12Mar24 Roundup: I Can Haz Cheeseburger?

In today's Roundup:
News from Around Supportlandia (and Beyond)
And Now for Some Good News
Read, Watch, and Listen
Get Hired
Upcoming Events

We're all going to pretend I sent this out at one minute to midnight on Tuesday, okay? Please. I can't update all those job links again.

News from Around Supportlandia (and Beyond)

I Can Has Cheezburger?

Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner told investors on a conference call in February that the company was planning to test dynamic pricing for menu items (along with "AI-enabled menu changes," something that sounds as ridiculous as it does ominous).

Public response to this idea was predictably negative, causing the company to quickly issue a clarification that was, perhaps, unintentionally comical:

“Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice,” the company said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Followed by:

Wendy’s said that its digital menu boards “could allow us to change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to our customers more easily, particularly in the slower times of day.”

So Wendy's will not be implementing surge pricing, which "usually entails raising prices during periods of peak demand and lowering prices during periods of low demand."

Instead, they'll be testing dynamic pricing, which involves making changes to their menu offerings at different times of day and adding or removing discounts depending on how busy the restaurant is. Totally different!^[1]

Sure, Wendy's is something of a social media darling, but I can't help but wonder if this surge, er, dynamic pricing will test the public's affection for the brand.

Well – that and the fact that Wendy's is among a handful of fast-food chains named in a federal class action lawsuit alleging that "prisoners in Alabama have been denied parole and forced to work jobs at fast food restaurants as part of a 'labor-trafficking scheme' that generates $450 million a year for the state."

A must-read investigative report published by the Associated Press back in January, while not specifically naming Wendy's, sheds more light on prison labor practices in Alabama and across the country, which amount to nothing less than modern-day slavery that many fast-food brands are benefitting from:

The biggest operations remain in the South and crops are still harvested on a number of former slave plantations, including in Arkansas, Texas and at Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm. Those states, along with Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia, pay nothing for most types of work.

[...] In Alabama, where prisoners are leased out by companies, AP reporters followed inmate transport vans to poultry plants run by Tyson Foods, which owns brands such as Hillshire Farms, Jimmy Dean and Sara Lee, along with a company that supplies beef, chicken and fish to McDonald’s. The vans also stopped at a chicken processor that’s part of a joint-venture with Cargill, which is America’s largest private company. It brought in a record $177 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023 and supplies conglomerates like PepsiCo.

[...] Some people arrested in Alabama are put to work even before they’ve been convicted. An unusual work-release program accepts pre-trial defendants, allowing them to avoid jail while earning bond money. But with multiple fees deducted from their salaries, that can take time.

I realize you're probably feeling like this story has taken a hard left turn, but the truth is that surge pricing and prison slavery are two symptoms of the same poison.

When I was outlining this story and debating how I wanted to approach it, I had a totally ridiculous but ultimately accurate thought: not pointing this connection out, letting the whimsical nature of this particular example of Wendy's greed hide the more inhumane kind, would make me sort of like President Snow in the Hunger Games putting on the cloying scent of roses to cover the scent of blood.

There's finding humor in the darkness and then there's being irresponsible as a human being with a platform (no matter how small it is), and I'm often not sure where the line falls. While I can't really call what I'm doing in this newsletter journalism, nonetheless, I've had this conversation with myself constantly since I started the Roundup.

I get to be funny in these stories because they are often just inherently absurd: a venture capitalist using a Tesla ramming its way through a flood as a rallying cry for Tech founders. An AI-powered chatbot declaring "no takesie-backsies!" after selling a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for $1. Tumblr's CEO getting into fights with his own users across multiple platforms because someone said mean things about him on the internet. A fast-food company wanting to give its cheeseburgers the Uber treatment and then trying to reinvent the definition of words when customers don't like it.

These stories are all hilarious – until they're not. That venture capitalist's portfolio of companies is responsible for laying off thousands of people. Similar AI-powered technology was used to manipulate a clone of the President's voice in an effort to discourage voting in a primary, and it won't be the last time that happens. Tumblr's CEO put a trans woman at risk and revealed private user account info on a public platform, all because he didn't like his company being called transphobic. And Wendy's is allegedly using slave labor to make those dynamically-priced cheeseburgers.

