Open Thread: GEOS Discussion

You sound like a real A-hole

Agreed.

Hmm.. you know, I am a bit of an A-hole. That's what gets me through the day. I make no apologies for that.
But I didn't mean my other post to come across that way.

Anyway, head office dragged its feet and had an indifferent attitude...and the j-staff were full apathy.

GEOS was totally unorganized and dysfunctional about the visa renewal process

This is another way for GEOS to save money by reducing sevices but at the same time drastically reducing efficiency, productivity, professionalism and intercompany communication to near non-exsistent levels.

HO are coming up with novel excuses to mark down the completion report - (ie finding ways to give you zilch/nada/zero/sweet nothing) - another cost saving measure with FA cash flow available.

All the signs are there that GEOS is in slow meltdown, with company procedures and communication between head office and staff going to the dogs, declining morale, and all sorts of cost-cutting measures that just worsen employees' pay and conditions. This sort of thing has happened before with other companies, NOVA being the biggest example. If that situation continues, GEOS will tank sooner or later. It can't carry on like that.

I hear that 21 native teachers (from the looks of things, that is around 3/4s) in Kyushu have already quit and head office are unable to find replacements for most positions. I mean, who wants to bust their ass entertaining fidgety sweaty inbreds, socially inept retards, and diseased nose-picking peasant children on some shitty, dodgy "29.5 hours" contract in the middle of some Miyazaki shanty town?

People are slowly... very slowly... starting to wake up and aren't willing to put up with this bullshit any more. Especially when there are other schools with better conditions, such as a cap of 20 lessons per week and enrollment into shakai hoken.

Geos is FUCKED.

Me too - I`m leaving next week and HO have no idea when the new teacher will arrive. The manager has informed the students that they will not have classes for "at least" one week. No sub or trainer is available to come here. I know of three friends in exactly the same situation as well. I kind of feel sorry for the students... actually scrub that. If they're that gullible to keep lining up to pay for such a crappy service and can't see the signs of a crumbling business then...

The GEOS of contract completion bonus did not influence me at all. I quit GEOS last November a few months my contract expired...I knew damn well I wouldnt get any money or very little of the 100,000yen bonus cash if I made to the end of my contract. I really hope there are not any GEOS teachers out there who sticking around to fulfill their contract just to get a shot at the bonus money...because you will most likely get nothing for it. GEOS will find a sneaky way of giving you nothing citing...poor sales....student complaints...did not cooperate with the school manager..had a negative attitude...crap like that.

GEOS Japan just have no idea of the damage they have done to their entire organisation and its reputation thru the way the Australian school closing was handled.
Just been watching a simple presemtation on Chinese Channel 6.cn TV aired on 23 February outling the Australian GEOS collapse. The clip has been viewed by over 250,000 people. Over 250,000 people! Can GEOS handle bad media content like that at a time when GEOS is spending zip on promotion?

If that's true about them reneging on the bonuses, then get out of there. That's what they want anyway - crap pay and conditions so you don't outstay your welcome, then the next bright-eyed young whippersnapper can be wheeled in for the slaughter. That's the way GEOS and a lot of these companies run their operations.

What! You senior management dingalings at GEOS Aus. who didn't even have the decency to let your staff know that the Langoliers were coming, got bonuses for meeting targets! What about the teachers on the coalface who were keeping the show on the road, keeping students happy, encouraging re-enrolments, telling porkies about how good your school was and how the attendance systens were to be trusted, and all on a shoe-string. What did the teachers generally get? A bonus? A free cinema pass? An early-mark ?.......with a yo-ho-ho and lets hope that the administrators go chasing what's left of those GEOS manager bonuses.

Oh Gawd! Another grammar guru. Must be an out of work, too much time on her hands ex-GEOS manager!
PS Must say, did enjoy that"with a yo-ho-ho...."!

