Taipei 101 Consulting: Scam or the Real Deal?

Please read this and protect yourself.

APPEAL: PLEASE CALL 0800-777-101 AND TELL THEM TO PAY THEIR WORKERS!

I started working for Taipei 101 English Consulting back in November, and was promoted shortly thereafter to doing the recruiting, hiring, training, marketing, sales, you name it. When I first started, the owner Mr. Ou 歐仲曦 (actually he always registers his companies under someone else’s name, in this case, Linda 胡芳如, registered as Harrison Consulting 哈利森顧問有限公司) told me that if I put in more effort and more hours I would be rewarded well for it. Before I started working, noticing his large outfit I also queried about his financial backing and he told me not to worry about it, he’s got plenty of backing. I was willing to put in extra hours and extra work for the payoff.

Well, the first thing I noticed is that after being “promoted” I was only given an extra $5000 a month, only equal to another one of the consultants, although I was putting in 9 hours extra per day over him. And he never would sign a contract with me, even up until the last day I was there. Well, in the end, I learned that Mr. Ou does not live up to his word, or his oral contracts. He says that all his employees are perfectly willing to do these hours and this work, no matter whether he pays them or no.

When you first starting working for Mr Ou, according to his “protocol” a.k.a. 101 Ways to Get Fired, payday is the following month on the 16th. And if you start working after the 9th, this month’s pay is added onto next month’s pay and given the following month, which means you won’t see a cent for over 2 months. Not only that, because in January he didn’t give pay out until the end of the month. And in February, for issuing January’s pay, some people didn’t receive their pay until March. In fact, I found out at the end of February that there were still some counter girls who had not received their full December pay, which is a shame. When going to Mr. Ou and asking what’s going on, he says, what do you expect me to do? Sell my $60million house just to pay a few salaries? Well, I’m not the argumentative type of person, but by taking what he said I started to understand a lot more about this guy. When January pay came around, despite the 300 hours I had put in in January including running around town doing flyers and mailboxes all month, he still had the nerve to DEDUCT MY PAY for the January 1st and 2nd HOLIDAY (which if you’ll note were SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, days I do not work for him). I still have not received February’s pay.

Actually, to tell you the truth, no one really knows how much money he has. But he’s obviously getting very low. His cars are dilapidated. There is(was) a branch school down the street for kids, and one of the back rooms was where he was living, and then he tried to make some more of the classrooms living quarters for the workers (in that way he could deduct their pay for the rent–a rent which was not worth the conditions). And he actually took one of the classrooms and put a glass wall near the back and put a bed behind it for one of the consultants to live out of, more like a box I’d say. I feel sorry for the poor guys that are suckered into this crap. And who would feel comfortable sending their kid to a school where half the classrooms are bedrooms for the consultants?

Finally, none of the consultants have ARCs as of now. There are always excuses week after week after week. If you are willing to put yourself on the line like that, then be my guest. One guy who started working in September was waiting for his ARC to get transfered, and when Chinese New Year came around and still didn’t have his ARC, he had overstayed by almost a half year and basically got deported, or whatever they do to you.

Supposedly he has a story about how he started a company like this one in Taichung and made lots of money from it. But nobody knows why he’s not there anymore running the show. Who would leave a profitable business like that? And if he had done so, then why the heck can’t he get anyone ARCs?

If you meet Mr. Ou he’ll tell you this job is very stable because he can offer you many, many hours and you don’t have to run all over the place to get work. AND HE’LL PAY YOU BY MONTHLY SALARY WHICH IS HIS TRAP. But what he doesn’t tell you is that the more hours you work, the less you make per hour. For example, when I calculate it out, I was only making a little over $100 per hour for the month of January. I’m sorry but no westerner is paid sweatshop wages. IN THE END HE’LL TAKE THE DAYS YOU WORKED, SAY 21 DIVIDED BY 30, THE TOTAL DAYS IN A MONTH AND CALCULATE YOUR MONTHLY SALARY ACCORDINGLY.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE, AND PREFERRABLY BY THE HOUR.

