Job Discussion Forums

[junny007]

EF HUIZHOU is too be avoided at all cost.... Take it from me... and BG

[Keath]

Did you used to work with Amber Carlson? Lend insight to your expereince there in Huizhou.. We're about to launch a legal campaign against them. -Keith

That organization is extreemely dangerous and threatens teachers all the time.. They need to be shut down.

[englishgibson]

Keath, you’ve got that so right. There’s got to be done something about them. If the former or present employees sit back or let it go, the EF centers’ employers will not change anything and above all they will laugh at us. This is supposedly a foreign franchise that has got out of the foreign hands (due to disorganized, and highly compliable EF Head Office) and fallen entirely into the Chinese investors’ hands. Franchisees that do not have the standards to follow or that do not have to follow the standards, one or the other, often both. EF Huizhou has opened in April 2002, has worked their employees down to their bones since, has dismissed 7 of their staff members that I know of so far and forced a few others to leave, and it goes on and on. EF Huizhou has also opened its “secret EF clone” in Huiyan (near Huizhou) since and has used its EF center to train their staff for their “clone” that is not a legitimate EF center. The EF Huizhou’s employer’s been cheating and cheating and the EF Head Office just keeps the center on, even though they just get a portion (cheating goes on) of their Huizou’s royalty fee. I guess that the EF Head Office’s intentions of having as many EF centers in China as possible (more than half cheating might not matter) have to do with it, don’t it? Keeping the market under its control and lead it in China is the name of the game, isn’t it? What a shame that they can still do it and nobody has stopped them. At least that they shrank to mere 40 students in EF Fuzhou recently. In Fuzhou they had once over 250 students with 10 teachers.
Cheers and beers

[junny007]

Heath,

I don't know Amber but, I'm with ya on the law thing... I don't even think I was register as an emplyee of EF. Can't fined a record of me anywhere... hmmmmmmm... But... I will just m,ove on as i have a child now and it was an experience that i would not change because i did see the great China and her people and culture. All and all it was a great experience. I'm sure everyone can understand what I mean when I say that. I really do feel that alot of the experiences we had has to do with the corporate offices lack of standard and visits on a regular basis to the franchise locations.

I also think that the level of "be a clown" with the promotion that the school throws on the backs of teachers is insulting to education. I loved the classroom but hated the politics of a franchise educational experience. It cheats everyone, even the owners of these franchises as it exploits the cummunity. But as the saying goes... " When in Rome". So, this is why i look at it as a learning experience and have chose to look back positively... I'm not bit just had a sweet experience in China... See ya in Beijing 2008

[Oscar]

Englishgibson, is that the real EF Fuzhou that is down to just 40 students?
If so, it's a real fall from grace for that school. They started out as the flagship EF school with former AOM for China, Alex 'no degree' Chevrolle as DOS. One of the current deputy AOMs, Ian Oakes also started his EF career in Fuzhou. According to the EF grapevine, the goings-on in Fuzhou and their Sunshine English clone makes EF Huizhou look like nothing!!

[englishgibson]

Yes Oscar. That is the real EF Fuzhou. And yes it is a real fall. Combinations of their poor academic support, awful management techniques and relocating partly cost them that downfall. When I started with EF Fuzhou right after Alex and Ian left and when their new Director of Studies (also with no degree and very poor qualifications) Mark Charters began, they were fairly good. That unqualified Mark Charters was not so bad academically at all. However, he got them a few months later and opened a school of his own with a Chinese national there in Fuzhou. That was “The Point Of No Return” for EF Fuzhou. And their new clone just confirmed it. I took a “midnight run” later (and 8 teachers apparently followed after), because I got paid less than my contract was for and because their employer was apparently (and is) into staff that I was afraid off. Their Center Manager Daniel NG at that time (later fired) scared me with stories (when drunk) a few times. Daniel and his employer also tried to pull some strings against Ian Oakes when he took off, but stayed in Fuzhou. Well, Ian stayed there for only a few months after he left EF Fuzhou.