Just to let everyone know, GEOS NA staff report being told to stay off this blog by at least two managers. Seems the managers know about it (and were posting earlier in defense of GEOS) and now do not want their employees to see the info on here. Puppet masters at work?

I'm sorry to hear about all of your visa grief, but when I renewed my visa I didn't even need to produce my GEOS contract. The only paperwork I needed was a company tax form, my application form, gaijin card and passport (HO actually gave me more documents than I needed). 2 visits to the office and I was done.

That's pretty much all I had to supply and this was only a month ago. In my case, it wasn't GEOS (never worked there) so that's why the above posters rants about the trouble he had getting a visa kind of strange. I'm not disputing what he said but I've never had that kind of trouble extending a visa.

In my case, I usually get the documents in the 2-4 week range before my old visa expires so 11 days 'before' does not seem out of the ordinary.

hahahahaha! Classic. Loving the no show! Fuk em.

While I respect that you got a better job and wanted to leave GEOs I am just wondering... Did you dislike your students?
I just can't imagine being a no show like that. It would horrify my students and ruin any sort of relationship with them.

Did you let them know in advance or will you explain it afterwards?

Can I ask what was so bad about your particular situation? Beyond the normal GEOS crap (ie e-mails, 29.5, insurance).

Did you have a manager? Were there other natives? Approximately how many students/classes did you have? What other jobs did you do outside of the classroom?

I was asking because a lot of people in GEOS seem to bitch and moan about how rough their job is when there are people are in really tough situations but they think not only of themselves and give notice and do the best they can as individuals. If you can't follow through on your commitment of a one year contract at least have the decency to give them notice. Not giving any notice screams spoiled brat to me. Your post also screams rage issues.

Except that GEOS doesn't feel the pain, your students and your co-workers do.

I was asking because a lot of people in GEOS seem to bitch and moan about how rough their job is when there are people are in really tough situations but they think not only of themselves and give notice and do the best they can as individuals. If you can't follow through on your commitment of a one year contract at least have the decency to give them notice. Not giving any notice screams spoiled brat to me. Your post also screams rage issues

Except that GEOS doesn't feel the pain, your students and your co-workers do.

Nice try at emotionally blackmailing people into fulfilling their contracts. Considering the fact that GEOS is slowly falling apart - procedures breaking down, pay being late, declining staff morale - I think it's pretty rich to expect people to show "commitment" to GEOS and fulfil their contracts.

And given GEOS' total lack of commitment to its staff, total lack of commitment to its customers, and total lack of commitment to conducting its business properly - to name but a few - I'm afraid it's the pot calling the kettle black for GEOS to expect any commitment in return.

Under such circumstances, GEOS would have no grounds for complaint if every single instructor upped and left tomorrow.

It's not as simple as that though. Say GEOS was the best offer of a contract you had. You'd have no choice but to sign it. Then, if and when a better offer comes along from somewhere, and conditions at GEOS continue to deteriorate as they are doing, common sense dictates that you take that better offer - it's a question of survival and self-preservation.

GEOS would cut you loose at a moments notice if they had to, in order to protect their back. Such an attitude legitimizes employees cutting themselves loose at a moments notice to protect their own backs too. It's the law of the jungle, and most eikaiwa operate by that law. Commitment and loyalty don't come into it.

There's a lot of talk about "commitment" to GEOS and fulfilling your contractual obligations. Sorry, but with the way things are with this company, I wouldn't blame anyone for quitting a short notice in order to pursue a better option. On top of which, GEOS isn't committed to its staff (just look at the late payments debacle), nor is it committed to providing quality to its customers.

Fair enough, don't sign a contract with them in the first place. If everyone did that, GEOS would go down very quickly.

If your pay is late...quit. If GEOS does not honor something in your contract...quit. If GEOS forces you to do something beyond the normal and acceptable call of duty...quit.

They break their promise/ contract, there is not reason not to quit. In the end, GEOS failing will actually help the industry, teachers and students.

