I can't speak of your airfield, but this is a little bit general experience ín many other places (schools, clubs) too.
before the owner decided he'd had enough and decided to do a runner
So this just created a sudden surge of unexpected demand for the remaining schools, for which they may not be prepared for right away.
For me this is a lifestyle choice, late 40's, more time to follow up interests and the money to achieve my lifelong ambition, to gain my PPL.
This makes you a second priority behind students wanting to learn to fly for making a career. You want to learn in a cosy and leasurely pace, your horizon is to gain, who knows how much you will later fly, your flight currency may be on a low level after your PPL obtained, making it risky to lend aircraft to you later on....!
If I am to hand over 200 of my hard earned a couple of times a month
You aren't aware that 190 of that goes to buy fuel, pay for insurance, pay low wages to CFIs.... flight training is a low-margin, yet risky business, especially with non-career students.
Well the chap on the desk had different ideas. He suggested in no uncertain terms that it might be more beneficial if I took a trip to the terminal and had myself a coffee whilst waiting, despite immediately to his right a very well used kettle and all the equipment required to make a potential new recruit a welcome coffee.
THis is a classic behavioural test
If you want to be a pilot, you have to have to courage to ask, threaten or trick getting coffee from that cattle
Wow, grumpy was an understatement.
You need to get used to this and handle this like a man. Imagine how grumpy they can get when you fail to follow instructions during training