For the convenience of many of our customers we handle the booking of their theory and/or practical tests. At the moment there are technical problems at the DSA which mean that in many cases the online system will not allow us to book a test (we are told things like “the driving licence number is invalid” or “the candidate is not entitled to take this test”).

As you can imagine, as a training provider we book vast numbers of tests every day.  By using the online system it normally enables us to process them swiftly.  In many cases when we have not been able to book them online we have telephoned the DSA, but at the moment we are finding that we are still unable to book many of them over the telephone either, and unfortunately the waiting times to get through to the DSA are very long because everybody in the UK who is waiting for a test is also trying to call them.

We are managing to book some tests online and we are regularly trying all bookings but if you are waiting for us to book a test there are going to be some delays until the DSA rectify this recurring problem.  As part of our commitment to customer care we have now implemented the following procedure that will apply in ALL CASES where a test cannot be booked via the online system.

• All tests requests ARE being processed as normal within 24 hours;
• If the DSA do not allow us to book your test we will SMS or EMAIL you to inform you;
• We will then notify the DSA by email of the specific problem with your test so that they can work to resolve the issue;
• Once we receive a reply from the DSA and the problem is rectified we will then attempt to book the test again
• If we don’t hear from the DSA after 7 days we will try again anyway to book the test;
• We will repeat this process until we are able to book the test
• We will notify you by SMS or EMAIL after each attempt we try and of course when we are successful at booking your test.

We understand how frustrating it is when you are waiting for a test date, we are also frustrated because we are wasting hours of man time every day in unsuccessfully trying to book tests.  We have spoken to the customer care team at the DSA today who have acknowledged that this is an ongoing problem and that they are working to rectify it, however sadly they are unable to give us any estimated timescales for the problem to be resolved.

As a training provider that represents hundreds of learners & potential driving instructors at any one time we feel it is our duty to voice our opinion on this matter and we will be writing to the Chief Executive of the DSA to request a more detailed explanation to these problems.

We would like to point out that although there are severe disruptions to the test booking process, we are still successfully booking many tests on the first attempt so not everybody is affected.

Thank you for your understanding on this matter.  If you are affected by this problem we will keep you informed.

If you had asked me a few months ago what a blog is I wouldn’t have had a clue, in fact if you had said you have a blog i would probably have advised that you go to see your GP, BUT blogging is the way of the future (or so I am told) and I am pleased to introduce the Key Instructor Training blog.

There will be frequent posts to the blog giving everything from hints and tips on becoming a driving instructor right through to latest information, regulations etc.  You can subscribe to the blog for FREE even if you are not training with us - you’ve got nothing to loose!

One thing though, please leave comments beneath any articles you look at so we know if they are useful to you.  Also comment if theres any questions or things you would like to see on the blog!

The blog is found at http://www.keydrivertraining.typepad.com/ [opens new window] and there will soon be a link via our website too.

We are delighted to welcome Ray Vaughan to our instructor training team.  Ray has many years of experience in the driving instructor training profession and has held a Directors position at another training establishment for a number of years but decided that now is the time to move on to pastures new. 

Here at Key Instructor Training we find that due to our outstanding reputation within the profession there are always qualified trainers approaching us for a position.  Recently due to our continued growth and success we found ourselves looking for an additional trainer to join our team.  Steve & Linda (the Directors of Key) have worked with Ray in the past and felt that he would be an ideal candidate for the new position.

Long term we have a lot of exciting plans to further expand Key Driver Training in the future and we are confident that Ray will be able to bring many exciting qualities to the table.

Congratulations go out to Bill Ashton (one of our ADI training team) who was succesful at his recent ORDIT inspection.  The examiner was full of praise for Bill who like the rest of the team is subject to an inspection by the Driving Standards Agency every two years to ensure that he maintains a high standard of training.  Positive comments were also made by the examiner about the high standard of understanding that was shown by the “volunteer” - one of our trainees who kindly allowed us to use him as a guinee pig for the session.  When we receive such positive comments it is always a nice reassurance that we are doing our job right!

