employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

EF (Education First)

Engaged Employer

Tour Consultant - Stay away! Especially recent graduates - Tour Consultant EF (Education First) Employee Review

1.0
May 24, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly people and cool office. Nice perks like time off and joining students and teachers on international tours. Great being in this field and selling life-changing experiences for kids. Too bad the office is a revolving door and managers hire people just to fire them after making them work way too hard for much too little pay.

Cons

I was hired with a group of about 15 others. 3 of these were on the same team I was. We all put in a ton of effort, worked long hours, did our best to learn the job, etc. Everyone was doing pretty well although drained from so much time (and for very little pay! I did the math and made $12/hour with my salary before tax). After 3 months, our manager fired all 4 of us with no real explanation other than "it's not going to work". Keep in mind that about 2-2.5 months in she hired another 3-5 people for the team. Seems to me like she was trying to scare the new hires to get them to work extra hard. I looked them up on LinkedIn and none of them were there after 6 months. The pay was an absolute joke for the amount of time and effort put in. Like I said above, $12/hour is completely unreasonable for the type of role this was. Also, commissions were very small - don't expect much from that, especially since there isn't much you can do in a few months before they let you go. Most of the good reviews on here exist because the management pressured people to do so - don't buy into it, especially if you are straight out of college. Employers don't like to see that you worked at a place for just 3 months and it's not a good way to start, or advance your career. After the whole "honeymoon, welcome to the team" phase, you will be relentlessly hounded to increase numbers and work 10-12 hour days, especially when you see the turnover and how people are fired.

Explore other reviews about EF (Education First)

5.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good training, good communication especially for a remote position, flexible, great management

Cons

Scheduling and staffing effectively could be challenging due to unpredictable nature of emergency response, which caused both understaffed shifts and overstaffed shifts. In addition, phone-based customer service can be emotionally challenging - customers in stressful situations can often be difficult to deal with.

avatar
EF (Education First) Response
2mo
Hearing that the training, communication, and management stood out, especially in a remote setting, is really meaningful. Thank you for sharing! As you mentioned, the nature of emergency response is inherently unpredictable. Our phone-based support in high stress situations can be central to defining the experience for travelers, and the people who handle it are a big part of that. We’re proud of the team you were part of and hope the skills you built here continue to serve you well.
4.0
Jun 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get to choose your tour and recruit the students you want to bring. The paid chaperone ratio is 6:1, so it is very manageable. The tours are great and the local experts are wonderful.

Cons

Company support is variable. There is high turnover and new consultants are very sales motivated and don't always get the nuances of your school or community group. I have had some WONDERFUL concusltants, but they have always been promoted before I get to work with them again.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All