Hi Campers!
Following the events of August and September, I think Invasion really need to be doing some serious soul searching. First they need to establish what their core values are and then make sure they apply them with full integrity. Clearly they have been coming up short on the ethical front in recent months.
First of all, how did they get into bed with their previous TEFL providers (English For Fun) in the first place? EFF's track record was well known to all before they linked up. Did Invasion seriously believe there would be no problems ensuing from that liaison? Clearly, it was a deal based on expediency at the time rather than one that matched their core values.
Secondly, Invasion have failed miserably in their response to the complaints of campers taking part in the August camp in Chiang Mai. Rather than offer measly £250 vouchers, they should offer full refunds. Only this way can they realistically hope to keep customers and hold on to their market share. Word gets around quickly on social media these days.
At the very heart of all Invasion's venture must be ethicality towards the campers themselves. Most of the campers are youngsters who have never travelled to Asia before, and have anxious parents at home worrying about them. To cut corners and condone sub-standard behaviour at camps is simply not acceptable (see previous posts).
In the future, Invasion must make ethicality and the maintenance of high standards an absolute must, not just an optional extra. If they can do this, we wish them luck going forward with their new TEFL partners. If they can't, they must expect to see an inevitable decline in the number of participants on their camps, and deservedly so.
Let's hope there's some improvement in the future.
EFL Greg
Monday 23 October 2017
Friday 6 October 2017
Invasion and Camp Thailand
Hi Thailand Campers!
Following my last post I've received a lot of disturbing news. It seems there's been a real bust up between Invasion and Philip Crabb. In fact, Invasion have dispensed with his services altogether and are now using Greenway China to provide the TEFL component of their Camp experience. I don't actually know anything about Greenway, so I can't honestly vouch for them. What I can say, though, is that Invasion should be applauded for parting company with Philip Crabb and his English For Fun farce. We have been pressing for this for a long time on this blog, so let's hope this move heralds a brighter future.
Meanwhile, Invasion is in quite a state of turmoil, in that there have been several complaints from campers and from parents about the messy way the August / September course turned out. Apparently, there was trouble about visas as well as the switch in hotels from Cha-Am to Hua Hin. It seems that Invasion had some genuine cash flow problems, probably as a result of overextending themselves with too many camps. This was compounded by the possibility that Philip Crabb was embezzling money sent to him by Invasion. At this stage, we have no proof of that. However, it seems the possibility alone was enough to make Invasion act.
Overall, it seems Invasion are trying to do their best in difficult circumstances. For example, they have offered dissatisfied campers vouchers for £250, etc. However, Invasion need to be much more open, honest and communicative in dealing with their camp participants. I'm getting reports of unanswered emails and robotic responses to phone calls. That's just no way to treat customers. They really need to work on their PR
Whatever happened to cause the bust up, Philip Crabb clearly has his own agenda, the main component being to claim Camp Thailand as his own. In fact, many of you may already have noticed that there are two Camp Thailands now, Summer Camp Thailand https://summercampthailand.com/ run by Americamp and Camp Thailand http://www.campthailand.org/ run by Philip Crabb. What it seems Mr. Crabb is trying to do now is to create as much of a stir as he can about Invasion in the hope that they go out of business, leaving him 100% control of Camp Thailand. He even tries to claim that he created the whole project. This is complete poppycock, he is merely a provider of sub-standard TEFL courses, nothing more. For future reference have no doubt that Invasion/Americamp's version of Camp Thailand is the original one.
I'll make more comments about developments in my next post. Meanwhile, please do post your comments or email me directly.
Keep camping!
EFL Greg
Following my last post I've received a lot of disturbing news. It seems there's been a real bust up between Invasion and Philip Crabb. In fact, Invasion have dispensed with his services altogether and are now using Greenway China to provide the TEFL component of their Camp experience. I don't actually know anything about Greenway, so I can't honestly vouch for them. What I can say, though, is that Invasion should be applauded for parting company with Philip Crabb and his English For Fun farce. We have been pressing for this for a long time on this blog, so let's hope this move heralds a brighter future.
Meanwhile, Invasion is in quite a state of turmoil, in that there have been several complaints from campers and from parents about the messy way the August / September course turned out. Apparently, there was trouble about visas as well as the switch in hotels from Cha-Am to Hua Hin. It seems that Invasion had some genuine cash flow problems, probably as a result of overextending themselves with too many camps. This was compounded by the possibility that Philip Crabb was embezzling money sent to him by Invasion. At this stage, we have no proof of that. However, it seems the possibility alone was enough to make Invasion act.
Overall, it seems Invasion are trying to do their best in difficult circumstances. For example, they have offered dissatisfied campers vouchers for £250, etc. However, Invasion need to be much more open, honest and communicative in dealing with their camp participants. I'm getting reports of unanswered emails and robotic responses to phone calls. That's just no way to treat customers. They really need to work on their PR
Whatever happened to cause the bust up, Philip Crabb clearly has his own agenda, the main component being to claim Camp Thailand as his own. In fact, many of you may already have noticed that there are two Camp Thailands now, Summer Camp Thailand https://summercampthailand.com/ run by Americamp and Camp Thailand http://www.campthailand.org/ run by Philip Crabb. What it seems Mr. Crabb is trying to do now is to create as much of a stir as he can about Invasion in the hope that they go out of business, leaving him 100% control of Camp Thailand. He even tries to claim that he created the whole project. This is complete poppycock, he is merely a provider of sub-standard TEFL courses, nothing more. For future reference have no doubt that Invasion/Americamp's version of Camp Thailand is the original one.
I'll make more comments about developments in my next post. Meanwhile, please do post your comments or email me directly.
Keep camping!
EFL Greg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)