Of Cons and Con Games - 1

[Hypiereon]

Of Cons and Con Games - 1

There are two classic cons for people to look out for. Whether you’re dealing with a recruiter, an opportunist, or genuine con artist, here are the two cons I’ve managed to piece together you need to watch out for – and how to beat them. (cue music to “The Sting.”) Here’s the first.

1. The Classic Bait and Switch.
This is an old game. Department stores used to do it all the time, and now it’s illegal in the States. Simply put, the con goes something like this - they advertise one thing at a certain price (usually very cheap to buy), but when you get to the store the item is suddenly “unavailable” with a slightly more expensive model available, OR the sale is over by the time you get there and you must buy the item at regular price even though the sale should technically still be going on, OR the item for sale “sold out” or was never there and the only real choice is the other item at a higher price.

The way this works in the EFL / ESL field is in reverse. The person you talk to advertises a very attractive deal, then when you get here that deal is no longer available and they’re sending you somewhere else that does not offer the same things you were promised. The game works because the deal sounds nicely reasonable or outright wonderful, and you want it to be true.

The game also works because once you’re here, you’re “stuck.” Most people don’t ever think about what might go wrong. Look, you’d never visit a foreign country as a tourist without a return plane ticket in hand, or at least the money (or credit card) to buy one later, so why would you do it now? Again, high hopes and the embarrassment at having made a bad decision and not wanting to admit it can overwhelm common sense.

In essence, come prepared to be disappointed, and with the idea that you’ll leave if things do not work out. Better yet, come prepared to go “shopping” for other schools if they guy you’re dealing with tries to scam you (see my 5 Part Post on “How to get a start teaching in China?” in the Teaching and Living in China Forum.) Come armed with knowledge of places to get real help in case of an emergency – nearest consulate numbers, numbers of any other foreigners you might find in that city, and backpacker guesthouses. Backpacker guesthouses are notoriously filled with the more experienced (meaning more traveled) foreigners who can really help a person out with information, and a nod in the right direction. They aren’t the police, they aren’t daddy Warbucks, and they are total strangers, but a “hat-in-your-hand” approach may get you the sympathy you need to get some real help and a nod in the right direction.

Sometimes a recruiter is just being unscrupulous, sometimes it is a recruiter with good intentions but has been paid something on the side to get a teacher somewhere else, sometimes a recruiter is advertising for schools and then “placing” people once they get here, and sometimes it is far more sinister than any of this.

This is the MOST USED con out there, and it’s terrible for people who really have high hopes. “Never base decisions on your high hopes for a good outcome.” You need concrete proof. The easiest and most recommended way to defeat this game is to ask for references from other foreigners who have worked there. Get an e-mail address, and then when you make contact with the “foreigner” make sure you give them a call – at any phone (can be a business or other place if they do not wish to give out personal information) – to make sure you’re really dealing with another foreigner.

Here are some questions you can ask that are usually very telling by their response:

• 1. Is there a tax on my salary?
• 2. What bills do I have to pay for in my apartment if I live on-campus?
• 3. What if I choose to do some tutoring?

They should respond:

• 1. There is a 20% tax on any income over 4,000 RMB. However, if the salary you are negotiating for is less than this amount, they may simply tell you there is no tax on your salary – a true statement. If they say anything else it is a definite red flag.
• 2. You should only be responsible for internet and phone connections. EVERYTHING else should be paid for by the school. That means, rent, water, gas, electricity, and any other fees for living there at the school. If you are responsible for anything other than the internet and phone – red flag.
• 3. The school should not have any policy regarding tutoring. They may say you can’t work outside the school, but this is something they should easily give up on. However, one person recently told me that the person they were talking to was going to require 10% of whatever they made for tutoring. BIG RED FLAG!!

These questions are just ways you might draw out someone who is not honest and trying to con you, but they may not work – so always always ALWAYS get referrals and CHECK THEM OUT. Don’t just assume that because the school gave them to you they are legit – call them. Don’t just trust an e-mail.