One of the ex-managers Natalie Johnston has now set up shop again a few miles down the road at a new school in Burleigh call 'myenglish'.

Good for her! I wish her well. Nice to see something other than GEOS out there.

I have nothing to do with the job walkout posts...But here is my two cents.

1. Walk off if it makes your life better (anything better than GEOS!) and GEOS worse...Screw them.

2. I would never. I have found people at GEOS to be very vindictive when they do not get their way. A bit of a Napoleon complex reinforced by the biggest Napoleon of them all, Mr. K!

I'm not saying that you should stick it out at your job if you are in a truly crappy situation (though most employees, not the most recent post, seem to just not like GEOS and their actual working conditions are not half bad). I'm just saying you should give notice even if it's one day, but try for the 2 weeks legally required. Walking off one day when you've been paid and you haven't been badly abused doesn't seem like it serves any purpose. It almost seems cowardly. GEOS is actually quite understanding when you give notice. I gave mine and all they said was, write a letter and good luck with your life...

So sure if your job sucks (not just whiny baby sucks but really sucks) quit, but give some form of notice...

"...If they do not hold their end of the bargain, do not hold yours. Simple as that...I think that is fair..."

sure - but cover your arse

give your notice - use up your holidays, call in sick for the rest
there are plenty of ways to get out of a bad situation with minimal conflict that are well within contract conditions

and if happen to be a vindictive sort - then there are plenty of ways to do that too within contract conditions

It seems to me that if you are truly unhappy in your job and with the company and you want to be crystal-clear on the reasons that you're leaving it, then doing a runner isn't the best way of making that point

Where is GEOS NZ?

It seems to me that if you are truly unhappy in your job and with the company and you want to be crystal-clear on the reasons that you're leaving it, then doing a runner isn't the best way of making that point

So, what if your reasons are crystal clear for leaving GEOS...how that going to improve anything?? GEOS doesnt give a damn what your reasons are...they are not going to change.

Leaving without notice avoids the bullshxt we teachers would get...we would be illegally threatened to have our visas revoked (which cannot happen..but GEOS will make you think they can get your visa taken away), GEOS will threaten to notify immigration and report the teacher for violating the terms of the contract and therefore the terms of his/her visa and GEOS will ask immigration to arrest or deport said teacher....we will be threaten with non-payment of salary or lawsuit for violating the terms of the contract...we will be threatened with immediate eviction out of our apartments. GEOS will threaten its teachers by claiming there is a black list and said teacher will be placed on this list. This is the kinda of shxt GEOS can pull on you if you try and quit before fulfilling your contract or some other low-ball crap. Alot of it is BS and cannot be legally enforced...but GEOS will try anything to keep its teachers from leaving. Those teachers who are not familiar with J-labor laws will fall for this pressure and back off from quitting. GEOS can say anything they fxcking wish, even if its illegal, because there is nothing teachers can do about it...we are helpless in Japan and GEOS knows that.

　By leaving with no notice...we avoid the daily harassment, threats and intimidation. Alot of teachers are already to the breaking point and cannot/will not take anymore pressure and threats from GEOS. Some schools are better and have better managers and area leader....and you can leave with a reasonable notice...others places..like the area I worked in...it was pure, daily hell from 12:30pm to 10pm, 5 days a week and I had a enough.

When I worked at old-Nova, I gave 30 days notice...when I worked at G. Com, I gave 6 weeks notice...when I worked at GEOS...I gave ZERO notice. Thats my choice.

Students dont need to hear about your 30 day notice and classroom trash talk about GEOS...thats gonna land you in more shxt. These students will complain to the manager about the trash talk (happened to me a few times...cant trust students)....and guess what will happen??? More nasty pressure/threats from the manager and head office already on top of the shxt you already face from quitting....and might just end up with a reduction in your final salary....it just aint worth it. These students are not the teachers friend and they will Squeal like a pig to the manager for anything. The students do NOT need the teacher talking crap about GEOS anyway....kuchikomi and other forums are full GEOS students and GEOS staff trash talking about GEOS. GEOS tops the list on Kuchikomi for english schools by a HUGE margin for the number of views/posts and 90% of them are negative.

