The answers provided to the following questions were correct as at June 2008.
About the Service
- What is the minimum period I have to subscribe to your services?
- How will subscriptions be collected?
- What costs will there be?
- What is the main service that DIS provides?
- What if my brand operates several cars but I deal with the call handling and admin myself?
- I employ my own staff to take calls for my driving school. What’s my cheapest option?
- What’s the difference between a Multi-user option and a Driving School licence?
- What’s the difference between the full service and “Pick ‘n’ mix”?
- What are the working hours between which you will answer my calls?
- What happens if a pupil rings out of office hours?
- This all sounds great, but what do you not do for me?
- Who books pupils’ tests?
- Do you book lessons on the same day?
- If I need to cancel my lessons at short notice, who does it?
- If a pupil cancels a lesson at short notice, how do you contact me?
- Will I have an online booking facility?
- Are my records fixed or can they be corrected if I made a mistake?
- If one of my pupils’ friends phones you, will you know about my discounts etc.?
- Do you take payments for lessons or tests over the phone for me? ?
- Where is the Service provided from?
- How can you be sure of the quality of the tuition provided?
- What will “call divert” cost me? ?
- How will you know that a pupil is my pupil and to answer in my name?
- Who will have access to my information?
- What advice is available to help me understand the system?
- How will my pupils get in touch with me after I stop subscribing to the DIS service?
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About the Hardware
- What happens if my PC crashes? Will I lose all my data?
- Can I use my existing Palm PDA (and handheld printer)?
- If I decide to buy my own equipment, how much is it likely to be?
- What is your recommended Palm PDA?
- How long will it be before I receive the equipment and get up and running?
- Can I borrow a car if mine breaks down?
- Can you provide a PC as well as the Palm and handheld printer?
- I do not have broadband. Can I use dial-up?
- What if my PC computer at home breaks down?
About the Service
What is the minimum period I have to subscribe to your services?
There is no minimum subscription period (except for a driving school licence, which is negotiable) but you must give us one weeks’ notice of your intention to terminate. Your contract will then finish at the end of the month that the last subscription has been paid for; i.e. there is no refund for any unused portion of a subscription period.
How will subscriptions be collected?
When you register you will be asked to provide your bank account details and give us your authority to set up a “paperless direct debit” mandate over the Internet. This means that you will be giving us permission to collect your subscriptions directly from your bank account when they fall due. Alternatively, you can elect to pay by recurring credit or debit card instruction via PayPal. The first payment collected will be a part-payment for the unexpired portion of the month that your subscription begins i.e. if you joined on the 18th of a month, your first part-fee will become due after any applicable free trial period. Thereafter, subscriptions will normally be collected on or around the first of every month.
Firstly, there will be our subscription. This is normally paid monthly in advance and collected by direct debit (or via PayPal). Secondly, assuming that you already have a home PC and already subscribe to broadband, you may want to purchase a touch screen mobile phone to run the digital diary software in order to have immediate up-to-date access to your records whenever you synchronise at the end of a lesson. (Alternatively, DIS will supply a Palm PDA with a handheld printer at no extra charge.) There is a small charge when you purchase replacement printer rolls if you use the Palm PDA handheld printer. Finally, there will be a cost to you of diverting your calls to DIS to deal with on your behalf. This will vary according to your system operator although the cost is not high. Mobile operators may charge more.
What is the main service that DIS provides?
DIS offers centralised support to individual self-employed driving instructors working anywhere in the UK. This support comprises of a Telephone reception service answered in the trade name of the instructor together with a personalised Website facility, which allows a subscribers’ pupils to book and cancel their lessons directly online. Digital diary software enables instructors to enter all their appointment details directly into their business system and data is routinely and accurately exchanged with the DIS office so both the instructor and the office know exactly what the appointment diary is like. Many records are accessible, reflecting the business’s transactions and reducing the time spent on administration and paperwork whilst at the same time minimising errors and misunderstandings. End of Year accounts are also available subject to additional data being inputted by the instructor.
