Berlitz (Japan) Reviews

Berlitz Japan like all other major chain English schools in Japan still pays the same that they did 40 years ago. Unfortunately, they've introduced new contracts that require today's new hires to do 50% more lessons to earn the same pay people were getting in the 1980s. The remaining "lifers" who have been around for decades all have better contracts than any new hire can ever obtain. The company is somewhat hostile towards those lifers, ostensibly to get them to resign so they can be replaced by someone on a newer "work more for less" contract. Due to contract limitations it's technically a part-time job, which means it won't be counted as work experience by those companies and institutions in Japan that only respect full-time employment. You're also unlikely to be given cooperation if you want to get on the Shakai Hoken health insurance system, which is something the Union has complained about to no avail. The company advertises itself as a cut above the other English conversation schools, citing a higher grade of employee and a superior teaching method. In reality Berlitz Japan hires and employs the same unqualified, inexperienced "Fresh Off the Boat" 20-somethings as any other English company. The Berlitz Method *is* good, but in my experience it's the rare instructor who actually follows it consistently. Many students complain of instructors who just talk at them about their hobbies, interests, personal politics and beliefs. Some even criticize Japan or put students on the spot to defend Japanese policy. I can confirm this kind of unprofessionalism is not rare. Some of the "Interesting Characters" I mentioned in the pros section are the bad kind. It's almost inevitable that one of your fellow instructors (and possibly your supervisor) will have a bad attitude and/or some sort of glaring social dysfunction. Many of the customers are sent by their bosses or mothers and don't want to be there on an evening or a Saturday. There are also occasional creeps, weirdos and jerks you get to enjoy being stuck in a tiny room with. The kids lessons often come down to a group of mothers dumping their kids off so they can go get coffee, or stand in the hallway gossiping and smiling through the window as their kids wrestle around on the floor and the instructor, who has little to no classroom management training or experience, tries in vain to control them. Berlitz Japan is owned by a corporation considered by some to be a "Black Company." Berlitz itself is run by people who are disconnected from the schools and seem strangely clueless about how to do their jobs. During my handful of years in the company there were numerous hyped advertising campaigns that failed horribly, and highly-placed people who would do things like show up at a school, frown at how some of the lights in the rooms were disconnected to save electricity costs (the lighting was still extreme), and order them restored "to please customers," and then disappear never to be seen by anyone working there for years to come. I've heard from people who remained working there that the company didn't handle the pandemic well, although I can't personally confirm this.

HQ leadership has no idea what happens at the daily operational level, and makes decisions based on poorly-conceived ideas tried repeatedly and failed repeatedly from past generations. Employee evaluation criteria are often based on key performance indicators unrelated to the employee's role or outside of their control - it's not unusual for successful schools to be punished because other schools are falling behind, or excellent teachers to be scored low because of the failings of others. The company has no growth potential and much of the organization remains top-heavy. LC management-styles differ significantly between East and West Japan - it's like there are two different companies. The differences are sadly irreconcilable. The Company Culture is generally toxic, with a few exceptions, and a big part of the company culture is people agreeing and verbally supporting ideas/initiatives they know are disastrous instead of voicing their concerns or insights directly. They do this because they believe that not disagreeing is equal to acting professional. This results in HQ management repeating mistakes and giving the green light to projects that create more costly bureaucracy and reduce successful customer engagement and employee satisfaction. Sales reps habitually makes unrealistic promises with customers that cannot be kept, resulting in low customer satisfaction and disappointment even before the instructor begins their first day of class.