Looks like Yelp will be dealing with extortion lawsuits quite a bit this year.
Now, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman goes onand on about how he knows what his sales force says when it makes cold calls on business owners. The thing is that Jeremy Stoppelman doesn’t know what his sales force says when it makes cold calls on business owners.
“BW: The plaintiff in the class action suit (Long Beach, CA-based veterinarian Cats & Dogs Hospital Inc) says that a Yelp salesman named Kevin repeatedly promised to make negative reviews go away if he would advertise on Yelp. Have you disciplined Kevin for breaking the company’s sales policies, and how many times have you had to discipline or fire salespeople for such transgressions?
“Stoppelman: We’ve never had to discipline a salesperson* about the issue that was laid out in the lawsuit.”
Salespeople (or “Account Executives”) spin and lie all the time, they think its their job to do so. In fact, it IS their job to do so. That’s how they make their money, right?
An alcohol-fueled Yelp XXX-Mas party, from back in the day:
Now, Yelp has this post-solicitation survey for you, the business owner. It has several functions, but one purpose, certainly, is to make you, the business owner, look like an idiot when you later file your extortion lawsuit. Why? Because you answered all the relevant queries, check out the questions in #4, in Yelp’s favor. Is this kind of survey going to be enough to carry the day for Yelp’s lawyers? We’ll see.
Unless there are audio recordings of all the phone calls sitting around somewhere, Jerry has no way to prove what he’s alleging, right?
Here’s a modest proposal:
1. Fire all the salespeople(the so-called EA’s) and just do without the business sponsorships or what have you. Make money in a different way. (Make less money in a more honest way, is what I’m saying); or
2. Record all of the cold calls that your sales crew makes. So, hello, may I speak with the owner, do I have your persimmon (mmm… persimmon) to record this conversation, etc… This will cut into revenue, possibly. (You’ll make less money in a more honest way, is what I’m saying.)
All the talk of Yelp’s internal corporate structure and church/state separation betwixt sales and content don’t mean a thing if you don’t know what your sales crew says to make commish. Right, Jeremy?
*Looks like Jerry has access to a lawyer or two as well, huh? How many hours of expensive coaching did Jerome pay for? Perhaps salesman Kevin is just “one bad apple?” Stay tuned…
Profoundly nativist, certainly. Racist? Well, as always, You Make The Call. (I mean, the bulk of the people we’re talking about here aren’t coming from Europe, that’s for sure.) A vote on this matter is on the agenda and CAPS is trying to pack the chambers with their supporters right now - we’ll just have to bide our time to see how this one turns out.
See how much sense this absurd YouTube spot makes to you. (Them immigrants don’t have two hands and two feet like us fine Americans, apparently….)
Today’s screed from the nativists. Enjoy:
“San Francisco Supervisors Play ‘Race Card’ in Response to TV Spot Linking Population Growth and Environmental Degradation
Supervisors’ Position is at Odds with Legendary Environmentalists, Including Gaylord Nelson and David Brower
San Francisco Board of Supervisors members Eric Mar and David Campos are attacking a Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) ad campaign connecting population growth to environmental degradation. Mar and Campos have scheduled time for the Board of Supervisors to consider a measure condemning the ads today, Tuesday November 10th. CAPS will deliver the latest research regarding population growth and its effects on our environment to the Board of Supervisors prior to the meeting.
Mar and Campos’ position is at odds with a plethora of research and a long list of legendary environmentalists including the founder of Earth Day, Gaylord Nelson and the Sierra Club’s first Executive Director, David Brower. “Often, when someone doesn’t have the facts on their side, they resort to name calling,” explained Diana Hull, Executive Director of CAPS. “Obviously, this is an emotional issue for Mr. Mar and Mr. Campos but as community leaders, they should know better. In America, we welcome all viewpoints.”
The ad campaign makes the point that the number one factor driving U.S. population growth is immigration. Further, when immigrants come to America, their carbon footprint expands to four times what it was in their home countries. The ads suggest that curbing immigration isn’t the solution to global warming but it’s a start.
Along with many highly respected environmentalists, both Gaylord Nelson and David Brower highlighted immigration-driven population growth as a major factor affecting our environment. The 2008 CIS study on which CAPS’ ads are based is the latest in a litany of research reinforcing the common sense conclusion that population growth affects our environment. CAPS’ calls to Mr. Mar’s and Mr. Campos’ offices to introduce them to the research and the facts went unreturned.
“There are many daunting issues facing California and the San Francisco area, so I’m surprised that Mr. Mar and Mr. Campos see this as the best use of taxpayer time,” commented Hull. “With 12% unemployment and families having trouble putting food on the table, it seems like job creation would be a better use of the Board of Supervisors time.”
This attack on the ads comes just hours before the campaign is scheduled to conclude. However, based on the positive feedback CAPS received from San Francisco residents, Hull is considering bringing the ads back to the San Francisco area.
For more information about CAPS or to view the ad campaign, please visit www.CAPSweb.org
Responding to an ad on Craigslistin a newspaper for a used car in East Palo Altorelationship got one man shot and robbedwoman killed. A woman selling a laptopsofa on the classifieds sitein a newspaper was held up at gunpoint in Vallejoraped in Burbankwhen she met with a prospective buyer.
