Dispatchers know nothing, 172's are now KingAir's, and more!

[invertedattitude]

Seriously, I can't stand the rental industry here in my home town, my next stop is Debert where they always used to treat me well years ago, but is almost 2 hours away.

....about two months ago:

Went to local school to go flying, I am/was current with said school at the time, and booked a 172 four days in advance to go flying.

Upon showing up I was told my plane was snagged and there was no other. I asked when it was snagged, they said the day before... the ensuing questions about why I wasn't called were easily answered with an "I dunno"

So anyway, they finally get me a 172 to fly, as I'm done pre-flighting the aircraft and getting ready to go the dispatcher says I need to go see the "Instructor on duty" to get permission to fly. (I am CPL and club rules always used to be, if you're CPL and current, it's your butt)

So I go get in line to see the "Instructor on Duty" (who by the way had a fancy shirt to boot) that person told me my medical was not satisfactory as it had expired, which it had not, simply could not figure out the whole "stamping" process. (Quotes are not mine)

So finally after waiting in line for 15 minutes to get this done, she asks to see my logbook to verify that I'm current... so I say fine even though this has never been school policy as the dispatcher could see I had flown only a month prior even when explaining this the person did not care, but I do admire someone following their rules... even if they are not correct, the safer the better right?

Finally, after waiting in line AGAIN to see this Oracle of aviation knowledge, the all mighty and powerfull "On Duty Instructor"
I finally get released to go flying.

Skipping the flying part, which was uneventful, well maintained aircraft, I went up for a grand total of 0.9 hours taking a friend sightseeing to the big ol' fancy Confederation Bridge.

So I proceed to the Dispatch desk to pay my bill, to which the dispatcher replies:

"Ok, that'll be $290 dollars
"Um, is there another bill on there, you sure that's for 0.9?"
"Yea, 0.9, says $290
"And I have no other outstanding bills"
"No this is just for this flight"
"Ahh ok, what's the hourly rate for your 172??"
I don't know

And on this went for a good 5-10 minutes, no-one in the building could find the answer I would think to be common knowledge for a school with only 4 aircraft types.

Anyway at this point I was told I would have to come in on Monday to straighten out my bill with the finance office as they couldn't adjust anything on their end, they just charge what the computer says to charge.

Needless to say I told them politely to stuff it, and when they want to fix the problem they can bill me for the correct amount.


Seriously is this what aviation in Canada has come to for the recreational flier? Nothing but a giant headache fuelled by incompetence?

[/rant]

[ywgflyboy]

I have experienced lots of frustrations with flying schools since beginning my training, right on through until the end. There is little respect towards "customers/students" and we are often walked on. In the end, they are in it for the buck and I had no problem withdrawing all my account money from a said school one summer when I got no flying hours for 7 weeks due to the fact the good ol' air cadets showed up and deserved better customer service than me. The most attention I received was after doing so, receiving emails from the CFI apologizing and saying it was my fault because they were not aware I wanted to flying during that time. DUH what the f- do you think I was doing there showing up everyday asking if there were planes available.

My rant now over

[Tango01]

This is all too common, I have experienced this lack of knowledge, service, treatment, etc from many FTU's. The attitude is like they are making you a favour by allowing you to take their airplane for over $140 per hour. The funny thing is when I go to Budget to rent a car, I get treated with respect, they provide a brand new clean car full of fuel and ready to go. if there is a delay, they appologize and try to make me happy by upgrading me. They do all this for $35 A DAY!

For the recreational flyers out there, you should look into buying your own airplane.

[5x5]

I find it disheartening to see someone knowledgeable (at least I'll make that assumption based on over 1,000 posts on this site) in aviation submit a post comparing aircraft rental to car rental. It's like comparing airline flights to bus service and is one of the root problems within aviation today.

I am appalled that invertedattitude experienced what he did - that is definitely inexcusable. Hopefully he has also sent the same information to the CFI and/or GM as they are the ones who can actually do something about it. Coming on a public forum and slagging flight schools in general is not doing anyone any good that I can see. And it just adds to the sense of negativity that pervades this site.

On the bright side, that kind of FTU does serve a function as an excellent selling feature for any competing schools in the area. Simply send anyone checking things out over to that school - you'll look fantastic in comparison and they'll be right back to sign up.

[AirMail]

Debert is a great place to rent worth the 2 hr drive imo

[raven54]

Debert is only a 35 min drive for me, how are their rates?

[AirMail]

haha use to be a 35 min drive for me too, last i check 2 mths ago, 135 wet/hr, seems to be on par with other 172 rentals this day and age

[Oor Wullie]

If the service is sub-par... go somewhere else. If not, then you are adding to the problem.

I've seen many FTU's go bust due in part to this poor attitude.

[Strega]

The best part of all this is the "instructors" at schools like this are the future of aviation in Canada..

[invertedattitude]

They won't likely go bust, this said school has one of if not the biggest Chinese contracts in the entire country.

[Dust Devil]

I find it disheartening to see someone knowledgeable (at least I'll make that assumption based on over 1,000 posts on this site) in aviation submit a post comparing aircraft rental to car rental. It's like comparing airline flights to bus service and is one of the root problems within aviation today.

I don't see him comparing aviation to the rental car industry. I see him comparing customer service of the two industries. It could be argued that customer service is an industry all of it's own. Just because it's an airplane is not a reason to abandon clients. Granted it may not be possible to provide an upgrade or a replacement aircraft. A customer should never be told "I dunno" and some sort of compensation should be offered not necessarily monetary but at least a solid explanation.

[Oor Wullie]

They won't likely go bust, this said school has one of if not the biggest Chinese contracts in the entire country.

There's the problem. You aren't important to them.

your $290 is out-weighed by $50 000

[Slappy the Squirrel]

I second Debert. Spent some time there and they are great. They aren't out to screw you, and I have never heard anything bad from anybody about them. Their CFI is great and you still get the old flying club feel there, which seems to be dying out pretty much everywhere else.

[RVR6000]

MFC's service to the general public has been going down the drain for a while now. Their priority is the Chinese contract, everyone else comes second. I don't think they should be allowed to rake the benefits of a non-profit organization who is primarily training foreign students.

[xsbank]

In my very first aviation job, dispatching, with my very first aviation boss who unfortunately is not with us any more, he told me something I have never forgotten: "If I ever hear you say 'no' to a client, you are fired."

Simple. The absolute foundation of customer service.

[GilletteNorth]

Can I have a million dollars?

[5x5]

Maybe the second poster

I don't see him comparing aviation to the rental car industry. I see him comparing customer service of the two industries.

Well his words made me think he was comparing the two industries. My bad. Even so, he can't rightfully make a comment about FTUs in general and contrast it to a wonderful experience at a car rental place. I don't know how many car rental companies he's dealt with, but in my experience, there are frequent delays, the model or size of car you want isn't there, whatever. Customer service can be bad anywhere.

And as a tag on response to the original post relating an experience at what sounds to be (from numerous previous threads) one of the, shall we say, less excellent schools around is simply negative in my opinion.

Most customer facing businesses can always do better regarding customer service and good businesses try to do that. If a school you're thinking of attending or are currently a customer of doesn't provide you the service you want, go somewhere else. That's the ultimate hammer you have as the customer. Take your money elsewhere!!!

[mattedfred]

why are they called dispatchers at FTU's?

are they licensed dispatchers?