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Open Thread: GEOS Discussion

Since there are more than 300 comments in the GEOS Rumours thread, I've decided to close the thread and start a fresh one here.

Japan: 
geos

Comments

Re 11.25. You'd have a chance buying into the old GEOS NZ. Look at it this way. Cost them about $NZ7.2million to run in FY08. Charging about $NZ350 pw, after GST, say, $310 pw in the kitty per student,

OK, tighten up the ship, say it absorbs $7 million operating expenses for the year. That's, say, $NZ135,000 a week. You'd need about 435 students to break even. Across three schools, you'd have a chance. Particularly as the pre-paid student monies will be drip feeding out of the trust account.

At the same time, a punter who bought in at a pepper-corn figure would be getting themselves a job and a car.....I'm guessing at about $NZ100,000 pa.

Now a smart operator buying in would make sure they were a person of straw. Minimise the risk is the name of the game. And a great thing is that at some time in the future the original owner might like to buy back in.

"well done to all the old geos oz managers who left in 09, you got out when you could," .......thanks for keeping your little circle of mates in the know so that they could slide away with benefits intact too...thanks for hanging your disposable staff out to dry...as you sit back on this Sunday afternoon ,here are some words to play with:

defacto director
shadow director
senior manager
officer
liquidity
competence
intestinal fortitude
assets
reputation

I second this motion. I want to read about GEOS Australia but I find people are getting mixed up about whether they're talking about GEOS Japan or Oceania recently.
I think it would help the flow of both threads if they were separated seeing as we're out of the forum now.

Just a little word to the wise regarding the pay problems of managers from an ex GEOS trainer. GEOS has always threatened managers of not being paid unless they made their monthly goal (SM). However, except for some sadistic head office staff who went far over the line at times, they always got paid. If some managers are not getting paid now then it would appear the company is indeed in trouble.

Managers will for the most part NOT tell their teachers about late payment. They will talk about it a great deal amongst themselves but rarely with their teachers (unless they are particularly close to them or particularly stupid). The reason is simple, they have been told that they are managers of their schools and therefore responsible for the atmosphere at the school and the teachers' morale. While managers may not like the company, they do take their responsibilities very seriously. For this reason the vast majority of managers will not discuss their pay with teachers.

Just so you know, the president isn't some evil dude bent on screwing with people's money. He is just a man waaayyyyyy over his head and has dug himself in a hole he cannot hope to get out of. Making money during the bubble years was not a feat, any person with a measure of common sense and ability could have done it then. Now when times are tough it is easy to see that he is in well beyond his abilities. Added to this is the attitude at H.O. not to bring up news that will upset him. As a result, he is happily ignorant of what is happening in the company until it actually happens. The sycophants that work in H.O. have worked hard for the little fiefdoms and do everything to protect themselves. IT IS THE LEAST ENJOYABLE PLACE A PERSON CAN WORK!! Yet many people do if for years.

Let me put it another way. GEOS is in an extraordinary tough situation but has a president who is ordinary at best. Most of the people at head office got there because of attrition and not talent. I know when I was there the company hired two consulting firms. I was talking to one guy who told me what they suggested to the president. I said that I thought that advice was worthless and he agreed that it was worthless. The reason he explained is that most consultant companies need repeat customers to make a go of it and so they often say what the client wants to hear rather than what they need to hear in order to get hired again. At the time I thought what he said was total B.S. but now that I have my MBA and have worked in both North America and Europe I know it is true. That would explain all the inane decisions I saw first as a teacher and later as a trainer.

For all of you working at GEOS, don't worry about the quality of the reference letter from GEOS, they're fine. In fact, most references are looked at in passing because people don't send shitty ones in with their job applications. HR people want to see the length of employment and if a person can sell their skills, not a big list of flattering adjectives describing your work.

Still, if you have another employment option.....you might be better off looking into it rather than sticking with GEOS. Many of the rats I knew at H.O. have left over the past 2 years and you know what they say about rats and sinking ships.

Geos managers got out in 09 response
well... I left because I wasnt paid whilst you were. I am one of those oz managers among all managers that are owed money. I would gladly swap with anybody who thinks they are hard done by.

Many of the oz managers left because they didn't get paid (as well as above mentioned reasons) - and will never get paid the amount owed to them for that matter, so don't talk about benefits being intact, there were no benefits what so ever.

Grays the Auctioneers have the Melbourne GEOS inventory on sale from Monday. Go to

http://www.graysonline.com/Sale.aspx?id=64915

and pick yourself up a bargain!

i've checked the board and seen various postings about not being paid on time, but I haven't heard anything from people outside of the internet world. Like I said some managers may have not been paid on time, I don't know.

I'd say the main indicators are hearing it from the horse's mouth, seeing a manager's payslip or bank account statement with the date the money was paid, or there being a credible exchange of posts on the Internet from managers about being paid late. Other than that, there's no real indication of whether manager's have been paid late or not. Seeing odd posts on the Internet about it are more likely to be trolls trying to wind people up.