What if my brand operates several cars but I deal with the call handling and admin myself?
DIS offers a Multi-user option which enables a working instructor to provide all the DIS support facilities to his or her subcontracting instructors whilst maintaining a controlling overview of all the records of those instructors. The DIS Telephone reception continues to answer calls in the name of the subscribing instructor but each subcontracting instructor also enjoys personal access to their own data records via their own Online office.
I employ my own staff to take calls for my driving school. What’s my cheapest option?
A Driving School licence allows larger schools with their own answering facilities to use the DIS booking programme at their own office premises. This gives control and flexibility as well as complete confidentiality and a series of additional management tools are available to the driving school owner in order to monitor their business’s performance.
What’s the difference between a Multi-user option and a Driving School licence?
The Multi-user option includes Telephone reception support to enable you to work on the road as an instructor. In addition, you will have access to the records of each individual instructor who is registered under you as a secondary user, enabling you to monitor every aspect of your business. It is your name and telephone number (as primary user) that is used when dealing with any aspect of your business. The fee charged would normally be a simple multiple of the number of instructors you would want to operate under your Multi-user option. Although any number of cars could operate under a Multi-user option, this would be most cost effective for between 2 and 10 cars after which a Driving School licence may be more appropriate.
The Driving School licence requires you to provide your own call answering service (either from your own home or separate office) and gives you the right to use the same software to deal with pupil enquiries that is used by the DIS Telephone reception. The fee charged would depend on what (if any) changes you would want to make to the PC programme and the number of instructors you would want licensed. Generally, the weekly fee payable would be considerably less than paid under the Multi-user option and would be appropriate for driving schools operating between 10 and several hundred vehicles (or more!). That software can also be amended or added to in order to reflect your own operating requirements although there would be additional fees to cover this.
What’s the difference between the full service and “Pick ‘n’ mix”?
Pick ‘n’ mix provides a simple messaging service to instructors who do not want to miss any calls during lessons. Full subscribers enjoy a complete business-support package. Pick 'n' Mix subscribers will enjoy a professional face to their business and will have access to their own Online office, although some features will be limited. Pick 'n' Mix subscribers will not be able to utilise any reports or facilities that have been generated by or require digital data to in order to be implemented (such as the tracking of lessons or the preparation of instructor accounts) but they will be able to convert their Pick 'n' Mix subscription to a full licence at any time if that additional service is required.
What are the working hours between which you will answer my calls?
Most subscribers prefer to deal with evening calls themselves and cancel their divert option as soon as they finish giving lessons and the number of callers drop off dramatically after 5 p.m. in any event. For these reasons, the current Telephone reception service provided by DIS is limited to 9 till 5.30, Monday to Friday and does not include weekends or bank holidays.
What happens if a pupil rings out of office hours?
If they are still diverted to DIS they will get an answering machine advising them that there is no-one available to take their call and that they should try again later (when the divert is off). Many instructors ask their pupils to cancel or amend their lessons out-of-hours via their DIS hosted website.
This all sounds great, but what do you not do for me?
We do not advertise or promote you or look for new pupils for you and we do not do anything which would require us to initiate a contact with your pupils. This means that if there is a clash of lessons because you and our office have booked a lesson in the same time slot in any week - something that is easily avoided provided we both follow a few simple working procedures - or if a pupil cancels lessons without rebooking or wants us to do something we are not authorised to do - such as cancel an outstanding charge for a previously missed lesson - you will have to deal with that yourself. The home screen of your Online office lists any lesson clashes, outstanding messages and pupils not rebooked for you to deal with when you log in.
One of the options you will have in your Online office is for DIS operators to do this for you on behalf of you pupils. There is a small admin fee which can be added to the cost of the test as charged by you to your pupils but this is usually felt to be a very cost effective solution as DIS staff will be able to request a test time that is appropriate for your diary, thus avoiding clashes of tests that could occur if pupils were left to make their own booking.
