Why don't you allow piggy backing?

Piggy backing can be seen as a positive experience can't it?

For those of you that are not aware of piggy backing, it is a common practice whereby an instructor arrives at a clients address with a pupil already in the car and you have to drive them back. At the end of your lesson you have to sit in the back while someone else drives you.

There are several disadvantages to this practice:-

1. You may well be uncomfortable with the idea of another pupil watching while you drive, especially at the beginning of your lesson.
2. Whilst you are driving the previous pupil home your instructor is unlikely to correct your mistakes too much because of not wanting to 'show you up' in front of their other pupil. By the time that you have dropped them off you are unlikely to benefit as much from the corrections, and therefore; for a portion of the lesson, your mistakes could be uncorrected.
3. It is quite possible that the route necessary to take the other pupil home has no bearing upon what you are supposed to be learning today at all. This may not be the case every time but ask yourself how often you want to pay to drive a very expensive taxi.
4. Towards the end of what remains of your lesson your instructor will be directing you to the home of their next pupil. It is quite possible that both of these drives (which are very good for the instructor by the way as they make more lesson fees per day) are inconvenient when taking into consideration the intended lesson plan.

To summarise:-

1. You are being asked to pay for a very expensive taxi ride where you also have to drive the taxi.
2. If the 10 to 15 minute drive at both ends of your lesson are not specifically relevent to your lesson plan (which is most likely) then you are paying for 20 to 30 minutes of expensive tuition for what exactly?

Instructors who promote the practice use the following reasons:-

1. You will not always drive alone when you have passed you test. (but you will not be paying them to be there either).
2. You will get to see other pupils drive and see that you are/are not yet ready for a test. (your instructors job is to tell you).
3. It is a common practice. (sadly quite true).
4. I've been doing this for god knows how many years and never had any complaints yet. (for the reason above mainly, also because pupils do not like to tell their instructors what they want).

The winner in this situation of course is the instructor. By not having to leave gaps between their lessons for travelling they are 'earning'(?) an extra 2 or 3 lesson fees per day. Now let me see. Three times a full lesson fee, multiplied by five days a week equals a fantastic number of potential reasons to make up justifications for piggy backing.

With Findley's remember, you are guaranteed a full hour of one-to-one professional tuition dedicated solely to your individual needs. No one elses.

You are paying the money. It is your choice!