Yeah, thats right.....lets find a payslip that shows salaries was deposited late....wont happen. I worked at old Nova and they printed out payslips and gave it to us on payday, but we were still paid late regardless of what the payslip said...at my branch we were paid 4 days late in September 2007. I seriously doubt GEOS would be soo stupid to balantly print out pay slips with over due salaries statements on them. Talk about court evidence.
And who the hell would scan their bank book to show proof of late payment ( I wish someone would)??? The evidence is all over kuchikomi, 2ch and www.unkar.org and several other message boards....I translated several Japanese posts today. I did NOT find one post that said they were paid on time...there were NO fights or name calling..or statements of `Liar` from the GEOS manager and j-staff writing on kuchikomi. So, if there were Japanese trolls making up stories of late payment there is NOBODY on the message boards to rebutt these statements of late payment by GEOS managers!! Its amazing how GEOS teachers rebutt these j-staff late payment statements, but yet they cant read Japanese to read the Japanese boards and they let themselves be taken in by the false statements made by the j-staff (its company policy to fool the teacher) to believe they got paid on time.

It would certianly look like giant conspiracy for all of you who deny the evidence and the truth. ALOT of Japanese managers and staff have posted dozens, if not hundreds of posts for late payment for MARCH 2010....if you think all these posts on the Japanese boards were made by Japanese trolls spreading lies and making mayhem...you are out of your mind. If you think they are disgruntled former GEOS teachers writing in Japanese on Japanese boards spreading lies of late-paymnent to discredit GEOS...you live in a fantasy.

There will always be somebody who denies the truth....saw them at NOVA...they stayed until the very end and couldnt understand what happened to them when the doors were closed and they were out on the street. They believed the lies and BS from bunker NOVA.

Translator, I wasn't sure if you were true and asked around, and found out that yes you and the forums are correct.

Alot of you eikaiwa workers live in your english bubble/shell and have little interaction and almost zero understanding of Japanese and their language. If you live in Japan, it would be wise to speak Japanese and even wiser to learn how to read. You are missing out on big segments of information that is flowing around about GEOS written by GEOS students and managers and that information is blowing right over you. If you want to deny it and avoid it, thats your call.
You need to look at this GEOS issue from every angle and including the Japanese angle to get the full picture. Living in your gaijin bubble is a major disadvantage to you. If you dont read Japanese then it would be a major benefit to you to have a Japanese friend read Japanese posts about GEOS.

Coming on LJ or GP to get your information is just one-half of the story. When I have time, I will post more translated posts from kuchikomi, 2ch, and other message boards.

It's scary that there is zip comment from GEOS staff on European/US sites. Things can't be that good!!!!!

A lot of eikaiwa teachers live in a gaijin bubble? Sorry, maybe 5 years ago this was true, with your cringeworthy bad NOVA charisma boys, floppy blonde hair, and painfully awful "whatahshe waaa kurisoo desoo" (lack of) Japanese skills.

These days, more and more eikaiwa recruitment is taking place inside Japan. People already here are much more likely to know how to play Japan's little games. I don't know anyone who has been here longer than 12 months who doesn't have at least a 3-4kyu command of Japanese, which is pretty basic but still a long way from nothing. In fact, anyone sociable enough to be part of a bubble should pick up a huge amount of Japanese from their daily interactions alone, it's unavoidable.

I agree with both of you actually. There are more and more eikaiwa employees/ALTs with Japanese skills at a 4kyuu 3kyuu level but there are still a ton (I would say more than half) who don't. Sure they might pick up some here in there but I know people who have been here for over 4 years and can't even have a basic conversation in Japanese or have no Japanese friends (who don't speak English).
I also know of plenty of people who form friendships with all the other foreigners in their town/neighbourhood and that's it, that's their social group in Japan.
So I think that it is unfair to assume all of us don't speak Japanese but I wouldn't say it's right to say the gaijin bubble doesn't still exist.

ALOT of Japanese managers and staff have posted dozens, if not hundreds of posts for late payment for MARCH 2010....if you think all these posts on the Japanese boards were made by Japanese trolls spreading lies and making mayhem...you are out of your mind.

I agree, you wouldn't get Japanese trolls posting lots of messages pretending that managers had been paid late. All the signs are that this is happening.

This started back in August/September, although it appeared that they were then paid on time for a few months after that. Then GEOS Australia pops, and now we're seeing a lot of messages again that managers have been paid late. It doesn't take too much thought to figure out what's going on here.

April though is the time when student enrolments go up, so they may be able to ride out the storm, but it's looking very precarious. If you're still at GEOS and haven't been looking for other work - despite all the warning signs being there for the last 6 months - then get looking asap. In fact, you've probably missed the bell as most of the jobs for April - the main recruiting period of the year - will have been filled by now.

Hope you've got your life-jackets ready.

The writers on Ask.com must have been working at GEOS Australia in 09 when they compiled their 6 point list of what makes for a "bad" boss. Read on and possibly identify your school manager.

