Instructor College

[love2drive]

Hi, I am thinking of signing up with the instructor college -- has anyone had experience of them? they look quite good but seem a bit expensive. what do other people think?

[Dimmy]

Multiple threads on The Instructor College further down the forums,  try this link

http://www.drivertrainingtoday.co.uk/forum/index.php/board,296.0.html

[adiNigel]

Who have you compared them to?

Where are you based?

Nigel

[WDT]

TIC are excellent. If compared with beheading in Iraq, A night in a bath tub of margarine with Fatima Whitbread, having your tongue nailed to the table with malice, a three month old McDonalds Filet-o-fish, sand papering your private parts with a power sander, eating your own arm or having a tonsil wrestle with John Major.

I would personally rather dress as a balerina with a pink tutu, black hob-nail boots and paint my eyes with creosote whilst having my hair blow dried with the jet exhaust of an RAF Tornado (with afterburner) than give one penny to that mickey-mouse crowd.

On the otherhand, some people like them.

Note to WDT: try to assert yourself more, stop hanging back.

[Dimmy]

whilst having my hair blow dried with the jet exhaust of an RAF Tornado (with afterburner)

you are not the first person to express that opinion regarding TIC training. At least one other was prepared to try it for real.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WJiERfUtHnw

[Zipper]

...I would personally rather dress as a balerina with a pink tutu, black hob-nail boots and paint my eyes with creosote whilst having my hair blow dried with the jet exhaust of an RAF Tornado (with afterburner) than give one penny to that mickey-mouse crowd...

Hi WDT. I get the feeling - it's just a feeling you know, a very slight one, a hunch really - that you are just a wee bit disenchanted with these people?

Don't spend that penny, go ahead with your proposed "makeover", and post the pictures here!

[WDT]

Well, I originally started training with BSM in 1985. Had a break then approached TIC in 2000. At the time I lived in Peterborough and the TIC was in the next street to me. I was invited for a driving assessment (as is everyone). I went along on foot as I lived yards away. During an interview I was told how good I am as a driver, way above average, good knowledge and great control, just a little tweaking here and there needed. Funny, they hadn't seen me drive. All I was being told was the same BS that everyone else got told. I did some looking into the company and what was then RED driving school and decided they would get exactly zip of my hard earned.

Box shifters or number crunchers we used to call them. Get them in, butter them up, take their money and f*** them (not literally!). I am not saying this is their actual policy, but it may as well be.

[Piperazzi]

As a graduate of TIC I have to agree with many comments here.  I trained through the Glasgow branch and I have to say that the quality of the instructors there was excellent and they did their best to help everyone but I did not like the management side of things.  It was all number crunching trying to make as much as possible out of you.
I was fortunate.  I managed to get my badge at the end of it but I had to work my socks off to get it.  I think I managed it because I got to make a few good friends there and together we did many hours of additional private practice.
I could easily have failed my third attempt and be faced with the two year ban before starting it all over again.  TIC guaranteed you a pass but if I had failed, I am sure I would have fallen away and found some other form of occupation.
I am sure this is what TIC bank on and give this guarantee knowing that the majority will melt away.
On hindsight, I did not do enough research and I have since realised that there would have been a better way at much less cost.
My advice, love2drive, is to shop around and see what else is out there on offer.  Speak to some ADI's in your area (most are very approachable) and find out who they trained with and also ask how they cope with the job and if the customer base is there.  Do all this before you part with your hard earned cash.

[Dux]

I trained initially with TIC. Having come from outside industry I really had no idea who to approach, I didn't really understand how they worked, I do now.

The trainers at my college were a great bunch, but they work under such constraints that the training I received for part 3 was really not enough for me, the best day I had was when the guy I was suppose to train with didn't turn up and I had the full session to myself, learnt so much more that day.

Following this I started my trainee licence and the school I started with did training also, I paid for the extra training and I'm glad I did. I got a more personal one to one training session that TIC just don't offer.

Sadly it all comes down to the bottom line with TIC, I paid before I really knew anything about the industry. If I had my time over again I'd go to the people who I paid the extra training, where are you from love2drive? If your around the Manchester/Oldham area I pm me and I will give you the web address of the company I trained with, they knock spots off TIC and are far cheaper.

[hector]

WDT your reply is a classic!

Im biased of course- I love TIC as they give me countless dissatisfied clients. Love2 drive dont make the same mistake as thousands of others and chuck your money down the drain.

[driver67]

sand papering your private parts with a power sander,

WDT, don`t knock it `till you tried it.

[WDT]

Now there is an idea.

Hello, is that B&Q? Yes, do you have a genital sander? Helllo? Hello?