Why are the flight training school so arrogant?

[blackbird_007]

Hey all:

I tried to apply for several flight training school and they all seem to either mis-manage all their bookings, do not even bother to answer your call and emails or to give you some excuses to mislead you. That includes many flight training schools around the GTA area. That even include some "university" that provide you flight training. I am especially so disappointing about that particular university as they think students are enslaved to the admission. Too bad, my money is definitely not going to that university.

Flight training is a great investment and money. Are the operators of those flight training school some sort of saint that do not like money and tuition?

[cdnpilot77]

Were you a student at any of these flight schools or were you trying to become a student?

It seems as though English is a Second language here so not going to attack the grammar, but without any specific examples, this just sounds like whining because you didn't get what you wanted when you wanted it.

Schools are very busy with current students and always looking for more. Perhaps you caught them on a very busy nice flying day when all the instructors were flying and dispatch was running off their feet. Perhaps asking for a meeting on a less busy day with the CFI to understand how a flight school operates and how they can accommodate your needs would be the best course of action rather than a non-sensical non-specific rant on avcanada.

[blackbird_007]

^ Yes. Thank you for proving my point.
"Schools are very busy with current students and always looking for more. Perhaps you caught them on a very busy nice flying day when all the instructors were flying and dispatch was running off their feet."
Then hire more people. The flight training schools are definitely not looking for money.

"Perhaps asking for a meeting on a less busy day with the CFI to understand how a flight school operates and how they can accommodate your needs would be the best course of action rather than a non-sensical non-specific rant on avcanada."
Wait. I am very busy too. I phone them several times Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. January to December. Perhaps you should appreciate my time more too.

Oh. CdnPilot77. my dear master. what can i do for you?
I'm at your service. May I call you 3am in the morning when you are less busy and where you will accommodate my needs. Haha.

[cdnpilot77]

I see why no one wants to give you their time. Good luck to you!

[DanWEC]

Ha! What a peach. Gee, this one's a real headscratcher.....
Rarely are answers to questions so obvious. Good luck trying to make friends in this industry.

[HiFlyChick]

Hey Blackbird, have you considered a flying club? I did all of my training at a club rather than a school and thoroughly enjoyed the social atmosphere. I don't know what's available in your area but you should talk to a club if there's one near you

[PointyEngine]

Time to open the pop, kick back and enjoy the show. This should be good...

Some peoples children...

[BKerns]

I never had these problems with Brampton or Waterloo Wellington when I completed my IFR, and multi ratings. Brampton, I emailed the CFI said "I will be in town for a week can you get me done?" Got paired up with a flexible instructor and got me done in time even with a couple weather days.

At Waterloo doing my Multi the dispatcher said I was one of the few who showed up on time for my flights. If the aircraft was booked for 2, I arrived at 1 so I could be airborne for 2. Some students would arrive at the time they were booked in the plane so the aircraft was sitting for quite some time.

I think the best approach is to make your goal clear, set some time frame and obviously the more flexible you are with your schedule the easier it will be to work with your instructor. It would be tough to work or class Monday to Friday 9-5 and try to book flight training. I was always lucky to block off a week or two where I could give it 100% for those days. Would recommend Brampton Flight Center or Waterloo, as I had a great experience with both.

[PilotDAR]

Blackbird,

Your post does not present the air of your being patient and understanding. I have confidence that most flying schools are run with the required balance for business efficiency - or else they will not remain in business. If a business is serving its established clients, it is possible that their capacity to serve prospective clients may be diminished from time to time.

I suggest, that if you would like service absolutely at your disposal, and schedule, that you buy a plane, and hire a personal instructor. Otherwise, some flexibility is going to be required. It is their plane you're asking to fly...

I assure you that an impatient attitude is a very big red flag to a flying school. A person who cannot manage the entry to a harmonious business relationship will be poor at exercising patience when it comes to pilot decision making, and those pilots are an accident looking for a place to happen - usually continued flight into deteriorating weather. Prevent yourself being thought of that way!

So my advice is for you to adopt more patience, and give the businesses of your choice another chance, with a charming attitude - as you will hope to be given another chance by the school when you do something impatient or foolish, and create risk.

For myself, I choose the pilots I will train. I do not choose to train impatient ones....

Flying is not for the impatient!

[Shiny Side Up]

A small further bit of advice. If you're really interested in flight training, you have to be doing the leg work and go visit these places. On that point you shouldn't be applying to start on the phone or by email. A great way to get taken by the bad operators who are out there. Also though, from my experience, you get very few customers through the phone, so it doesn't warrant having a dedicated sales staff to field those inquiries given most flight schools' operating margins. You and a hundred other tire kickers every day will phone, and to be honest i can tell from the first two minutes of the conversation if the customer is worth pursuing to give the full low down on flight training.

You don't strike me me as that kind of person.

Remember, many of these places get more than enough business through the door. That's your serious business, and second to that they have business contracted to them.