I do not trust this person any more. He has not paid his consultants, not in full and not according to law. The labor law states that a person is not supposed to work over 8 hours per day (Article 30). According to Mr. Ou, nobody will be successful unless they work a minimum of 12 hours a day. His mistake is that he doesn’t own those 12 hours of other people’s time. The law goes on to read that in any two-week’s time, one is not supposed to work more than 48 hours. According to him, I worked these hours because I was willing to, however I understood on the condition that I would be repaid, and I wasn’t.

According to articles 23 and 24, employers should pay salaries twice a month, and there’s a pay rate increase for overtime pay. If I calculate it out, this guy owes me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the time I was there. Article 14-6 says that if your employer is doing something against the labor law, you can leave without prior notice or penalty. However, now I’m getting penalized by not getting paid. And it seems this is only going to drag on forever.

So many consultants have left over the past few months and there are still a few new ones there, awaiting their ARCs, awaiting their paychecks, etc. But never get suckered into doing things like flyers (it just doesn’t pay) and other stuff.

Thanks for sharing this information and informing the community about this organization. I’ved notice their ads in the Forumosa classifieds. What about the consultants?

Taipei 101 wrote [quote]payday is the following month on the 16th. [/quote]

The day of the month on which employees are paid is one of the best indicators of a school’s honesty. If payday is on the 5th, the school is probably okay. Likewise, getting paid twice a month is a good sign. The 10th is borderline, and getting paid later than the 10th is clear proof that the school is crap.

Thanks Taipei101, for your timely warning. I hope no more people get suckered by this guy… :frowning:

Edit: I should have written : “Taipei 101, thanks for your comments.

It is not for me to say whether anyone is getting suckered or not. :blush:

Ok, I cannot believe what I just read… I am going to go through the post by taipei101 and get everything straight for you guys, but it may take me a while.

That is true, you, taipei101, hired me.

What’s the point this is done all the time, even in the states.

Isn’t this how it is anytime you are joining a start up company and you want to be part of the company, not just an employee. That’s how it has worked in my experience, and that is also what you told me!

Well, you didn’t have to accept the promotion did you? Were you forced to accept the “raise” and to put in the extra 9 hours? I believe not… Plus that it was Mr. Ou who approached you and offered you the raise, not the other way around as it usually is in other businesses.

The “protocol” was/is shown to everyone before they are even interviewed. If you do not like it, you can walk away and do not even interview.

Like you stated, it is in the protocol, and no, it didn’t equal out to two months, a month and half for me. We are fully aware of this before we start, and even before we interview for the position.

We are required to come in for two mornings each week and hand out flyers and they are not paid as we are made aware of by you before we are interviewed. Also, when I was hired due to my past management and career records I was told by you taipei101 that this was a start up company, that there are plans for expansion, and if everything goes well I could be one of the next managers.

You then proceeded to tell me what would be expected from me if I was seeking to further my career with this company. Which is summed up as bringing in customers. And taipei101, I do not know your past experience (besides getting fired from your past two jobs, I will go into that later), but from mine I am aware that to make it in a company and become management you have to work much more than you get paid for. My first year in the financial industry I put in over 60+ hours a week, and I only made $200/week US before taxes. I did this for a year because I knew where it would get me, and it did. Mr. Ou made it quite clear in what he was offering for those who sought to be in management. If you get your own branch you would recieve up to 40% profit sharing with a chance to buy more in the next 3 years. (that was given to us in a meeting, I still have the notes if anyone would like to see).

What do you think taipei101, he was just going to give you your own branch? No, you wanted to be in management, you wanted your own branch, you wanted to make you 200000/NT month as you told me in my interview so you came in everyday and you were doing what it takes to get there., but then you realized, Mr. Ou was forcing you work all those hours, forcing you to try to build the company up so you could have your own branch. Give it up! No one else has been forced to work all those hours even the ones who expressed their interest in management. You wanted it, you did it.

