Incentives for students....

CaptChris

CaptChris

New Member
Hey all.... as most of you know I am new to the CFI world. I just thought of something pretty cool to do for my students that I thought I'd share with you guys. I told all four of my guys (working on their private pilot certificate), that if they score above a 95% on their written... I will give them one free hour of ground. Pass their checkride on their initial try... I will knock off the last hour of flight/ground prep before the checkride.

All in all, this will cost be about $100, but it gives them all an incentive to do well... and hopefully it will help my pass rate. I am a freelance flight instructor at a flying club, so I don't have to pay out of pocket for this... I just simply wouldn't charge them. Let me know what you think of this, positive or negative. Keeping in mind I am doing my instructing in a college town.... and three out of my four students are paying for their training out of pocket. I just figure this would be a good way to say---"Thanks for your hard work! (and not making me look like a moron!!!)"

Curious to hear what you all have to say.
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I like it!! Of course, some people won't.

Keep coming up with ideas like this, and you'll be billing 125+ hours per month in no time.
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I'm with Lloyd on this one. I had an instructor that conducted most of our ground lessons at Fazoli's or Barnes & Noble. We had to do it away from the school, otherwise he had to charge me since he wasn't freelance.
 
You shouldn't have to bribe a student to pass a checkride. If money is what it takes to motivate them to do well, then the additional cost of the second checkride should be enough! If you've done your job well, and only sign off properly prepared students, you shouldn't have to worry about your pass rate.
Besides, shouldn't they be thanking you for your hard work??? I usually get tips when my students do well, not the other way around.
 
I've had some really good CFIs in the past, and I would have loved to give them some extra cash on the side (especially since I knew how little they made). Unfortunately, I was sending all my money to either the school or Sallie Mae (who more or less owns my soul). I don't consider the above a "bribe," it's more of a customer service deal.
 
I don't know, it just seems to me that it's like saying to your customer, "I'm going to work hard and do the best job I can for you as an instructor. I'm going to help you earn a 95 written score, and pass your checkride on the first try. In fact, the better I do at instructing you, the less I'll charge you!"

I will never fault any instructor for providing good customer service, or for trying to find ways to increase business, but it is not good business to charge your customers less money for a better product. A motivated, concerned, hardworking CFI deserves more pay, not less. Besides, the students that are not self motivated to do the best they can at learning to fly, are not likely to try harder just to save a few bucks that their instructor deserves.

I have to admit though, I would have loved to have had my instructors hand me a hundred bucks everytime I passed a checkride on my first attempt.
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I'm with Lloyd on this one. I had an instructor that conducted most of our ground lessons at Fazoli's or Barnes & Noble. We had to do it away from the school, otherwise he had to charge me since he wasn't freelance.

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Why shouldn't a freelance instructor be paid for ground instruction???
 
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I usually get tips when my students do well, not the other way around.

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I've only gotten one tip so far, but it definitely boosts your day!
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Besides, shouldn't they be thanking you for your hard work???

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Just as much as I should show them some appreciation for their business.
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I've had students give me tips, buy my meals, and all of the other stuff that goes along with it. However, when it comes down to it, they have a choice when they learn to fly, and I like to thank them for flying with me!
 
I show my appreciation for my students by being professional, prepared, always on time, available, enthusiastic, concerned, and sincerely involved in their training. If a student asks me to meet them at 2:00am to fly, I'm there at 1:00am to get ready. If I don't have the answer to a question, I research the answer, if a student calls me at home with multiple questions about his studies or cross country planning, I answer them. My students know that I appreciate them by my actions.
I, like most professional flight instructors, do a considerable amount of work for my students for which I do not get paid. I don't feel a need to provide free training or ground instruction, beyond what I already do, to show my appreciation for their business (or to thank them for actually studying and doing the best they can during their training!).
There are better ways to thank students than to give away your hard earned pay, which is frequently lower than it should be anyway. Sure, your students my be hard pressed to pay for training, but most CFIs are hard pressed to cover their Ramen Noodle budget.
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Lloyd-Do your customers fly with you because you give them freebies, or because of your excellent reputation?
 
It's a two-way street guys--a student doesn't owe the instructor any favors nor does the instructor owe the student any. But if you put in the extra effort and be creative, you'll be rewarded one way or another.

You've got some good ideas, Chris! I expect you'll have to turn away students in short order. Good luck!
 
