Maybe it is not too surprising that the most poplular flying schools, restaurants etc are the family-run ones where the results of good customer service can be seen immediately on the bottom line. And can be seen to building a valuable business.
That is very true. Actually it very much resembles the "teaching from the boot of a car - model", only that you have 3 or 4 "owner-storekeepers" instead of one.
A flying school in rented premises with leased aircraft and "temporary" staff just waiting for a job on an airline is not building value. So just cut costs and take any profit while you can.
Agreed on the "temporary" staff bit. I don't agree on the "renting premises and leasing aircraft" bit. That might just be the cheapest solution to offer students glass cockpits as opposed to the usual 1969 INOP Avionics system.
Very often good customer service comes at a price.
That depends on how big the organisation is. If you have father & daugther operation with about 10 members of staff I think customer service is easy to install as a company culture. A caring person at reception who enters each appointment and staff allocation in the online system goes a very long way.
And the daft thing is that the customers put up with [lack of customer care]. So the schools don't bother to change anything.
Some customers don't and go elsewhere. But I agree customer mobility would be better if the "Independent Flight Instructor" model were to be re-instated. It would force the flight schools into offering better value.
Actually I see this happening in the US. Although I'm used to the independent instructor model for FAA instructing in Europe (and it was a good experience), I now much prefer the family run business in the US. Prices are a bit higher but not a lot higher, the planes have better maintenance, appointments are kept and there is a clear agreement on what is going to happen, how the student can prepare, etc, etc...
One thing students hate is instructors who insist on eating lunch.
Everyone knows that the lunchtime gap between slots is so that you can come in at zero notice for a quick currency check ride, not so that the instructor can actually take time off to eat lunch!
No. If the flight school is worth its keep, it would politely turn the student down. Something along the lines of
"I'm sorry but we don't have an instructor available at the moment. Gerald here is eating lunch, but he needs his rest because he has three more lessons this afternoon and he wants to deliver the same good quality to the last student".
Pretty thick student/client that doesn't understand that. And:
"Why don't we schedule an appointment for tomorrow late afternoon ? I see we have availability on G-WOWI with Denise from 4-5 pm".
Students also need to deliver too. If they have been aske to prepare for a flight they should do it.
Ideally, yes. But, hey, they are the
customer. I would mention in the debrief : "I'm sorry Mr. Cameron, but these cross wind landings went nowhere. I have the impression that you didn't do any of the armchair flying exercises or re-read chapter 17 of the handbook. You should realise that this is a two-way street. It's your money, of course, but I would think you get more value out of it if you'd came better prepared. I suggest we do some of these again on Wednesday, and please : come prepared".
Again, only the thickest of students would ignore such advice.
As for inop instruments, what should be working is the standard 6 instruments, Ts, Ps, RPM, Radio and Transponder. For basic PPL.
I disagree. In urban development there is something called the "broken windows syndrome". If a building has a broken window, it attracts trash, graffiti, urine, etc... like a magnet, simply because it looks as if it has "less value" and "nobody cares anyway". That is why you need to maintain the aircraft in as good a condition as possible. There is nothing against a temporary placard if an instrument goes INOP, but a the next serious maintenance exercise one should replace it, or take it out.
The CAA and EASA maintenance nightmare are obviously not helping (cfr. your upholstery example). But it is clear that a well maintained plane makes for a more respectful and more focused student.
Aircraft are very expensive beasts - a new trainer costs £130,000 ish and will take decades to return the investment, they don't bring any additional customers and will be wrecked within 2 years of going in to service.
Not at my club, they're not. They will require some overhaul when they are 5-7 years old, but until then, standard maintenance will keep them shining.