I rode in his Cadillac, it is not dilapidated. And who would care if it was. I remember when I met Sam Walton at the Walmart in my hometown, he was driving a really dilapidated Ford truck, and had on muddy shoes. But oh well, that was just Sam Walton, not one of the richest men in the world.

[quote]one of the back rooms was where he was living, and then he tried to make some more of the classrooms living quarters for the workers (in that way he could deduct their pay for the rent–a rent which was not worth the conditions). And he actually took one of the classrooms and put a glass wall near the back and put a bed behind it for one of the consultants to live out of, more like a box I’d say. I feel sorry for the poor guys that are suckered into this crap. And who would feel comfortable sending their kid to a school where half the classrooms are bedrooms for the consultants?
[/quote]

Suckered into this crap?? For one they do not pay rent, and it is not deducted from their pay. Second, the gentleman that lives there is extremely grateful. He doesn’t want or need his own apartment, he greatly appreciates the fact that Mr. Ou allows him to stay there. Also, you didn’t mind it all those days when you would use the beds to get some rest in. I know I like the fact that if I am tired or do not feel so great, Mr. Ou allows me to use one of the beds to get some shut eye even when he is paying me.

That’s not true, one consultant actually got his/her work permit last week, and the others are still in process. One permit got rejected because on the 2 year experience letter he received it stated that he was employed for two academic years, and the other because they wanted a copy of his previous contract and work permit.

[quote]One guy who started working in September was waiting for his ARC to get transfered, and when Chinese New Year came around and still didn’t have his ARC, he had overstayed by almost a half year and basically got deported, or whatever they do to you.
[/quote]

This guy you mentioned did not want his work permit, since he said his other school was still holding it. When HE DECIDED to apply for the work permit here, it was brought to his attention that his other school did not keep his work permit as they said they would, but instead dropped it so he had overstayed for months prior to joining this company. Mr. Ou talked to the police and foreign affairs to try to get him out of the jam to no avail.

[quote]If you meet Mr. Ou he’ll tell you this job is very stable because he can offer you many, many hours and you don’t have to run all over the place to get work. AND HE’LL PAY YOU BY MONTHLY SALARY WHICH IS HIS TRAP. But what he doesn’t tell you is that the more hours you work, the less you make per hour. For example, when I calculate it out, I was only making a little over $100 per hour for the month of January. I’m sorry but no westerner is paid sweatshop wages. IN THE END HE’LL TAKE THE DAYS YOU WORKED, SAY 21 DIVIDED BY 30, THE TOTAL DAYS IN A MONTH AND CALCULATE YOUR MONTHLY SALARY ACCORDINGLY.
[/quote]

Our job is and has been stable. He can and will offer you more hours and if they are teaching hours he will either pay you additional for the hours as he does for me or he will let you come in late or take other days off as he does with others. As for you hours, it goes back to what you wanted, you wanted your own branch so you put in your own hours. Again, no one else does this? As for the salary calculation, it is provided to you before you start, if you dont like it, dont work here.

[quote]According to him, I worked these hours because I was willing to, however I understood on the condition that I would be repaid, and I wasn’t.
[/quote]
Not any of us other consultants work the hours you do, nor are we forced to work any additional hours outside of what we agreed on. And the condition that you would be repaid, is the same condition anywhere when you want to become management or make the large sums of money. Work your ass off and get the company going and you will be repaid. I never saw this job advertised a get rich quick job, yet I was informed by yourself and Mr. Ou that if I come in and help the business grow that I will be paid in the long run. I understood and still understand that this option is open and if I decide to do it I understand the work that needs to be done on my part and I do not expect any additional hourly rate, overtime, etc…
Unfort. taipei101 for most of us, fortunes are not free. It takes time and commitment to get there.
As for the laws you quoted, that is fine. If you are like me and many other English teachers here in Taiwan if you just want to teach that is fine. Work your 8 hours/day or 48 hours every two weeks as you quoted and take home your pre-determined pay at the end of the month. But if you want what you wanted, I am sorry. It takes much more than the hours the law states to get there.

