Phoenix Motorcycle Training Watford

2

EDIT October 2024- My partner trepidatiously went to Invicta Motorcycle training in Faversham a few weeks after the travesty of Phoenix. Invicta taught her in an encouraging, non-military shouty way and she passed her CBT straight off with flying colours. A few days later she rode her Suzuki GSXR125 to Herne Bay and back from Canterbury, I followed her and she was PERFECT! Get yourself a GOOD instructor; forget Mark at Phoenix, go with Invicta in Faversham! End Edit. Phoenix Canterbury? Avoid this training school! Positives- one of the instructors, Ashley, was friendly and patient. Negatives- the ‘head Instructor’ Mark was rude, arrogant, and actually shouted at my partner (she’s 44, not a teenager). Awful bedside manner; he’s probably an excellent rider (trains police and advanced riding) but he’s an awful teacher. He had no patience for my partner who got nervous when he shouted. It also turns out that Mark is Ashley’s dad, so even when Ashley was pleased with my partners progress and looked like he wanted her to pass the CBT, Mark overruled and Ashley was powerless to challenge his father. In addition, my partner attempted the CBT on two occasions- the first time she booked a low height bike as she’s short, they messed up and didn’t provide it as it was out elsewhere and Mark got angry trying to blame us for not checking our email confirmation, even though it was their error. Mark tried to make my partner use an automatic scooter instead, which is no use to us because she has a geared motorbike at home that they she needs to be able to ride. In fact, when I have taught her myself in a carpark, she rides and manoeuvres her bike excellently, well above beginner standards, but at the CBT Mark’s angry teaching methods made her nervous and put her off. So they cancelled her CBT and sent her home. In fairness to them, they provided the second CBT date at no extra charge, and this time with the correct low-seated geared motorbike, but once again Mark was rude and angry and impatient. He never once taught her how to ride or change gear, so it’s lucky I had already taught her, instead he just told her to do stuff and then shouted when he didn’t like the way she’d done it, instead of doing what good instructors do which is to actually show what they want and help you practice it. Ultimately, Mark refused to issue the CBT pass because my partner failed on just two things- leaving the indicator on after some turns, and taking left turns a little wide (but she never crossed the white line), both things easily corrected with patient teaching and practice, but instead of doing that he cut the day short by over an hour saying that she’d never get it and should go for a scooter instead, wanting her to book a third CBT, on a scooter, and of course pay another £180. No thank you, we’ll go elsewhere. The saying ‘there’s no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher’ is extremely apt here. Avoid Phoenix Canterbury, unless you can guarantee you’ll get Ashley and Mark won’t be around…

5

I'd definitely recommend Phoenix motorbike training, I had Chris for my module 1 and 2 and he got me through both first try. The bikes were well maintained and the coaching was excellent

5

First time doing a CBT and the training was excellent. Ashley was very helpful with things i struggled with and was very enjoyable.

1

I don’t expect to receive a sensible reply or investigation to my review as responses are written by the staff of the instructor. On my first day, the lowered bike I requested was not available and I was encouraged to swap to a scooter. During the training, the owner Mark repeatedly snapped at me and when I tried to explain that his technique wasn’t helping me pick it up, he stormed off. However another date was offered so that I could try again on a lowered bike as I wasn’t picking up the scooter fast enough. On arrival on the 2nd date, Mark’s son Ashley explained that Mark “was a bit fire-y last time because of the mix-up”. Luckily, I had been practicing on my own bike previously as no instruction was given about gears and Mark was on his phone half the time - no doubt dealing with business issues. On the road, Mark became impatient and short tempered again, literally shouting at me while riding for errors like turning an indicator off or road positioning despite making the turns without being too close to the road markings or other traffic. He cut the ride short despite saying that I need more practise, because he was frustrated and irritated. Barring a near miss or a perceived danger, there is absolutely no reason to be shouting at customers whilst on the road.

5

Had a great experience at Phoenix Motorcycle Training Canterbury. I was so nervous as I’ve had very little experience on a two wheeled vehicle but Ashley had a lot of patience and took extra time with me to make sure I was up to par. Was a lot of fun. Would definitely recommend.