My point is this: this is what it's like talking about Tech and business in the 21st century. Nuance abounds, not just in this industry but in this newsletter specifically. I'm going to embrace that, which means sometimes I'm going to be as much a killjoy as I am an entertainer.

I hope you'll embrace it with me.

And Now for Some Good News

These folks were hired or promoted recently, continuing the uptick I've seen of people announcing new roles. I'm cautiously optimistic, and I hope these folks' success is giving you hope for your own.

• Monica Rosales joined Vizit as a Senior Customer Success Manager.
• Katie MacDonald joined Tremendous as a Product Support Specialist.
• Vishal Kapoor joined SocialPilot as a Product Specialist.
• Rori Quinonez joined BetterMynd as Assistant Director of Campus Success
• Thomas Hils joined Wingspan as Head of Support.
• Dimple Pattani joined Wagestream as Global Director of Customer Support.
• Meredith Metsker was promoted to Director of Content and Community at uConnect.
• Ksenia Bykova was promoted to Senior Manager, Support at Klaviyo.
• Alexa Ahrens was promoted to Content Strategist at Help Scout.

Just the facts, ma'am

As much as I love my Roundup, it is undeniably a long read (especially today - oops!). For those of you who prefer a tl;dr version: I give you the Brief. It links to all of the same news and jobs, just with none of the commentary (although I make it easy to get to specific commentary you might be interested in).

Please note that this is a separate newsletter, and you'll need to update your email preferences to receive it.

All caught up

I've finally finished adding all of the previously-rated jobs to Support Human Jobs, which means I can focus on adding new Bad Job Bingo-rated jobs to the board moving forward. Exciting!

Professional Helpers, now even prettier (plus a partnership)

Ashley Hayslett launched the new version of the Professional Helpers job board this past week, and it's prettier than ever (and just as useful).

As demonstrated in her job board and newsletter, Ashley is a talented sourcer (sorcerer?) of jobs and is graciously allowing me to play Bad Job Bingo with some of the jobs she lists.

When I do, you'll see a note in the newsletter saying, "This is a Professional Helpers-sourced job. Thanks, Ashley!" I'll also add both a tag and a graphic linking to the Professional Helpers website to the job listing on Support Human Jobs.

Alice Hunsberger joins Everything in Moderation*

Alice announced last week that she's joined Ben Whitelaw's Everything in Moderation* newsletter. She writes the Trust & Safety Insider edition every Monday, which includes her take on what’s important in T&S news, analysis, job and career resources, and some personal commentary.

Read, Watch, and Listen

Read

Heather Rasley wrote about the best way to support women, Sarah Betts addressed our male colleagues, and Alice Hunsberger explained why she's not happy on this International Women's Day.

Neal Travis wrote about navigating the support operations landscape.

Anne Marie Traas wrote about the difference between customer support and customer success for Tettra.

Jake Bartlett wrote about the 10 Zendesk apps every support team needs for SwiftEQ.

Maryna Paryvai shared four templates for creating great help articles, also for SwiftEQ.

Thomas Hils wrote about the top 10 benefits of chatbots in customer service for Help Scout.

Nouran Smogluk wrote about how to introduce quality assurance to your support team for Klaus.

Graham Kenny argues that customer surveys are no substitute for actually talking to customers in the Harvard Business Review.

Alice Hunsberger gave us 5 Trust & Safety links worth reading this week.

Bri Riggio published Leadership Advice for New Trust and Safety Leaders as a Visiting Fellow for the Integrity Institute.

Watch

Next in Queue talked to Michael Mattson about his nearly a decade of customer service at the United States Postal Service.

CX Passport talked to Jermaine Edwards about focusing on customer outcomes rather than experiences.

CX Stories by ElevateCX talked with Erica Clayton about how she thinks about customer experiences and whether surprising and delighting is really the big goal.

The Customer Success Talks podcast talked to Jean-Marie Schiraldi and Luke Bartram about vital strategies and tips for those seeking roles in Customer Success.

Maxime Manseau talks about flat structures and career growth in customer support.

Listen

The Doing CX Right podcast interviewed Greg Mckeown about designing effortless experiences and removing customer roadblocks.