According to Ask.com, "bad" managers -----

•Love brownnosers, tattletales, and relatives who report to them. They choose favorite employees and cover up and make excuses for the poor work of their incompetent favorites. They ignore selected people and discriminate against many employees.

•Fail to communicate, and may not even have, expectations, timelines or goals. Bad bosses change their minds frequently leaving employees off-balance. Bad bosses change expectations and deadlines frequently.

•Use disciplinary measures inappropriately when simple, positive communication would correct the problem. Bad bosses ignore employees until there is a problem, then pounce.

•Speak loudly, rudely, one-sidedly to staff. Bad bosses don't provide the air time for staff to respond to accusations and comments. They intimidate people and bully staff. They allow other employees to bully employees.

•Take credit for the successes and positive accomplishments of employees. They are equally as quick to blame employees when something goes wrong.

•Fail to provide rewards or recognition for positive employee performance.

Uncanny, isn't? A bit like being in the GEOS Australia Twilight Zone. (What did you think of the last of '10 mangers who slid in for a couple of months?)

Hey guys, notice the new GEOS Oceania thread. We need to seperate posts from GEOS Japan and GEOS Oceania in order to keep the topic flow going and not have a worthy topic from one region get buried and lost by posts from a different region. Its become difficult to wade through the all posts when there are different regions and interest at play. Im interested in both regions, its just hard to follow the topics when they are mixed up.

Don't worry about it. It's all quickly going away. Schoold closed. Students replaced. Bodies getting new jobs. The furniture sold off and the rent-bonds picked up. The authorities gone back to sleep. A few small creditors cursing their luck. Mr K with a smile on his face. A ripple in the water, GEOS Australia, gone. GEOS who?

I'm with you on this! I want to follow up on both but was getting confused and finding it hard to have a linear conversation in here.

"ALOT of Japanese managers and staff have posted dozens, if not hundreds of posts for late payment for MARCH 2010..."

Here we go!Here we go!Here we go!
Here we go!Here we go!Here we goooo!
Here we go!Here we go!Here we go!
Here we go!Here we go!Here we goooooo!Here we go!

Your going home in the back of a cargo plane!
Your going home in the back of a cargo plane!
Your going home in the back of a cargo plane!

nice one mate, well productive!

prick

March 2010 payment hasn't even happened yet, you silly daft cunts. Geos staff and managers get paid at the end of the month.

You guys can't even scaremonger without fucking it up. I know you have this bizarre grudge against Geos... especially Shawn, who seems to be reposting a thread about Geos on the main page every few days in order to keep the gossip on top of the rest of his other postings... but maybe you fuck ups should just learn from your blatant mistakes & start again with AEON or something.

You're the silly, daft cunt mate. The references above are, as said, to MARCH 2010, the money that should be in the accounts now but, if Kuchikomi message board is anything to go by, isnt for the Japanese managers.

Get with it - love it or hate it, GEOS is in trouble, point blank.

I agree. The scaremongering is based on hate, not on fact.

It is amazing the hate that shutting down the unprofitable oceania division, which was nothing more than a sound business decision, has caused.

GEOS might be a school, but is is ALSO a business, which coincidently allows many a person to not only live in, but to enjoy Japan.

Many of you people don't seem to be able to grasp the business side of things.

Your LADY,

LADY LADY LADY LOVE

Managers have been paid every month so far this year and quite a few months last year, too. Pay due for the last working day of January was actually received about February 3rd. Pay for last working day February was actually received March 3rd (maybe this is where the confusion about March payment is coming in).
Native teachers and managers are due to be paid on the 31st of this month. So far, Native teacher's have been paid on the day every month this year, managers have been late every month this year.
Any comments outside of that would be pure speculation on my behalf.

@7:55. This is what I have been hearing from friends too. Pay consistently a few days late. Revs up the worry quotient no end for our Managers. Paying late not a good sign in a company at the best of times. If it spreads to the teacher level, now there's trouble for us.
And a quiet word to Lady Love, come close, closer, I want to whisper in your lovely little ear, closer, ah, thats nice,

"Lady Love....P*** OFF YOU BORING GEOS OFFICE TROLL..."

Kissy Kissy

But maybe you fuck ups should just learn from your blatant mistakes & start again with AEON or something.

I'm sure it would suit you just fine if a major competitor got slimed on the internet, but sorry, you're going to have to wait a bit. Thus far the people at AEON seem to have kept their hands clean and not screwed anything up too badly, unlike Saruhashi, Kusanoki and their lackeys. Or perhaps you'd like to start with AEON yourself?

It is amazing the hate that shutting down the unprofitable oceania division, which was nothing more than a sound business decision, has caused.

Where did you get the idea it was unprofitable? Weren't they actually doing quite well, until they got bled dry by GEOS Japan? That's what the bankruptcy administrator's report seems to indicate.

