Is Registering for Camp Like Buying a Car?
Picking a Camp Ain’t Buying a Car- Or is it?
A few weeks ago I inquired to several online auto sellers about the availability of vans they had for sale. Suffice it to say my inbox has blown up with a constant stream of emails, and my voicemail box has to be emptied daily thanks to their repeated calls, (Yes, their doggedness is impressive.) and I wasn’t even sure I needed a van! I often wonder if our conversion rate, from lead to enrolled camper, would increase if we took on these tactics. Something has always held me back from doing so. I think it speaks to the way we view a Camp Mishawaka experience.
I don’t mean to disparage car salespeople, but “selling” a parent and child a “Camp experience” is different from buying a car. I like the people I ended up buying the van from, but I wouldn’t necessarily send my children to be in their care. Or at least, I wouldn’t do so without doing a bit more due diligence. It is important to us, in communicating with new prospective families, that we let our values shine through. These don’t include high pressure sales tactics! Most people need a car, but not everyone feels the necessity of a Camp experience for their child. Helping parents understand the value of camp is not the same as pointing out trim features of a vehicle, or that the cup holders will actually accept your outsized Stanley mug.
A car is a hard asset that depreciates the minute you drive it off the lot. A Camp experience appreciates over time and ideally only grows in value as one ages. In some of my car purchases, I admit I acted out of fear-of- missing-out (FOMO) on a great deal. I needed to act now, I was told, or it’s out the door to someone else. That’s not the way we build relationships at Camp. I have often said that sending a child to Camp cannot just be a leap of faith. It has to be an act of love.
But as I think about it now, picking a Camp for your child is like buying a car in some ways. Both are “vehicles” designed to get you from point A to point B. The car, to work, to school, to the store. Camp takes children from childhood to young adulthood. The “ride” of adolescence is not always smooth, but when camp is the vehicle, the focus is on the journey and the safe arrival. Buying a car and choosing a camp both involve putting yourself and child in the picture, imagining the car in your driveway, your child at the camp. Both purchases are reflections of one’s values. Does it fit with who I am and who I’d like my child to become? Is it reliable, safe and comfortable, fun to drive?
The funny thing about the van we just purchased is that we did it remotely. A fellow camp director recommended the dealer to us. I liked what I heard and saw. I liked the way they didn’t deluge me with calls as we considered the offer. I’d like to think that I took the first steps in building a longer term relationship with a merchant I can trust. And most notably, I am grateful that I didn’t have to get called into the business manager’s office and sold on rust-proofing or a protection package!
In the end, I guess we are in the vehicle business, but the vehicle of a camp experience doesn’t rust. The shine only increases with age. If I am doing my job, a camp experience sells itself.