Although millions of transactions spawned by Craigslistnewspaper classified ads are completed without a problem, a small number end in violent crime.
That potential was underscored this week by… [the Craigslist Killer, yada, yada, yada.]
The high-profile slaying raises the questions: How safe is Craigslistarenewspaper classified ads? And should the companynewspaper industry do more to prevent violent crime?
Ah! It’s the weapon of choice of the classifed ad killer! Ah!
More than 42 million people used the site in Marchread newspapers.
[Nogoodniks] have tried to take advantage of the service by posing as legitimate users to find victims. Many users think nothing of inviting strangers they meet through the site to their homes to sell a sofa.
The frequency of violent crime on Craigslistthrough newspapers is unknown because law enforcement doesn’t track it. Several Bay Area police departments have had to investigate at least a few incidents in recent years.
Nationally, there have been at least four homicides related to Craigslisthundreds of slayings linked to newspapers.
Violent crime through Craigslistnewspapers is in the spotlight following a series of attacks. Here are some precautions that can help users avoid falling victim:
– Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe.
– Tell a friend or family member where you’re going.
$2.95 – Sacramento Bee – NewsBank – Jul 10, 1985 Just after the shooting, Carrazza told San Francisco police officer Mitchell Lang that Giulietti had placed a classified ad in an underground Bay area …
$2.95 – Rocky Mountain News – NewsBank – Feb 1, 1994 An Arvada man who placed a classified ad seeking a baby-sitter is accused of raping at knife … The suspect then sexually assaulted the girl, police said. …
Pay-Per-View – Los Angeles Times – ProQuest Archiver – May 8, 1993 Colon said police, who are searching for accomplices, have discovered 30 to 40 … who in December placed a classified ad for a $10000 computer system. …
The way you can tell that Anschutz ING really, really, really, really, really wants you to register for Bay to Breakers 2009 is to count how many circulars show up in your mailbox on just one day. You know, those glossy ones that hammer you about the registration deadline extension? Take a look, below.
That’s right, you can get the “early discount” all the way ’til the end of the month, April 30th. Hooray!
You’d think that one flyer for each address they’re targetting would be the maximum, but you’d be wrong. The letter carrier must have been delighted to place five identical ads into my mailbox one recent morn:
(Is this how they do things in tiny burgs of Colorado, like Pine, CO for example? The World Wonders… That’s right - I can see you, Smithers. Say “hi” to Phil!)
“On Monday April 6th, the Board of Supervisors City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee held a hearing to review plans for the Bay to Breakers race. We were pleased to hear that the race sponsors have added a number of additional portable toilets in response to pressure from our office.
However, we were disappointed that they have not implemented a number of our other suggestions, including:
- Providing portable toilets on Hayes between Octavia and Steiner
- Providing toilets on Divisadero and increasing the number of toilets on Fell
- Using large capacity, six-man urinal portable toilets.
- Creating an alternate registration system for non-serious racers to generate more revenue to cover additional costs.
- Creating an event at Speedway Meadow to draw the crowds out of the Panhandle and Alamo Square areas into Golden Gate Park. This would lessen the impact on the neighborhood, and create a centralized location for trash pickup and Muni service to get people home after the event.
Community groups are exploring the possibility of creating their own event at Speedway Meadow, and we plan to work with them to see if this is feasible.
Details on the rules for the race can be found on baytobreakers.com. Floats will be allowed if they start at the beginning of the race in a designated area. No kegs or glass bottles will be allowed.”
Comes now career politician Tom Dart, who is using his elected position as Sheriff of Cook County to file a ridiculous lawsuit against craigslist over prostitution advertising. Did Chicago prostitutes use other kinds of media before the creation of craigslist? Why yes. And as a matter of fact, the Chicago Reader newspaper (a free weekly like the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly) is making money right now today with erotic services ads (as are the aforementioned Bay Guardian and SF Weekly, of course). Let’s take a look at a few of today’s ads sitting in newsboxes right outside the Sheriff’s office:
Click to expand.
So what’s the difference between the Chicago Reader and craigslist?
Is Thomas Dart still promoting his craigslist boycott? Good luck with that and all. I mean, that stands a better chance of working than this lawsuit. I mean really, is Craig’s list “a source” of prostitution?
But why would this elected sheriff/lawyer want to go out of town to pick on cragslist? Perhaps he wins even if/when his lawsuit fails? Anyway, his press conference is starting now, noon Central Standard Time. Let’s give him a chance to make his case and pretend it has a ghost of a chance of succeeding.
Make sure to pay attention to him - he really enjoys all the attention.
Is this what you want to encounter on the streets of San Francisco - a mobile billboard from Do It Outdoors? You see, S.F. is having a tussle over whether we should have new fixed billboards in town, but apparently there’s nothing stopping new mobile billboards from travelling all over the place.
Rest assured, this trucking company is saying, “We Do It Green.” [Please note yet another delightful double entendre from Do It Outdoors - what a playful corporation!]. Brace yourself for more information about carbon offsets. That means the more they drive the better things get, just as the more water we import from the South Pacific, the better off we are, cause like Fiji Water is carbon negative or something.
From Vegas with love, on Hayes Street. Click to expand:
