Tuition centre hands out branded handbags to reward parents
A local tuition centre is rewarding students of four years with a branded handbag as a way of thanking parents for their support, sparking discussion over this move.
The Chinese Language Centre located in NEWest Shopping Centre on the West Coast offers courses suitable for children aged three to adults.
At end-October, the centre posted a notice on its door, telling parents that as long as their children have attended the centre for four years, they will be given a Coach bag.
Mr Zhang, the person in charge, told Shin Min Daily News that the centre was established in 2020 and the event was held to express gratitude to parents and thank them for their support and trust in the centre.
However, Mr Zhang said he could not reveal too many details about how many parents were eligible to receive the bags, how many bags were prepared in total or the budget.
Ms Pingping, 37, said her six-year-old son had just started three months of classes and and she received a text message about the reward from the centre at the end of last month.
"Of course, I don't send my children to tutoring for these bags, but it's a good idea to give back to parents, and it's a nice surprise for parents who have supported the centre for a long time."
Ms Yang Zhiting, 44, has a child who has been attending the tuition centre for four years and is eligible for the package.
She is concerned that the approach will attract a large number of parents to sign up and put a strain on teachers.
"The main reason I let my child study at the centre is that it teaches well and the number of students in each class is relatively small, so the teacher can concentrate on teaching. This sounds more like a promotional tactic, so I don't plan to take it."
Different tuition centres have different practices and each has its own strategy to retain students.
Mr Zhao, the person in charge of the Golden Thumb Chinese School, shared that each centre would give back to customers and conduct promotions in different ways, and the centre not worried about losing customers due to the practice of giving away bags by their peers.
"Our centre has been established for a long time, and we usually rely on the parents to help recommend us to others, so we rarely do promotions."
Dr Cai Weiwen, founder of Cognitus Academy, said that the practice of rewarding loyal customers was innovative but his own centre would not follow suit.
“I feel the main goal of establishing an educational institution is to provide high-quality courses and teaching to students. We hope to retain students through innovative teaching and help them achieve good results.”
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