[eatthishomie]

https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-le....70hxeeaqn

The entitlement practically radiates out of the computer monitor here. You mean entry-level jobs suck? NO! Living in an expensive city is a horrible idea if you have an entry-level job? SHOCKER.

Note what happens in the update. Is anyone surprised?

Quote:

An Open Letter To My CEO

Dear Jeremy,

When I was a kid, back in the 90s when Spice Girls and owning a pager were #goals, I dreamed of having a car and a credit card and my own apartment. I told my 8-year old self, This is what it means to be an adult.

Now, seventeen years later, I have those things. But boy did I not anticipate a decade and a half ago that a car and a credit card and an apartment would all be symbols of stress, not success.

I left college, having majored in English literature, with a dream to work in media. It was either that or go to law school. Or become a teacher. But I didn’t want to become a cliche or drown in student loans, see. I also desperately needed to leave where I was living — I could get into the details of why, but to sum up: I wanted to die every single day of my life and it took me several years to realize it was because of the environment I was in. So, I picked the next best place: somewhere close to my dad, since we’ve never gotten to have much of a relationship and I like the weather up here. I found a job (I was hired the same day as my interview, in fact) and I put a bunch of debt on a shiny new credit card to afford the move.

Coming out of college without much more than freelancing and tutoring under my belt, I felt it was fair that I start out working in the customer support section of Yelp/Eat24 before I’d be qualified to transfer to media. Then, after I had moved and got firmly stuck in this apartment with this debt, I was told I’d have to work in support for an entire year before I would be able to move to a different department. A whole year answering calls and talking to customers just for the hope that someday I’d be able to make memes and twitter jokes about food. If you follow me on twitter, which you don’t, you’d know that these are things I already do. But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s get back to the situation at hand, shall we?

So here I am, 25-years old, balancing all sorts of debt and trying to pave a life for myself that doesn’t involve crying in the bathtub every week. Every single one of my coworkers is struggling. They’re taking side jobs, they’re living at home. One of them started a GoFundMe because she couldn’t pay her rent. She ended up leaving the company and moving east, somewhere the minimum wage could double as a living wage. Another wrote on those neat whiteboards we’ve got on every floor begging for help because he was bound to be homeless in two weeks. Fortunately, someone helped him out. At least, I think they did. I actually haven’t seen him in the past few months. Do you think he’s okay? Another guy who got hired, and ultimately let go, was undoubtedly homeless. He brought a big bag with him and stocked up on all those snacks you make sure are on every floor (except on the weekends when the customer support team is working, because we’re what makes Eat24 24-hours, 7 days a week but the team who comes to stock up those snacks in the early hours during my shift are only there Mondays through Fridays, excluding holidays. They get holidays and weekends off! Can you imagine?). By and large, our floor pummels through those snacks the fastest and has to roam other floors to find something to eat. Is it because we’re gluttons? Maybe. If you starve a pack of wolves and toss them a single steak, will they rip each other to shreds fighting over it? Definitely.

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. 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 $300 million to buy can’t afford to buy food. That’s gotta be a little ironic, right?

Let’s talk about those benefits, though. They’re great. I’ve got vision, dental, the normal health insurance stuff — and as far as I can tell, I don’t have to pay for any of it! Except the copays. $20 to see a doctor or get an eye exam or see a therapist or get medication. Twenty bucks each is pretty neat, if spending twenty dollars didn’t determine whether or not you could afford to get to work the next week.

Did I tell you about how I got stuck in the east bay because my credit card, which amazingly allows cash withdrawals, kept getting declined and I didn’t have enough money on my BART Clipper card to get to work? Did I tell you that my manager, with full concern and sympathy for my situation, suggested I just drive through FastTrak and get a $35 ticket for it that I could pay at a later time, just so I could get to work? Did I tell you that an employee at CVS overheard my phone call with my manager and then gave me, straight from his wallet, the six dollars I needed to drive into work? Do you think CVS pays more than Yelp? I worked a job similar to one at CVS. A manager spends half an hour training you on the cash register, you watch a video, maybe take a brief quiz, and you’re fully trained to do the entire job. Did you know that after getting hired back in August, I’m still being trained for the same position I’ve got? But Marcus at CVS has six dollars in his wallet, and I’m picking up coins on the street trying to figure out how I’ll be able to pay him back.

