Special Agents
By Mark Greenow
It was early this week, when, having exhausted my best of Billy Joel CD, I was singing along to the Human League classic “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you. Don’t, don’t you want me. Don’t you want me baby”, with an Agent friend, that the idea for this week’s story came to me – I do all my best thinking in the car! I was also feeling a little guilty about the completely rosy picture I had painted in my last story as we did have to deal with a couple of Agent complaints early this week.
What a week it has been though, both outside and inside the ‘bubble’ – my duet partner hadn’t heard about the Trump shooting two days after the event! [Special Agents from the FBI are investigating]. As I am writing some flights are getting cancelled in Heathrow - including some for our students - due to a global IT outage and our head office is flooded! It’s the summer anything can happen! Within the bubble though, apart from the couple of forementioned incidents, all has been ticking along nicely. We have fought through the mid-course blues and enjoyed the hottest day of the year – it is raining now though of course!
Personally, I have had a busy week driving Agents and Group Leaders around the schools. It was great fun though as quite a few of them I have known for a long time. We shared many anecdotes and happy memories of summers past as well as plans for those to come.
Just to clarify the difference between Agents and Group Leaders.
Agents Educational Agents are the owners or directors of a company, usually based in another country. They can range from very big with lots of employees to small family run – I have even had several students (to maintain their contact with the school) and staff (because they have moved abroad and seen the opportunity) who have become Agents. They recruit students on behalf of schools - sometimes exclusively but usually working with several schools, short-term and summer programmes. They work on a commission basis.
Group Leaders Group Leaders accompany students to the programmes and are on campus in the summer. In some cases, they may also be the Agent but often they are either employees of the Agency or teachers from the students’ main term schools who accompany small groups of students. Many Agents don’t send Group Leaders and all the students they send come as individuals. More often than not, the groups come from countries further away and Group Leaders provide the important function of chaperoning the students on the journey and are first point of contact for information and updates for parents or guardians.
The song in the car did get me thinking though about the School – Agent ‘romance’. First comes the wooing phase. I mentioned in another story the conferences can resemble speed dating. On the school side, wherever we meet, we need to have all our best moves ready while the Agent can play hard to get as they have many suitors. Once trust has been established, we may get engaged and it may then be time for a visit to the Agent’s office or attendance of one of their meet the parents’ fairs. Schools often also hold Fam Trips (familiarisation visits) so the Agents can check us out. If all goes well a contract [pre-nuptial agreement] is signed. Then students are recruited and arrive to complete their programmes. Schools have to deliver the emotional quality promised to encourage the loyalty of all stakeholders. As we know though the path of true love does not always run true and if couples can’t make up, break up [good phrasal verb exercise] or divorce may happen, and the grass may seem greener on the other side. In short, all is fair in love and war but as in all the best love stories the aim is to live happily ever after.
Agent complaints happen on the ground for several reasons, and, as in life, the fault can lie on both sides. The Group Leaders are vetted, like all the school staff, have their own handbook, rules and policies. As valued visitors they are fully welcomed into the school community. However, the Group Leaders, as they should, care primarily about their students whilst the school representatives care about all students. The Group Leaders, as adults, do have a bigger voice than individual students though and they may rightly look at things through the parents’ eyes. Sometimes, in very busy schools, lines can get blurred and stress points may occur. Often, they are simple cultural, linguistic or social misunderstandings which are sometimes, but not always, easily resolved. A spider in the shower, in summer, is not the end of the world in the UK! Open communication is key. I used to tell the story of Diego’s socks. Diego loses his socks, so he calls his Mum in Mexico. Diego’s Mum calls the Agent’s office. The Agent calls their Group Leader in the school. The Group Leader comes to my office to inform me. I phone the houseparent to ask him to look for Diego’s socks! Hopefully he finds them otherwise I will have to put the FBI on it! Complaints can be more serious of course. Things can and will go wrong. For example, a long delay at the airport, [sometimes out of our control as with this week’s IT outage]. What is always our responsibility though is how we care for all students, in this case, while they are waiting. That is where professionalism and training really count. It is often not the situation itself but how it is dealt with during and after the event.
A more serious type of complaint is when there is a gap between expectations and delivery. Things happen, for example a scheduled activity does not happen, for whatever reason, on an excursion. Then the school does have a duty to put things right and compensate with alternatives wherever possible. I am pleased to report that the complaints I mentioned earlier have now been dealt with and are behind us. We have received a very nice email from one Agent complimenting us on how we handled their situation. Like in all relationships you have to keep working at them, deal with any issues with integrity and find common ground. What I say to all though, is that it is important to look at the bigger picture and that the bottom line is that students are safe, learning and happy. That is key and what we always aim for at British Summer School. At the end, if the overall experience is positive some of the minor detail will get forgiven and eventually forgotten. That is how we strive to keep all the stakeholders happy. Any complaint should be seen as an opportunity to improve. One thing that all schools have to be careful with though is that Group Leaders don’t receive ‘special treatment’ just because they are on campus. Sometimes when we sarcastically think the Agents may be being a little demanding, a little bit “special” in the meaning of “precious” [I am sure they think the same about some of us too] i.e. Diego’s socks we smile and try to “stay frosty” [new expression I have just come across/look it up]. Everything has a solution.
Others and I, involved in the marketing of British Summer School have built great relationships with many Agents all around the world. This is a people business, and it is built relationship by relationship, like a house, brick by brick. The professional relationship comes first. Reputation is key. The Agent needs to trust the provider they send students to. Things like course content, premises, track record, inspection reports etc. are important. At the end of the day Agents have to deal with the parents and above all they appreciate a quiet life! If we can send back “happy campers” they may return to the Agent and us, even if they don’t, the word-of-mouth connections, they have, may be crucial. Positive feedback allows both parties to continue to build our companies. I have learnt too though that people like to buy from and work with people they like. The personal touch is so important. Somebody once said “Business is a lot like tennis. Those who serve well usually end up winning”. At British Summer School we realise that if we deliver less than we promise or we deliver it badly all stakeholders will be unhappy. If we deliver what we promise they will be more or less happy but if we deliver more than we promise, then that is what will make them truly happy. It is also worth remembering that parents aren’t just buying a summer course. What they all want is the best possible future for their children and they see the course they choose as a stepping stone towards that ultimate goal. The Agent is often charged with finding the right opportunity, the school is then responsible for delivering the educational experience as (and more than) promised. If it then gives Dad, on the golf course, or Mum, on a coffee morning, bragging rights to say my son or daughter is getting future ready in Oundle with British Summer School, for example, then happy days!
What I am most proud of though is that many of the Agents have become friends. Having been lucky enough to visit most of their countries, often on multiple occasions, I can say they make the best and most hospitable tour guides – after work of course! Over the years I have shared many of life’s ups and downs with some, from weddings to funerals. Met their families and whenever possible they have met mine. I have had so many great life experiences both professional, giving presentations in Embassies, appearing on TV, delivering a talk to thousands in a summer camp in Crimea and being guest of honour for a week in a summer camp in Azerbaijan, and personal to going to Bruce Springsteen concerts in Madrid, having my own Thai Monk who to this day sends me bracelets to protect my health and wealth, [the jury is still out on that one], shooting wild boar in a Slovakian forest [I know I Know, I aimed to miss] and staying in an Agent’s house where every time I opened the bathroom door the toilet lid would rise to meet me! There is so very much more that might fill a book one day not a story.
So, for all the students they have entrusted to us, the loyalty they have consistently shown, and all the wonderful memories shared I am truly grateful to all our Special [better, greater, different to the usual] Agents. Thank you so much for everything.