The Customer Support Leaders podcast talked to Sarah Caminiti about the subtle yet pivotal practice of shedding assumptions to enhance customer interactions.

The Customer Success Career Coach podcast talked about whether networking for customer success jobs is dead.

CX Files talked to Dr. Lollie Mancey about resilience and work / life balance in the CX workplace.

Fraudology talked to Alice Hunsberger about balancing AI with the human touch to protect customers from romance scams and fraud (among other things!).

I'm a little late to this one, but Decoded by Threado talked to Brittany Ferguson about leading and scaling support teams in the age of AI.

Get Hired

I play Bad Job Bingo with every job listing that appears in the Roundup and categorize them according to how well (or poorly, if I hit Bingo) they do in the game.

However, please remember that a job appearing in a positive category isn’t an endorsement of any role or company, and a job appearing in a negative category doesn't mean I think you shouldn't apply if it works for you. Bad Job Bingo is simply an effort to give you a shortcut to finding roles that may match your needs and values.

These and past contestants can be found at Support Human Jobs.

Somehow this one got away from me. In my defense, this newsletter is a tad late, so here, have two weeks' worth of Bad Job Bingo.

Green Means Go

No flags, or green flags only! A true unicorn.

• Support Engineer - Enterprise ($100k-$155k) at Lamda (Remote US)
  • Seems great – the Careers page is straightforward and informative and so is the job description. They seem to have a clear idea of their mission and what they're looking for in this role and they avoid euphemisms for startup life that often spell trouble in companies like this.

Eh, It’s Probably Fine

A few flags popped up, but no serious ones.

• Sr. Director, Chief of Staff to CCO ($270k-$455k) at Okta (Remote US)
  • I'm posting this here because 1) A CX professional would absolutely kill it in this role, and 2) GET THAT MONEY.
• Global Senior Director of Technical Customer Support ($210k-$275k) at Forter (Hybrid-NY)
  • If this is a global senior leadership position (as described in the JD), it really should be at the VP-level or higher. Otherwise, everything seems normal enough, although I'm not sure about the salary range – seems low for a position at this level that's also hybrid in New York.
• Senior Customer Success Manager, Enterprise Accounts ($127k-$154k) at Forter (Onsite US-Denver, CO)
  • Well-defined (and compensated) role and the company calls out in the JD how much they value their Success team. Obviously depends on how they actually treat the team, but it's nice to see.
  • Several other Success roles open in the US and Canada, although it's not clear if they're onsite or remote.
• Director, Enterprise Digital Support ($124k-$220k) at Spectrum (Onsite CO-Greenwood Village)
  • It's a call center director position at a corporate giant, so, you know. Do with that what you will.
• Sr. Executive Assistant - CCO ($106k-$179k) at Okta (Remote US)
  • Again, a CX pro with an EA background would be a great fit for this role (I know y'all are out there!) and the pay is great.
• Technical Customer Support Manager ($100k-$130k) at Peach (Remote US)
  • We are looking for a client experience-obsessed individual to build, own and scale our client support function. – If this is the case, this really should be a more senior title – Head of, at least. But the salary, responsibilities, and requirements of the position seem otherwise appropriate for the title of manager, and the Careers page looks good.
  • Use insights and data from support interactions to suggest and implement improvements in collaboration with the product and engineering organizations – It's always nice to see the collaboration between Support, Product, and Engineering called out as important in a job description—a green flag!
  • Collegial work environment – Seeing this in the Benefits section made me laugh. Don't companies understand that this is supposed to be a given? I'm more suspicious if you feel the need to say something like, "Everyone's nice, we promise!!!"
  • Having said all that, the leadership team is 100% men, which is a bummer.
• Senior Technical Writer ($80k-$140k) at at Peach (Remote US)
  • Seems like an interesting, thoughtfully conceived role.
• Manager, Customer Success (East Coast) ($93k-$113k) at Guideline (Remote US-FL, ME, MD, MA, NC, NY, TX)
  • Careers page is decent, and they actually only have benefits listed under the Benefits section. Amazing!
  • We are a high-energy group and work closely with the departments in Customer Operations. – Sigh. Why? Just why.
  • Other than the casual ableism, this is a straightforward management role with a good compensation package.
• Customer Success Training Specialist ($75k-$94k) at Guideline (Remote US-CA, CO, FL, ME, MD, MA, NC, NY, TX, WA)
  • Given the work this role will be doing and how often they will be working with senior leadership, I think it probably should have a more senior title and a slightly higher salary range.
• Customer Onboarding Specialist ($70k-$84k) at Guideline (Remote US-CO, FL, ME, MD, MA, NC, NY, TX, WA)
  • Enthusiastic and high energy, but also poised, confident and extremely professional – OY WITH THE POODLES ALREADY.

