Below is the contents of an email I had to send today. Yes there are a couple typos. No, I'm not lying about any of this. If you are interested in viewing the attachments with all the emails referenced send me a message and I will forward it all your way.
Hello Mr. Schultz and Mr. Hyams.
Earlier this morning I spoke with three representatives from the Indeed platform: a girl named Fahtima, a girl named Christina, and Mr. Robert Schultz, to whom this message is addressed directly. None had any employee number with which to identify themselves. Mr. Schultz is the only one who offered any identification beyond a first name.
My husband, Omar, and I own and operate a 12.5 acre property called The Kitty Pants Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California less than 10 miles from the border of the recent CZU fire. Any questions you may have about our business may be answered by visiting our website www.thekittypantsranch.com. We are not a corporation of any kind. I am a fine artist and offer fine art products as well as creative services. We are a sole proprietorship. We are for profit. My business is located on the same property which is my home.
This past spring I used the free of charge product offered on your platform to try to hire part time employees on an on-going contract basis. Originally we were looking to hire for the following positions:
Skilled Ranch Hands (up to two)
Unskilled Ranch Hand (one)
Figure Drawing Model(s) (as many as I could find to be on call for projects)
Guitar Player/Musical Collaborator (one)
All positions are/were contract and at will. With the exception of the Skilled Ranch Hand, all positions were at a flat rate per shift with that rate varying depending on the work load and required skills of the position. All positions require(d) the contract employee to sign both a liability waiver and confidentiality agreement. I am a fine artist and as such my work falls under the category of intellectual property. In addition to the (physical) works I produce, I am also working on developing a business model and products that are somewhat unique in this day and age. The innovation of my endeavors is ALSO intellectual property, along with any resulting product that comes of such a model. It is not unusual for employees of any corporation or other employer to require employees, whether regular, temporary or contract to sign confidentiality agreements and/or liability waivers. I have held numerous jobs that have required such paperwork and my husband works for Google. I'm sure the concept is not foreign to any CEO, CFO, or CIO or anyone holding a steady position for any tech or entertainment or arts industry related company.
The "Skilled Ranch Hand" position we had been using your platform to recruit for was unique among the other positions because, en lieu of monetary compensation, we were offering furnished housing accommodations with all utilities included as well as on site laundry and 1 meal provided daily in exchange for a total of 20 hours a week, or 10 hours per week per candidate on the property. The market value of facilities we were offering for housing at the time had a market value well over $2,000 per month. If you consider we were asking a total of 20 hours of work a week, if we were to have paid them $16.25 an hour for their ultimately unskilled, uneducated, below par labor, before taxes that amount of income would have come to $1,300.00 a month total, well under the rental market value of the property. The position description was extremely precise in the outline of what duties the Skilled Ranch Hand may be asked to perform. The arrangements were more than generous enough to accommodate persons enrolled in college and/or holding a part time job. I prepared a contract based directly on the model provided by the State of California in accordance with the California Renters Bill of Rights. The two candidates I ultimately hired were an unmarried couple: Deanna Kainz and Steven Wise. Both misrepresented themselves on their resumes. It was evident after only one week that neither had any of the skill sets described on their resume, therefore they obtained the employment and housing under fraudulent pretense putting both themselves and The Kitty Pants Ranch in potentially grave danger. Also, because of the nature of the position (the main focus was to clear fire hazard and maintain grounds in such a way that rehabilitated habitat and created safety) they also put our entire community in danger. They refused to observe CDC guidelines for safe practices in the covid pandemic, failed to provide for themselves appropriate protective gear (which I ultimately provided in consideration of my own safety) and then had the nerve to complain when I didn't schedule their work shifts at the same time. There was never any agreement that they would be scheduled to work at the same time and since they did not possess the skills they claimed to have, which is why I hired them to begin with, I had to schedule them separately so I could be available to train them, which I had no problem with as long as they were able to learn the work. This was not satisfactory to them as it cut into their "personal time" as was the complaint offered to me by Mr. Wise. So, I had no problems when they decided to leave abruptly in the middle of this pandemic. I was more than happy to see them leave. Since the time they have left the pandemic has worsened and much of California, specifically the communities surrounding The Kitty Pants Ranch is located has burned leaving hundreds without homes or jobs.
In addition to these two people I hired under fraudulent pretense, every other candidate that contacted me about any of the positions we were/are offering lacked the skills they claimed on their resumes. The ones who did actually show up for interviews were obviously lying or exaggerating the extent of their knowledge and abilities and none of them offered references that could be verified or vetted in any real way and they all wanted to be paid top dollar. It was disgusting and called into question the validity and safety of your platform and the services you claim to offer.
Indeed advertises itself a company that helps connect employees with employers. That is the definition of what used to be called a "Headhunter". As such the consumer (whether the prospective employer or employee) has the right to expect some level of vetting or background check to verify the reality of identity of the parties they are being connected to via use of the Indeed platform. Because of the horrendous experience we have endured and in light of the real threat fraudulent employees pose to the safety of our business, we have restructured the positions and are no longer willing to offer the housing option. All positions are now posted on our website at a monetary rate and on a contract basis. I can't afford (nor do I have a need) to hire full-time, regular employees, particularly ones that represent themselves and their skills fraudulently. However, I am in need of labor assistance on my property, so I am looking for a safe and honest way to locate actual skilled labor. It seems ridiculous to me that this has been so difficult given the reality of so many Americans without homes or jobs. But that is beside the point at the moment.
Why did I call Indeed this morning? There's a couple reasons. 1. I need to find employees with real skills and am trying to identify a trustworthy platform free of bullshit politics, manipulation, or predatory marketing schemes. and 2. Because Ms. Kainz has yet to change her address at the post office and as a result I have been regularly receiving important personal mail such as: labor union notices, explanation of health benefits and medical bills. I don't want or need the headache of lazy, irresponsible children. If I had wanted that I would have pushed one out myself or adopted. As far as I'm concerned the parents of all the candidates who came to me through your platform are failures, and I have come to see your platform as a haven for frauds and cheats.
Attached you will find a copy of all internal correspondence between myself and Ms. Kainz and Mr. Wise, as well as all of the emails correspondence I have received through your platform. I don't care if you or anyone else is offended by my recent "language" in the most recent correspondence to Ms. Kainz. She is not deserving of my respect, and nor is anyone who can't even give me basic information that I am legally entitled to.
The first representative, Fathima, from Indeed that I spoke with this morning wasn't even aware that you offered any service beyond the free portion. After we hung up I thought better of it and called back seeking more information. The second representative, Christina, thought it more important to "correct" my language when I said the word "shit" and hung up on me because her poor little snowflake ears were melting at my horrendous profanity. She knew there were more than one product offered by your company but could not tell me anything about how or if candidates were vetted other than to say "we do all the leg work for you". She couldn't explain what that meant and when I told her that the references on the resumes were fraudulent when I called or checked on them she didn't know how or if Indeed did anything beyond making phone calls to vet candidates. Explain to me why I, as a consumer, would pay your company to do something that I could just as easily do myself and get lied to? Or why I would pay your company or any other company for anything when the employees you hire pay are so ignorant and condescending? Mr. Schultz also could not answer some of the questions I asked such as: what is the structure of your company? do you have a board of directors? who signs your paycheck? what are your standard hiring policy/processes? He did apologize, give me his contact email, and request more information to follow up on the issue as he recognized that the feedback I was offering was in fact an asset to your company without being offended by a little colorful language. I ask you, what is in fact more offensive: hearing a four letter word from time to time, or being subjected to fraud and the endangerment of yourself and community? Mr. Schultz requested the information I am sharing in this message which is the only reason I have take the time to write. I do not have any expectation of this being rectified in any way that would be satisfactory. Mr. Schultz mentioned something about banning Ms. Kainz and Mr. Wise from the Indeed platform and network. That would be a good start but does not address the underlying problem of fraud your company faces. As a potential employer, what faith can I be expected to have in any company that peddles job candidates such as any of the ones I met using your platform, or who hires people such as Christina and Fahtima?
As I always am and have been,
Larissa
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Larissa
co-owner - creative, innovation, & conceptual director
The Kitty Pants Ranch
Santa Cruz, CA
Larissa@thekittypantsranch.com
925-320-1000
www.thekittypantsranch.com
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