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WARNING: Working for Executive English Solutions

 
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coffeeandoatmeal



Joined: 19 May 2011
Posts: 1
Location: Santiago, Chile

PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2011 4:09 pm    Post subject: WARNING: Working for Executive English Solutions Reply with quote

Before getting hired as an English teacher here in Santiago, I was warned to avoid schools that use their teachers simply for financial gain. I thought because EES (Executive English Solutions) paid well, I could put up with the idiosyncracies/ bureaucraticness of a big, corporate language school. Boy, was I wrong.

This company does not care about their teachers, their well-being, their resources or needs outside of work. They simply want robots to show up to every class and teach out of a textbook. And they don't ask you i you'd like to pick up new classes, which are usually all over the city, they tell you to. Or, on the contrary, if you ask for more hours, they threaten you for being impatient.

They don't care about your schedule or location, and you are not allowed any time off. If you call in sick, be prepared to get a threatening phone call of potential firing. Remember, robots can't get sick.

They don't really care about their students/clients either. Just as long as both parties are showing up so that they can get their paycheck from the businesses, that's all that matters.

I'm just writing this because someone once told me that with so many ENglish schools in CHile, you can really have your pick... it seems there is only a handful that has a wholesome outlook on teaching English and appreciating language lovers in general.... EES is not one of them. Don't fall into their trap!
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sipoweon



Joined: 06 Jun 2011
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, one can find MUCH better options than EES. I worked there and they basically let you work there until you become enemies, which seems inevitable. They definitely act childish at times, especially the female part of the duo (gets irrationally mad)...I would definitely recommend avoiding this company, one can do much better in Santiago...a company that will talk to you like a civilized person and treat you with respect.
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sezstar



Joined: 28 Nov 2009
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good call, my partner worked for EES for 6 months as we thought it was a good deal when we first arrived in Santiago. He called in sick twice and was threatened by the boss (on more than one occassion) to come to work or he would be fired.

He was not allowed to contact his students and vice versa, nor was he allowed to contact colleagues. One group of students also told him that he was their 10th teacher.

He now works for a better school who treat him like a human being.
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SeHablaIngles



Joined: 17 Nov 2009
Posts: 35
Location: Santiago

PostPosted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my humble opinion (and 3+ years living in Santiago), any of the big names like Wall Street, English First, Tronwell, etc. will pay their teachers badly and hire cheap, non-native speakers to maintain their low wage structures.

Schools which promote themselves as business English schools like Executive English Solutions, Comunicorp, etc. have an irrational disrespect for teachers. Rather than seeing good quality teachers as an asset and therefore try to retain them, they just treat them like pieces of meat.

With regards to the latter, it's hardly surprising. There is a constant stream of noobie teachers landing in Santiago and a huge majority rarely do more than an academic year in Santiago because it is, unfortunately, a hugely dull place. Chile itself, is great.
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jprimm



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

On positive note, I and two other friends are working for Speak EAsy and the owners are great. You are treated with respect and have great support. A very good place to work and will be hiring in the near future.
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Pinkerton



Joined: 13 Jun 2011
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Before I post any opinions about EES, I wanted to lay out some of the facts.

Who is EES? You may not know it when you walk in the door, but the company is family run. It runs under the moniker of 'Spencer & Lopez limited'.

The two main people are Howard Spencer and Tatiana Lopez and they are married or at least in a civil union. Howard does the interviews with potential teacher and Tatiana does contract work.

Tatiana claims to be a lawyer, however this false. She never finished school and is not a lawyer.

Tatiana's mother, Elaina, works the front desk.

Tatiana's brother, Felipe, works back-up, which means he does everything that Elaina doesn't have time to do.

Finally, there is Miguel. He's not actually related to the family, but is a close family friend. He works with the money, cutting cheques and such.

The office is utter chaos because it is so under staffed. Felipe once told me that he received 500 e-mail in one morning. Often times I would not receive any replies to my e-mails. Generally I would have to send 8 to 10 e-mails before I would get a response.
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Pinkerton



Joined: 13 Jun 2011
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your contract at EES.

Tatiana will employ many tricks when it comes to the contract. Remember, these are not honest people and they cannot be trusted at all.

Scam #1 - You will only be given a contract at the office. You can't leave with your contract. They will tell you that you have to sign it now.