Another thing, and I’ve mentioned this before in other posts, is to take on the role of “detective.” Google the school and search out all Black Lists for any negative comments. You can make your own choices, but in my book, ANY bad mark is not worth the risk – even if they are very reputable. My thinking goes like this; the majority of the schools out there are simply not paying enough to give ANYONE a hard time or a reason not to like them.

If someone gets a bad attitude because they are just mean spirited, they are the exception, not the rule. I have a hard time believing there are more than half a dozen people out there (if any at all) who would purposely throw themselves overseas with the intent of bad mouthing a school half way around the world. Mostly, I see people who have had bad experiences who just deal with it and move on with their life without ever taking the trouble to post something on a website that may never even get read.

So, that said, even if the school responds with something very convincing, don’t take the chance. It’s not worth a piece of your own skin or a single teardrop if your trust is misplaced for someone else’s good word. The school has to build the reputation and keep it – that means not hacking anyone off for any reason, good or bad. That’s the nature of doing business responsibly – “The teacher is always right.”

[Antonio]

Good report there. Quite accurate at times. Whilst schools and recruiters do at times con and scam their recruits, it would be fair to give another side of the story too.

I have recruited quite a few teachers over the past 12 months, and I'm sad to say that some of them con us.

As a recruiter, we put a lot of time and effort into answering questions by teachers, of which many of them wont even come to us. But, that's the name of the game, and realise this.

Some teachers I've placed, were provided airport pickup and the first 1 week of free accommodation. No up-front fee was charged, but perhaps it should have. The reason is that some teachers do use and abuse schools and recruiters. The teacher then disappears leaving the school in a difficult situation with a financial loss.

Teachers I have placed got the same salary as had they gone direct to the school. So for a teacher using some recruiters, it can be beneficial. It doesn't always mean that the teacher pays for this service. Not all recruiters are bad. The teacher needs to weed out the good from the bad, like employers need to weed out good teachers from the bad.

[Hypiereon]

Originally Posted by Antonio

Some teachers I've placed, were provided airport pickup and the first 1 week of free accommodation. No up-front fee was charged, but perhaps it should have. The reason is that some teachers do use and abuse schools and recruiters. The teacher then disappears leaving the school in a difficult situation with a financial loss.

I'm all for weeding out the good from the bad - teachers and recruiters alike. However, I fail to see how a teacher leaving creates a financial loss for the school. I hope you'll elaborate on the full extent of suffering and anguish the school endures in the way of "financial loss" and explain how it compares equally with the financial losses of any of a multitude of foreigners who have only two choices: 1. Work for someone who has broken their promises to the extent you will be out thousands of RMB over the contract term - with the knowledge that they are pocketing the rest based on your efforts - in the hope of salvaging something of a trip thousands of miles away from home. 2. Returning home paying your own way (both trips - aborad and back home again) because the foreigner is unwilling to be misled.

There is a third choice, forget the recruiter and school and find your own school - but most foreigners haven't taken the time to educate themself about the extent of this possibility which has created the situation of them using a recruiter to begin with.

I cannot, at this point, see how any financial loss would be comparable in any degree, seeing that it is the foreigner who has taken the bulk of meaningful risk in coming to a strange land, but I welcome you to shed more light on this financial loss the school experiences.

I've heard it said that schools lose money by way of enrollment when a foreigner quits, but this is far from the truth. Once a foreigner is there, it is highly unlikely parents will remove their kids from a program simply because a foreigner left. While that is a possibility, quite often parents change schools because a better program exists, and hardly ever because of the sudden absence of a foreigner.

You mention that no up-front fee was charged, but that perhaps one should have (been charged.) I find this deeply disturbing.

Again, the foreigner has already paid for the ticket over here, and under normal contracts terms will not be reimbursed for this until after 11 or 12 months of completed teaching - ie. they have to complete the contract to get this benefit, and then they have to work another whole year if they want to get enough money to have paid for the plane ticket they will use to go back home.