Regarding that farce EF clone “Sunshine English” I am familiar with it. I actually opened that clone as their academic leader working for both the EF and the clone at the same time.
When Mark Rendell (the Academic Operations Manager of EF in China) came for the annual visit two months after the “EF clone’s” opening EF Fuzhou still had 8 teachers, but only 3 were on the EF list of employees (I was one of the 3). So, the other teachers were asked by Daniel Ng to go home and come back the next day. Some classes were swiftly cancelled for the day too. Daniel Ng directed me not to tell Mark Rendell one word about “Sunshine English”. Ironically, Daniel Ng and Mark Rendell decided to visit Mark Charter’s (former EF Fuzhou’s Director of Studies) school then.

So, either Mr. Mark Rendell the EF AOM is on the big scam with the EF franchisees in China, or he is really blind.

Back to EF Huizhou, that EF center and its EF clone (Enjoy English/the same story as in Fuzhou) is at least as farce, and as dangerous as EF Fuzhou is. Their staff members do not just take their “midnight runs”, they are often fired and they are often fired for not following up the EF Huizhou’s employer’s own farce rules. The EF Huizhou’s employer has scammed the EF franchisers for much more than the EF Fuzhou. Lucy Li and her “bully” husband (employers) go about it in a much more sophisticated way than the EF Fuzhou has. Lucy Li runs the EF Huizhou and her inexperienced, unqualified husband runs the EF clone (Enjoy English). However, he is often the “forceful” ruler of EF Huizhou and has been behind a lot of grief there. Isn’t that a “romantic” tandem?

Cheers and beers

[Oscar]

The question of Mark Rendell's previous knowledge of EF 'spin-off' schools is a tricky one. He probably was aware of schools like this going up all around the country, but was just unable to do anything about it. The problem now for EF in China is whether Shanghai get paid their 10% at the end of the month or not. The truth is that some of the EF schools in China are so successful, franchise owners are unwilling to hand over such a large chunk of money to head office. There are a good number of schools in China now that have agreed with Shanghai to just hand over 500 US dollars every month in lieu of the 10%. This is a deal that was struck with the knowledge of all three AOMs in Shanghai, Mark 'fool' Rendell, Ian 'Welsh degree' Oakes and Ian 'who!' MacDermott.

[mazhenping]

Hey, Slovakian Gibson!

You've been worked out!

Living in North America for a couple of years doesn't make you a native English speaker.

What's your real name and why did you leave Slovakia?

[Henry_Cowell]

I knew it.

[benno]

makes sense,,doesn't it!!

[chadpearson]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

chadpearson wrote:

[junny007]

Dear Chad,

You are just the kind of person that makes it bad for everyone else. Did you even read the posts here?

My situation was I needed just 4 days off. I gave advance notice. It was my DOS and School Manager that decide to say no. I then gave my 30 notice. they wanted to know why. My contract never said I had to give reason just 30 days notice. They then decided to let me go right away and then wanted me to give them 30,000 Yuan. I followed my contract so i owed nothing but the plane fare and i paid it...

There lose as I only ask for a 4 day leave...

So, you can go to Hell...

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

There you go, Chad.

Any response?

Um, what's your favourite line again? 'Bring it on'?

[chadpearson]

I have a response, yes. Fair enough, I agree that name-calling is not helpful. I can accept criticism. And yes, I read each and every post on this "Huizhou Horror" forum. The thing is, it irritates me that people anonymously come on here and start blaming the school for their own personal problems. Anyone I saw leave the school left for either personal problems with colleagues, personal problems with injuries or family back home, incompetence ( as in the case of Jennifer from Canada) or legal/visa problems. Other than that there have been many teachers who have fullfilled their contractual obligations and even come back for one or more years.

As for me trying to score brownie points with my boss, I'm pretty sure she isn't aware this forum exists, and I'm not about to tell her about it.

So, in the future I'll try and keep my potty mouth to a minimum and stick to the facts.

All I can say at the moment is that three of us right now are coming back for another year. And although Beijing is an interesting city, I wouldn't want to live there, especially not for 9,000 a month. Beijing is expensive, dirty and crowded. To each his own, I prefer a small place.

I don't know why you just can't move on to your wonderful new lives instead of slagging off your past employer behind the safety of the Internet.

I only discovered this forum by accident, otherwise I never would have known it existed.

And yes, I will go to hell, eventually. I'm not ready yet though.