But in reality you would be breaking contract by not giving notice. All those 'threats' would be valid. So why not give the notice, save yourself a lot of trouble and make yourself look good.

Everyone signed a contract knowing what it entailed. The 29.5 and so on. Sure in some schools there is more pressure, you don't get along with your coworkers etc but that doesn't excuse you breaking contract.

Also this is for everyone on the forum, why is it that everyone seems to hate their students so much... I know plenty of people who work for GEOS and they may complain about a few students here and there but they are customers and overall just good people. Why is there so much hate, some that leans towards scary, on this forum?

What the hell are you talking about?? Make yourself look good?? Who am I looking good for??

I signed a contract that said 29.5 hours of teaching...but I was at the fxcking school 10 hours a day, 5 days a week....and didnt get paid for the difference. I didnt get paid to prepare the 35 classes I had a week or for decorating the school (which was required)...that was for free...and that was not in my contract either. My contract clearly stated I could get a vacation after 3 months.....but I was told the `rules changed` without notice and couldnt get a vacation until after 6 months. My contract clearly stated that I would get 50yen a minute overtime...nope...I did the math..I got paid 20yen a minute overtime..called head office for an explanation..the rules changed without notice. The teachers contract changed due to the school needs or manager expectations at their whim.....your contract was worthless.

I would love to post a copy of my GEOS contract and outline the violations the company committed against my contract. They didnt honor their contract with me....then Im under no obligation to honor my contract with GEOS.　
　You keep talking about the contract...what about the abuse, illegal threats, improper salary payment (ripped-off)?? Ｔhats not in the contract either...so does that mean I have to live with that to fulfill my contract with GEOS??

You never worked at GEOS...so dont try and understand what we do.

The students at GEOS are just the same at old-NOVA and G. Com....its just a personal judgment call. I had weirdo students at all the schools I worked at.

Those of you who have a problem understanding Japanese contracts and the illegal clauses that Japanese companies put into these contracts...then look here.

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=68650&highlight=illegal+cont...

Illegal contracts do not have to be honored...PERIOD. If there is one illegal clause that can make the whole contract void.

Yeah, seriously, why are half of any of you in Japan? If you hate teaching in eikaiwa so much do something else with your life. Quit, don't quit, give notice, walk out, it doesn't matter but for god's sake do SOMETHING as it's pretty obvious that you're not having a good time. I'm not suggesting you even go home but don't bitch and whine about your terrible job when it was you who made the decision to uproot yourself and travel halfway across the world and do this. If it sucks, cut your losses, and do something else.

And really, the level of anger directed towards the students on this site is incredible. At the end of the day they're all customers who have paid to engage your services. Whether you like them on a personal level or not has nothing to do with how you should be treating them as the person who pays your wages. So they take 10 minutes to answer a question? Big deal, it's their money, they get to decide.

Do you really think that a corporation such as GEOS with its mission statement 'Credibility comes not only from words........." would break a contract, would dishonour bonuses, would not pay staff on time (if at all), would renounce any involvement in Australian operations??

Any other corporation, but not GEOS. They would never allow their name to be associated with 'dishonour' They are well respected in the industry...they have a 'rapidly expanding network of schools.......'

When I look up the words 'integrity' 'probity' in my Oxford Dictionary it says "GEOS"

Japanese law states that, if it's your 1st contract, you're supposed to honour the guidelines for quitting laid down in the contract. If you don't honour the 4 months notice period though, I doubt they're going to pursue you about it. I would have thought they'd put you on their "don't re-hire" blacklist (and I mean, are you really going to be that bothered if GEOS never hire you again?)