"The Administrators have endeavoured to understand the use of the funds by GEOS Australia Holdings, and to date it appears that they may have been made available to a variety of GEOS entities across the globe in the past 18 months, in particular GEOS Corporation (Japan)."
p. 23 Ernst & Young creditors report Perth

That report is proving to be very interesting. What's more interesting about this post is that it's directly tied to GEOS Japan, who supposedly had no dealings with GEOS Australia.

Wonder what GEOS Japan's head office would say to that.

Geos Japan isnt worried at all as they know that they can not be touched, so I dont think they are losing any sleep over it. Typical isnt it.

That report is proving to be very interesting. What's more interesting about this post is that it's directly tied to GEOS Japan, who supposedly had no dealings with GEOS Australia.

Wonder what GEOS Japan's head office would say to that.

That report is proving to be very interesting. What's more interesting about this post is that it's directly tied to GEOS Japan, who supposedly had no dealings with GEOS Australia.

Wonder what GEOS Japan's head office would say to that.

"No comment," I imagine, or more weaseling and obfuscation. They're probably thinking there's no big problem unless the Japanese media run with this story, which doesn't appear to be happening at the moment.

Lady Head Office (Kanto by any chance?)

My name is ......... and I work at the ............ branch. I'm free between 2 and 8pm today as I barely have any classes to teach these days. Students and teachers are leaving in droves. Now you know I have been outlining the dire working conditions at GEOS and you now know exactly who I am, you can call me to give me shit and make my day even worse. As you know I`m leaving next month you now have the excuse to take away my end of contract bonus (which I heard you weren't giving to departing teachers anymore) and threaten to sue me.

Er..... I don`t think so Lady Kanto.

Why don't you have a quick look at the Oceana thread? The evidence may be a bit difficult for you but perhaps the head office team can help you to understand the key points. For you to contest that they were "unprofitable" anymore is just plain stupid. They paid your salary (ridiculously high just for sending out colorful excell charts/huge font emails) for the last 12 months.

"I must therefore disagree with Ms Lady and her views that it was sound management to close these unprofitable satellite colleges, unless of course these profits are modest when compared to the profits of Japan schools and other GEOS schools across the globe."

Ms Lady is either deluded or a troll with excellent skills.

I had access to GEOS International Divisions' performance data and can assure you that the profits made by these Australian schools were certainly not modest in comparison to the other locations. With the exception of Singapore and Seoul, the GEOS schools in Australia always significantly outperformed the rest. Torrance, SF, New York, Vancouver, Montreal were all steadily declining. Europe was in an even worse state (Malta shut its doors last year) and schools in China and Cebu were making a massive loss. So I very much doubt that Mr K has any more cash cows to bleed.

Wow Ms. Lady...
We don't say where we work because we don't want to be hassled by head office.
Something tells me you're a troll or you're one of the lucky teachers in a huge city, like Tokyo, who might be less exposed to the trouble GEOS is in.
I know for a fact all is not well... GEOS has given me an amazing experience, but only in giving me a place to work. Beyond that my amazing experience has been mainly due to my hard work and meeting amazing people.
I don't owe GEOS anything. The only reason I haven't cut and run is because I care about my students too much to leave them in a tough spot like that.
I really hope you're a troll... because if you really believe that GEOS is an amazing, well run, and caring company you are living in a bubble.

The Kanto Native Trainer and the East Japan Head Trainer are both teaching at schools today (and they were yesterday). That would mean they don't have enough subs to cover these MIA teachers... or just too many MIA teachers.

The trainers are often out at schools. Trainers are basically like subs a lot of the time.
They do seem to be having to send subs/trainers/replacement teachers for longer periods than they ever used to though. Some schools have been without teachers for over a month now. From what I hear the teachers who left gave four months notice and they still haven't replaced them. Some well over a month later.

A month or two is normal, sometimes you have to stay that long if there's a problem. Could be that they hired someone who backed out just before they were supposed to start. Or they might have told everyone that the teacher gave 4 months notice but they didn't. Subs in schools for more than 4 months? THAT'S worrying. Shouldn't really be happening though, what they'd probably do is arrange a transfer between shishas and stick that person in the school they can't staff. Or force a new member of staff who's not from the area to work at a different school to the one they'd originally been told.

Japanese subs have been in the same school for well over 4 months recently.
Also in the case I was talking about I know for sure the teacher gave months notice and the manager doesn't know why there is no new teacher yet.
If they can't find new teachers with 4 months notice that's pretty bad...

Thanks for the fedback on Australia's performance compared to the rest of the GEOS schools. If what Ms Lady states that Australia was the 'unprofitable sattelite schools' then she is implying that all the others are financially solid. If this is true, then perhaps she could also explain why these other schools did not repay their loans or at the very least some sort of instalment plan? The one report did say that demands for repayment were sent by the Administrators but at the time of writing the report they had no feedback.

Once again it would be interesting to look at all the Australian reports and see exactly which schools benefitted from these loans. Did Malta owe money to any Australian school? Perhaps not all Australain Colleges were profitable, but this would be speculation and let's deal with the information that we know to be true. If we could see the other E&Y reports further factual analysis could be made.

