Modern Vespa

Tanya, I bought my Vespa from your place, and have been hesitating whether to mention the training that you offer, but here goes. I had previously taken the MSF course two years ago, but I took this one as a refresher last Sunday before picking up my Vespa. The guy (not going to mention his name here) was very good on the basics of riding the scooter, but he mentioned zip about personal safety and riding gear; in fact, he actively discouraged me from wearing the gloves and armored jacket I had brought to the class. I saw two wobbly newbies ride off home on their new scooters, one wearing a spaghetti-strap top with bare arms and stomach, and the other wearing a helmet he had inherited from his cousin (I mentioned to him that he might want to get a new one, but he said oh, his cousin had dropped it off a motorcycle but it was only doing 30 and he had colored over the scrape with magic marker, so it was OK). The spaghetti-strap girl asked partway through the class if her boyfriend (who was there) could try riding her Vespa as long as he put on her helmet. The instructor said sure, but he doesn't need to put on the helmet, then turned to me and said "I rode motorcycles for 20 years without a helmet".

Perhaps I'm overly cautious about the gear, but the MSF class certainly drilled us about wearing everything every time--e.g, don't put your leg over your motorcycle unless your helmet is on and fastened. I'm not saying he should do this (though it would be a good idea, in my opinion), but I think SOME sort of information about gear and personal safety is in order.

Also, I don't know if you pay him, but we were told at the end of the class to tip him (which was news to me at least). I don't know if this is because you don't have him on your payroll, or you don't want to discourage people from taking the training because it costs money, but this seems a pretty unprofessional way to go about it. You have lots of extras in your new Vespa package (cover, etc.), so maybe you could just include the training. Or just charge people directly--it's certainly worth paying for. It doesn't instill confidence in the trainer to think he works for unspecified tips.

Other than that, I think it would be great to have a FAQ sheet (or maybe something on your website) for things like "where can I park?" and "why does it smell like hot plastic?" and some of the other topics covered above.

the msf trainer worked for tips?

You should have eveything VESPA from Jackets to key chains,patches to repair kits

Ed's our resident teacher. I'll be sure to check and see what he's been saying in regards to gear. But yes, he works for tips.