If it's your 2nd contract or beyond, 2 weeks is sufficient - that's the law. Don't let GEOS or anybody else intimidate you into thinking otherwise.

Yeah, seriously, why are half of any of you in Japan? If you hate teaching in eikaiwa so much do something else with your life. Quit, don't quit, give notice, walk out, it doesn't matter but for god's sake do SOMETHING as it's pretty obvious that you're not having a good time. I'm not suggesting you even go home but don't bitch and whine about your terrible job when it was you who made the decision to uproot yourself and travel halfway across the world and do this. If it sucks, cut your losses, and do something else.

Cut our loses and do something else.....you obviously dont live in Japan. Most english teachers in Japan have humanities visas...and that visa is only good for teaching english only and thats it. Its not transferable to any other field.,...working outside your visa guidleines will get you arrested and deported, no exceptions...the cops here love to bust a foreigner who dont know the rules. There are good jobs in Japan and I finally found one after a few years of searching...they are super hard to find and they are not advertised...just word of mouth only.

It seems to me that you should consider a different line of work. If Eikaiwas are so bad, why on earth do you keep on working for them?

Are you a sucker for punishment or something? Nova, G.comm. and Geos. That's three that you've named already. I don't understand why you keep on working for these places knowing that they are terrible places to work for. You admitted that in your own post

First off..I have never said anything bad about NOVA or G. Com....when I signed up with GEOS a year ago...GEOS looked like a better deal...I just wanted a step up professionally...there was virtually no negative information about GEOS at that time and I had no idea of the hell I was in for with GEOS. If you bothered to look at my earlier posts...I have said old-NOVA and G.Com is much, much better than GEOS.

For those of you who question why myself or others work for eikaiwa...its easy money. Sure we are crapped on..but there are NO jobs back home...at least not in America...when the unofficial unemployment rate is around 19%. I see Americans, Canadains, Brits, Aussies regularly on Gaijinpot asking teachers already in Japan questions on getting a job in Japan, because they cant get a job in their home country or lost their jobs. They want to come here on a tourist visa in the middle of a steep recession to find jobs that are super scarce and those few jobs that are available are given to those who already have work visas. Some of these people are soo desperate for work they are willing to spend upwards of $7,000 bucks to come to Japan for 3 months for a shot at lousy teaching job.

You can go ahead and scream your head off about us ungrateful english teachers to go back to our home countries and get a job back home....but sadly there are no jobs back home. I make 280,000yen (over $3,000 US) a month sitting on my ass talking all day and work around 30 hours a week. There are NO jobs like that anywhere in the US at all. I can complain if I so choose...thats my prerogative and if Iam not happy...I can find another job elsewhere in Japan...which is not a problem for me.

I got Americans sending me private messages on GP on a regular basis asking me for help in finding them a job...telling me their sad stories of how their business went bankrupt or they were laid off, or some college kid with no job offers....so, yeah...there seems to be plenty of jobs in America...but these people are begging for a job in Japan...just cant find them?? Please.

For those of you who are unhappy about the way I shxt on GEOS and my attitude touches a raw nerve...thats your problem. I got GREAT job in Tokyo and I have been there since November 2009 after I walked out on GEOS and Im totally HAPPY with my job....I really dont give turd what anybody else thinks.

I had this long post on why I would like to leave GEOS... But we all know why, I'm no different to the others.

I would like some advice from the obviously more experienced teachers, as GEOS was my first interview in Japan (or in Education industry anywhere)... So here is the gig:
As many of you suggested... I started to look elsewhere, but around my home, I'm sick of trains and getting home everyday on the last train, like really.
I have an interview with a school... They are offering me less money than GEOS.
Why take it? It's an easier schedule and its 4 stations away... On the local train, I could even take the bike, if I knew how to ride it :P I'm willing to lose a few yen a month in exchange for my health and sanity and not going to sleep wondering if I will get paid next month, or if I will have a job after golden week... For those of you who don't live this situation, I swear it really eats you up inside.

