Once upon a time, there was a profitable little magical kingdom ruled by a mean Queen named Cambly. She ruled her vassals (the tutors) with an iron hand and low pay for more than ten years. One day, she was feeling so guilty about it that she decided it was time to give them the raise they deserved. She consulted her noble advisors on how she could pay them more without spending a single dime.
After many discussions, the main advisor came up with a brilliant idea: “Let’s create a new category of vassals called Pro vassals, and let’s pay them a little more.”
The Queen yelled, “Pay a little more? I don’t want to pay anything more! That’s why I have advisors like you!”
Quickly, the advisor replied, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty, you won’t pay more—the people (the students) will!”
“And how are we going to convince them to pay more?” she argued.
“That’s easy, Your Majesty. We’ll promise personalized classes with feedback from only the elite—the chosen ones!”
“Are you sure they’re going to believe that? After all, it will still be the same old thing: people wanting to chat in broken English. Besides, many don’t want to learn anything; they just want someone to talk to in these dark times!”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. They will. People almost want to be fooled—they want to believe!”
A year passed, and the Queen summoned her advisor. “How is the Cambly Pro project going?”
“It’s going perfectly well, Your Majesty. Many students have already moved to the Pro plan, and now we are moving to Phase 2.”
“What is Phase 2?” the Queen asked.
“Everyone will become Pro, and everyone will have to pay more for the same product. Congratulations, Your Majesty—you did it! You gave the tutors their deserved raise without spending a dime.”
The Queen clapped her hands in irrepressible joy. “Congratulations, team! You are brilliant! But tell me—did everyone really agree to pay 50% more for the same class?”
“Almost everyone,” said the advisor. “A few left for other kingdoms—Italki, Preply—where they say they can find equal or better work. But we’ve made it difficult for departures.”
In a dark room, a tutor packed their bag. Years of "iron rule" had left them with nothing but low pay and a "Pro" rejection letter. The Queen had doubled the price for students, but the job hadn't changed: it was still just endless small talk and unpaid prep. When a regular student messaged saying they couldn't afford the new fee, the tutor shut their laptop. Their hands shook with a choice: stay a nameless servant or find a place that actually cared.
Word got around fast. Some students stayed for the "elite" hype, but others just vanished. As the best tutors headed for the border, the Queen’s bank account grew fatter.
Months later, a report about the "unhappy staff" landed on the throne. The Queen tossed it into the fire without a second thought. The kingdom kept humming along—profitable and quiet—while its best voices slipped away to neighboring lands.