Tread Carefully

Didn’t quite hit bingo, but there were several yellow flags or more than one red flag.

• Director, YouTube Trust and Safety ($232k-$341k) at YouTube (Onsite US-San Bruno, CA)
  • This is a Professional Helpers-sourced job, thanks Ashley!
  • I'm not putting this in Tread Carefully because anything in the job is jumping out at me specifically – let's say it's a general wariness about Google's working environment and the fact that, again, the company doesn't address how they protect the mental health of those working in Trust & Safety at the company.
  • Granted, they do point to their benefits, which are certainly robust, but I wish companies would stop treating Trust & Safety jobs like they're run-of-the-mill Tech jobs. They're not – Trust & Safety workers are literally the first responders of the internet. No one doubts the difficulty of the work that medical and emergency first responders do, so why are we still dismissing the challenges that Trust & Safety workers face?
  • Anyway - pay is good, benefits are great. You'd be working for Google.
• Director of Customer Success, Mid Market ($170k-$200k) at monday.com (Hybrid US-New York City, NY)
  • The ideal candidate will value transparency and diversity, be driven to overachieve, be constantly curious, and have a passion for collaborating with, developing, and helping others. – Ehhhhh. Look. Most people want to do the very best they can, and yes, overachieve. But I am immediately suspicious of any company that wants to codify an employee doing more than what they're being paid for.
  • Positive attitude, empathetic, and high energy – A two-for-one towards bingo entries! How not fun, that casual ableism.
  • monday.com is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. – It's just that low-energy individuals need not apply! LOL K.
• Senior Manager, Strategic Customer Success ($140k-$190k) at monday.com (Hybrid US-New York City, NY)
  • So...this role is a Senior Manager, Strategic Customer Success managing Senior Customer Success Managers collaborating with Account Managers, Managing Directors and Customer Success Managers. Who's on first?
  • Ability to prioritize and multitask while maintaining urgency, thoughtfulness, and poise under pressure while keeping an eye on the KPIs and success metrics for customers and our business – Yikes. Just...yikes.
• Enterprise Customer Success Manager ($100k-$130k) at monday.com (Hybrid US-Denver, CO)
  • For a hybrid role in NYC, that seems like a low salary range.
  • We are an energetic, empathetic and passionate team that enjoys collaboration, taking on new challenges, and “failing forward” together in this dynamic environment. – And there's a new two-for-one! Amazing, monday.com over here disrupting corporate red flags, love it.
  • Positive attitude, empathy, and high energy – Seriously? Again?
• Customer Experience Team Lead ($85k-$100k) at monday.com (Hybrid US-Denver, CO)
  • Y'all know by now that it doesn't sit well with me when leadership roles are well-compensated and frontline roles are not.
• Participant Support Specialist ($70k) at Guideline (Remote US-CO, WA)
  • We are a high-energy group and work closely with the departments in Customer Operations. – This is clearly part of their job description template and that is a problem. I'm surprised and disappointed that no one in HR has caught it.
  • You prioritize your workload and know nothing but Inbox Zero. Most of all, you enjoy working with others, you are confident, professional and excel in building relationships! – Really don't love the culture signals coming out of this JD.
  • We are seeking a natural client advocate with technical affinity who will go to great lengths to provide clients with nothing short of a positive experience. – I don't know if the hiring manager is an immature manager or what's happening here, but whoever wrote this job description does not have a good grasp of what makes a CX professional successful in their work. The only thing keeping this out of BINGO is that the salary is decent.
• Customer Experience Advocate ($48k-$62k) at monday.com (Hybrid US-Denver, CO)
  • That salary is too low for what they want this role to do, especially considering it's not entry-level and they're a SaaS tech company.
  • Remember: it's always suspect when a company puts the opportunity to work for them as a benefit ahead of listing the actual benefits.
  • This isn't quite a BINGO, but it's definitely a Tread Carefully.
  • So that's monday.com. Unimpressed Steph is unimpressed.
• VP of Customer Success ("Competitive" Comp not given) at Siena (Remote US-NY, CA, NC, PA; CAN-Toronto; UK-London; IRE-Dublin)
  • You're not excited about establishing direct relationships and interactions customers. – Maybe they should have had Siena review this job listing before they posted it.
• Director of Customer Success ("Competitive" Comp not given) at Siena (Remote US-NY, CA, MA, NC, PA, TX; CAN-Toronto; UK-London; IRE-Dublin)
  • Design and implement onboarding processes, ensuring customers experience quick value realization and receive ongoing support at every step of the journey. – But I thought this is what Siena was for? Are you saying you need humans to support humans? Real food for thought.
  • Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with a knack for building trust and strong relationships customers and team members. – Maybe they should have had Siena review this job listing before they posted it.
• Customer Success Manager ("Competitive" Comp not given) at Siena (Remote US-NY, CA, FL, MA, NC, PA, TX; CAN-Toronto; UK-London; IRE-Dublin)