Anyhow... all of the previous text is useless, here is my real question:
This small school (couple of branches) they will ask me why I want to leave my current company.
What do I answer?
Should I use the distance and time spent on trains?
Should I say that I have already given notice? Or say that I am just job hunting... I presume they
a) Know that GEOS has a 4 month policy
b) they will want me to start in April.
Dissing previous/current employer is bad policy in interviews (even if it is GEOS!)

I haven't given any notice to GEOS and I will only do so when I have a job secured, (I don't want to be unemployed in Jland... I only have enough money for a bit over 3 months and because growing up and studying in an English speaking country but not having a commonwealth Passport doesn't help the job search, trust me, I've felt it head on). I've been hung up on the 4 month, one month, 2 weeks notice... Now I don't really care, I will give them as much notice as I can.

Now... Before you say... Take GEOS out of your CV so you don't have to explain it... They already have it, and for future occasions, my experience in Eikawa is the only thing I have going for me when it comes to getting a teaching job around here. That and my great looks. And humor. And that's about it.

Anyway... Anyone else getting spooked by the offices moving around? Scares the shit out of me to be honest. How much does it cost to move an entire office?! Jesus... Must be one hell of a hassle. That and HO staff in meetings, hiring all the time, taking holidays... I dunno, other times this would all be normal, but now it's as if everything is suspicious and you begin to see things where they don't exist.

So I'm guessing today is payday at GEOS. Will everyone get paid? Please send your payday stories.

1. GEOS now in full contraction and cost reuction/money-mop-up mode. See Australia, out of NZ. Maintain a watching brief on the weak os units - Cebu, Costa Rica, possibly Calgary, Taiwan mmmmm. Singapore will be OK for a while.
2. UK/NA going to be OK over the next six months. Their crunch will come as they move into next winter and those schools will have to self-finance with no cross-subsidies available.
3. Geos Australia liquidation complete. Administrators will now likely be moving to mop up their professional fees. One Director out of country and may be the one who jumped the board in Feb 10. Two locals, one a real newbie. Will the Administrators chase senior GEOS Australia managers as de facto directors? Are ASIC going to invole themselves in the issues? GEOS has seriously pissed off Australian Governments/monitoring authorities. Watch LJ for movements in this area.
4. Heaps of GEOS corporate spinning on this site at the moment. Emphasise sthe significance of LJ as communication board. Discriminate in your readings.

Anyhow... all of the previous text is useless, here is my real question:
This small school (couple of branches) they will ask me why I want to leave my current company.
What do I answer?
Should I use the distance and time spent on trains?
Should I say that I have already given notice? Or say that I am just job hunting... I presume they
a) Know that GEOS has a 4 month policy
b) they will want me to start in April.
Dissing previous/current employer is bad policy in interviews (even if it is GEOS!)

I haven't given any notice to GEOS and I will only do so when I have a job secured, (I don't want to be unemployed in Jland... I only have enough money for a bit over 3 months and because growing up and studying in an English speaking country but not having a commonwealth Passport doesn't help the job search, trust me, I've felt it head on). I've been hung up on the 4 month, one month, 2 weeks notice... Now I don't really care, I will give them as much notice as I can.

Now... Before you say... Take GEOS out of your CV so you don't have to explain it... They already have it, and for future occasions, my experience in Eikawa is the only thing I have going for me when it comes to getting a teaching job around here. That and my great looks. And humor. And that's about it.

Take the job...no matter if the salary is lower than GEOS...GEOS will most likely be out if business sometime this year. They cant stay in business at the rate they are going at all. You dont want to be a teacher stuck in J-land with no job, especially with the job market the way it is. The unemployment insurance you would get is small and wont last long. I went through that process when old-NOVA went bankrupt in October 2007.

