Hess Banner - to stay or to go?
- Keep it
- Get rid of it
0 voters
Why in the world is Forumosa.com supporting HESS? There should be a warning under the banner!
OK, here is a poll.
Why ? Is Hess any worse than the other big chains ? It says there Hess are our friends so be careful what you say :moo:
What I want to know is, are they paying for it ? :cluck:
So barter ads are free, as usual.
But does that mean that there are no paid ads?
No one vets ads like you suggest Stevieboy. Of course, maybe we should get some fed from ads for those massage services… 
Stevieboy: Be fair - is Hess really any worse than the other kids chain schools here?
I suspect whatever complaints you have about Hess could just as well be applied to Joy, Kidcastle, Gram, ELSI or any of the other schools.
[added later] Couldn’t see any banners at all at the Hess site, so what does Forumosa get out of having a Hess banner?
Yes, Hess is worse than those other schools.
By the way, Hess don’t actually have the banner, just a small link to the site. Can’t they then get a small link to their site on forumosa, perhaps in a links page to private English schools.
I would be interested to hear specifics about how Hess is worse than other schools.
I worked at Hess for several years and have taught at an ELSI kids school (about the same as at Hess) as well as Gram (shite), so I am in a position to compare.
I’ve not taught at Joy but they seem to be the poor cousin of Hess.
Don’t know anything about Kidcastle, but I would be surprised if teachers were leaving Hess in droves to go and teach with Kidcastle instead.
So, some specific comparisons please and not just “Hess sucks!”
I don’t want to see schools advertising with banners :x . Forumosa has a Teaching Jobs section…isnt that where they should post? 
Do all the banner sites actually have our banner on their sites?
I honestly think that the REPUTATION of Hess amongst teachers in Taiwan as a ‘McSchool’ (whether deserved or not) could hurt our reputation if we are seen to advertise for them them for free, and maybe those who are less-informed may think that we have some link to them, or receive advertising money from them and that might compromise the impartiallity of discussion in the teaching Forum (although I know this is not the case). It deserves consideration.
Brian
I don’t spend much time thinking about the bushiban industry and would not work in it for all the tea in India. However, I have read a lot of bad things on Forumosa about Hess and that operation out of Taichung - International Avenue Consulting. Both seem to prey on cheap labor - namely Canadians, Kiwis and OZ’s who are not intelligent enough to know they are being exploited.
My opinion is that these companies should not be able to use Forumosa to achieve their less than honorable intentions. No sir. If they ever tried to refute some of the charges or took an active role in the forums it would be a different story. But some of these people just use this site for commercial purposes. “Ban their ass” to the gutter where they bathe in their own %*#$$
Chewy
Actually I just checked a bunch of the banner ‘exchanges’. Out of about 10, I didn’t see a single Forumosa banner and only one Oriented banner. Gus, Maoman - these guys have got free advertising without anything in return. At least if it’s an ‘exchange’ they should put our banner on their pages.
Brian
Chewycorns, my feeling is that you should rely less on hearsay and be slower to judge.
I know nothing about the first organization you mentioned.
I know people who are happy working in Hess. Some have worked there for a couple of years. It’s a reasonable job; not the greatest but OK. They do what they say they will, and while the pay is a bit lower than some other bushibans (though by no means the lowest), it’s certainly not exploitation.
As for whether they should have a banner here or not, I have no opinion. I can see points on both sides. They should certainly be free to post job ads. though.
One plus about the link exchange which hasn’t been mentioned so far is that Hess is showing its openness by linking to Forumosa
(on this page; hess-teachers.com/useful_links.html )
and giving more people the chance to find this site.
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]Actually I just checked a bunch of the banner ‘exchanges’. Out of about 10, I didn’t see a single Forumosa banner and only one Oriented banner. Gus, Maoman - these guys have got free advertising without anything in return. At least if it’s an ‘exchange’ they should put our banner on their pages.
Brian[/quote]
Nice scrolling Forumosa banners on both my home page and my links page. Plus my personal recommendation: “Very useful, interesting and active discussion forums and classifieds. Essential reading!”
I spent five weeks at Hess while in between proper jobs. Absolutely no complaints at all. Very professional and easy to deal with.
Then again, I was teaching their admin staff and other corporate clients. Teaching brats is teaching brats, whoever you do it for.
I agree that we shouldn’t be giving free advertising to commercial operations than can afford to pay for it. And if they pay for it we potentially lose our impartial right to bitch about anyone and everyone. If Hess can advertise here, then why can’t that mob in Taizhong that we all hate?
I say no banner ads for any school, not even Mark’s English.
Poll please.
HESS has put Forumosa in their “links” section. Fair enough I suppose.
A few weeks ago, I visited the Hess website to contact a friend who works in the Main Office. My jaw dropped when their webpage came up. It’s fantastic – especially when you compare it to any other Language School recruiting website. A whole other league entirely.
On my list of things to talk about with Gary, I added: “Offer them a banner exchange and get on their Useful Sites list”
Do I really have to make a case for getting even a small link on their website? They are the 800 lb gorilla of their industry, and they have the largest commitment to recruiting teachers from abroad. Why am I sure? Because I’m good friends with the recruiting team of another major bushiban (we’re all ex-Hess teachers), and their recruiting numbers are a fraction (a bare fraction) of what Hess was recruiting… 5 years ago!
Do we just get a small link? No, there’s a little bit more. The cool people in the Main Office also give out Forumosa.com bookmarks to each batch of recruits during their quarterly orientation weeks (which reminds me, I need to send a new set over to them).
This ‘policy’ is the same for other ‘advertisers’ who do not have websites that offer banner space, or who do not have websites at all. Incidentally, in the past, I have offered free banner spots to other major bushibans, and they do not respond – which tells you a little bit more about how seriously Hess takes their web strategy.
FULL DISCLOSURE
Most people may not know that I used to be the webmaster at Hess (about 7 years ago) – back in the bad old days when websites were just making their way over to Asia, and the two English language ISPs were called Transend and The PIG.
I distinctly recall a conversation with Mike Sullivan (who first established Hess’s presence on the web in 1995) where he described to me this (at the time) “new” way of looking at files on servers connected on something being called a “world-wide web”.
I actually said to him, “I don’t know about that, Mike. Sounds too vague and fly-by-night to me. Better stick to writing books – I like the new N series you did.” :shock:
I’ve added a poll. Vote now!