  • Boy this job opening sure sounds like Support! But nah, can't be, they have their AI for that!
  • At Siena, we’re not just looking for people who can do a job. We’re looking for people who want to break boundaries, create the future, and reshape industries. If that’s you, we look forward to your application. – Someone please find my eyes, they've rolled out of my head.
• Psych Support Operations Manager ("Competitive" Comp not given) at Rula (Remite US)
  • The duties of the role and title are badly misaligned – this should be a Director-level role.
  • Benefits: Full-time employees – So...they have a lot of independent contractors, then.
  • We're serious about your well-being! As Part Of Our Team, Full-Time Employees Receive – A LOT of independent contractors.
  • Generous time off policies, including 2 company-wide shutdown weeks each year (for most employees) to focus on self-care – That "for most employees" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. I bet we can guess who doesn't get that extra time off!
• Head of Customer Support (No comp given) at Passion.io (Remote Worldwide)
  • Follow your passion. Impact lives. Change the world. – One day I'll have a whole Bad Job Bingo session without a SaaS company claiming to change the world but TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY
  • For a job description that's not that long, it is surprisingly inconsistent. They say they want someone who has experience "leading multi-faceted CS teams (not just support)" but then later say this role will be "leading all Support functions." I see this a lot when a) the person writing the JD isn't a CX professional or b) there's pressure to get a JD up because everyone's overwhelmed. Either way, it tends not to bode well for the position.
  • Use automation and AI to improve the customer experience, help them get answers quicker and rely less on manual interactions with the support team – I'm going to go with "a) the person writing the JD isn't a CX professional" because hoo boy does this sound like a senior leadership team that can't understand why its Support team is so slow when there's like 3 people and 10,000 messages and engineering is constantly shipping untested code on a Friday then peacing out. (Sorry, sorry, flashbacks, I'm fine now.)
  • 🤯 The steepest learning curve you’ve ever experienced including regular career coaching sessions, internal and external training, coaching, and much more. – Is...is this supposed to be a pitch?
  • Yeeeeaaaaah, this is deep in Tread Carefully territory.
• Director of Support (No comp given) at First Due (Remote US)
  • Customer-obsessed and process-focused; willing to work nights and weekends where necessary to respond to the 24/7 nature of our work – This isn't necessarily a red flag given the nature of First Due's product (software for EMS and Fire agencies), but when I read this I thought for sure they'd have a great compensation package to go with this requirement!
  • But nope, they don't. They don't even mention benefits (either in the job description or anywhere I could find on their website). Not awesome!
• Implementation Product Specialist - Fire Documentation/ePCR - Canada (No comp given) at First Due (Remote CAN)
  • As with the Director of Support role, no comp given, no mention of benefits anywhere.
  • Also, the job title differs in the headline from what's in the job description (making it more of a success role than a support one), so I've updated it in my listing, but the original listing maintains the discrepancy.
• Trainer and Content Manager (No comp given) at First Due (Remote US)
  • As with the other two roles listed here, no salary given and no mention of benefits anywhere.
  • Plus, we have this ridiculous statement:
    • We are flexible, experienced, motivated and understand what you want out of a career in early-stage tech. This is an opportunity to work for and connect with the leading Fire Departments and other public safety agencies in the United States. We are focused on your career growth and helping you expand into the types of work you're best at. – We know what you want and of course it's not salary transparency!
• Knowledge Base Specialist (No comp given) at Passion.io (Remote Worldwide)
  • This actually seems like a fairly well-scoped role, but the lack of salary transparency and culture issues that surfaced in the Head of Support role put this in Tread Carefully.
• Technical Support Engineer (No comp given) at Forter (Hybrid UK-London)
  • Job description looks reasonable enough, but there's no salary transparency, so into Tread Carefully it goes.
• Customer Support Program Management Intern (Summer 2024) (No comp given) at Okta (Remote US)
  • I'm torn on this one. On the one hand: I don't think I've ever seen a Customer Support Intern anywhere else, so that Okta offers an intern program for this is very cool.
  • On the other: the fact that they don't give any kind of idea as to what the compensation will be for this 12-week program – or even if it's paid at all – makes me think they're just trying to get folks to do Support work on the cheap.
  • And no, I'm not assuaged that none of the other intern openings list compensation either – few departments are exploited the way Support folks often are.
  • (Also the repeated info in the job description below isn't me – that's how the original job description was written.)
• Customer Success Intern (Summer 2024) (No comp given) at Okta (Remote US)
  • Same concerns as with the Support Intern position – no indication of what the pay is or even if the internship is paid at all.