Ms Lady, I think we are trying to look at the facts as contained in the E&Y reports. So far the only fact to surface from what I can glean i that both Perth and Melbourne were profitable. In my opinion reporting a profit of over $1m per annum is very very good and does not signify an unprofitable business.

The reports do say that there was an increase in commissions, lower fees for the South Amercian market....but despite this the two colleges in question had remarkable results. I am only commenting on the figures as contained in the reports.

For those of you who are replying to the lady, she started out as a "cultural ambassador" on another post. That post was tongue-in-cheek. It seems she's got the attention she (he?) needs by changing to a more serious tone. See Shawn this is what happens when you delete "troll posts." They get smart.
I congratulate the lady on her excellent Trolling.

If so, Midnight Talker, then I'll second the applause for a skillful display of trolling. Now, if the Lady would like to exit the stage and troll off.....

I found there was a lot less trolling and name calling in the forum, here with everyone being anonymous and able to change their name whenever they want to it's turned into a playground of name calling with occasional bits of real discussion/info posted.

Except for the Lady and Thorn dopes, LJ haas been spot on this year. We got a bit of GEOS backroom black manipulation stuff going on @17:02? 1702 will have us all as registered users with our payroll numbers if we ain't careful!

Yes, despite what the doomsayers have to say, who usually don’t even work for GEOS, and if they do, they NEVER say what branch they are working at, moan and groan

Why the F would somebody working at GEOS disclose the branch they work at??? So, they (GEOS) can have the area manager and head office assholes show up to the branch in question to fire the teacher?? Nobody in their right F-ing mind would do that. Back when old-NOVA was in business NO ONE posted their branch details either.

So, what would be the purpose of disclosing the branch a GEOS teacher works at?? Looking to punish the teacher?? Want to beat the shit out of the teacher for posting embarrassing info on GEOS??

F You GEOS ho.

In the forums you had to register but if you were careful there would be no way to trace you. Set your privacy settings to not reveal your email address, and choose a strange username. After that you'd be safe but still have a reputation in the forum and a bit of accountability for what you say. Here most people are anonymous, so people are ruder, and they can post numerous times and have people think it's more than one person.

Thats right, most of the time we are all posting about a topic and then we disagree with ourselves. and if we disagree with what we just posted we just disagree again. Its very paradoxical.

Haha. I meant people agreeing with themselves more than disagreeing with themselves.

"...Torrance, SF, New York, Vancouver, Montreal were all steadily declining..."

I can tell you for a fact that some of this information is wrong. In fact, in some cases, it's the opposite.

The betting is on Calgary as first NA to go. Want to take a ticket?

"I can tell you for a fact that some of this information is wrong. In fact, in some cases, it's the opposite."

So tell us 'for a fact' which is wrong and which is right?

"...Torrance, SF, New York, Vancouver, Montreal were all steadily declining..."

I can tell you for a fact that some of this information is wrong. In fact, in some cases, it's the opposite.

Sorry but you have obviously not seen the figures that I have seen. If you are a teacher or in a management position, then I would quickly ask your directors for a clearer picture. Not that you would get this anyway.

Hi, this is to all those curious people out there and to my fellow worried GEOS NET teachers.

My manager's salary has been late for the fourth month in a row. One of my friends has just quit the company and they haven't paid her for the last month she worked - and she gave the required 4 month's notice.

GEOS are still hiring teachers and are desperate to hang on to the ones they've got but don't be deceived. I have no doubt it's a question of when, not if, GEOS goes bankrupt.

My advice to all my fellow GEOS teachers is to look for another job now, before it's too late. The job market is already competitive but it will be flooded when GEOS eventually goes under. I've been applying for jobs through gaijinpot and all jobs I sent my CV off to had over 200 applicants!

The a*sholes at head office couldn't care less about the teachers or the students. It is, and always has been, about making money to these people. The have no real sense of education or teaching. Eikaiwa is a dying market. The product on offer is of poor quality and the majority of teachers working for these companies have no teaching qualifications (e.g. TESOL/CELTA). The prices they for a private lesson is more than double what I pay for a private Japanese lesson.

Good riddance to eikaiwa.

Damn sometimes I wish there was a way to prove these stories without the person having to incriminate people, or others.
I wish I could give more specific examples like names or branches but I can't for my protection and that of my friends and coworkers.
It's just hard to separate fact and fear mongering sometimes.
Something about the last post rings true based on my own experiences and yet I don't know if I can believe it all.

I've been applying for jobs through gaijinpot and all jobs I sent my CV off to had over 200 applicants!

To be fair, at least 198 of them are probably creepy 30-40 something ex-air force or navy idiots (with no more than 12 months "teaching" experience) applying from Korea who just recently realized, with the help of pornhub or youporn, that Japanese girls are about 1000% hotter than Korean girls. I used to work in the head office of a company that advertised openings on gaijinpot, and we were constantly awash with applications from those fucking morons. 9 out of 10 at the very least.

