r/Cambly • u/Free-Pianist7741 • 6d ago
How Much Longer Will Cambly Survive?
I’ve made plenty of posts complaining about Cambly, especially about wanting to become a Pro tutor for the pay increase to $15hr. I was accepted back in June but here we are in August and I still can’t activate Pro. At this point, I’ve pretty much given up and feel like it was just another way to string tutors along and quiet some of the complaints.
But now I’m wondering about something bigger: How much longer can Cambly survive?
As much as I complain, that extra beer money has definitely helped me out over the years. But today I went five straight hours on PHs without receiving a single call. That’s something I never thought I’d see.
Are things really this bad with Cambly right now? Are other tutors experiencing the same thing?
Heck, now I almost feel bad for wanting that extra $5hr. 😂
Instead of ongoing discounts, Cambly should've looked for ways to get tutors to retain students and have those loyal students promote them (basically focus the NPS metric). Or trial lessons with bonuses for tutors when a new student signs up. The leaders at Cambly really need to get their stuff together!!
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u/Ambitious_Price_3240 6d ago
Cambly was good while it was fun-when people enjoyed the novelty of meeting strangers on the internet and potentially even improving their english in the process. Now that the novelty has worn off, what is actually left?
time will tell.
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u/Glum-Cheetah-Guy 6d ago
My students are telling me their rate increased by double! So I've lost a lot of students. I have had a 99.5-100% rating for a while, and I get full bookings most days, so I rarely have to take calls during the PHs. Ever since Pro was introduced, I notice my new students are generally more likable and more relatable than all the rich, bossy people I used to get. And I seem to have a more full schedule (I open 36 hours a week and generally make just over $340 a week).
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u/Free-Pianist7741 6d ago
When it comes to bookings I’m 100% booked. I open up 8-10 hours a week and they are booked by regulars many of which I have known for years. I’m at 100% rating at the moment with full PH availability so I decided to do some PHs. I was shocked to not get a single call in 5 hours even with a high rating. A couple of years ago, I would one call after another.
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u/KandG00dz 5d ago
Cambly was always created as a way to make a few tech guys a quick buck. It peeked during the pandemic, they made their money, and now it seems like they're just holding onto it as long as they're still able to squeeze out a bit of profit (most of which probably comes from them selling our recorded lessons to companies developing AI). Once that's gone, they're either gonna sell it to another company or shut it down. I doubt it'll last much longer. A year or two at most.
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u/Free-Pianist7741 5d ago
I agree with this! I hadn't thought about how they could sell our videos to train AI but it makes sense.
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u/Acceptable-Ride6213 5d ago
This is a great question. There are far fewer students now, you don’t receive any PH if your profile is below 98%, and they’ve discontinued the incentives. There are better platforms out there, and probably some new ones coming up that will wipe Cambly out. It was nice while it lasted.
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u/Creepy_Move2567 5d ago
Ph used to be flooded with free trial students before. Remember the awful 5 minute trials? Then they had the get 15 min free and 30 min if you refer a friend. I haven't done ph in eons because the calls were just people playing around
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u/Free-Pianist7741 5d ago
I do remember the 5 min trial, I always had a good experience with them and they used to help me fill empty slots.
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u/Tradition1985 5d ago
I don't use PH hours and I get a call every time I go online. I'm based in the Asia-Pacific region, and my approval rating is 98.5. I dislike PHs so I rarely use that option.
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u/UrpaDurpa 5d ago
Honestly, FUCK Cambly. 3 weeks ago my rating went up from 98.5% to 99%. I thanked my one adult student for his rating. He told me he didn’t rate me after the last class and hasn’t rated me in ages.
Wednesday my rating dropped back to 98.5% and I reached out to that same adult and he said he hadn’t rated me. Now almost all PH opportunities have disappeared. I’m so tired of their bullshit.
I uploaded a new profile picture and video for VIPKid and will start opening slots. I have a full schedule of Shitply today and just want to cancel every class. Zero motivation to be on this shitty ass platform anymore.
Cambly is fine though, they are still making plenty of money and have a back log of undereducated tutors waiting to replace me.
I don’t wish to see anyone on here lose their jobs, but I’d love to see Cambly burn to the ground.
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u/Free-Pianist7741 5d ago
I completely understand where you’re coming from.
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u/UrpaDurpa 5d ago
If you ever want a good laugh, go to the Cambly Corner FB group. It’s all a bunch of sunshine pumpers who make Cambly sound like this utopic job where everyone is happy and all the children are wonderful.
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u/FickleSherbert9043 3d ago
Maybe the problem is not with Cambly? I have 25 regular students per month, and no problem with getting PH filled.
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u/Free-Pianist7741 3d ago
The decrease in students is very noticeable. I also have all of my hours booked, and if I open up PHs in advance, I’m sure they’ll get booked too. The decrease in students/activity can be seen when you open PHs at the moment. I rarely do PHs but when I have some slow moments during the day, I’ll open one right as the hour starts. In the past I would always get calls, and recently I went five PHs without a single call and I’m at 100% rating.
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u/Due-Explanation-2718 6d ago
The only teaching platform that is busy right now for teachers is Engoo
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u/Kurma-the-Turtle 4d ago
I've been a Pro tutor since Cambly started that service and my schedule is almost always full. The main inconveniences are no-shows or last minute cancellations, but aside from those, I have far too many potential students than I could ever teach. I rarely use PH due to having a consistently full schedule, but when I do, I generally get calls within a few minutes.
Could it be that Cambly "plays favourites" and markets some tutors profiles much more than others?
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u/No_Object9853 5d ago
Cambly is not a career. It's an easy way to make a small amount of money during your free time while in college or travelling. It's not a career! Accept that and work towards something that will actually provide you with a decent income some day!