Do you book lessons on the same day?
No, but you must check your diary every evening in order to collect any messages, new pupil details or lesson amendments that may apply to the following day. Even if a day had been empty all week we might sell a lesson for you for first thing in the morning and you’ll need to be aware of it.
If I need to cancel my lessons at short notice, who does it?
You do. DIS does not initiate pupil contact so if you need to tell pupils of a change of lessons or to cancel any appointments you must do this yourself.
If a pupil cancels a lesson at short notice, how do you contact me?
If a pupil cancels on the day of the lesson they will have been told whether they are to be charged for that cancellation (depending on your instructions in your Online office) and an SMS text will be sent to your mobile. (If you want to, you can delete any cancellation charge that was applied.) If the pupil has rebooked with us, their next appointment details will be sent to you automatically when you check your office. If they have not rebooked, they will appear on your “Not rebooked” list for you to contact them personally yourself to rebook them.
Will I have an online booking facility?
Yes, if you subscribe to the full DIS package. If you complete the Web section of your Online office you will automatically be provided with your own website at www.booklessonsonline.co.uk/”yourdrivingschoolname”. This will give your pupils the facility to book lessons online at any time of the day or night. If you already have a website of your own, we will provide you with a “Book lessons online” link and a “Pupils section” link for you to install onto your own homepage.
Are my records fixed or can they be corrected if I made a mistake?
All your records can be amended via your DIS Online office.
If one of my pupils’ friends phones you, will you know about my discounts etc.?
We won’t, so we’ll book them without discount. However, once the pupil starts you can amend their record via your Online office to show a discount rate, which will then automatically be applied to lessons from then on. By then deleting the original charge made when they first booked and replacing it with a discounted lesson rate you can reimburse them for any “overcharged” first lessons.
Do you take payments for lessons or tests over the phone for me?
We do not collect money for you but we will provide you with a PayPal link to enable your pupils to pay money to you via your DIS hosted website. .
Where is the Service provided from?
Our central Telephone reception in Swansea will support individual instructors and Multi-user users. Because of the technology and programming which supports the core business, instructors from all over the UK can benefit from exactly the same high-quality telephone reception with pupils thinking that they are dealing with their instructors very own local office. Driving School licensees will provide their own Telephone reception support from their own office.
How can you be sure of the quality of the tuition provided?
Put simply, we can’t! We are an agency working on behalf of self-employed driving instructors who have agreed to abide by the DSA Code of Conduct. It is the instructor’s own trade name that would be compromised if they were to provide poor quality service. Obviously, DIS would take very seriously any allegations of poor service in its own dealings with pupils but is unable to entertain any complaints regarding its subscribers’ instructors. As an ultimate sanction, DIS can refuse to support any subscriber who breaches any legislative requirements, such as trading standards issues or registration or licensing of instructors.
What will “call divert” cost me?
If you are diverting from a landline the current cost is based almost entirely on the forwarding of the call to DIS. Depending on your service provider, this is likely to be very small for diverting from a home-based landline. There may be a small recurring monthly charge (BT charge a fixed flat fee of £1.75 per month for the facility as at 1st January 2007) and the cost of diverting from a mobile number will be substantially higher than diverting from a landline. DIS subscribers are strongly urged to divert from a landline number and even consider having a second (business) line installed if necessary. There is not always a charge for doing this.
How will you know that a pupil is my pupil and to answer in my name?
Modern technology is wonderful. Our advanced telephony system is programmed to recognise the diverted number of every instructor who subscribes to our service. The incoming call is therefore listed as being from “Joe Bloggs School of Motoring” and is answered in that fashion. If the caller is a pupil who you have already entered into your pupil records, the DIS system will recognise this and allow us to address the pupil by name as soon as we pick the phone up.
Who will have access to my information?
