Home

Name: Five Star Driving School

Type of business: Driver education both behind the wheel and in the classroom for high school students

Address:335 West Broad St., Westfield

Telephone: (908) 389-0600

Web site: www.fivestardrivingschool.com

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday and Saturday 8a.m.-1 p.m. closed Mondays and last Sunday of month.

Number of employees: 12

Founded: 2004

Top officers: Ralph Moskal, president

How would you describe your business?

"We teach 16-year-old students how to drive," said Ralph Moskal, president of Five Star Driving School.

"We teach the high school students traffic rules and laws, how to park, switch lanes, anything and everything to do with the elements of driving. We get students ready for their driver's license and make sure that they become confident and competent drivers. In addition to teaching teens how to drive a car, we also have a motorcycle division.

"Most of my staff are high school teachers or training to be high school teachers. Members of our staff, including me, are currently teaching driver's education in public high schools. Our teachers are New Jersey state certified driving instructors. I also train all the employees myself. Five Star Driving School is a member of Driving School Association of New Jersey."

What makes your business special?

"What separates us from other driving schools is that a majority of our staff are high school teachers and the driving teachers are state certified driving instructors. This business specializes in teaching 16-year-olds as beginning drivers how to drive with on-the-road training, as well as the New Jersey traffic laws, so they can get their license. By state law we can't guarantee that a student will receive his drivers license the first time taking his test, but it's very rare when one of our students doesn't. Approximately 80 percent of our students pass their road test on their first attempt."

What goals do you have for the business?

"To stay efficient and keep growing and make sure our customers are happy."

How has your business changed?

"I am a high school teacher who teaches driver's education in my classes at Rahway High School. I worked for another driving school from 1999-2003 and I felt there were more things to do to make it a productive, efficient business, so I went off on my own.

"When I started, I had just myself and one other employee. Now we have five cars and 12 employees. It's grown substantially in the past five years, mostly through word of mouth. My focus is to keep the parents satisfied."

What was your most important deal?

"Our most important deal is to make sure that every customer comes first and making sure all the customer's demands are met. We are teaching teens how to drive -- to understand dangerous situations. We are trying to meet everyone's demands -- for our kids to leave us as comfortable drivers with a good knowledge of the road system and traffic laws and their parents satisfied."

What changes do you expect in your business in the next 10 years?

"To continue to grow and still remain as efficient as we are now by getting feedback from customers on how we can improve. We're satisfied now but not complacent in doing what we are doing now."

What is the most important thing you've learned in your business?

"Making sure that my customers come first. I've always said the customers come first, my employees come second, and I come third. That's the philosophy I've started with and I'm sticking with it. The most important thing I've learned: As long as my customers are happy with the results there is nothing more important than that. There is no better advertising than a satisfied customer's word of mouth and that's what's grown this business."

What advice would you give to someone considering your line of work?

"Patience, and know that you aren't selling a product here -- you are teaching. You are a teacher first and everything else comes secondary because you are working with teenagers that have never driven before and it's nothing to take lightly. Each customer is your only consideration because you don't have moment to let your guard down. You have to stay focused every second.

"If anyone wants to start a driving school, you have to have the teacher mentality first."

Is there anything else you would rather be doing?

"No. This is what I signed up for, I'm happy with what I do. My feeling is, if you aren't happy with what you do, don't do it."