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I don't feel a need to provide free training or ground instruction, beyond what I already do, to show my appreciation for their business (or to thank them for actually studying and doing the best they can during their training!).


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Which is cool, Greg! Again, I'm not knocking you for NOT giving these incentives.

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There are better ways to thank students than to give away your hard earned pay, which is frequently lower than it should be anyway.


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So, if Goodyear has a sale on tires, are they "Giving away" their revenue? If Mcdonalds has a "2-for-1" sale on Burgers, are they "giving away" revenue? Even if it attracts more customers and helps retain customers they already have?

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Lloyd-Do your customers fly with you because you give them freebies, or because of your excellent reputation?

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Well, I certainly hope that it's because of my reputation.

Of course, they came in the door because of a $49 discovery flight - a flight on which both the flight school and I lost money on. Or did we? Hmmm...

By giving a student a free hur of instruction as a gift to say "Thank you", that encourages that student to come back to me. I've already drawn the customer in. I've already pleased the student with my instruction and customer service. I've already impressed the student with my professionalism.

What am I trying to do now, with coupons and discount? I'm trying to keep that student from going to fly with you, or any other flight instructor in town. I'm competing with alor of different people in this business.

All other things being equal, students aren't going to go to the one that has the toughest time paying for food. Students aren't going to go to the one that has a family to support. Students are going to go to the fun guy that provides awesome training, and gives a free hour of ground instruction during a BFR as a thank you during Christmas.

I do it because other instructors aren't willing to. For the same reason that I come in early and stay at work late. For the same reason that I work for 7 days per week. For the same reason that I give up my lunch breaks. I give them a great deal for their money, and I have fun doing it.

I think it works out ok - I'm making a pretty decent living these days, and I have a pretty full load.
 
I hear you Llyod, and I don't completely disagree. I don't fault you or CaptChris for trying to find ways to be innovative, but, I still don't understand why it's neccessary to give away free instruction to motivate a student to do well (CaptChris's states that one of his main concerns is his pass rate and not looking like a moron, not customer retention).

I do very well as a flight instructor, and I frequently have customers tell me I don't charge enough for what I do. I also have an excellent pass rate. I can honestly say that I have never lost an existing customer to another instructor because I didn't give him free instruction, or because I charge a fair rate for the quality of instruction I give. If a new student chooses to go to another instructor because the other instructor gives free ground with a flight review, or free instruction to students that pass checkrides, so be it. I still manage to stay booked weeks in advance, and I have found that my students are reluctant to change to another instructor even if it means paying more for me, or waiting several weeks to get an appointment.

Let me twist the situation slightly - I'm a professional pilot, I plan to offer my services to fly as a contract pilot for charter companies. To show my appreciation for the the opportunity to fly/work for them, and to make sure they don't hire another pilot, I'm going to work for them for free every 5th flight. Would that be okay???

As for a discounted discovery flight, that is a bit different, in the above analogy it would be equivalent to flying with the boss once, for free, while being considered for the job. I personally don't offer Discovery Flights any more as I have never found them to be an effective means of finding serious students. I have gained a reputation as the guy to go to when you are serious about learning to fly, not the guy to go to to get a cheap half hour flight.

When flight instructors start making as much money as Goodyear and McDonalds (they make their cost back, even when they sell 2 for 1), then maybe I'll agree with you about working for free.
 
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I hear you Llyod, and I don't completely disagree. I don't fault you or CaptChris for trying to find ways to be innovative, but, I still don't understand why it's neccessary to give away free instruction to motivate a student to do well (CaptChris's states that one of his main concerns is his pass rate and not looking like a moron, not customer retention).

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You are looking into this WAYYYYY too much. I am doing this simply as a thank you to students. Thanks for doing your part, making me look good, making yourself look good (which I don't doubt I will not look good---I've done an exceptional job thus far, two of my students have soloed, and one done two of his solo x-c's problem free!), and thanks for taking the $3,000 you've saved up working as a bouncer at a local bar throughout college... and dumping it into aviation.
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All in all, its more of a "thank you for your business... and for doing your part as a student."