Anyway, I'm a Geos teacher... at least until the end of this month. My manager's scheduled hours are from 12 to 9, but she usually stays way past 10. Today I had an adult class until 9:50. Usually the manager would be there to wave the students goodbye when the class finishes, but not today. My lesson finished... that bitch was gone, first time ever. She actually left me the spare key and a note asking me to lock the office door. When the Jappers stop trying, it can be nothing less than a sure sign that Geos is pretty much fucked...

For those of you who are replying to the lady, she started out as a "cultural ambassador" on another post. That post was tongue-in-cheek. It seems she's got the attention she (he?) needs by changing to a more serious tone. See Shawn this is what happens when you delete "troll posts." They get smart.
I congratulate the lady on her excellent Trolling.

A comprehensive victory for Lady Love there. After carefully testing the water first and gaining Shawn's confidence, she went in for the kill with an excellent bit of trolling, cleverly disguised as a "serious" post, provoking half-a-dozen or more replies, i.e. goals. With each shot, Shawn just stood there on the goal-line watching her fire them in, seemingly unsure as to whether, or how, to stop them. Time for Shawn to take a time out and figure out his tactics for the next game. Somehow, I think, the Lady's not for turning.

So typical, that the only person who is making any sense in here, is labelled a troll. Just about everything Lady has said has been spot on. You are all living in denial. So typical. You hit the nail on the head in here, and you are suddenly a troll, or a stooge, or whatever! Just like Lady does now, I loved my time with GEOS and so did everyone else I worked with and it was I have to say the finest and easiest and most wonderful job I have ever had. I laughed every single day I was there. I made life long Japanese friends. It was just so wonderful. I even have small tribute tatoo that says GEOS on my ankle, and I look at it, everytime my boring job here gets me down, and I think of the fun and exciting times I had in Japan with GEOS. It is amazing how few want such a wonderful institution to burn. Well I have got news for you. It won't. So there. Take that! And Lady, thanxs so much for the lovely positive messages. They remind me of my wonderful time with GEOS in Japan, and are very refreshing, compared with the lies, and negativity that infests this place. GEOS is still around because people luv it. Thank you for being brave enough to say the truth, Lady. Hugs.

LG

Yawn.... crawl back into your cave. It's way too early ......

GEOS will go down... Eikaiwa is a rip-off scam. Gaba will follow suit. As will AEON. As will Berlitz. Japan's economy looks set for a double dip recession.

I wish GEOS would just roll over die, so we can end this crap once and for all. Im sick of GEOS.

I'm hoping that GEOS' crash will be more of a steady downsizing as opposed to a sudden crash. Some many people's lives and students' money are tied to the company right now. If it just went and collapsed it would be terrible! I think they need to start closing smaller schools in smaller cities and focusing on their larger sites. This would be the best way to not go under and not take too many people with them.

What's all this about Calgary? Spill the beans.

Fee protection is critical. With fee protection, the school can be sold. Without it, HO can raid the fees in advance. What fee protections exist in US and Canada? How protected are the fees? Can the Directors get their hands on them or do they have to go through independent intermediaries? Or are there mutual tuition assurance schemes? What has happened when other schools have gone belly up? Would students be left on the street in this case?

Can anyone shed some light on Cape Town? There is a rumour that the Manager has simply walked out, taken all the furniture and started his own school. The building is apparently empty? Right now this is just a rumour. Any concrete evidence to confirm or can we put it to bed as just another rumour? A possible sale to the Manager as in the case of NZ?

Try one of the two Oceania threads.

GEOS will go down... Eikaiwa is a rip-off scam.

True, but as the entire system of education in Japan is basically broken eikaiwa isn't much more of a waste of time than all of the other "learning" that's supposedly going on. In schools all they're interested in is cramming for university entrance exams, but the universities are hardly worth getting into because the students can get away with doing nothing for four years. As all this has to be paid for, it's not just eikaiwa that's a rip-off.

They are usually ex-eikaiwa teachers who quit eikaiwa quite some time ago, despise eikaiwa and themselves for ever getting involved in it, and now despise and mock other eikaiwa teachers, real or perceived, in order to make themselves feel better about it.

They think they've now moved onwards and upwards in the world from their low-life eikaiwa days, when in fact they're in the same boat, unable to find their way in life.

They project their own issues and hang-ups onto other posters, provoke reactions by saying the opposite of what they really mean, and usually retort with accusations of "stooge", "troll", "loser", "eikaiwa drone", "projecting" and the like when anyone says anything like I've just said.

Anything else? They probably live in a dingy little basement flat, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and coke cans, haven't changed their clothes or had a bath in weeks, and smell of poo and wee.

That's about it really.

Just another troll.

Proves my point -

and usually retort with accusations of "stooge", "troll", "loser", "eikaiwa drone", "projecting" and the like when anyone says anything like I've just said.

