Would you complain about this driving instructor?

[SapphireFire]

I never normally see him because he arrives, dd goes out and comes back in 2 hrs later. He insists on 2 hr lessons, which she doesn't like, but has persevered.

Anyway, she was ill this morning so I went out to chat with the instructor and apologise for the last minute cancellation and his car STANK of smoke. It was honestly disgusting and I would have hated to sit for two hours in that!

Is this complaint worthy? He's part of a big company btw, not an independent instructor.

Yes I would complain. Change instructor - it’s important your dd is comfortable with who is teaching her to drive and she shouldn’t have to sit in a stinky car!
Are you tied into a contract?

It's not only grim its illegal to smoke in an exposed workplace/public space. He should get out and smoke outside the car. Your poor daughter having to breathe that in

I also didn't get a good vibe from him. He creeped me out a bit.

I'm not sure if he actually smokes in the car, but wherever he does it means that the whole car stinks. I suppose it might just be engrained in his clothes?!

What does your dd say? If she's old enough to learn to drive she's old enough to have an opinion about this.
Is he otherwise a fantastic instructor who she's learning from? Or are there other issues?
If she gets on great with him, she may be willing to put up with the smell. If she doesn't then yes she should change instructors.
Talk to your dd, and support her in making a decision. Don't override her in this.

Definitely complain/switch instructors, I had a horrible one when I was 17 and it destroyed my confidence in driving for years. I wish I’d switched but I was too shy.

Had your DD mentioned it?

Regardless of the smoke, find another instructor who isn’t insisting on 2hr lessons.

I wouldn't like to be in a car that smelt of smoke. However for the 2 hour lesson, I had to do that as I lived quite rural, so if I only did an hour then I wouldn't be able to do much in that time.

You can't really complain about him having a bad vibe though.

Is he marketed as a non-smoking instructor?