Wednesday, 1st December - 9 a.m. ... waiting for the (single) student for our "Perl for Larger Projects" course. The booking had been made a good few months earlier, and shortly thereafter we had been notified of a delegate change, and also a company change as the booking organisation had been taken over. We weren't sure that our trainee was going arrive, but so busy have we been of late that we took the view "it will give us a chance to catch up on ... if we have a no-show" and - confession - there was an element in our minds that would have welcomed the opportunity to get some office work done. BUT - we have a "no cancel" policy and we were delighted when "Poppy" arrived.

Is it worth our while running a course with just one person on it? In the financial short term, no it isn't. But in the longer term it's totally worth it. Proven, time and time again.

About a year after we opened our training centre, a gentleman turned up for a course; I could have sworn that I had met him before, and it transpired that I had taught him a beginner course when I was in a previous capacity. He had booked an advanced course with that same organisation, but they had had no other takers and had cancelled the course ... failing to let him know. We used to regard that other organisation as a competitor, but no longer ... as we have grown, they seem to have shrunk. I don't think it's hard to see why, as we've had a great deal of follow up business from that Gent's employer even though we're located further away, and this isn't an isolated incident.

Our course material needs regular updates. Some updates are tiny, others less so - perhaps the replacement of examples, or even the writing of a new module to reflect the updated use of a language. One on one courses often provide the opportunity for us to stay a little off the published schedule (and/or to add material, as they can be paced to fit the one trainee) and try out new presentations. We encourage the trainee to come up with examples in his / her field of work and I'll often burn the midnight oil after a one-on-one day, writing up new work.

Advantage of running a course with just one person proven, too, in Poppy's case. It was justified straight away - an inspiration and great fun to teach. It's a little early to judge future business, and I think I made only minor changes to the notes (no - wait - I decided to add Packaging Modules into future public courses). But ... icing on the cake ... a beautiful reference on her journal. I'm touched, flattered. Thank you. And I'm very lucky to do what I do.
(written 2004-12-13 05:35:48)

 G501 - Well House Consultants - Customer Service

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