Give Them What They Want?
I had a very enlightening discussion with the owner of a big driving school the other day. He is of the opinion that if he doesn’t give his clients what they want they will go elsewhere and before he’ll consider letting them go, he’ll rather oblige.
What am I talking about?
We were talking about how his clients expect to pass a driving test after having had only a few lessons. We talked about the issue quite openly and although we held opposing beliefs neither of us got defensive in getting our message across to the other. He related how he got “forced” into the idea of, technically, “arranging” for a client to pass a test and I could see that he actually felt trapped by letting the situation get out of hand over the years.
Thing is, by now, he’s grown accustomed to a certain turnover in his business, a certain comfortable lifestyle that comes with it, and trying to backtrack would not only be very difficult and frustrating, it would most certainly be disappointing.
As I was talking about my own experiences with clients, I could see he longed for the good ol’ days when things were still as simple in his own business as it is in mine.
On my end of the conversation I related how I’ve seen many, many, many clients come and go – some after one or two lessons and some after as many as 70 lessons.
I’ve had calls from prospective clients asking me outright “So? How much for a licence?” to which I mischievously reply “Errrmmm, R18 000 normally should do it – all inclusive”. When these prospects have overcome the Tsunami effect of my response some even challenge my “price” stating that the highest they’ve been quoted was R5 000, why am I so expensive, what do I mean by “all inclusive”.
Great is their surprise when, with a straight face, I tell them that “all inclusive” means going through ALL the steps, ALL the lessons, ALL the effort an ALL the money it will take to get them ready for a 100% legal driver’s test. I’ve had people hang up the phone on me when they realise I’m not one to give them what they want…that “arranged” test, that easy pass.
I’ve also had clients doing their best at trying to wear me down to a point where they guessed I would spontaneously come up with the suggestion of rather buying their license. Shockingly, I can’t be worn down to a point of abandoning my principles and values, sorry.
I forget now what was their name, but someone at the Road Traffic Inspectorate said: “…you’d be able to trace road deaths back to the examiner”. That said, keep in mind that the average examiner is actually proud of applicants that are well prepared on the day of their test and to prove it, an examiner at Midrand actually thanked one of my clients for “doing it the right way”, as he put it, and another examiner made a huge fuss about a client’s results.
Your efforts don’t go unnoticed!
Thankfully, I am blessed to have very good clients with realistic expectations who are serious about getting their licenses, I sleep easy at night knowing that my clients will make South Africa proud for doing their tests legally and when they pass, they actually CAN drive.