Well said Paul. You, Lady, and Little Girl are about the only non-trolls in this place. Oooops. Add me on that list! I used to get all kinds of cyber abuse simply because I worked part-time for Nova, and loved it. I was called a stooge, whose job was to promote part-time positions, I was called a Sahashi Bitch, I was called a troll, a drone, even a "c**ting tosser" by the biggest internet jerk off and eikaiwa mental hospital patient of all time, you name it. When Nova collapsed I worked for GEOS, and I loved that even more than Nova. I have concluded, the internet and places like Let's Japan are not where real people with the real opinions post. Places like this are simply a haven for the people who hate themselves and hate Japan. Ignore 90% of the posts. And to all you moaners, get a life. Life goes on beyond Eikaiwa, and beyond Japan. Eikaiwa and places like GEOS are great places for a bit of fun in Japan, the job is really easy, and you can even save some money if you want to. Life goes on. Let go, and grow up, the lot of you.

KELLY

kellydarksidepoints if you were around for NOVA`s big collapse...it looks like you are going to be around for the sinking of S.S. GEOS. I worked for both Old-NOVA and GEOS.....GEOS was the f**king worst job I have ever had. Useless and incompetent upper management , retarded and slutty school managers...trashy co-workers. Old-NOVA was 100 times better than GEOS...and I hated NOVA...but I hate GEOS even worse. Glad to know you enjoyed your time with GEOS...but it wont last much longer....good luck finding a new job. I walked off the job at GEOS lat fall...didnt regret it.

I figure GEOS has about 60 to 90 days before its implosion. Late pay for J-staff every month this year and I expect that trend to continue, no more bonuses for the staff either...saw that at old-NOVA....GEOS ripped-off IAEA (GEOS International travel department for students..i.e. homestay, english schools abroad..etc.)...saw that with old-NOVA too...as NOVA stole all the money from its homestay and international education department to pay salaries. The president of old-NOVA and GEOS have the same personality and criminal demeanor....there are alot of comparisions.....Im just seeing the same ol`pattern with old-NOVA and GEOS.

Paul, I didn't say ANYTHING! Why u having a go at me?

Sorry but you have obviously not seen the figures that I have seen. If you are a teacher or in a management position, then I would quickly ask your directors for a clearer picture. Not that you would get this anyway.

You guys are so funny. All conjecture and ill will. I actully do have the real figures, and I'm right.

I think the moderator erased my comments on the GEOS Melbourne thread. Don't know why because I didn't break any rules of protocol.

But I'll repeat it here: I'll bet you $100, payable to your favorite charity, that no GEOS NA schools close, and I'll count on your honour to make that donation in a month, or two months, or six months. You can make one to Oxfam for me.

Fat chicks arent allowed to have opinions here.

So - all you people claiming North America won't close and is doing fine - specifics please. Which countries are up? Down? New bookings since the collapse of GEOS Australia country by country. Some specialised knowledge that actually backs up your empty assertions.

Just making a bet GEOS NA won't go down is pretty unconvincing. To reassure the market you need to make a simple statement that there is sufficient cash in the bank, controlled by an independent person to pay out all students in full should the schools close. THis claim can then be verified by others. If you don't come up with something specific your reassurances about North America are worthless

Totally agree.....publish factual data to convince us. Publish your audited financials. Oh, and will you also be repaying monies owing to Australia? What odds you offering on this?

Bland empty statements are worthless!

GEOS ripped-off IAEA (GEOS International travel department for students..i.e. homestay, english schools abroad..etc.)...saw that with old-NOVA too...

Ooopss...I meant to say GIEA....stands for Global International Educational Asswipes. The sales lady from Tokyo headoffice came to my school just a week before my depature in November 2009 to recuit (con, suck or whatever) GEOS students to sign up for homestay/english schools in Australia and Los Angeles.

She came all the way out to the Chubu area for 2 students and spent a boring day waiting around in my school....and while she was there...she dropped a bomb and mentioned that GEOS head office in Tokushima raided the GIEA bank account and left almost nothing for her department so that GEOS can meet payroll obligations. Sounds very similiar to the final days of NOVA when saruhashi raided the NOVA overseas study and homestay department for payroll funds shortly before its collapse.

Australia was the most popular desination for GEOS students to sudy english at one of GEOS`s campuses and enjoy a short stay with a homestay family. I wonder what the most popular destination is for GEOS students now?? I also wonder what happened to all the Australia GEOS posters in the schools?? My school was plastered with GEOS Australia posters and student testimonials of their trip to GEOS Australia campus and homestay.

So who think GEOS NA is next? It is widely known that GEOS Calgary is in this shithole...The manager for Toronto was forced our because the school sucked. A manager in Vancouver, probably the only decent manager they had. The other managers are slimy scumbags that would rip off their own grandmother for kicks. The "managers" are nothing more than glorified teachers who do not have the education (or at least not from a respectable university) or morality to take care of students or teachers. Mr. K is their demi-god.