You do not need to tell your prospective employer you gave any notice to GEOS, because you havent been hired yet. Get hired first and then give your notice.....thats usually how it works these days in Japan and your prospective employer knows that. Once, I was hired and had 8 days to quit my old job...move and start my new job....sometimes that happens.
I have changed jobs three times in Japan and my new company didnt care how I gave my notice...all they cared about was that I was there for the first day of training or work. If you are starting in April...give whatever notice to GEOS you want or give nothing...thats your decision....but whatever notice you give will be short.

Your answer to the question `Why do you want to leave your job at GEOS?`
Answer: "I've decided that GEOS is not the direction I want to go in my career and GEOS has no opportunities in the direction I'd like to head." Be prepared to answer that statement with a follow up question...`What direction do you want to head in with our company?`

Keep it simple and to the piont and no long explanations...they know what is happening at GEOS and you dont need to explain that to them. You can find answers to questions like that all over the net...I have used them and gotten hired.

Nothing wrong with GEOS on your CV. I have old-NOVA on mine and I didnt face any difficulty getting hired. Your looks and personality will be a key factor in gaining employment in this country, so if you get an interview you are gonna do good.

P I'm willing to lose a few yen a month in exchange for my health and sanity and not going to sleep wondering if I will get paid next month, or if I will have a job after golden week... For those of you who don't live this situation, I swear it really eats you up inside.

I was living like that the last few weeks I was employed with GEOS. When I got out of there and started my new job...it was like a brand new life started for me. GEOS is not worth sticking around for any amount of money.

First off..I have never said anything bad about NOVA or G. Com....when I signed up with GEOS a year ago...GEOS looked like a better deal...I just wanted a step up professionally...there was virtually no negative information about GEOS at that time and I had no idea of the hell I was in for with GEOS. If you bothered to look at my earlier posts...I have said old-NOVA and G.Com is much, much better than GEOS.

Thanks for your reply. Wow ... Nova and G.comm. were better than GEOS? You must be in the minority there because when Nova went bankrupt this site erupted with "good riddance to bad rubbish" type posts so I'm surprised to see you liked working there. I guess it's all relative though.

Of course, it's your life but my suggestion would be to upgrade your qualifications and get out of Eikaiwa all together. It really is a dead-end job ... what are you actually qualified to do?

I understand people who work there (Eikaiwas) as a 'gap year' type of job but I'm not sure that it's a good idea for a career.

Just one last thing .... "professionally" does not belong in the same sentence as an Eikaiwa. You must have realized that when working at Nova/G.comm. This whole site is dedicated to telling how disorganized and unprofessional such places are. Did you really think that GEOS would be a step up professionally from Nova/G.comm.? Why did you think that?

Honestly, it's a much better idea to pursue a career in what you are actually qualified to do as hard as it might be. What are your long-term goals? To work at an Eikaiwa for the next couple of decades? Good luck with that!

Thanks for your reply. Wow ... Nova and G.comm. were better than GEOS? You must be in the minority there because when Nova went bankrupt this site erupted with "good riddance to bad rubbish" type posts so I'm surprised to see you liked working there. I guess it's all relative though.

My experiences in eikaiwa differ from others and thats my opinion. From your posts, it clearly evident you never lived or even worked in Japan...so why are you on LJ trolling??? Another thing...I dont even give a turd for what you think or write. You are just another wanna-be in Japan troll posting trash.

Read my last post moron and you will see I have a much better job. I bet I make more money than you and work less you.

Keep you wet dream of alive of living here in Japan and getting a job...becasue you wont.

Yeh, Shawn, GEOS HQ are in to the blog big time. . Spin it up, fill it up with dross, what's the point of visiting?......you know the technique, you know the model. Don't need rego, just needs bit 'o moderation.

..I do, it sounds like you ended up in a pretty bad situation
in your particular branch with no or minimal support from your co-workers.