Let me restate - schools do not pay enough to have a genuine gripe. They stand to make thousands of RMB in profits for having a foreigner, and most shcools are not professional enough to provide an adequate curriculum and support for the teacher.

I understand there are terrible foreigners out there - been around one even. However, charging an "up-front" fee is no guarantee to get a good one, nor will it insulate you from the bad if you are a school or recruiter. One school I know of "temporarily withholds" 1,000 RMB per month for a three month probationary period - but all that is to be given back at the end of the third month - and this is written into the contract.

Recruiters who charge money to teachers need a new hole in their head. How this would help ensure getting a good teacher vs. a bad teacher has no play with me. However; how it could add money into the pocket of the recruiter is abundantly clear. You speak of foreigners "using and abusing" schools, but even this doesn't wash with me. The cases of abuse and neglegence on the parts of recruiters and schools is far more sinister than any foreigner could hope to inflict.

Let's compare worst case scenarios shall we?

Bad Foreigner: A woman at SCHOOL ABC worked there a year, ran up a phone bill in the thousands of RMB and refused to pay the bill because accroding to her, she didn't make the calls. The school withheld money from her pay the next month to pay the bills and she became angry, piled up her furniture in the middle of the living room, and set fire to it. She then left the school - where she went no one knows for sure.

Let's look at the school losses on this: 1. Furniture being burned (grand total of maybe 4 or 5 thousand Yuan.) 2. No teacher.

Let's look at her losses in the bad situation she created for herself: 1. No end of year payment for ticket home. 2. No salary for that month. 3. Will not be hired by that school which will warn other schools in the area making it harder for her to find a job (but not impossible.)

Even in this worst case scenario the foreinger lost more than the school.

Bad School:
Foreigner arrives expecting 4,000 RMB per month in or near the city to find western accomodations, but is sent into the countryside to work for 3,500 RMB. The facilities are not as described or pictured.

The staff is openly hostile and does not pay on time, then takes out 20% for taxes leaving the unknowing foreigner with 2,800 per month.

The foreigner is made to pay some or all of their own expenses resulting in "payment" of an additional 300 RMB per month.

When the end of the contract comes, the school refuses to pay the "end of year bonus" also sometimes known as "reimbursment for airfare" leaving the foreigner to find their own way back home. (Bare minimum is 7,000 RMB)

Loss to the foriegner over what was expected: 21,400 RMB (conservative estimate).
Loss by way of plane ticket expense: 1,000 USD minimum for here and back home again.
Total loss to the foreigner calculated in RMB: 29,400 RMB CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE.
Total loss to the school: -0-

The conservative estimate could easily be even worse than this and so does not even constitute a real worst case scenario where even more horrible things could go wrong - and HAVE gone wrong if yu believe the really bad stories out there. This is what the foreigner risks to go overseas, and you think it would be a good idea to add a "finder fee" / "placement fee" / "up-front fee" to this?!?!?!

The cases do not EVEN compare. All the meaningful risk is laid on the shoulders of the foreigner who also, by the way, must fork over a ton of trust to the recruiter not to screw 'em. Are there good recruiters out there? You sound like you could be one, but how do I (or anyone else) really know? What guarantees can you give?

A better way? YEP! Don't use recruiters. Educate yourself about schools and gain a modicum of self-confidence so that the foreigner doesn't have to rely on recruiters. A big PS here - I've never used recruiters, so my extreme bias (I'm willing to own up to it) about them may seem misplaced. However, I've been approached by them, and they all seem to have only one thing in common - how THEY can make money off ME.

If their interest was a little less self-serving, if they really cared enough to be in-country for some time and really give me a leg up, help me get adjusted culturally, take me out to dinner, show me around town and how to become somewhat independent and get my legs up under me, take some TIME with me - I could see paying for that. For a nod toward a school, a handshake and a contract? NOPE!! Get your fee from the school, keep your hands out of the foreigners pockets.