What the two that went back to Canada. I have been here since January and those are the only ones to leave. Mr. Ou even helped one of them get their ticket back.

Sorry for the drawn out reply, but it really irritated me to read this. Since my employment began here, Mr. Ou has been very understanding and accomodating to many of the consultants here. I would not have bothered, but I couldn’t believe the things that taipei101 has posted.

cw.jc. I haven’t read your post yet, apart from the first line. However, I sincerely hope Mike outed himself in his post, or I will be proposing a ban for you. Outing is not permitted. Read the rules.

[quote]And he actually took one of the classrooms and put a glass wall near the back and put a bed behind it for one of the consultants to live out of, more like a box I’d say. I feel sorry for the poor guys that are suckered into this crap. And who would feel comfortable sending their kid to a school where half the classrooms are bedrooms for the consultants?
[/quote]

DON"T BELIEVE ALL YOU HEAR!
I’m the guy whom he is talking about living there,and I like it! Its very comfortable,and all I need! I think Mr. Ou is great and I really thank him for his kindness to me. Whatever we need he tries to come through with and makes teaching here in Taiwan enjoyable. What the author says is his own opinion and not mine!

Yes, It was Taipei101 that wrote the classifieds, and that is how I found my job.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … ht=#318847

His first post he posted his name.

***OOPS was supposed to be a PM to sandman

Anyway, if they start offering free housing in the Taipei 101 building I might be willing to sign up.

Fight ! Fight ! Fight ! Fight ! :smiley:

I’ll give you 3-1 against on the disgruntled employee of the problem gambler over the outraged happy employee.

As promised: :blush:

I hope there is some paperwork involved here. Working hard for verbal promises means that I will be calling you up to sell you a wonderful building called the World Trade Center. A two for one special too! Great views to match!

I am not outrage. I just know that this website is viewed by many people here in Taiwan and when one person can come a post something getting replies as such:

I believe the accussed deserves to be defended.

[quote]But still, I think the name should be taken out of the rebuttal. It’s not neccessary. If cw.jc does that, I’ll replace this post with an
[/quote]

Done, if I missed any let me know.

Outing aside, (if it was an outing) I think it was good for cw.jc to make his post, it’s good to see an opposing view of this little debacle. And may the truth come out in a full-blown forumosan verbal brawl drawn out over several days!

So all that stuff from the OP about Ou’s gambling, his skipping out of his obligations in Taichung, etc. were lies? That’s some serious accusations and counter accusations there.

Question for you, I do not understand so please feel me in.

I understand outing is prohibited, but why can someone (not just this example) post whatever they like using real names and real companies.

It is known that many people use this site as a place to seek employment etc… What if I didn’t see the post. The companies name would have been know as well as the owners and anyone who would have read this would not dare go close to the company.

What gives someone the right to blast a company with real names, but not allow me to come back with real names? Please understand I am not talking about just this example, I have seen it happen many times on here.

A school is a business, and thus it can be reviewed and critiqued, just like a restaurant, a newspaper editorial, or a movie. If someone says that Manager X likes gay pornos featuring left-handed Lithuanian archers, then that comment is probably beyond the scope of a school review and can be left out or deleted. Otherwise, anything that happens relevant to the school is fair game.

Yes.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. This is the most important service the Teaching Forum provides.

We have seen threads like this before and usually the real story comes out in the end. If the OP is right then this site and his posts have done a great service to the teaching community in Taiwan. If cw.jc is right then the company in question comes out looking that much better.

The free flow of ideas, perceptions, and opinions usually insures that the truth comes out…and that makes everybody a winner.

In all fairness I will change the title of the thread.

Durins Bane
Co-Moderator
Teaching Forum