Due to the continued growth of Key Driver Training we are delighted to announce the legal completion on our brand new office building. 

With the onset of the global financial crisis many companies including some driving schools are being forced to downsize however during recent times Key Driver Training have grown from strength to strength and we are actually taking on more and more people where many are reducing staff numbers. We have now reached our capacity at Northbridge House.  Consequently we are now in the process of reloacting to our brand new offices in Blackburn.  The brand new high specification building will benefit from the following features…

• Self contained building with its’ own car park;
• 2 Floors of office and training space;
• State of the art telecoms and communication system;
• Air conditioning;
• DDA Compliant;
• Huge increase in space to allow for our continued expansion plans.

The building is now complete and we took ownership today.  Next comes the internal finishing touches, telecoms and network instalations, and furnishings.  Once the move is complete we will post full details along with pictures. In the meantime please continue to use our current office for communication as we will be operating from both sites for the short term whilst we settle in to the new building.

We would like to welcome Amy Neil to the team.  Based at head office Amy will be joining our customer services and administration team.  We are confident that her wealth of experience in customer care will bring a valued contribution to the company and we wish her every success in her new role.

Congratulations go out to Mark Bonney & John Warriner who have both had their biannual ORDIT inspection today.  We saw plenty of grade 6’s and the examiner was full of praise at the end of the inspection. Mark was described as an experienced trainer who gets results.  The training session was described as professional, and well structured.

Here at Key we always strive to get excellent results and todays inspection is yet another seal of approval for our company and the training that we provide.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all customers, instructors, and trainees for their continued support in making 2008 another fantastic year for Key Driver Training and we would like to wish you all a fantastic Christmas and New Year.

During the festive period our call centre will, as always remain open 24 hours a day 365 days a year for enquiries (however please note that over the holiday period the service will be limited to sending out brochures and information as well as passing messages through to HQ for the new year due to a skeleton staff operating).

Our head office and operations centre will be open as follows throughout the festive period:

24th-28th December (inclusive) - CLOSED.

29th & 30th December & 2nd January- 10.30-15.30 (new enquiries and urgent matters only)

31st December - 4th January (inclusive - with exception of 2nd Jan) - CLOSED

5th January - Open as usual - normal hours resume.

Merry Christmas!

We would like to thank everyone who attended our 2008 Christmas meal last night.  The evening was a huge success and everyone had a wonderful time.  We took over Frankie & Benny’s in Blackburn for the evening. The food was outstanding and the wine and champagne free flowing!

Congratulations go to Marcia Collins & her partner Lynne, Katie Unthank and her partner Kinga, Bill Ashton and his wife Val, Ken Aldred and his wife Mandy, Stephanie, Emma, and Vicky who were all winners of meal vouchers courtesy of Key Driver Training and Frankie & Benny’s.

We will be publishing photographs in due course but in the meantime we would like to thank Nick, Rachael & all of the staff at Frankie & Benny’s restaurant for their excellent service throughout the evening.

On another note we would like to wish all of our instructors, head office staff, call centre staff, trainees, suppliers, and associates a very Merry Christmas and a fanatstic 2009.  Thank you all for your contribution in making 2008 an outstanding year for us in every way.  Let’s raise a glass to another great year in 2009!

Great News!

We always like to stay one step ahead and we are now delighted to announce that from December 2008 all of our instructors will now be able to accept credit and debit card payments from their pupils in the car.

All vehicles will be kitted out with the very latest mobile terminals which operate via a mobile phone signal meaning that pupils can now pay with chip and pin in the car. This really does put us head and shoulders above most other driving schools.

This great feature will mean that pupils are more likely to book more lessons and pay for blocks.  It also means that our instructors don’t need to carry as much cash in the cars - great for security.  We have negotiated a fanatstic rate with a leading high street bank meaning that it will be a very economical way for instructors who wish to take card payments to process these transactions.

This state of the art technology will eliminate the need for instructors to take the old fashioned vouchers from pupils.  For more information please call our driving instructor training team on 0800 567 7669.