As someone said, you might be better served finding a smaller school or club, and if you want the best training available, you might have to put in a lot of time to get it.

[digits_]

^ Yes. Thank you for proving my point.
"Schools are very busy with current students and always looking for more. Perhaps you caught them on a very busy nice flying day when all the instructors were flying and dispatch was running off their feet."
Then hire more people. The flight training schools are definitely not looking for money.

"Perhaps asking for a meeting on a less busy day with the CFI to understand how a flight school operates and how they can accommodate your needs would be the best course of action rather than a non-sensical non-specific rant on avcanada."
Wait. I am very busy too. I phone them several times Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. January to December. Perhaps you should appreciate my time more too.

Oh. CdnPilot77. my dear master. what can i do for you?
I'm at your service. May I call you 3am in the morning when you are less busy and where you will accommodate my needs. Haha.

Yes your time is important as well, but it is not your personal private flying organisation. And while you are right you pay a lot of money to get a rating, the flying school doesn't make that much from it. If you were to buy your own private airplane and pay an instructor etc, you wouldn't come out that much cheaper.

Would you be willing to pay 10% more if that meant there was someone on call on the telephone 24/7 ?

[blackbird_007]

I am not going to spend any money on bad service. PERIOD.

If you can give some good recommendation on finding a good school. Thank you. If you are not, get out of the way quick.
Again, don't waste my time.

[YQkC]

Oh man French people

[blackbird_007]

BTW... one dispatcher booked me appointment. I arrived at the airport and they cancel my appointment and gave it to someone else. And then claimed that my booking never input. Absolutely no professionalism.

[DanWEC]

I am not going to spend any money on bad service. PERIOD.

If you can give some good recommendation on finding a good school. Thank you. If you are not, get out of the way quick.
Again, don't waste my time.

Flight Training is a unique industry that runs largely on passion, with it's share of problems. Razor thin margins being one, and unfortunately dispatchers are often pulled in several different directions at once.

So, sorry, they're all terrible. Every single one. It's a blessing in disguise for you, because now you can pursue your true calling as a holder for feminine rinse.

[MIQ]

If you can give some good recommendation on finding a good school. Thank you. If you are not, get out of the way quick.
Again, don't waste my time.

Please advise over the radio when you are in the air in the GTA. I'll do my best to 'get out of your way quick'. I would really hate 'to waste your time' waiting at the line up at Buttonville while I'm trying to land.

[short bus]

Is this guy nickynick reincarnated?

[mike123]

Blackbird, you have such a great attitude! I wish you a very successful life, preferably somewhere far from Canada.

[FenderManDan]

................................

So, sorry, they're all terrible. Every single one. It's a blessing in disguise for you, because now you can pursue your true calling as a holder for feminine rinse.

oh, wait the minute......

[Justjohn]

I smell .... Nickynick!

[niwre]

at the fear of feeding the troll.....

No wonder the schools are giving you the run around. If this any indication of how your dealing with this issue online is in any similar way how you dealt with it in person at the FTU, I'd be surprised that an FTU would have not given you your PTR back and said g'luck. Pilots are a dime a dozen, attitude is everything.

[timel]

Oh man French people

I smell a troll and a good one.
I bet he doesn't even speak French...

[nbinont]

I suggest, that if you would like service absolutely at your disposal, and schedule, that you buy a plane, and hire a personal instructor. Otherwise, some flexibility is going to be required. It is their plane you're asking to fly...

^ ^ ^ This is very good advice if you have a "challenging" schedule to work around (say, working M-F 9-6). It gives you control of one more of the things you have to line up (your schedule, plane's schedule, instructor's schedule, and weather's schedule). Actually it loosens the weather restrictions too with an experienced instructor that may be comfortable to launch when the larger flight schools would restrict flying to conditions ok for their least capable instructors (oftentimes class 4s).

EDIT: oh, now I get to read to the end of the thread....oh well.

[PilotDAR]

oh, now I get to read to the end of the thread....oh well

When I reply to a post, I generally reply 10% to the OP, and 90% to the rest of the people who silently read, without posting. So the caring answers offered here have lots of value, whether the OP was sincere or not. There a wide benefit to honest replies here....

[LousyFisherman]

Why are the schools so arrogant?
Because they are run by pilots.

There are good schools around, but the posters on this thread seem to think every school is run the way they run theirs. If you want to find which schools are decent use the search function on this website. A couple of days spent reading on here will tell you what you need.

As the customer I REQUIRE
- you respond to emails
- you return telephone calls
- you go out of your way to fix things when you screw up
- you respect my knowledge and experience (even if I don't have much of either)

I have trained at 5 schools, and I will train at a minimum of 3 more in the next year. I have generally (not always) found that the best schools can be identified by the instructors rate. The lower the rate the better the instructor and the better the quality of instruction.

Yes, I know , I'm putting out fire with gasoline

YMMV
LF