As a footnote to all this, it may seem like I'm coming down hard on Antonio personally - this is not the case. I'm coming down hard on ANY recruiters in general who like to swindle and cheat, or think they have some right to charge a fee to teachers for any reason. As Antonio already indicated in his post, he is not one of these, so this is in no way directed at him. Everyone needs to know that there are good recruiters out there - but they also need to understand that there are VERY bad ones as well. The upside to a good recruiter is he will find you a decent place to work without much legwork from you. The bad thing about bad recruiters can be your worst nightmare come to life.

Bottom line - though there are good recruiters out there, you really do not need them if you're willing to do a little detective work on your own and put in some shoe leather to make it work. This essentially eliminates a lot of the risk for yourself in getting ripped off, and saves recruiters from having to deal with the possibility of dealing with you if you're a bad teacher.

[Antonio]

Originally Posted by Hypiereon

You mention that no up-front fee was charged, but that perhaps one should have (been charged.) I find this deeply disturbing.

Well, their is a financial loss to the recruiter via resources used, time put into the new applicant, airport pickup and and so forth. Sure the teacher has paid their airfare to show their commitment, but it only shows their commitment to teaching abroad. It doesn't show their commitment to the one employer/recruiter. So, if an employer/recruiter does everything right, and the teacher leaves all of a sudden after a few days, then there should be some compensation to the employer/recruiter. These situations do happen, and this is what I would like to try an avoid.

There are some recruiters that do a wonderful job of providing timely advice and support to new teachers. The better recruiters are the ones that find a good match between teacher and school without charging the teacher. The recruiter needs to draw an income from somewhere, so this is the situation where the school pays the recruiter.

Throughout the world, agents are used to recruit qualified applicants. Whether it be in HR, IT, legal professionals, accountants and so forth. The same opportunity exists in the teaching world, and we do quite well with looking after our applicants.

[Hypiereon]

That's wonderful to know that such outstanding organizations as yours exist. It is truly heartening to know that there are recruiters who will really advise and support teachers going abroad. Especially the ones where they do not charge the teacher. I guess in the end it's all a matter of perspective. Are you hiring the recruiter or is the school? Seems to me the onus is on the school to come up with the $thank$ $you$ no matter where the teacher lands. If the recruiter has a good enough reputation and has made all the right connections and relationships, it shouldn't matter where the teacher ends up because that class act recruiter will have developed all the right relationships to make sure he has an understanding with all the right schools.

That way if the foreign teacher ends up at one of the good schools the recruiter has developed a proper working relatinoship with, then he gets paid from the school, and if the foreigner ends up at one of the bad schools because he abandoned the recruiter (so to speak), then the foreigner has to live with the consequences of his actions. If, however, the foreigner can find a good school that didn't make the cut with the recruiter, it would call me to question the validity and resourcefulness of that particular recruiter in the first place.

In my experience, this has mostly been the case. The majority of recruiters and all of the cheats haven't made solid relationships with the best schools either because the school is so good they do not need to advertise all that much and do not need to enlist the aid of a recruiter. In such cases, a recruiter is not necessary. I happen to do a lot of "advising" and "supporting" for free myself. I'm no recruiter, but I don't think of it as any sort of sacrifice for taking the time to answer people's questions about China.

Getting airport pick-up? That can be handled by any backpacker guesthouse for less than $5-$7 American dollars in almost every city - no more than $12. Other than this, I cannot imagine what other "resources used" and "so forth" would really justify a charge to the teacher.

As Antonio said, the BETTER recruiters do it without charging the teacher - so stick with those and you'll not risk getting a con thrown your way. If a recruiter wants to charge you anything, I say pay your own cab fare and take him to dinner.

[drinksun1]

Antonio please advise your contact details as I may need your assistance, thanks

[Antonio]

You can always PM me if you want to get in touch!