BINGO

Welp.

• Client Support Lead ($70k-$150k) at Mindbloom (Remote US)
  • Okay, for starters, none (save one) of the duties listed in this JD are Lead-level duties. They clearly want a discount Director/VP of Support. (And at $70k-$150k, we're talking a *real* discount.)
  • BUT ALSO. Their whole leadership team, save one woman (in, of course, People Ops), are white dudes. So many white dudes.
  • building world-positive companies – I haven't had my nap yet, so maybe I'm just tired, but: what the hell does this mean?
  • We’re the market leader, we’re growing fast, and we’re playing pro ball. – Did I mention the leadership team is made up of white dudes?
  • Our core values: Practice Intellectual Honesty – Okay! So why is the salary information in the tiniest possible font you can put on a webpage? This was taken with the webpage at 100% zoom – look at the Benefits section in comparison!

• Focus: You practice deep work, say no often, and do less, better – I mean, this is in direct contradiction to the rest of the job listing, but sure.
• Also, they must have updated this JD recently, because when I looked at this role earlier in the week it was quite a bit different, including this gem:
  • If we succeed at Mindbloom, we will:
    1. Accelerate the healthcare system’s adoption of psychedelic therapies
    2. Make a dent in global human suffering
    3. Expand humanity’s collective wisdom, compassion, and consciousness
  • Can't imagine why they'd take that out.
• (Quick note: please don't take my criticism of the way this company presents itself or of the job description as a dig at the therapeutic use of psychedelics. I know quite a few people who have benefited from this therapy, including some close friends.)
• Manager, Owner and Partner Support ($70k-$119k) at ChargePoint (Remote US)
  • The ideal candidate possesses strong leadership, excellent analytical and analysis skills, customer-centric approach, a keen ability to lead teams through consistent change, and leadership ability under demanding conditions. – Woof. (Also: LOL at "analytical and analysis skills.")
  • This job description is really poorly written and edited. Yikes.
  • Demonstrated skills in leadership, negotiation, problem solving, conflict management, planning, and delegating – The cultural themes coming out of this job listing really are something.
  • The salary range is interesting, to say the least – the low side is way too low, and I don't trust that the high side is actually on the table.
• Manager of Customer Support ($80k-$100k) at Homebot (Hybrid US-Denver, CO)
  • This company might overtake the last winner for whitest company I've seen.
  • From the Careers page: We are Humbly Hungry, We are Courageously Authentic, We Challenge Limiting Beliefs, We Keep our Eye on the Ball, Hand in the Dirt and we do all of this TOGETHER, as a team, and we have fun doing it! – No, not sports metaphors! (Or the fun. Or the creative capitalization.)
  • Incredible Culture with ridiculously high eNPS scores + Glassdoor reviews! Super Fun Quarterly Events – Oh my god stop THESE ARE NOT BENEFITS
  • From the JD: Proven ability to quickly earn the trust of key stakeholders; mobilize and motivate teams; set direction and approach; resolve conflict; deliver tough messages with diplomacy; execute with limited information and ambiguity – Some of this is fine and some of this makes me go HMM, guess which ones are which