I wasn't in the situation with you and I'm not trying to start anything with you- I'm just trying to be objective about this kind of thing - because I think there is a lot of good and helpful information on comments threads like these that sometimes gets buried.

so I'd just like to address your comments from upthread -

"...Leaving without notice avoids the bullshxt we teachers would get...we would be illegally threatened to have our visas revoked..."

"...GEOS will threaten to notify immigration and report the teacher for violating the terms of the contract and therefore the terms of his/her visa and GEOS will ask immigration to arrest or deport said teacher...."

-This may have happened to you personally, I don't know, the tone of your post suggests its something you assumed might have happened if you'd given notice, I'd just note that when companies do this kind of thing it's usually all over Dave's ESL Cafe, GP, the Union site or here- but I've never heard of any of the big chain eikaiwas pulling this on workers

"...we will be threaten with non-payment of salary or lawsuit for violating the terms of the contract...we will be threatened with immediate eviction out of our apartments...."

Again, this might have happened to you or somebody you know, but
I've not been able to find any evidence of this with anybody I know who has worked for the big eikaiwas

As far as I can tell from a quick review of the posts about GEOS accom on this site - it seems that GEOS teachers take a room with LeoPalace unless there isnt LP in the area they live - wouldn't it be possible to switch to another LP apartment pretty easily if threatened with eviction?

"...GEOS will threaten its teachers by claiming there is a black list and said teacher will be placed on this list...."

I'm sure this happens - I'm sure ECC, or AEON or SHANE won't re-hire based on not honoring a contract, and presumably wouldn't give a good reference if contacted.

"...Those teachers who are not familiar with J-labor laws will fall for this pressure and back off from quitting. GEOS can say anything they fxcking wish, even if its illegal, because there is nothing teachers can do about it...we are helpless in Japan and GEOS knows that. ..."

-frankly, this kind of information isn't hard to find online -wikipedia even has an article with a link to the english language version of the labor standards law

Sure it's dry and boring to read through it all - but it's pretty accessible

http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_employment_law

So, again Org - I'm not having a go at you, nor am I defending GEOS; who -from what I can discern- seem to favor a bullying approach to management that seems to be the root of many of their current troubles.

but threatening to withhold salary, revoking visas and the like are all patently illegal practices and I find it hard to believe that even the most incompetent of managers in a company the size of GEOS would do this - as I mentioned above, this may well have happened to you personally - or at the very least to somebody close to you, so I'd welcome you to correct me if i'm wrong.

And just to anybody else who may be finding themselves in a situation similar to Org's - if you get treated like this you need to call their bluff.

if they pressure you or harrass you, stand up to them, look them in the eye and tell them to fuck off.

Please proofread your posts because they don't make any sense. There are a number of spelling and grammatical errors in this sentence alone.

I didn't attack you personally so I don't see why you decided to attack me. For your information, I did work at an Eikaiwa for one year and then moved on. I no longer work in that industry. It was Ok for a year but it was quite obvious that I didn't want to make a full-time career out of it.

With all those errors, I sure feel sorry for your students.

What are you...my stalker??? Stop wasting your time by posting messages to me.

This forum is not for spelling or grammar...its a casual message board. Most of these posts on here have tons of misspellings and grammatical errors..but just few people compalin about it...and you are one of them. Is that why you are stalking me....because Im too casual with the keyboard?? Does misspellings and grammatical errors make you feel suicidal?? Need to attack people for being lazy and casual on a forum for native english speakers?

Maybe you should ask Shawn to install an editing function so we can go back and correct our errors...would that make you feel better??

STOP STALKING ME AND GET A LIFE.

but threatening to withhold salary, revoking visas and the like are all patently illegal practices and I find it hard to believe that even the most incompetent of managers in a company the size of GEOS would do this - as I mentioned above, this may well have happened to you personally - or at the very least to somebody close to you, so I'd welcome you to correct me if i'm wrong

Check out this thread on GP about this situation...its far more common than most people know.

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=83538&highlight=visa+revoked