Speaking of that whole training thing, do you know what the average retention rate of your lowest employees (like myself) are? Because I haven’t been here very long, but it seems like every week the faces change. Do you think it’s because the pay your company offers is designed to attract young people with no responsibilities, sort of like the CIA? Except these people don’t even throw away their trash, because they still live at home and this is their very first job and they don’t have to take an aptitude test like at the CIA. Do you know how many cash coupons I used to give out before I was properly trained? In one month, I gave out over $600 to customers for a variety of issues. Now, since getting more training, I’ve given out about $15 in the past three months because I’ve been able to de-escalate messed up situations using just my customer service skills. Do you think that’s coincidence? Or is the goal to have these free bleeders who throw money at angry customers to calm them down set the standard for the whole company? Do you think there’s any point in training a customer service agent to learn and employ customer service skills? Or is it better to attract those first-time employees with their poor habits and lack of work ethic with the same wage part-time employees at See’s Candies make for standing by the door in a stupid outfit and handing out free chocolate? Do you think those free chocolates cost $600 a month per employee? Have you ever seen an angry See’s Candies customer? You know what I could do with $600 extra a month? For starters, I probably wouldn’t have to take money from Marcus at CVS just to get to work.

Will you pay my phone bill for me? I just got a text from T-Mobile telling me my bill is due. I got paid yesterday ($733.24, bi-weekly) but I have to save as much of that as possible to pay my rent ($1245) for my apartment that’s 30 miles away from work because it was the cheapest place I could find that had access to the train, which costs me $5.65 one way to get to work. That’s $11.30 a day, by the way. I make $8.15 an hour after taxes. I also have to pay my gas and electric bill. Last month it was $120. According to the infograph on PG&E’s website, that cost was because I used my heater. I’ve since stopped using my heater. Have you ever slept fully clothed under several blankets just so you don’t get a cold and have to miss work? Have you ever drank a liter of water before going to bed so you could fall asleep without waking up a few hours later with stomach pains because the last time you ate was at work? I woke up today with stomach pains. I made myself a bowl of rice.

Look, I’ll make you a deal. You don’t have to pay my phone bill. I’ll just disconnect my phone. And I’ll disconnect my home internet, too, even though it’s the only way I can do work for my freelance gig that I haven’t been able to do since I moved here because I’m constantly too stressed to focus on anything but going to sleep as soon as I’m not at work. Should I sell my car? It’s not my car, actually, it’s my grandpa’s. But the back left tire is flat and the front right headlight is out and the registration is due to be renewed in April and I already know I can’t afford any of that. I haven’t even gotten an oil change since I started this job (in August). But maybe I could find someone on Craigslist who won’t mind all of that because they’ll look at the dark circles under my eyes and realize I need the cash more than they do.

How about this: instead of telling you about all the ways I’m withering away from putting my all into a company that doesn’t have my back, I offer some solutions. I emailed Mike, Eat24’s CEO, about a few ideas to give back to our community for the holidays. He, along with someone named Patty, politely turned them down. But maybe you could repurpose them?

Originally, I suggested that Eat24/Yelp employees volunteer at local soup kitchens and food banks to give back to our Bay Area community (I see on your twitter that you care deeply about the homeless epidemic in our city) while also helping the different departments meet and mingle. Maybe instead, you can help set up something to allow Eat24/Yelp employees to get food from local food banks and soup kitchens? I’m pretty proficient at rice, but some hot soup would sure make up for not being able to afford to use my heater.

Originally, I suggested that Eat24 offer a matching donation with customers where they can choose a donation amount during checkout and Eat24/Yelp would match it and donate those profits to a national food program. Maybe instead, you can let customers choose a donation amount during checkout and divide those proceeds among your employees who spend more than 60% of their income on rent? The ideal percent is 30%. As I said, I spend 80%. What do you spend 80% of your income on? I hear your net worth is somewhere between $111 million and $222 million. That’s a whole lotta rice.

Originally, I suggested that Eat24 offer special coupon codes where half of the code’s value ($1) goes to charity. Maybe instead, you can give half the code’s value ($1) to helping employees who live across the bay pay their transit fares? Mine are $226 monthly. According to this website, you’ve got a pretty nice house in the east bay. Have you ever been stranded inside a CVS because you can’t afford to get to work? How much do you pay your gardeners to keep that lawn and lovely backyard looking so neat?