All data is stored on our secure server and sensitive data is only accessible to staff at DIS. Commercial information about your services that is necessary to support your business is in the public domain and available to anyone who asks for it or is accessible via the website that DIS provides to you as part of its Service. This would include the price and description of your lessons and lesson products, your terms of trading and details of how to contact you and certain information about your business.
DIS is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and fully committed to upholding the eight Data Protection principles of good information handling practice. This means that the data we store is:
- Fairly and lawfully processed
- Processed for limited purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and up to date
- Not kept longer than necessary
- Processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights
- Secure
- Not transferred without adequate protection
A full explanation of these principles can be found at www.ico.gov.uk.
What advice is available to help me understand the system?
We have put together a number of help options that are downloadable from your Online office. You will also be able to click on individual question mark logos to help you understand how a particular screen works. When all else fails, you can either contact the main DIS number for administrative help and there is also technical support to address any issues you may have with your installation. Please note that after installation, if you change the settings on your PC or install new software that prevents you from accessing your DIS software or Online office, there may be a charge for putting such issues right.
How will my pupils get in touch with me after I stop subscribing to the DIS service?
Subscribers retain all rights at all times to their trade name and telephone number. As it is always your own telephone number that is advertised and diverted, when you stop diverting to DIS the calls will default back to your original landline or mobile phone location. Even if you cancel the DIS service, the goodwill you have built up in your business will remain with you and DIS will never have any claim against your trade name or telephone number.
About the Software
The Lesson Syllabus is a regime of lesson subjects to be covered prior to a pupil taking their test, which any professional instructor should expect to complete to a satisfactory standard before presenting a candidate for test
Instructors use the syllabus on a daily basis to monitor their pupils’ progress through the course of their lessons. All our evidence shows that pupils love the idea of being able to track their improvement and their full score history is available to them via the Pupil section of your DIS hosted website. Parents who may be paying for the lessons can keep track of how well their offspring are doing and if the pupil is lucky enough to be receiving additional practice from friends or relatives the syllabus scores can be an invaluable tool to help them focus on what's important to practice between lessons.
Do I have to follow a set syllabus?
No, the Syllabus is not compulsory but is a well-thought-of feature and is highly appreciated by instructors who have used the system and the pupils who benefit from it. It also “proves” that the instructor is working for their money and enables the pupil to compare their own progress against that of their friends who may not have such a forward thinking instructor.
A pre-set list of 33 headings covers the entire DSA requirements including the driving and manoeuvring requirements of the driving test. Instructors are recommended to aim to cover around 5 subjects of each lesson and to mark those 5 subjects according to the progress made by the pupil according to a score of between 1 and 9 (where 1 is where a subject has just been introduced and 9 takes the pupils standard in that subject above that required for test). Most pupils would expect to increase their score in a subject by 1 point per lesson, making a potential improvement of 5 points per lesson. Not all pupils will achieve this progress and some will improve faster than this. During the course of lessons, the syllabus scores will also calculate the progress that is being made by the pupil from week to week and once a score in excess of 100 is achieved the system will actually forecast the number of driving lessons that pupil is likely to need to get to test standard based on the progress they have made to date. Once an overall score of around 150 is achieved, a driving test might be applied for - allowing for the fact that there is usually several weeks to wait for a test date to be available. During this time, the pupil should progress to a score of at least 200 to be considered test standard otherwise you might want to recommend postponing the test. A pupil with a score in excess of 230 should definitely be considered test standard although it is unlikely that a pupil with a score between 200 and 230 would be prevented from taking the test. (Obviously, this relies upon a degree of accuracy in the method of scoring by the instructor, but this will inevitably come with experience of the syllabus.)
How does the digital software work?
Most instructors record their pupils’ details at the end of their lessons. For this, they need to download the DIS digital diary software either onto a touch screen mobile which they can synchronise at the end of their lesson or to a PDA, which they can synchronise from home at the end of the working day. Alternatively, rather than downloading the digital diary software, a normal Internet accessible mobile can be used to work directly in your Online office (subject to signal strength).