  • Customer-oriented and calm in the face of challenge – HMM.
  • Every time they talk about how fun they are, another venture capitalist gets a little red flag pocket square.
  • Awesome culture! Awesome coworkers! (seriously, have you seen Glassdoor?)
    • Okay, let's look at Glassdoor! Here's a selection of titles from recent reviews:
      • A Loathsome Company
      • Steer far far away
      • The sequel is never better than the original.
      • Joke of a Company
      • Once was great, now not so much
      • Smart People With Poor Leadership
    • Look, I know it's not entirely fair to pick the worst reviews (even if they are among the most recent, ahem), but if you make such a fuss about FUN and CULTURE and how AWESOME you are, you better be able to back that shit up.
  • With the mortgage and tech industries being highly male-dominated, we're proud to be a tech company in the mortgage space with ~40% female employees across the organization. – What a weird and blatantly suspicious stat to brag about, considering this means the company isn't even keeping up with population demographics (women make up over 50% of the U.S. population and nearly 59% of the civilian labor force). And if they had an unusually high number of women in leadership or engineering, you know they'd say so. But stay Humbly Hungry, Homebot!
  • Geez, this might be longest review I've ever written. I'm gonna wrap this up succinctly: BINGO.
• Senior Customer Service Representative ($55k-$70k) at Dispatch (Remote US)
  • WHY YOU WOULD BE A FIT? / YOUR ASSIGNMENT (should you choose us and we choose you!) - These feel weirdly aggressive.
  • Manage a diverse range of responsibilities, including but not limited to Claims, Adjustments, Connect Support, Enterprise Support, Bi-Lingual Support, and Customer Outreach. Provide comprehensive weekly reports on relevant metrics to the Manager, Customer Support. – This is not a senior role, this is a manager role.
  • Demonstrate flexibility in working hours, including the ability to work early mornings, late evenings, or occasional weekends as necessary to meet business demands effectively. – Ehhhhhhh, how 'bout no.
  • Demonstrated professionalism, resilience, and diligence in all interactions, maintaining a steadfast commitment to achieving organizational goals. – Why does this come across as vaguely sinister?
  • The base salary range for this role is $55,000- $70,000 annually. – Ah, so they want a discount manager. Cooooool.
• Customer Experience (No comp given) at Skio (Remote-IT IS A MYSTERY)
  • This one was reader-submitted. Thanks!
  • My first thought when looking at this company's Careers page was: "My god, they desperately need a middle-aged manager to decline their screentime requests an hour before bedtime."
  • I really do realize how condescending that sounds, but y'all, there doesn't appear to be anyone over the age of 35 working there, and that seems to be reflected in values like "You run through walls to get things done" and "Grind. We work long hours to be the best at what we do" and "Hats. Wear many hats. No job is not your job."
  • MY FRIENDS. SOME JOBS ARE NOT YOUR JOB. TAKE A NAP.
  • Also the "Great traits" listed are, unsurprisingly, not that great. I'm not going to list them all here, you can see them in the job description, but uh...not great, Bob!
  • (Boy. These jobs today.)

Seriously, Maybe Don’t

Look, I can’t tell you what to do. But maybe don’t apply for these jobs.

