A Very Risky Choice

I was due to start working with E-Connect a few months ago.

I could not find any online reviews, and my experience with this company was the worst I’ve had with an employer. I am an experienced TEFL teacher and would warn against working for E-Connect.

I was offered a small amount of money to not write this review. Not enough to cover my losses. I turned it down because I would rather prevent other potential teachers making the mistake I made than be paid off. So here goes:

After I had accepted the job and booked flights, they requested that I work at a different centre than the one I had applied for, giving me little choice as I had already booked everything. I found this unprofessional and inconsiderate.

In order to arrive in Vietnam to work for them, I needed a letter of arrangement from the Vietnamese Immigration Authority, which E-Connect said they would provide. They submitted the paperwork late, so the letter arrived too late. I was denied entry to my flight.

I understand that these things happen, and we could have fixed this. But the staff members I spoke to, who were high up in the company (the Assistant Director of the company and the Head of Recruiting), had incredibly poor communication skills and crisis management skills, meaning I was in the airport for six hours with very little actual support.

They seemed to care more about whose fault it was than getting me into the country. I wanted nothing more than to get to Vietnam at this point, and was making suggestions.

But after six hours of trying to work the issue out with them, I left and turned down the job. I feel still working for them after what had happened would have been a mistake.

This meant, as I had moved out of my apartment and quit my job, I was literally homeless and unemployed. I had also suffered losses by booking flights I never took, hotels I wouldn’t have had to stay in, and so on, in order to work for them.

I wrote to the CEO and asked for the company to reimburse some of my losses, but when I finally got a response, she directly blamed me for what happened. Apparently I was supposed to know the visa arrangements better than the company, and inform them of this.

It’s possible the company could be good, and I can’t vouch for what it’s like to actually work for them. However, in my opinion, if a company can’t even get you into the country, it’s not worth the risk.

After the crisis management, communication, organisation, etc., I witnessed I can’t help but feel the company would not have been good even if I had managed to get into the company. These skills are essential in running a school and being a good employer, after all.

If you do accept a job with them, best of luck.