Scam #2 - The contract will be entirely in Spanish.

Scam #3 - They require you to sign a second contract that voids out any financial gains to the teacher.

Scam #4 - They give you a service contract, not an employment contract. What does this mean? Well a service contract can hold you responsible to completing work and include a financial penalty if you don't do said work. For example, if you hire someone to build you a house it would probably be a service contact, not an employment contract. If you work at Kmart, it would be an employment contract. The contract given to you at EES has a section that says you will owe them $1,000 US if you quit. Is it legal? NO! However to get your money you will have to sue the company or at least threaten to sue them. If you went to court, is the possibility you could lose and not get your money? Doubtful.

The contract ends up being completely one sided, offering the teacher no protection ect ect ect.

Are you stuck in this terrible contract with EES and want to quit? Here's what you do.

Wait for payday to come around, cash you pay cheque and immediately quit. Do not return your materials or class attendance sheets. Hold them hostage and use them as bargaining chips.

You should contact EES to inform them of how much money they owe you. Do this by e-mail. Do NOT converse with them over the phone. Use e-mail will give a written record of what is transpiring. next, and most important, visit Inspeccion Del Trabajo. set up a meeting between you and EES. After filling out the forms with the staff, you will have to go in person to EES and give them a copy informing them they MUST meet at the Inspeccion Del Trabajo. At this point, they will probably wise up and pay you.

Inspeccion Del Trabajo
http://www.dt.gob.cl/1601/w3-channel.html

Keep in mind you must go to the correct office that has jurisdiction over the area in which EES is located. You can go to any branch, give the address of EES and ask them where you need to go.

The branch you need to go to is located near Manuel Monnt, but I don't have the exact address.
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Pinkerton



Joined: 13 Jun 2011
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:05 pm    Post subject: Live on knees or die on your feet? Reply with quote

In life you have to make choices. How do you want to be treated. are you a door mat or person that should be taken seriously? Companies like EES only want door mats.

I had a random and brief encounter with Howard Spencer in front of one of the Bechtel buildings where he literally freaked out. He started screaming at me right on the street in front of the clients office.

The issue at hand was over my cellphone. Several days earlier I had a meeting with Howard where I clearly explained to him that I was having some serious money issues and could not afford to recharge my phone with minutes. I asked for more work. At the end of the meeting I told Howard that would work on getting my phone back on line however at the moment my priority was buying food and budgeting my money correctly.

This is the e-mail I had to send....


Dear Howard,

I am quite disappointed by our random encounter this afternoon and I think we need to find an understanding if we�re going to have a future together.

To begin with, your tone and attitude with me was just unacceptable. If you wish to work with me you will treat me with the same level of respect that I give you. When I was feeling frustrated with you in regards to the amount of classes I was teaching I didn�t raise my voice or threaten you. That�s not the way to solve problems.

As I told you, I will work on solving this cell phone problem. I need to budget myself accordingly. I�ve had other things to worry about this past week, like my visa. Had that been settled I would have had more wiggle room.

As well, it�s quite nerve-racking to be threatened with losing my job over the above. I don�t need that kind of stress. If you want to take my classes, than you are welcome to them. Take them all right now. I don�t take this kind of threat lightly.

I will not work in an environment where I am not respected and threatened. If you want to keep me employed you have to decide right now. Keeping me employed means you will treat me with the same respect I give you. It also means you will never threaten me like today. I have no tolerance for the above behavior.

I hope to hear from you before 5pm today.

Regards,
....


Needless to say this was the beginning of the end. Before sending this e-mail I began making my departure plans. To my surprise however, they did not fire me. I received this e-mail back a few minutes later....


Hello .....,

Really, my apologies. As I mentioned it was a bad moment for me. I'm really sorry the way I came across and it won't happen again. I have a great deal of respect for you and hope we can leave this behind us. If you would like to talk, I would be happy to meet with you. I will take care of the phone.

Regards,

Howard


So why did Howard put his tail between his legs? Well, they couldn't afford to lose another teacher after firing a few people the week before.
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Pinkerton



Joined: 13 Jun 2011
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

its recruiting time in Chile, so I feel I must bump this thread up a little. sorry, I just don't want to other people suckered into this terrible 'school'.
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