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Yelp rejects complaint from fired single mother in latest high-profile public spat Yelp rejects complaint from fired single mother in latest high-profile public spat
(6 months later)
The reviews site Yelp has tweeted the attendance record of a single mother it fired in the latest episode of another high-profile public spat with a former employee.The reviews site Yelp has tweeted the attendance record of a single mother it fired in the latest episode of another high-profile public spat with a former employee.
The company was responding to a letter that Jaymee Senigaglia had published online in which she claims to have been mistreated by the company.The company was responding to a letter that Jaymee Senigaglia had published online in which she claims to have been mistreated by the company.
“Unfortunately we had to part ways with Ms. Senigaglia due to repeated absences (10 of her 59 workdays with Yelp) despite many exceptions to accommodate her needs,” the company said in a statement on Twitter.“Unfortunately we had to part ways with Ms. Senigaglia due to repeated absences (10 of her 59 workdays with Yelp) despite many exceptions to accommodate her needs,” the company said in a statement on Twitter.
pic.twitter.com/IkYKaVIZ56pic.twitter.com/IkYKaVIZ56
The company has used increasingly aggressive tactics to respond to two aggrieved employees who have written scathing, high-profile open letters in the past two weeks to Yelp, a struggling reviews and listings site.The company has used increasingly aggressive tactics to respond to two aggrieved employees who have written scathing, high-profile open letters in the past two weeks to Yelp, a struggling reviews and listings site.
The first was 25-year-old Talia Ben-Ora, who wrote about her nearly impossible task of making ends meet in the Bay Area on a Yelp customer service salary of $1,466 a month. She was promptly fired hours after her post, though Yelp claimed her firing was unrelated.The first was 25-year-old Talia Ben-Ora, who wrote about her nearly impossible task of making ends meet in the Bay Area on a Yelp customer service salary of $1,466 a month. She was promptly fired hours after her post, though Yelp claimed her firing was unrelated.
And now Jaymee Senigaglia has written about her challenges of being a single mom and an employee at the tech firm, which had just fired her.And now Jaymee Senigaglia has written about her challenges of being a single mom and an employee at the tech firm, which had just fired her.
“I am the single mother who had Yelp’s back because I thought they had mine,” Senigaglia wrote in her letter, called “Yelp Fired A Single Mother Today: Me”. “I am the single mother who was the top of my class in training for you Jeremy and absolutely did not let you down but the way you treat parents as an employer is a little confusing.”“I am the single mother who had Yelp’s back because I thought they had mine,” Senigaglia wrote in her letter, called “Yelp Fired A Single Mother Today: Me”. “I am the single mother who was the top of my class in training for you Jeremy and absolutely did not let you down but the way you treat parents as an employer is a little confusing.”
Related: Silicon Valley's poorest workers tell government 'we can't live like this'
“I’m educated. I am capable. I am not looking for hand outs. I do not rely on the state to care for my son,” Senigaglia wrote. “My family needed me and you fired me Yelp. And while you use our lunch breaks for company wide meetings to keep spreading anti-extortion campaigns, let’s not forget everyone: #YelpCares.”“I’m educated. I am capable. I am not looking for hand outs. I do not rely on the state to care for my son,” Senigaglia wrote. “My family needed me and you fired me Yelp. And while you use our lunch breaks for company wide meetings to keep spreading anti-extortion campaigns, let’s not forget everyone: #YelpCares.”
Two weeks earlier, Ben-Ora described how she couldn’t survive in the Bay Area on Yelp’s customer service salary: “I haven’t bought groceries since I started this job. Not because I’m lazy, but because I got this ten pound bag of rice before I moved here and my meals at home (including the one I’m having as I write this) consist, by and large, of that. Because I can’t afford to buy groceries,” she wrote.Two weeks earlier, Ben-Ora described how she couldn’t survive in the Bay Area on Yelp’s customer service salary: “I haven’t bought groceries since I started this job. Not because I’m lazy, but because I got this ten pound bag of rice before I moved here and my meals at home (including the one I’m having as I write this) consist, by and large, of that. Because I can’t afford to buy groceries,” she wrote.
“Bread is a luxury to me, even though you’ve got a whole fridge full of it on the 8th floor. But we’re not allowed to take any of that home because it’s for at-work eating. Of which I do a lot. Because 80 percent of my income goes to paying my rent. Isn’t that ironic? Your employee for your food delivery app that you spent $300m to buy can’t afford to buy food. That’s gotta be a little ironic, right?”“Bread is a luxury to me, even though you’ve got a whole fridge full of it on the 8th floor. But we’re not allowed to take any of that home because it’s for at-work eating. Of which I do a lot. Because 80 percent of my income goes to paying my rent. Isn’t that ironic? Your employee for your food delivery app that you spent $300m to buy can’t afford to buy food. That’s gotta be a little ironic, right?”
The letter started a storm, with many lashing out at Ben-Ora for complaining publicly.The letter started a storm, with many lashing out at Ben-Ora for complaining publicly.
Stefanie Williams wrote “An Open Letter to Millennials Who Write Open Letters” and included sarcastic lines like: “It sounds like you’ve hit some real post Haitian earthquake style hard times.”Stefanie Williams wrote “An Open Letter to Millennials Who Write Open Letters” and included sarcastic lines like: “It sounds like you’ve hit some real post Haitian earthquake style hard times.”
“Work ethic is not something that develops from entitlement,” she said. Williams experienced her own bump of celebrity after that, getting asked to appear on Fox News and stirring a conversation about millennial entitlement – a favourite topic of conservative media and TV.“Work ethic is not something that develops from entitlement,” she said. Williams experienced her own bump of celebrity after that, getting asked to appear on Fox News and stirring a conversation about millennial entitlement – a favourite topic of conservative media and TV.
Related: Google 'bug' buries competitors Yelp and TripAdvisor
The friction at Yelp shows a growing Silicon Valley divide between highly paid programmers and a massive low-paid labor force. For all its startup trappings and smartphone location-tracking abilities, Yelp works like the Yellow Pages with a website. And the Yellow Pages takes a lot of human maintenance – phone calls, data entry – and an enormous customer support apparatus (thousands of employees, the company says) with people constantly trawling to keep listings up to date and customers happy.The friction at Yelp shows a growing Silicon Valley divide between highly paid programmers and a massive low-paid labor force. For all its startup trappings and smartphone location-tracking abilities, Yelp works like the Yellow Pages with a website. And the Yellow Pages takes a lot of human maintenance – phone calls, data entry – and an enormous customer support apparatus (thousands of employees, the company says) with people constantly trawling to keep listings up to date and customers happy.
Yelp has been struggling, with stock down more than 78% since its high in March 2014. The firm cut revenue projections last year as chairman Max Levchin stepped down and growth has fallen. A study commissioned by Yelp claimed that Google’s search engine appears to be downgrading Yelp results in favor of its own reviews and listings service.Yelp has been struggling, with stock down more than 78% since its high in March 2014. The firm cut revenue projections last year as chairman Max Levchin stepped down and growth has fallen. A study commissioned by Yelp claimed that Google’s search engine appears to be downgrading Yelp results in favor of its own reviews and listings service.