I did notice — and maybe this was just a fluke — that Yelp has stopped stocking up on those awful flavored coconut waters. Was that Mike’s suggestion? Because I did include, half-facetiously, in that email he and Patty so politely rejected that Yelp could save about $24,000 in two months if the company stopped restocking flavored coconut waters since no one drinks them (because they taste like the bitter remorse of accepting a job that can’t pay a living wage and everyone kept falling over into the fetal position and hyperventilating about their life’s worth. It really cut into the productivity that all those new hires are so prolific at avoiding). I wonder what it would be like if I made $24,000 more annually. I could probably get the headlight fixed on my car. And the flat tire. And maybe even get the oil change and renewed registration — but I don’t want to dream too extravagantly. Maybe you could cut out all the coconut waters altogether? You could probably cut back on a lot of the drinks and snacks that are stocked on every single floor. I mean, I could handle losing out on pistachio nuts if I was getting paid enough to afford groceries. No one really eats the pistachios anyway — have you ever tried answering the phone fifty times an hour while eating pistachios? Those hard shells really get in the way of talking to hundreds of customers and restaurants a day.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I know they’re not worth your time — did you know that the average American earns enough money that the time they would spend picking up a penny costs more than the penny’s worth? I pick up every penny I see, which I think explains why sharing these thoughts is worth my time, even if it’s not worth yours.

Your Friend In Food,

Talia

UPDATE: As of 5:43pm PST, I have been officially let go from the company. This was entirely unplanned (but I guess not completely unexpected?) but any help until I find new employment would be extremely appreciated. My PayPal is paypal.me/taliajane, my Venmo is taliajane (no hyphen). Square Cash is cash.me/$TaliaJane. Thank you so much for helping my story be heard.

[rpg]

Welcome to the real world. This is why Bernie is a Moses to entitled millenials!

[RexImperator]

I stopped at the part where he expects to get paid for making memes and Twitter jokes... Is this letter real?

[rpg]

(02-21-2016 03:15 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I stopped at the part where he expects to get paid for making memes and Twitter jokes... Is this letter real?

Its a she.
What kind of dope works in the Bay area for 8.25 an hour after taxes? She should be home with mom and dad while waiting tables at Hooters.

[johnfortunebg]

(02-21-2016 03:15 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I stopped at the part where he expects to get paid for making memes and Twitter jokes... Is this letter real?

That's a woman which explains a lot.
I am unable to understand how exactly do you think it's reasonable to pay ~85% of your income (1245$/2*733$) for rent? Maybe they should teach English majors some basic financial fundamentals?
And why the fuck does this bitch think she is entitled to be living in an apartment alone? True, I started living alone when I was 24 (a year younger than she is now) but I was already making three times the average national salary at the time.

More importantly, the best thing that could happen is if students in the humanities and liberal arts were made to pay triple what they pay now. We can call it the stupidity tax. Hopefully, then those morons get the message.

[WalkingMan]

(02-21-2016 03:15 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I stopped at the part where he expects to get paid for making memes and Twitter jokes... Is this letter real?

I stopped reading at "credit card".

[Mr West]

I stopped at "I majored in English"

[Dr. Kahn]

(02-21-2016 03:44 PM)Mr West Wrote:  

I stopped at "I majored in English"

Same here.

*the thoughts that went through my head was "loser! she should have majored in the hard sciences".*

-- Dr. Kahn

[DarkTriad]

(02-21-2016 03:27 PM)johnfortunebg Wrote:  

(02-21-2016 03:15 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I stopped at the part where he expects to get paid for making memes and Twitter jokes... Is this letter real?

That's a woman which explains a lot.
I am unable to understand how exactly do you think it's reasonable to pay ~85% of your income (1245$/2*733$) for rent? Maybe they should teach English majors some basic financial fundamentals?
And why the fuck does this bitch think she is entitled to be living in an apartment alone?

Because of the Thirst. She expects to get a LOT of stuff for free (even car repairs) as well as support from her family.

[eatthishomie]

Well, we know where she gets it from...
https://twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/70...1792054273

Also, this is apparently how someone who "can't afford food" eats:
http://alotofrice.pixieset.com/thatsalotofrice/

[BortimusPrime]

Quote:

UPDATE: As of 5:43pm PST, I have been officially let go from the company.

This was the best part.

Now I'm going to venture a guess that this dumb bitch's problems primarily arise from being a dumb bitch, but let's go over them, shall we?

1. Thinks you get promoted from customer service to professional writer: It's called a dead-end job for a reason, sweetheart.

2. Living alone in San Francisco: Gee, you think a $1200/mo apartment isn't affordable? Really? All this time I assumed my friends with shit jobs lived in groups sharing a rented house just to have circle-jerks, but then I found out that apparently it's to save on rent! Genius! You can only afford rice to eat? Well, good thing it's the San Francisco treat, or else you'd really be fucked.

3. Unsolicited advice to the CEO: Along with this little rant that apparently cost her dream job in the big city, I love how she suggests a bunch of charity projects. It's like that scene in the Tim Burton Batman: “I’m afraid we haven’t properly house broken Ms. Kyle. In the plus column she makes a hell of a pot of coffee.”

4. E-begging at the end: At least do something productive if you want money. I know none of the men in SF are going to pay a woman for sex, but maybe if you go to Oakland some of the blacks there won't be on the down low, and you could trade pussy for some reefer and sell it.


Honestly, the level of self-obsession these little millennial shits attain is mind-boggling. All they can do is whine and complain their way into self-actualization, and they seem to legitimately think they deserve a living wage for playing on a smart phone. At this rate I'm inclined to agree with Captain Capitalism, just enjoy the decline and let these little snot-nosed whiners end up either getting their heads chopped off by muslims, or working as slaves on a Chinese organ farm.

[MKDAWUSS]

And chances are, he ain't going to be moving beyond that any time soon.

[NilNisiOptimum]

The best part... Future employers will see this drivel whenever they google her name. Anyone who says "#goals" in the first sentence is already behind the right ball in my book, and that's before getting to the over inflated sense of self worth.

[Kona]

(02-21-2016 05:07 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  

Well, we know where she gets it from...
https://twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/70...1792054273

Also, this is apparently how someone who "can't afford food" eats:
http://alotofrice.pixieset.com/thatsalotofrice/

So the whole poverty thing was just a ruse to get people to send money to her gofundme thing.x

Who polices that stuff?

Am I allowed to start one that says I have brain tumors and kids to feed? Do they ask for documentation?

Can you start one that says "hey I'm an honest guy that just wants money" and do you guys think that will work?

Aloha!

[SlickyBoy]

Quote:

I left college, having majored in English literature, with a dream to work in media. It was either that or go to law school. Or become a teacher...

Good lord, I stopped reading right there and already had what's probably an accurate mental picture of this skinny-jeans wearing metrosexual twerp and his middle class white angsty-face.

EDIT - ok, turns out it was a chick....but the way millennial guys carry on these days, have to admit it's getting hard to tell the difference.

[Dusty]

WNB

[eatthishomie]

Ehh she'd be a decent slumpbuster.... until I get an open letter for not wanting to have a relationship with her.

[Enoch]

She didn't mention her student loan payments. So either they haven't started or her sucker parents paid for an English degree. How do you major in your native language?

[CynicalContrarian]

I feel sorry for the cat.

[eatthishomie]

Yo somebody with Twitter ask this broad what she thinks about the manosphere.

If she gives the answer I think she's gonna give, the irony will be supremely lolworthy.

[RexImperator]

Quote:

ok, turns out it was a chick....but the way millennial guys carry on these days, have to admit it's getting hard to tell the difference.

[zombiejimmorrison]

She's not attractive enough to get free shit maybe a $6 ride but even guys can get that. Not enough to be eye candy for a slightly better paying job either. She should just go home and work in admin.

[eatthishomie]

A gym membership, a round or 3 of RFL, a juicer, and a few jars of coconut oil would make her attractive enough to benefit from The Thirst in relatively short order. She's not a total lost cause- she does have a cute face, long hair, and the potential for a decent body with a drastic reduction of bodyfat.

[brob]

(02-21-2016 03:02 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  

https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-le....70hxeeaqn

UPDATE: As of 5:43pm PST, I have been officially let go from the company. This was entirely unplanned (but I guess not completely unexpected?) but any help until I find new employment would be extremely appreciated. My PayPal is paypal.me/taliajane, my Venmo is taliajane (no hyphen). Square Cash is cash.me/$TaliaJane. Thank you so much for helping my story be heard.

I'm surprised she didn't include her Seeking Arrangement profile

[I DIDN'T KILL MY WIFE]

tl;dr but the gist of it was "I wanted to move to an expensive city, didn't research how much the costs of living were in it and didn't calculate a budget or do any kind of thinking if that wage would be liveable and now I blame you for not thinking for me", did I get that right? I honestly was reading it and thinking "it sounds like she's blaming her mystery Mr. X CEO for not having planned out her life for her... nah that couldn't possibly be true...."

oh and of course, supposedly she's broke but has enough money to feed and care for a cat and do some extravagant avocado premium cheese sandwiches... ok