By the way, last year the GEOS NA schools that were not losing money (Calgary, anyone?) had their bank accounts cleaned out by Mr. Kusunoki. Their bank accounts were converted to Yen and shipped off to Japan. Sound like Australia? You bet. And same fate awaits.

LAST POST:

Should have read: The Vancouver manager quit because of another corrupt manager in Canada. She was the only decent manager they had and had the most successful school in Canada. Go figure.

Those of you who are hot for GEOS go make a website where you can post the details of your love affair. It is just weird you should even care that anyone is complaining about working at GEOS when it is so obviously a shitty situation managed by little Hitlers playing school and getting their rocks off by shaking a bit of stick at the white boys and girls they "supervise". Why do you come here to LJ to defend the indefensible? Do your cheer-leading for eikaiwa somewhere else and sod off once and for all! You who defend GEOS are not even interesting AS TROLLS usually are, you are just pathetic wankers all. What GEOS did in Australia was wrong. Do you dare deny it?

I do not know when GEOS will tumble, but the "if" of it is not in question.

All the other chubby little eikaiwa schools are waiting for the scraps from the table... the students and the resumes... Are there any school owners trolling here for one reason or another?

Another point: let's pay a bit more attention to the managers - those sadistic, evil barnacles - and stop blaming educators.

Last Post for GEOS NA? Roger to that. The bets are on Mr K winding down Calgary school That is if the Sudanese gangs don't get it first!!!

GEOS NA now offering a 10% discount on fees at all its NA schools to Korean students ONLY. (Remember the South American "specials" GEOS Australia had in 2009?) Offer open until September 2010.

You guys are crazy.

The Manager in Vancouver has not gone anywhere. Does it even matter to you to check if what you say has any basis in fact?

There are so many factual errors in your posts that it's hard to know even where to start.

I regret even posting this as it just serves as fuel for your ravings. I think the best thing to do is leave you alone in your fetid, uninformed swamp of ignorance, speculation, ill-will, and paranoia.

GEOS NA now offering a 10% discount on fees at all its NA schools to Korean students ONLY. (Remember the South American "specials" GEOS Australia had in 2009?) Offer open until September 2010.

"is now" offering? You think this is new? Or are you trying to intentionally mis-represent things?

If you knew anything, then you would know that there are often short and long-term specials for specific markets, based on the competitive environment in that market.

In this case, this is a year-long special that was announced last year, and represents no change at all since the events in Australia. I'd ask why you intentionally fudged this information, but the answer is as pathetic as your original post.

Last Post for GEOS NA? Roger to that. The bets are on Mr K winding down Calgary school That is if the Sudanese gangs don't get it first!!!

Sudanese gangs are an actual threat. The closing of a continuously-profitable school in a growing market is not a real threat. How about this: In six months, when the school has not closed down, you buck up and make a nice donation to a charity for Sudanese refugees.

You who defend GEOS are not even interesting AS TROLLS usually are, you are just pathetic wankers all.
let's pay a bit more attention to the managers - those sadistic, evil barnacles

-Very well put!

Anybody defending these companies is a sad poopy little maggot.

Kindest Regards,
Luke

@1.55
Sounds like canadian Speak. come on man you can do better than just deny, it is so obvious that you are worried or you wouldnd have even looked at this site.
ex Sydney Teacher.

@1.55
Sounds like canadian Speak. come on man you can do better than just deny, it is so obvious that you are worried or you wouldnd have even looked at this site.
ex Sydney Teacher.

Yes, worried about irresponsible misrepresentations of (non)fact. Not worried about the reality of the situation.

No one is going to get privelaged and confidential financial or booking information. Don't pretend you're asking for it, and don't pretend anyone who had it would give it to you.

How about this - why don't you present some evidence to back up a claim? That's what is totally lacking here.

Why would it be that those making accusations are exempt from the burden of truth? I would argue, to the contrary, and as per the legal tradition of western civilization, that the burden of proof rests with those making accusations.

How about the next time someone claims that a Manager has (not) left, or a school is going to be (not) closed, that they substantiate their claim? Too much to ask for, I'm sure, but it's not wrong to ask.

Those defending GEOS here are just baffling me. Sure, there is a fair amount of speculation here, but the following certainly are true:
1. Geos certainly is having serious problems proven by late payments etc.
2. The company prez is a idiot/scumbag
3. Their flagship Australian schools suddenly went down mysteriously and all fingers point to raiding from Japan

Now, if you were a student or a agent who knew any of these facts, particularly 1 and 3, would you want to invest your money/reputation in Geos? Any halfway decent agent has to know and certainly does not want to take the risk of investing in a sinking ship. Geos is a poorly run institution facing a bank run. This drop in confidence is CERTAIN to cause a drop in student numbers.

I personally have no specific information on their other schools. However, basic common sense tells us they are in trouble and are going to see a lot more closings or sudden bankruptcies this year.

Knowing this, why in the world would you defend Geos??

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