Why are there traffic lights on the Kessock Bridge roundabout?' But I do like people to at least have a stab at answering the questions I do ask.
However...... Worse, much worse, than someone who doesn't seem to know anything, is someone who thinks they know it all. I'm not going to give examples but, as a qualified instructor, with close to one million miles of driving experience, I am pretty confident that I know more about driving than any customer I have ever had. Don't get me wrong, I like my customers to discuss situations with me. Give me your perspective and explain your way of thinking. But, ultimately, you are paying ME to instruct YOU... I do know better than you.
And while we are at it - and this is what triggered me to write this - the driving examiners also know better than you. I sat in on a test recently. It was a customer who should easily pass; a really controlled, composed driver. But definitely not a 'know-it-all'. The test was going well, I felt completely relaxed in the back. Unfortunately, they misjudged a car coming round a roundabout and, incorrectly pulled out in front of them. My customer accelerated briskly, but I knew the oncoming car would have had to at least hold the brake.
At the end of the test my customer obviously thought they had passed because they seemed quite shocked when the examiner explained why they had failed. "But I didn't cause then to slow down" he tried to argue. DON'T argue with examiner. The examiner's jaw dropped, "How close did you want them to get" they replied, but I could tell that they were quite stunned that my customer disagreed with them.
I shall give them the benefit of the doubt and put it down to disappointment. But, the next time someone pulls out in front of us (and someone will), I shall ask them for their thoughts. I am pretty sure they won't put their finger on their lip, screw up their face and, eventually reply, "I don't know".