Evenings spent texting
An instructor finishes his last lesson at 8pm and has fourteen messages. Three pupils want next week's lesson. One wants to swap Thursday for Friday. One asks whether there is anything on Saturday morning. Two are asking what time tomorrow's lesson is. He replies to each from the car park, checking his diary, and gets home late.
The next day, two pupils ask for the same Friday slot, because he told one it was free before the other had replied.
Why instructors are wary of self-booking
Instructors know the problem, but they also know what could go wrong if pupils book freely.
- Pupils could book slots the instructor wanted to keep for test pupils.
- Back-to-back bookings across town leave no time to travel.
- Lesson lengths vary, and pupils might book the wrong one.
- Some pupils should not book without the instructor's say, such as a new pupil or one not yet ready for longer lessons.
- Last-minute bookings the instructor does not notice could be missed.
So many instructors stay with texting, because it feels safer, even though it takes their evenings.
What texting costs
Hours of admin a week for each instructor, often in the evening. Double bookings and mistakes from replying on the move. Pupils who wait for a reply and book elsewhere or lose momentum. And no record in one place of what was agreed, which makes disputes harder to settle.
The self-booking we build
- Each instructor sets which slots are open to pupils, and can keep some back for tests, new pupils or personal time.
- Instructors set rules: lesson lengths each pupil may book, minimum notice for booking and moving, how far ahead pupils can book, and how many lessons a week.
- Travel time between pickups is checked from a mapping service, so pupils only see slots the instructor can actually reach.
- Pupils book from a link on their phone, seeing only their own instructor's open slots.
- Moves and cancellations follow your notice period, with charges applied under your terms.
- New pupils can be set to request rather than book, so the instructor approves until they know them.
- Instructors get a notification for every booking and a daily summary, and can override anything.
| Instructor control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open slots | Only these are bookable |
| Held slots | Kept back for tests or new pupils |
| Lesson lengths per pupil | Stops pupils booking the wrong length |
| Notice periods | Stops last-minute bookings and moves |
| Travel gap | Only reachable slots are shown |
Evenings back
Pupils book next week's lessons from the link, usually in seconds. Swaps happen without a message. The instructor checks a summary after the last lesson and goes home. Test pupils still get the slots he held back. Double bookings stop, because two pupils cannot book the same slot.
Take a Wednesday evening with self-booking in place. Nine pupils have booked or moved lessons during the day. The instructor opens the summary after his last lesson: one new pupil has requested a Saturday slot and needs approving, and one regular has moved Thursday to Friday, which fits the travel gap from the lesson before. He approves the new pupil in a tap. The remaining messages on his phone are from pupils asking real questions about driving, which is the kind of message he is happy to answer. Instructors who are nervous about it can start small, opening only a few slots a week to pupils they know well, and widen it once they trust how it works.
For the office, self-booking also means instructors' diaries are always up to date, which helps with everything else: new pupil allocation, cover and the test readiness list.
Is booking by text taking over your evenings?
- Instructors answer booking texts every evening.
- Slots have been promised to two pupils.
- Pupils wait for replies before booking.
- Instructors fear losing control of their diary.
- There is no single record of what was agreed.