I had a stressful, but thankfully limited experience with e-connect. Things started off badly. The provided housing located above and behind the office is anything but ideal. No privacy and very noisy. I’ve been teaching in Asia for a few years and cockroaches and rats are common, but our building was filled with them. Doors have chewed holes and packs of rats were regularly spotted in the kitchen and bathrooms. The shared bathrooms were dismal. Toilets with no seats, we had a single working shower with warm water for 10 people located on the same floor as a classroom. It was a bad joke.

Everything about them was haphazard. The evening after arriving in Vietnam, I was teaching classes. I was provided with no instruction, expectations, or even a simple guide. I had a full schedule my first week. They just have a pretty disorganized way of doing things. With the exception of a single teacher, no one was interested in explaining the text books despite repeated requests. The only feedback received was after an observation. It basically consisted of negative comments about my teaching. When I asked the observing manager what to change, he just questioned my experience as a teacher. Then proceeded to tell me I must not have experience in classrooms.

The office staff and teachers were obviously tense. There were ongoing problems with receiving pay on time or the full contracted amounts as promised. Don’t get me wrong, the staff and teachers were extremely friendly, but obviously distracted. The schedules were chaotic and the other teachers and myself received little support or help.

The lack professionalism was overwhelming among management. When The director threatened teachers with police action for leaving and a $500 fine despite no contract ever being signed, this was the final straw for me. Avoid them. If an offer is too good to be true, it usually is.