OT: ChaCha

[AUDramaQueen]

Esther "Friend" just posted a blog saying they are listening. It's all spin though....Doesn't even mention the pay rate.

 

[What are we doing?]

Esther "Friend" just posted a blog saying they are listening. It's all spin though....Doesn't even mention the pay rate.

Of course, Esther's listening. with quotes like this, from washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080500797.html?nav=hcmodule

It's clear that ChaCha is trying to trim their workforce down to a small army of accurate and hardworking searchers, but enraging its entire community only seems to solidify its place in the Deadpool.

Their little pay cut is making the news. Next out will be that the "Pay me now" button isn't working.

A PR disaster of their own making.

Chacha could have quietly dumped the non-performing guides. "Sorry, your accuracy/spelling/grammar is not up to our standards. Bye-bye." As independent contractors, there's not much people can say. Oh, wait, they may complain to the IRS that Chacha was trying to get around labor laws by calling it's employees contractors. Funny, by ticking off the entire labor force (barring a few) they've increased the chances of that happening anyway.

I'm frustrated that I spent so long studying to be a guide. OTOH, I still don't know if I passed my SIM, and with the apparent financial difficulties evidenced by the pay me now button not working, I'm kinda glad that I can just walk away. At .20 a question, Chacha was questionable, but a fun thing to do. At ..10 per question, I won't be taken advantage of.

 

[momof1princess]

somehow i seriously doubt that Esther is our "Friend" LOL.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Pay me now is working again! I pushed it while it was down - and the money transferred once it was back up. I am happy to have the money!

I will keep working until I fall below the top guide - I do like the idea of one week as top guide one week earning it...that might be a good idea if the top guide standards are too high...I posted this over there with no response...

I have crashed out the ChaCha system in the middle of searches more times than I could even begin to count. I have had searches terminated by ChaCha at less than one minute in. Are these counting against my accuracy rating?

I have hit the abort button TWICE and the only reason I hit it was b/c my son (very active 4 year old) had hurt something and was crying.

I read the knowledgebase on crashes and it says to be patient b/c they are in beta and not to worry about them. WELL - now I am going to worry about them b/c if something wrong with the ChaCha system is affecting MY ACCURACY that really stinks!

And what about weeks like this where you can't even answer questions b/c the system is so slow that it takes 15 minutes to get a question or it is completely down - is ChaCha going to prorate the # of searches we have to have in those weeks?

 

[Daydreamer64]

Esther "Friend" just posted a blog saying they are listening. It's all spin though....Doesn't even mention the pay rate.

Yes, and did you see where it says that the behavior contract applies and there will be consequences for those who are negative and abusive about chacha?

It was worded a little different, but thats what it means- so chacha can ignore the "promise to pay" contract and get to change their end of the contract, but guides can't ignore their "nothing but happiness and smile or be silence" rules?


I see dead people , I mean - a lot of deactivated guides in the near future, there's over 1000 replies to threads about the new pay policy and these people are not happy.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech. I knew that all the encouragement to report poor guides was going to bite everyone in the butt.

 

[What are we doing?]

Yes, and did you see where it says that the behavior contract applies and there will be consequences for those who are negative and abusive about chacha?

And that is why you use a different username in public forums.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech. I knew that all the encouragement to report poor guides was going to bite everyone in the butt.

The contract said that you could be fired for what you wrote in the forums. There's no surprise there.

I say, find me & fire me.

 

[AUDramaQueen]

And that is why you use a different username in public forums.


The contract said that you could be fired for what you wrote in the forums. There's no surprise there.

I say, find me & fire me.

Exactly!

I'm starting to wonder if this wasn't another way to get rid of guides. Do something to make them so mad, they will violate the terms and conditions. Wow, they are killing two birds with one stone.

 

[What are we doing?]

Exactly!

I'm starting to wonder if this wasn't another way to get rid of guides. Do something to make them so mad, they will violate the terms and conditions. Wow, they are killing two birds with one stone.

They've demonstrated the correlation of outrage to quality is???




Poorly managed company IMO.

 

[Bopsmom]

I really don't even want to work up until the 14th to bust my rear for 20 cents a question when I'm seriously doubting that I'll even get the paltry $148 I've earned thus far. DANG - why did I not choose the Pay Me Now option??

I feel you I've been at it a week and called the bank regarding no email about having the Pay Me Now account#. He chuckled, and said yes, ChaCha says it would be 7-14 days but it really will be SEVERAL WEEKS to get my account/card.

My feeling is, I signed on, took the .15 cents, even though I was promised .20, figured it would be a short time to make the full pay- I was learning the system-no problem, then lo and behold- I got was an instant pay cut of 1/2.
I have held my up my end, work, do quality work, give the WOW they want, why can't they hold up their end- pay me my signed in pay and pay me in a timely fashion.
I trusted them in faith, and I don't think it is too much to want them to do as they promised.

rant over.

 

[Trixiezzz]

You know, even at the $.20 rate I felt a little silly, basically working for less than minimum wage: $5.00/hr.

I got top guide every week, but really had to put some major time into it ~ time I took away from my family. But it was worth it, since I could make some extra money.

But, right when I was thinking how undervalued this whole ChaCha thing was already.... now I'm going to work for $2.50 an hour??? This is so stupid! This is China sweatshop pay!

This is insulting. Especially since I have never been in a situation where I had to read such ugly, abusive language and nasty, perverted questions - and then reply in an upbeat, accurate, correctly-spelled reply. They owe us $.20 per message just for our patience!

