作者ClearAdmit (ClearAdmit)
看板MBA
標題Re: [情報] CA MBA admissions results update
時間Sun Apr 22 16:17:11 2012
Hi Cindy, first of all, congratulations on getting accepted to a top MBA
program. I am happy that you were able to get a good result after all
the hard work that you clearly put into the application process.
I want to respond to your claim that I somehow misled you in the process;
that is simply not what happened. I did offer you and your group a very big
discount, a bigger discount than what any other CA client got anywhere in the
world. I offered you CA's discounts up to 12 consulting hours of US$240,
but then after that, I offered you even more discounts for more hours of
purchase, down to a low of US$200 – which, again, is lower than any rate
offered to any other CA client in the world.
As for my other client who got an hourly rate of $220, he came to me several
weeks before you did and received CA’s early season discount that was still
valid at that time. The discount expired shortly after my client came to me.
We as a company have the right to set a deadline date for early season
discounts, and begin charging standard season prices after that date. This is
the same thing that happened with CA’s promotion on FormosaMBA; after a
certain date, the discount expired. The idea of charging different prices at
different times of year is a perfectly legitimate practice that does not
violate any professional ethics.
Even though you came to me after our early season discount had expired, I
still offered you a deal in which all that your group needed to do was
purchase an average of 12 consulting hours per person, and all of you would
have received lower rates than any other CA client in the world. You claimed
that each member of your group planned to work with me to apply to five
schools. If that was true, then certainly it was reasonable for me to assume
that each person would use at least 12 consulting hours, and probably a lot
more.
Even after you supposedly felt that I had misled you and that my prices were
unacceptable, several people from your own MBA group approached me and became
my clients. If my behavior was so dishonest, why would people from your own
group work with me? Ultimately, you and I did not work together because you
felt my charge was too high even after I gave you discounts that were far
below anything that CA was giving at that time. You have the right to feel
that CA's rate was still too high even after my best offer, but it is wrong
to say that I misled you just because you were not able to convince me to
lower our rates even more.
And, for the record, I never, ever said that PE is not a good company – if
anyone from PE is reading this, I want to state emphatically that I did NOT
state that PE is not a good company. Rather, what really happened was that
you asked me why CA's prices are higher than another firm's, and faced with
that direct question from you, I stated what CA's competitive advantages are
and what I believe makes CA the top firm in the world. If you claim that I
was badmouthing another firm, that is not what happened. We are all in this
industry because we share a passion for education and for helping people get
into their dream schools, and we take pride and joy in the success of all the
applicants we come across, regardless of whether or not someone is a client.
I hope this clarifies the facts. I regret that in your message, you neglected
to acknowledge the $200 low rate that I offered you and failed to mention the
numerous free services that I had given you, including reviewing your essays
for free multiple times and answering numerous email questions from you. Even
though you did not sign up as a client, I never accused you of trying to take
advantage of my free services and good will for as long as you can. So, I am
disappointed that you choose to accuse me of misleading you when in fact I
never did.
Again, I am happy that you were successful with your applications, and I wish
you all the best in your future endeavors. If you want to discuss this on the
phone or in person, I am absolutely willing to do so in order to clear the
air between us. I have met you, and I know you are a good person.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Kevin
[email protected]
www.clearadmit.com
※ 引述《cindy0416 (ptt)》之銘言:
: ※ 引述《amyhong (蒙頭猛讀)》之銘言:
: : 都還滿有幫助的 如果大家爬文 相信也有看到幾位版友分享在off season 的時候
: : 接受clear admit 的免費評估
: 是說我嗎?(羞~)
: 想到要來寫這一篇平衡輿論的文章,真讓我百感交集..
: 其實在我之前的分享文之後,與Kevin的更多交涉中,我體會到他就是一個很聰明的生意
: 人,這樣而已,因此後來我沒有選擇Kevin的服務。當下沒有立即發文補充我的後續感想,
: 一方面是因為申請的過程昏天黑地,沒有精力再來這邊平衡輿論,另一方面是考量也許
: 有其他人可以受惠於他的free consultation,不要因為自己的不愉快而影響他人的權益。
: 但現在申請已經告一段落了,看到這個版的一面倒的言論,想出來平衡一下。
: : 所以在不違背客戶的利益下 Kevin 也不是那麼功利的吧
: : (純屬個人意見 我是這樣覺得啦 搔頭...)
