Horror Stories - Tutor Recommendation Agencies

[POA Teacher]

lapapillion:

toyomit:

It's really a shame. I have also tried to apply as an English teacher through the agency and the agency was asking half price from my per hour rate. I'd rather look for students myseld that to get employed by them.

Really? I'll not agree to it. If my rates are slashed so that I become more attractive as a tutor, then I'll rather not take it. I don't want to compete by price because tutors are not commodities!

You probably misunderstood them.
They charge you 50% commission only on the FIRST month's tuition fees. Subsequently, you get the full fee.
I think the monthly fees are determined by yourself. If they can convince the parents to pay your specified rate, you get the assigment. If the parents have a lower budget, then the agent will assign them to a cheaper tutor.
Some parents go for cheap tutors, hoping to get lucky and get a good & cheap tutor
But many others have limited budgets due to financial constraints.

I don't have dealings with any tuition agents, though some have sms/ called me

[weatherbee]

SueTM12:

Yup, agree that if you have time to find tutors, then going through friends and relatives will be the best. Forums recommendations should also be taken with a pinch of salt as there are many who masquerade as happy parents or 'trusted' tutors. Otherwise, better to trust those tuition agencies which are more reputable as they have more to lose than you if who they recommend you is lousy.

I think as parents, we should just monitor. If a tutor is no good, then we can just change tutor immediately.

[Unfinished_Math]

I gave up on tuition agencies long ago. had a few bad experiences as well, the quality of the teachers is not always ideal, yet expecting a premium price. I believe I can teach my kids better than some tutors out there.

[Wonderdad]

DOE_admin:

Tutors should grow some backbone and get assignments directly for themselves. This means building a reputation and securing recommendations based on producing results.


You are only truly free if you get to keep every single cent you earn, on your own terms and conditions. And not getting conned by some scheming jerkball of an agent.

Agree... But i think they are more tied down in giving tuition than to do promotion themselves. Sometimes word of mouth might be too limited for them to reach out to more students.

[Melody2205]

I agree with wonderdad. The tutors need to pay 50% commission to the tuition agents for getting assignments from them. If the tutors are able to get new students from parents' referral, I'm sure they would choose not to get assignments from tuition agents. :rahrah:

[senseimichael]

lapapillion:

toyomit:

It's really a shame. I have also tried to apply as an English teacher through the agency and the agency was asking half price from my per hour rate. I'd rather look for students myseld that to get employed by them.

Really? I'll not agree to it. If my rates are slashed so that I become more attractive as a tutor, then I'll rather not take it. I don't want to compete by price because tutors are not commodities!

I agree. Not only that, but how do I explain to the parents of the existing students, if I have been charging $60 an hour, that I am charging others less just to get their assignment? You may be surprised how parents can find things out, in this time and age.

Ultimately (if we have been attentive to our lecturers during Economics), the market is a matter of supply and demand intersecting, after dealing with slippage and loss (from the agencies, haha!). As long as we know our price, and stick by it, we can bring value to those willing to pay our price.

[starzest]

Hi all tutors, engage Star zest Tuition Agency at your own risk!!


This post is also to raise the awareness of parents to the practices of this company. Something for you to think twice before engaging an agent: is the agency more concern about assigning you a right tutor or more about closing your assignment to earn the highest profit in shortest time?

I am currently a full-time A level Biology tutor who has recently suffered a loss from engaging the services of Starzest tuition agency. After my fourth lesson, the parent apologised to me that she decided not to continue as she found my services too expensive. I called up Starzest and requested that half of the tuition fees be transferred to my bank account and the agent agreed. Five days later, I received no news of my payment so I sms them. This was done in the next few days in succession as no replies were given.
I tried calling them up, but it was very hard to get through to their number. When I finally got through, they explained that it will take 7 days to process the payment and hurriedly cut the phone WITHOUT TAKING DOWN MY DETAILS. I was infuriated as this was really unprofessional unlike the rest of agencies I have dealt with but I waited. What happened a week later on was just a ‘hide & seek’ game, with them refusing to pick up my call or making up excuses that their accountant is on leave. THE PAYMENT NEVER CAME AFTER 3 WEEKS & counting.

I want to highlight several questionable practices of the agency. It prides itself on The Straits Times Article ‘I run an honest business’ by Mr Law Han Wei, yet the following tactics have been employed by the agency.

1. Unjustified premium
As quoted from the agency’s SMS, ‘Starzest collects a premium of $40 from the student as we provide more value added services-free exam papers & better quality control-getting feedbacks from tutors & parents every month.’ The SO CALLED FREE EXAM PAPERS ARE from 2007 and we have ONLY ENGLISH PAPER FOR SEC 4!! These free exam papers can easily be found on other agencies websites and I find it ridiculous to charge a premium for VALUE ADDED services. FEEDBACKS WERE NON-EXISTENCE as they did not bother to explain why the parent did not continue with my services

2. Possible difficulty of obtaining tutor’s fee
As quoted from the agency’s SMS, ‘Starzest collects the fee upfront from the student & pays the tutor after the end of every 4 lessons’. Wow what a wonderful idea to obtain money from unfortunate tutors like me who got cancelled after the 4th lesson and got $0 OUT OF IT. Simply put it, YOU WILL UNDERTAKE THE RISK OF BEING PAID $0 BY TEACHING FOR STARZEST.

3. Unsubstantiated marketing
As quoted from the agency’s SMS, ‘Voted best home tuition teachers’. Another quote from a google search of Star Zest, ‘Rank No 1 home tuition Singapore’. When you visit the website, there are ABSOLUTELY NO ARTICLES/EVIDENCE on how they obtain these votes leading to such ranking!!

I have already given up hope on claiming back my money, but I will not let such underhand methods affect the livelihood of tutors.

For those of you who doubt my story or suffered similar fate like me, you can make a police report and ask the officer whether a similar complaint has been made against the company in this month. I just did it at the Kovan NPC, PM me for the officer’s name and contact if you wish to make a report with him. 

[senseimichael]

I am interested to know why you start an account just to say this? Those of us who have been around forums are naturally wary of someone who parachutes in, say something bad about someone, and without leaving a name…

[TheAnswer]

senseimichael:

I am interested to know why you start an account just to say this? Those of us who have been around forums are naturally wary of someone who parachutes in, say something bad about someone, and without leaving a name...

I agree with you. I can't believe that someone just registered and posted that long complain on the tuition agency on the first post. It seems questionable.

So far I have not heard of any agencies who would collect the full month's pay before the start of any lessons. I have been in this industry for 10 long years. I have never came across this ever before. Although I no longer take students from agencies, I have friends who are tuition agents.
If the tutor has been in the industry for a while, the tutor should know it isn't the normal practice.

Regarding being terminated after 4 lessons, this can be due to various reasons. Most parents calculate carefully their monthly tuition fee before engaging any tutor. There may be other reasons. Enough said.

[starzest]

My personal particulars and other sensitive information are with the Starzest agency. One would think twice before revealing one’s name in a forum for everyone to read.


If you doubt my story, you are more than welcome to PM me for the contact number of the police officer that I made a report with. Impersonating a police officer is a serious crime in Singapore.

Lastly, unless you have personally dealt with Starzest tuition agency, please refrain from putting down my comments just like that. It is a free forum, isnt it? What is wrong with educating other tutors on Starzest unethical practices?