It isn't like I am giving them an entire rating for free, or degrading the pay of all of the worlds CFI's... its just a simple way to say thank you. And as for those of you who doubt my efficiency or method.... as of today I have three new students which brings me to a grand total of seven! And the worst thing in the world is an instructor that provides no incentives to his students for exceptional preformance, which is talked about in the good old Aviaiton Instructors Handbook
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To show my appreciation for the the opportunity to fly/work for them, and to make sure they don't hire another pilot, I'm going to work for them for free every 5th flight. Would that be okay???

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Depends. How do you feel about FBOs selling block time? If you packaged it as the customer paying for 10 hours for a reduced price, it's the same thing.
 
It's not really the same thing. By charging a slightly reduced rate for the purchase of block time the school gets money in the bank up front which helps with operating costs and reduces the costs associated with billing students, and waiting for blue sky days to get revenue. Selling block time is also a good method of getting the student to come back and fly, after all, the money is already spent. That's why very few schools offer free flight coupon cards like Subway, collect 8 coupons - get a free flight, because it doesn't get money in the bank in advance. The two schools I worked at that offered "block time" inflated their regular rates by $5.00, then offered a $5.00 discount for block time. In one case, the school next door simply offered the same price we charged for block time as their regular price, there wasn't much difference in the amount of flying either school did.

Once again, I mean no offence to anyone. I'm happy that CaptChris is doing well, and it's his right to do whatever he wishes! I would still bet he could do just as well without giving away the free training.
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Selling block time is also a good method of getting the student to come back and fly, after all, the money is already spent.

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IMO, giving a student a price break is "money well spent" to come back. Same as selling block time, just no money up front for a blue sky day.
 
I think its a horrible idea and you are bringing down the profession for it.

Haha just kidding. By the time the checkride comes around you have already done so many flights it would be like knocking 50c/hr off your wage, if that. Plus it will open the possibility of doing more training with them. So the benifit is there all around for both you and the student. fair dinkim
 
I agree with Greg. I'm not going to sign someone off if they're not going to pass, so they don't need a monetary incentive to pass. I'm also not going to peel off a $100 bill and hand it to them when they pass their checkride, which is basically what's happening.

I haven't cut anyone any deals and I have people wanting me to teach them more than 500 miles away. You don't need gimmicks, just provide excellent product.
 
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Selling block time is also a good method of getting the student to come back and fly, after all, the money is already spent.

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IMO, giving a student a price break is "money well spent" to come back. Same as selling block time, just no money up front for a blue sky day.

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AOPA did a very in depth analysis on the business benefits of offering reduced aircraft rental rates. It is available on line under "aircraft ownership and lease back". The conclusion was that offering a lower price might generate some more rental hours, but not enough to make up for the discount. In my own experience with leasing back Warriors, I have found that I made a lot more money than other lease back owners at the same schools, by charging a little more for a clean, well maintained aircraft. People don't mind spending MORE if they feel they are getting a better product, in fact, charging a little more has been proven to psychologically make people think they are getting more, even when they're not sometimes.

Early in my flight instructor career I was always trying to be the cheapest guy at the flight school. I would offer free ground training and keep my rates a few dollars lower than my competitors, and it did get me students, though not always the ones I would want.

We had one instructor in Knoxville, John Burt, that charged DOUBLE what everyone else did, literally double. He had every Doctor, Lawyer, and well to do professional in town, under his thumb. It was amazing to watch, because John was a good instructor, but not twice as good as any other instructor there. John's customers were simply convinced that he "must be an incredible instructor if he can charge that much." I learned a lot watching him, and as I gained experience I realized the hard way that charging less, or offering gimics, was only good if you are trying to build as many hours as you can in a short time, and don't mind being a doormat.
Work hard at developing a good reputation as the "go to guy" and you will be just as busy as the "discount guy". After all, would you go to the cheapest doctor/lawyer/accountant in town because he offers a small discount AFTER his work is done, assuming of course you live/win the law suit/stay out of Federal Prison (after all, if you die/lose/or go to prison, you both look bad) or are you going to spend a little more money for a better professional???
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Once again, let me be CLEAR, I'm not beating up on CaptChris or Lloyd, and I'm not trying to imply that they are bad instructors because they choose to offer discounts!!! I think Lloyd has already proven he knows what he is doing and CaptChris is already on his way too. It's just a pet peave of mine that good instructors get paid what they deserve.
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If you do a good job, and your students pass every time with excellent marks, you are worth every penny you charge, and you will never have to worry about having business. In my experience, students are VERY loyal to good instructors, regardless of price.
 
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