Benesse Puns

I was wondering if anyone has worked for Benesse more recently. I had been looking for more detailed or fresher threads about the company. I am aware they are formerly Minerva and comes from the same company as Berlitz. But there isn't much I had been able to gain besides the few information posted on a thread a few years ago and very few reviews on Glassdoor.

• I had an interview with Benesse BE Studio and am considering taking the position due to the convenient location and average salary + insurance benefits . They are the usual eikaiwa that puts priority on customer satisfaction – my interviewer didn't really put up any façade when it comes to explaining how absences, lateness, and sudden leave from the company can turn away customers or make clients move to another school or get the school close altogether.

• They also have the another eikaiwa tendency of sending a teacher to another school when one teacher calls in sick, with varying commute times. There is also a possibility of having to commute to 2 schools (not sure if more) within a day, although commuting time is also counted as work time.

• Their official works hours are lesser (35 hours) than their competitors and one is enrolled in social insurance, accident insurance, unemployment insurance (not sure if i got this last one correctly). They don't have any relocation assistance because they said they are not the ones to "force a teacher to live where the company tells them to."

That is as much as I could share at the moment. I was wondering more about the actual work conditions (students' behavior, possible stress level, any possible work outside work hours, commute time, etc.) and if their training is very strict or if anyone had not been able to get the contract due to their training evaluation (if this is a possibility, then on what grounds does one count as a poor performer)?

My post may sound a bit more on the negative side, but I just really want to have clearer idea of both the positive and negative aspects and brace myself for any situation that may come up if I choose the company.

(Also, I know some people on reddit tend to easily respond with criticisms or even downright hatred as if waiting to school someone on how clueless they might be or waiting to talk badly about a company. Kindly consider that all our circumstances and intentions are different when working for a particular company. I hope to keep this space open for educating others about the actual conditions of th

I don't know the official name of the program, but it's the one year thing from Benesse where they send you monthly toys, books, etc for babies/toddlers. It's approximately 23,000 yen for the year.

Thoughts on this program from those who have done it? It looks fun and the toys seem decent. We have a few from friends who outgrew them and they are still holding up well. Books look good, too.

It's an expensive package. I know we could get a year of toys and books at a fraction of a price at Hard Off (which we rely on quite heavily already). Just thought it would be fun to give the kid something to look forward to each month. Maybe it's best saved for 2022 when he turns 2?

Your experiences and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!