: 就讓我花點時間,來分享一個我做過的夢吧~
: 大約半年前,我在版上分享了某些顧問的free consultation經驗。(當時是申請新手,
: 的確是比較熱血一點。)文中提到自己有預算限制,因此遲遲無法決定是否要把錢灑下去。
: 折衷的方法是,找了一小群正在申請MBA的戰友,組成一個討論的小組,自食其力中。
: 不久之後,我夢到某個顧問寫信給我,說如果我能找一群朋友一起去找他,他會給我
: group discount。我聽了真開心!這樣就能解決我的預算問題,又能有好品質的服務,
: 實在太完美了!(心裡還想說,哇,這是發分享文的好心有好報嗎?老天對我真好呀~)
: 於是我們幾個戰友就開始討論著需要這位顧問提議的哪種服務。
: 顧問的提議有兩種,第一個提議是包package的,一次帶N個人去,每個人可以編輯5個
: 學校,而這N個人一共要付出XX萬元。第二個提議是hourly service,一次買越多個小
: 時,hourly rate就越低。就這樣,我們幾位戰友們開始討論怎樣最符合我們需求,畢
: 竟discount得來不易呀。
: 就在我們多方討論與詢問之後,某位戰友居然告訴我,這位顧問給他的hourly rate,
: 才220鎂,而且就算是買一小時或兩小時,也是這個錢,為什麼我的group discount
: 要買40個小時以上才有這個錢?好像沒有比較划算耶~
: 我大驚?!是這樣嗎?!不想誤會人,我問了這位戰友:"你是很早以前就談好的價
: 錢嗎?" 他說大約也才一兩個禮拜前的事,不是很早以前淡季就談好的金額。
: 所以我發信給這位顧問,說:"你耍我喔?" 攤牌說我知道有人220鎂的事。
: 當下的我,希望顧問的回覆能讓我心服口服,只要有個合理解釋,我並不會不講理。
: 沒想到顧問回答了兩個原因,兩個都讓我很傻眼。
: 第一,他承認他的確給某人比較低的金額,但他現在收的客戶已經很多了,並不覺得
: 不給discount有什麼不對。
: (??!! 沒有人怪你收費貴不貴,或有沒有discount,重點在於你不能跟人家說有group
: discount,但事實上並沒有。就像你在說明會的時候說,所有台灣的申請人都會視同以
: FormosaMBA 介紹的身分打九折,結果後來我打聽到的都說沒這回事了。這已經不是價
: 格合不合理或CP值高不高的問題了,這是誠信的問題。)
: 第二,他說,像我這樣有"budget concern"的人,我們不"match"。
: (???????!!!!!!! 我怎麼記得group discount是你發信給我的,為了確保我的記憶,
: 我去翻了一下你發給我的信,的確就是你主動找我的。結果在被我抓包之後,你還要
: 來ㄎㄠˊㄙㄟ我窮?你該不會把版上這些善良申請人、或你口中所說最敬愛的客戶,
: 當作是你所謂沒有budget concern的肥羊吧?我從來沒有隱瞞自己有budget concern,
: 文章裡都寫出來了。你這麼聰明又會讀中文,看到我的文章之後想要發信給我當好人,
: 被我抓包之後還要酸我,這樣非常不厚道。)
: 這位顧問說,他的收費比PE貴,是因為PE不是一個好的顧問公司,這點我待會再分享。
: 但重點一樣,我不找他的原因,不是因為他貴我窮,而是因為像他這樣沒有誠信的人,
: 我們不"match"。
: 到這邊,我的夢就醒了...
: 這個夢對我影響甚鉅,我從此對顧問們就沒什麼好感,依然靠自己的小組討論來改善
: essay內容,雖然越改有越好,但心裡還是不太放心。
: 最後,聽一個朋友找了PE,說幫他服務的那位女顧問非常好,也非常鼓舞人心,因此
: 我付了兩個小時的錢,請她幫我看看我的essay。我不確定如何精準地衡量一位顧問的
: 服務品質或成效,但這位顧問拿了兩個小時的錢,幫我看了總共2000字的essay,而且
: 是在deadline前2天收件(沒有收急件費用),她在美國我在台灣,所以我睡前給她東西,
: 早上醒來又收到回音,因此即使是deadline前兩天才開始找她,仍有時間改了兩輪。
: 後來我拿到interview,最後也上了西岸灣區某名校MBA。
: 我另外投了一個Master,也請她看過,最後也上了,還拿到相當於學費一半的獎學金。
: 當然也許錄取以及獎學金的部分不是她一個人的功勞,但我的確只花了一隻手的指頭
: 都沒用完的小時數,就得到不錯的成果。而且PE的收費公正公開,說給的discount不
: 會因為什麼原因又收回,比較不覺得自己被呼弄。
: 至於對照組,我有一個強者朋友,找了那個我沒找的顧問,但不是package,而是
: hourly service,最後上了M7。我問我朋友,你會上的原因主要是這位顧問嗎?他說,
: 這位顧問其實給他的建議都是小建議、小改動,感覺是他自己的老闆(是那個M7學校
: 的畢業生),給他的修正建議還比較整體也全面。所以,我也就更不相信名牌了。
: 結論,對於找顧問,我有好的也有不好的經驗。經過這個過程,我對MBA的想法也跟當
: 初有很大的差異。我想,刻意推薦找誰最終可能都會誤導人,我這篇寫得好像PE很好,
: 但坦白講還是要靠自己多試一下,別人適合的不見得適合你,名氣大的或貴的也不見
: 得比較好。找一個有口碑、自己合作起來也安心愉快的就好了吧我想...
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