I'm in need of advice because I'm really desperate at this point.
I passed my theory test in 2018 and started doing 2/4 hour lessons every week (with two different driving schools) until January 2020. I sat my test twice in manual in 2019 and failed both times. Due to COVID, I was not able to take any lessons between January 2020 and now. I took a one-off lesson in October 2020, but the instructor suggested I go for automatic instead as I have real issues with the gears.
Fast forward, I've been looking for an automatic driving instructor since the restrictions lifted in July 2021 and I was only able to find one this month. I wanted a one-off lessons to see what it would be like to drive an automatic. I attended the lesson and although I enjoyed driving in automatic, I'm really getting an off vibe from the instructor:
a) I can't understand a single thing he says - he's Dutch and has the worst accent I've ever heard in my entire life, which makes it difficult for me to understand instructions etc.
b) He said it was a "bad look" that I didn't study my theory before the lesson (again, I've passed my theory test, done my mandatory hours, this lessons was merely a test run to see if I like automatic driving)
c) this really pissed me off: when the lesson finished, he asked me how much I wanted to pay, so I said I'd pay for the lesson we just had per the pricing grid on his website and he said: "No, you need to pay for the upcoming lesson as well or buy a 12 hour package for E500". I told him this lesson was a test run to see how I feel about going automatic and then commit, but he said I needed to pay for any upcoming lesson at the same time as the lesson that just finished. I managed to talk myself out of paying for any upcoming lesson - I'm not going to give him cash and if I choose to cancel, then I can say goodbye to any refund. Previous driving schools operated their payments electronically, so much easier to trace, but cash- no.
d) He wants me to fill in a form on what has improved and not improved after each lesson and hand it over to him. While I appreciate the effort, I'm here to pass my test, no write a performance report on myself.
While he was a really good driving instructor and I learned more in those 2 hours with him than I did in 6 months with my previous instructor, I'm a bit weirded out. It's really difficult to find automatic instructors at a reasonable rate in my area (a lot don't cover my area though central) and I really want to get my license. I've already spent so much money, I can't just give up now. Then again, I don't want to go down the rabbit whole of being rinsed out of my money with no results in sight. I've no one to drive with, so lessons are my only option.
If anyone can provide some advice / suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!
I passed my theory test in 2018 and started doing 2/4 hour lessons every week (with two different driving schools) until January 2020. I sat my test twice in manual in 2019 and failed both times. Due to COVID, I was not able to take any lessons between January 2020 and now. I took a one-off lesson in October 2020, but the instructor suggested I go for automatic instead as I have real issues with the gears.
Fast forward, I've been looking for an automatic driving instructor since the restrictions lifted in July 2021 and I was only able to find one this month. I wanted a one-off lessons to see what it would be like to drive an automatic. I attended the lesson and although I enjoyed driving in automatic, I'm really getting an off vibe from the instructor:
a) I can't understand a single thing he says - he's Dutch and has the worst accent I've ever heard in my entire life, which makes it difficult for me to understand instructions etc.
b) He said it was a "bad look" that I didn't study my theory before the lesson (again, I've passed my theory test, done my mandatory hours, this lessons was merely a test run to see if I like automatic driving)
c) this really pissed me off: when the lesson finished, he asked me how much I wanted to pay, so I said I'd pay for the lesson we just had per the pricing grid on his website and he said: "No, you need to pay for the upcoming lesson as well or buy a 12 hour package for E500". I told him this lesson was a test run to see how I feel about going automatic and then commit, but he said I needed to pay for any upcoming lesson at the same time as the lesson that just finished. I managed to talk myself out of paying for any upcoming lesson - I'm not going to give him cash and if I choose to cancel, then I can say goodbye to any refund. Previous driving schools operated their payments electronically, so much easier to trace, but cash- no.
d) He wants me to fill in a form on what has improved and not improved after each lesson and hand it over to him. While I appreciate the effort, I'm here to pass my test, no write a performance report on myself.
While he was a really good driving instructor and I learned more in those 2 hours with him than I did in 6 months with my previous instructor, I'm a bit weirded out. It's really difficult to find automatic instructors at a reasonable rate in my area (a lot don't cover my area though central) and I really want to get my license. I've already spent so much money, I can't just give up now. Then again, I don't want to go down the rabbit whole of being rinsed out of my money with no results in sight. I've no one to drive with, so lessons are my only option.
If anyone can provide some advice / suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!