Job Discussion Forums

[denise]

Regarding the late payments--they always made it sound like it wasn't their fault. They couldn't pay the teachers until the clients paid them. The story that I heard was that another English institute went bankrupt or closed after having collected payment from the clients, so nervous clients at other schools were getting classes first and paying at the end of the term, instead of paying upfront. And they always paid late...

OK, that may well be the case, but does it really matter whose fault it is if you're standing at a bank with a cheque in hand and being told that the funds aren't there? The bottom line is that the money isn't there when you need it. A well-run business would have some sort of safety net so that teachers wouldn't feel the pinch every month if the clients were late with their payments. Honestly, telling me that MY paycheck would be late because General Motors hadn't paid its invoice was a really weak excuse for poor management, I thought. I always got the impression that Curtis only managed to survive month to month. I don't know how widespread the problem is in Santiago.

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[Frank1980]

The problem is that there are many language schools, few of which are really serious, quality oriented companies. The serious ones tend to not have cash flow issues, treat their teachers well and grow steadily. You have to keep an eye on the new ones on the block... Not only do they have cash flow problems, but are rarely run as businesses. Since the owners don't know much about business they tend to charge too little, don't negotiate payment well and therefore are left with little if any to pay us - the most important part of the equation - the teachers.

[eileen]

I worked for Curtis, as well, for a month or two. I never had a problem with the pay, being sent to classes, etc. I thought it was unfair that I wasn't compensated for extra time to get to Huechuraba to the famous General Motors classes, but they paid for the transportation (radio taxi). I left there after a couple of months because pedagogically they were not where I wanted to be. I also didn't have very many hours, and the beginning of our relationship was rocky, as they were not so responsive to my email queries. But they were very trusting, allowed me to have a key to the place, etc.

They always treated me very well, picked me up from the airport in Santiago and brought me to my hostel, etc. I recommended them to a friend to work there because the teaching method/approach thing didn't bother her, and I remember the pay was pretty good. 5,000 or 5,500, if memory serves. And they helped me get my 10% taxes back.

[evansmith]

I recently heard that Curtis is closing its doors.......

[erynn1105]

I don�t know who on earth has worked for Curtis and would give them a positive review. Beware, there are rumors that the owner (and family members) have infiltrated this conversation and are posting false compliments.
Anyway, I highly recommend NOT working for Curtis. I could go on and on with reasons, but the most important being that they have little respect for employees and are not trustworthy. There are many other language schools in Santiago. I�m not surprised by evansmith, the business is so poorly run, I�m sure they won�t be around much longer. If I was still working for them, I�d be worried they�d take off without paying me.
By the way, there are probably a dozen others who would back this up...

[eileen]

totally possible that there are family or other infiltrators. Just in case it is supposed that I am one of them, feel free to have a look around at my other posts. I didn't say anything glowing about them, just that they were fair to me. In fact, when I left they showered me with compliments and said they'd wished they'd known I wasn't happy so I could help to fix what I perceived to be wrong with their program.

You're all right. there are a million English institutes, and more open every day. Look around for one that is either well-reviewed, or at the very least, not reviewed!

[The Great Toad]

So KarenCar ... what say you then? I think I may come to work in this city too but you are the lone defender of the school... Hmmm Maybe I should go to Costa Rica...

[wildboy]

finally curtis is out of business, they left the office in providencia, but still trying to survive with some private classes in stgo, and some of them out of stgo, this is like the well known book Cronicas de una muerta anunciada written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.