I’m not particularly good with technology. Do I have to use the Digital diary?
No, you could print out a daily Worksheet through your Online office and simply record data manually at the end of each lesson (or transfer it from your paper diary). This data can then be transferred manually at home at the end of the working day using a simple process that takes no more than a few minutes to enter a full days data. All data will then be stored electronically and reports and accounts can be printed out instantly.
What if the Palm programme crashes during a lesson?
The Palm programme has been in use and robustly tested since 2001 and any bugs and programme anomalies have long since been eradicated. However, as with all technology, equipment can be damaged or fail if not kept fully charged; or you may simply press the wrong button. There is a reset button which restarts the Palm (unless the fault is as a result of a loss of battery power), and this may mean you need to re-enter data you had already put in on that lesson. If you have allowed the battery power to drain completely you will have to reinstall the Palm programme and any data you had entered since your last sync will have been lost (but can easily be re-entered via the Online office). The automated audit programme will notify you on your “To do” list in your Online office if any pupil’s account shows an outstanding balance, so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem setting things right. A fully charged Palm and printer will usually last over a week in normal use but we recommend docking both items overnight in their charging cradles with the cradles connected to the main to ensure full-charged equipment every day.
About the Hardware
What happens if my PC crashes? Will I lose all my data?
All data is stored securely on the DIS server, which is protected by a series of firewalls. Data is regularly backed up and stored off site, so it is an easy matter to restore operational software onto a subscriber’s PC after a terminal crash. This allows an almost immediate access to the business data held by DIS. (There may be a charge for reinstallation and configuration of software which is necessary as a result of a hardware or other failure that is not the responsibility of DIS.)
Can I use my existing Palm PDA (and handheld printer)?
Yes. As long as your PDA operates with Palm Operating System (Palm OS) our DIS driving instructor software will run on it. Obviously, you will need to make sure that any printer you buy is compatible with your Palm. Alternatively, you can use a touch screen mobile phone to update your Online office directly at the end of each lesson but this would be subject to signal strength and should only be used in conjunction with the manual Worksheet system being available as backup.
If I decide to buy my own equipment, how much is it likely to be?
A new Palm and handheld printer will cost around £100 each, although second hand this price could be reduced. But be careful to check that any Palm you provide for yourself has a fast enough processing speed that would be practical for use in a business environment. The cheaper Palms would be so slow as to be almost useless.
What is your recommended Palm PDA?
The Zire 71 has been trialled in a working driving school environment since 2001. Feedback from hundreds of working instructors has contributed the development of the Palm programme in its current format and every effort has been made to make it intuitive and user friendly. We have found that the Zire 71 enjoys hand-printer support, speed and reliability as well as providing a useful camera facility. We have also successfully trialled the Zire 72 and Tungsten TX.
How long will it be before I receive the equipment and get up and running?
If you want to use the DIS Palm PDA and handheld printer, we would like you to complete the databases that make up your Online diary before we send out the handheld hardware. You should then allow 48 hours for delivery. Whilst you are awaiting delivery, you can print out the daily Worksheet to support your current paper-based diary and update your Online office manually every evening. You will be able to enjoy all the services available from DIS straight away and by familiarising yourself with the manual system initially you will be able to integrate the Palm PDA and printer facility more easily once you receive it.
Can you provide a PC as well as the Palm and handheld printer?
Sorry, no. DIS does not supply PCs. But the fact that you’re reading this right now implies that you’ve already got access to a PC!
I do not have broadband. Can I use dial-up?
Yes, you can, but the DIS System is very sophisticated and your download time and Online office facility would be very slow. Although we would encourage all instructors to join us, realistically you would not get the quality of service we would want you to enjoy unless you are a broadband subscriber.
What if my PC computer at home breaks down?
You’ll need to get it repaired and, in the meantime, you should not divert your calls. DIS will not have your most up-to-date information so will be unable to deal with your pupils’ enquiries.
