[BRAIN FEEDs]

Originally Posted by Little Ted

and the old cynic in me notices, that since the three posts proclaiming the wonders of ADS, daragh01 has not made a single other post, in any other thread or forum.

Or is my cynical bone working overtime?

and back at ya!

[Eoin]

Little Ted, please report any posts you think are shilling.

[daragh01]

Originally Posted by Little Ted

ok...I'll take you at your word...so can you clarify (honestly) how much all of this top class fantastic driving training set you back financially? and how long after you passed your tests was it before you got your job as a coach driver?

Overall for the coach licence i invested the guts of 2 grand.
After i got the licence i sent out cvs and after a couple of interviews and driving assesments i got a start as a mini bus driver doing night time runs and some school runs.
When the company concerned was happy with my ability i got to drive the bigger coaches which i drive at the moment.
it took about 3 months to get a start.

[Piewacket]

My 1st lesson with ADS was plagued with a painful, cramping right foot. Pain started 15 mins into the 2 hour lesson and I asked my instructor if we should terminate the lesson & reschedule for another day. He said no & to carry on driving. An hour into the lesson I asked him if we could pull over because the pain was very bad. Again he said no. While he gave me good driving instruction I was left bewildered as to why he insisted we continue with the lesson when surely driving with a cramped foot over the accelerator would be putting myself, himself & other road users at risk? At 1 hour 45 mins in, I insisted I was in too much pain to finish the 2 hours and I insisted I didn't feel safe behind the wheel. He then agreed to terminate the lesson, we swapped seats & he drove the 15 mins back & dropped me outside my door. As he drove he admitted that had the lesson been cancelled by me ADS would not refund my money and he'd rather I continued with the lesson than lose my money. Very frank of him. He also said that ADS would not add the last 15 mins to any future driving lesson but that he would give me the 15 mins off the books (ie I'd schedule my next 2-hour lesson with ADS but I'd be out with the instructor for 2hrs 15mins and he just wouldn't report it back to ADS).

So to surmise my issues with ADS:
1. Instructor so embarrassed & guilt-ridden by company policy he was willing to keep a compromised driver behind the wheel.
2. Illegal activity on ADS's part not to give a customer 15mins that was already paid for!

[Little Ted]

Originally Posted by daragh01

Overall for the coach licence i invested the guts of 2 grand.
After i got the licence i sent out cvs and after a couple of interviews and driving assesments....

so by your own admission, it cost a substantial amount of money for you to get where you are, and your job at the end of it was the result of you sending out CV's. For you it was worth the investment. And I am glad you had a positive experience.

However, you cannot dismiss the numerous other posters who did not have a positive experience. Who were lulled into spending €6k or more with no job at the end. The main issues many posters who are being negative about ADS have are:
- the advertisement is given under a false impression i.e that there is a job on offer, rather than a driving course.
- that there is no cut off point - in other words, there is no maximum amount of money you will have to outlay. You got away with €2k, but others have posted that it was €6k or more.
- the cancellation policy is not very fair
- the quality of training seems to be inconsistent and the impression many students get is that money is more important than providing a service.

You cannot ignore these facts. Nor can you ignore that despite a large financial investment by many people, they come away feeling scammed, as the lessons and promises were not all they claimed to be.

Personally, I don't see much difference in ADS's policy of advertising 'jobs' to be any different to the Cobra group advertising 'jobs'. Neither are a 'job' in the general sense that most people have - these are adverts for training, and franchises. They are not 'job' opportunities. If ADS were more clear on this, I would have less of an issue with the whole thing. They are benefiting from peoples desperation to work, and IMO that is just morally wrong.

[PaddyMac1000]

Hi all,

I did my ADI with the Airport school.

I was told all the way through that gettting the badge was my responsability and that I would be interviewed once I had it. My instructor was very profesional and really knew his stuff. As a result I passed all 3 stages first time.
Once I finished the exams and got my badge, I was asked in for an interview as promised. In the end I decided to go it alone for personal reasons, but I had no problems with the school.

Thanks
Pat.

[Little Ted]

Originally Posted by Eoin

Little Ted, please report any posts you think are shilling.

Originally Posted by PaddyMac1000

Hi all,

I did my ADI with the Airport school.

I was told all the way through that gettting the badge was my responsability and that I would be interviewed once I had it. My instructor was very profesional and really knew his stuff. As a result I passed all 3 stages first time.
Once I finished the exams and got my badge, I was asked in for an interview as promised. In the end I decided to go it alone for personal reasons, but I had no problems with the school.

Thanks
Pat.

Like this one?

[zarasplanet]

Having recently passed my C license rigid truck test with Airport Driving School at the 2nd attempt I'd highly recommend them as a school. Hope not breaching anything by mentioning the instructor..Ciaran Byrne who works for them but he is really excellent and will get anyone through their test. Seems to be very happy with his employer too, certainly was super professional at all times. The instructors seem to work long hours but who doesn't in the current climate?? The receptionists can be a bit pushy but ADS read these boards so one would hope with a bit of training they can fix that. I am recommending ADS to all my friends in Wicklow. It cost me about Euros1,800 to get my license including lessons, 2 mock tests and 2 real tests. Had I passed first time it would only have cost about Euros1,000 and in fairness to the instructor he did suggest an extra lesson before the first test which I declined in a bid to save some money...had he been a bit more pushy I'd have saved some money but perhaps I'd have felt ripped off. Given the hours put in, the use of super trucks, probably with fairly hefty insurance premiums etc...I don't think its over priced and the service is great and staff all very pleasant, professional with one aim...to get you through your test. Felt it important to make the above comments as so often people who are delighted with a service fail to comment and you only hear about those who are negative. I am not a walk over by any means (ask Eircom and Vodafone call centres!) so I am sure there must be many more punters delighted with ADS out there....one thing ADS should do is get every client to fill out a feedback form on site once they get their test - it is slightly negligant of them not to given the market they are in.