• Team Lead, Customer Care ($43k) at CoreLogic (Remote US-TX, MI, NY)
  • This one was reader-submitted. Thanks!
  • I'll take "What job description was written by AI?" for $800, Alex.
  • As a Contact Center Customer Service Lead with CoreLogic, you will embark on a fulfilling journey of professional growth in a dynamic and fast-paced production environment. – This, and the whole introductory paragraph, has some of the most flowery language to describe a middle manager role that I have ever read.
  • This position presents an exciting pathway to advance into a people management role, as you become the subject matter expert for the team and extend unwavering support to your fellow team members. – How is this not already a people management role? You just spent 1,058 characters describing the management duties of this Lead role. Your AI needs to be less artificial and more intelligent.
  • High school diploma, GED or equivalent required; bachelor’s degree preferred; 6+ years previous experience in a frontline customer support role required; Additional 2+ years previous experience in a coaching/mentor role preferred; Annual Pay Range: 43,400 - 43,680 USD – ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME
• Support Operations Manager ("Competitive" comp not given) at Apollo.io (Remote US)
  • This one was reader-submitted. Thanks!
  • Why are there two different job titles in this JD? Also I read "RevOps Manager: Support Operations" and felt someone walk over my grave.
  • The role of the RevOps Manager: Support Operations will be focused on operationalizing the support team making them more efficient and effective in customer & revenue retention. – No thank you please.
  • You will be enabling Support/GTM – You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
  • We are looking for great teammates who can connect with our sales team and get them excited about their learning journey. As part of this team, the work you do will be the foundation for massive growth over the coming years! – No, really, I'm good.
  • Operationalize the customer Support playbook: have all Support plays automate from Support Tech Stack (Primarily Apollo), create role-specific Support page layouts in Support tooling, leverage product engagement and Apollo data as triggers for actionable workflows. Support annual planning process, including compensation planning, territory creation, and customer segmentation – Genuinely, y'all, I don't think they know what Support is. I'm not being funny. I think someone is very confused. Or I am very confused. One of us is very confused.
  • 5+ years in GTM Ops – WHY?
  • Strong preference in Support function Zendesk/Support stack – Very, very confused.
  • Besides the great compensation package – Oh yeah, what is it? What's the great compensation package? Is it great because it can turn invisible BECAUSE I DON'T SEE IT ANYWHERE
  • What are your compensation expectations for the role? (Please do not say negotiable)* – I want everyone to know that I deleted my first response to this because it was too spicy. You see that? That's growth.
  • Apparently it's a week for Glassdoor reviews, because, uh, it's not great, Bob:
    • Maybe it's chill for engineers but if you're looking for a role on the revenue team... run away
    • Aggressive micromanagement
    • Toxic company, would not recommend
    • Company does not value internal talent
    • Would give zero stars if I could
• Customer Engineer (No comp given) at Pocus (Remote-IT IS A MYSTERY)
  • This one was reader-submitted. Thanks!
  • The Pocus team is full of humble overachievers that like to move quickly (we call it shiperate), own our work, give customers superpowers, and create magic for our team… all while having a ton of fun. – Listen, I can't have any more fun. I'm all funned out. Naps only.
  • Customers have referred to Pocus as an “answer to all of their prayers”. – Have they. Have they really.
  • you’ll build the foundation of the role for years to come. – This is the second time in as many job listings that I've seen almost this exact phrasing. Is this an AI thing? Is there a JD-writing class these folks are taking?
  • Learn more in 1 week at Pocus than 1 year at another company – Again, I ask you: Is this supposed to be a pitch? Am I supposed to find this exciting rather than feel like I'm peeking into a chaos factory?
  • Proactively review and update customers’ workspaces to ensure value maximization and alignment to shifting priorities – What...what does this mean?
  • Support CSMs and AEs during implementation by providing a data-driven perspective on prospects’ and customers’ product-led-sales strategy – THIS IS NOT SUPPORT ENGINEER WORK. Is something in the water? Is Venus in retrograde? Am I in the Upside Down? WHAT IS HAPPENING.
  • You are delusionally optimistic. – Listen, someone here is definitely delusional. At this point, I'm willing to concede it might be me.

Upcoming Events

Smart Metrics Are In, Standard Metrics Are Out
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Upgrading Legacy Ticketing Systems
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That's it for this week! If you have items for the Roundup you'd like to submit, you can do so at roundup@supporthuman.cx, but be sure to check out the Roundup FAQs first.