But I've decided if I do give it up, I'm going to have a few nights of fun with the answers before I go. Wouldn't it be satisfying to answer all those insulting, juvenile sex questions the way you really want to?? Like an earlier poster wrote: answer with "I'm forwarding a copy of all your emails to your mother?"

 

[Pezalicious]

But I've decided if I do give it up, I'm going to have a few nights of fun with the answers before I go. Wouldn't it be satisfying to answer all those insulting, juvenile sex questions the way you really want to?? Like an earlier poster wrote: answer with "I'm forwarding a copy of all your emails to your mother?"

For those who want to continue working, a boycott is a good idea.. But too bad there isn't some organized blowout for those who want to quit. One night where everyone gets together and sends off answers with a real WOW factor! I'd love to do what you plan on doing! I'm just waiting this out to see if they're going to change things for the better before I decide on whether or not I'm quitting.

 

[Trixiezzz]

Here's the text from the Washington Post article link given in earlier post:
*************

ChaCha Cuts Pay Rate In Half, Prepares For Implosion


Jason Kincaid
TechCrunch.com
Tuesday, August 5, 2008; 1:10 AM

"We've never been big fans of ChaCha, the human powered search engine that pairs you up with a "guide" who attempts to answer your questions in real time. The search model was obviously unscalable from the outset, but ChaCha's botched implementation hasn't helped much. When it first launched, ChaCha allowed users to initiate full on chat sessions with their guides, which predictably led to a flood of pranksters who overwhelmed the service.

After a year of trying to make the ridiculously flawed system work, the company abandoned the chat sessions in favor of one-off question and answers, primarily targeting users through a mobile service.

Despite its glaring issues, ChaCha has managed to ring up $16 million in funding, which is probably why it has survived this long. And to the company's credit, it has amassed a following of loyal "guides" - the people who do the heavy lifting and find the search results for visitors to ChaCha.

Many of these guides are only interested in making a quick buck, which is why there are so many laughably bad search results. But for some, ChaCha is an extension of the workday, offering some relatively easy money to help supplement their incomes. And now ChaCha is going to screw them.
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Yesterday ChaCha sent out a message to its guides explaining that it was introducing a "Pay-For-Performance" system that was designed to improve search quality - not a bad idea, given the shoddy results we've seen before. Unfortunately, it seems that ChaCha has blundered this plan too.

Under the new program, "Top Guides" will receive 20 cents per question, which has been the standard rate for experienced guides for some time. Everyone else gets 10 cents per question - half of what they would have gotten under the old system. To become a Top Guide, users must do the following:

*>95% Quality Measurement.* 95% and above completion of answers to questions:* Minimum 300 Searches a week.

That's a lot of searches, given the fact that most experienced users average around one search per minute. In effect, ChaCha is forcing users to work five or more hours per week if they want the higher payrate - something that will totally alienate the site's more casual (but accurate) users. What's worse, there's currently no way to readily see your accuracy score, so users are forced to trust ChaCha's word.

Users are up in arms on the site's private forum (you can see some of the complaints here), with many planning to abandon ChaCha entirely. It's clear that ChaCha is trying to trim their workforce down to a small army of accurate and hardworking searchers, but enraging its entire community only seems to solidify its place in the Deadpool."

Link for this article= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080500797.html?nav=hcmodule

****************

ALSO--

Look at the angry ChaCha responses on Dave Ramsey's forum:

http://www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com...=127934&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

 

[Pezalicious]

Bah, scratch my last thought. I just remembered that it would really be hard for the rest of the guides to clean up that kind of mess. While it would feel kinda good to do something silly and childish to ChaCha, it's the guides who would suffer by having to do the proper searches and clean up whatever was said. So, if I quit, I will be leaving quietly.


I like that article, but I wish it was more accurate about the amount of time it takes to finish a query. Most don't take only a minute, and then there are the ones where it can take 5+ plus because it's so random, obscure, or because you're fixing another guide's reply.

 

[megthewonderful]

I take pride in my answers on ChaCha. And getting an answer done in a minute is close to impossible if you want it done correctly the first time around. I would rather spend 3 minutes on an answer and get it right then send off any answer. So, answering 300 questions a week means working a lot more hours than I have to spare.

 

[dawz1026]

I am in NY and have been logged on since noon and have yet to get a query.Is this normal? Anyone else in my area having this problem?

 

[Daydreamer64]

Here's the text from the Washington Post , Jason Kincaid - TechCrunch.com., Dave Ramsey's forum..... [/url]

I don't think ChaCha thought through the vast number of people that were going to get wind of this- you know I tell two people, they tell two people...

Sorry, but this was a very bad business move. They could have quietly let people go and not punished the decent guides .

 

[ajh88]

I don't think ChaCha thought through the vast number of people that were going to get wind of this- you know I tell two people, they tell two people...

Sorry, but this was a very bad business move. They could have quietly let people go and not punished the decent guides .

That's what I was thinking too. For a company that seemed so keen on positive word of mouth referrals, they certainly didn't take a look at the other side of that coin when it came to jerking the guides around! Didn't it ever occur to them that guides encouraged people (friends/family) to use the service?

 

[momejay]

Check your catagories & interests as mine were wiped out. Maybe that is why we aren't getting any questions?

 

[Nanu57v]

I have been complaining about the pay me now button for days! I have yet to be paid. I started July 12th. I have my account, debit card & PIN. Chacha says the bank never sent my accoount number. The bank says they did.

Ok nevermind the pay scale thing did you see the way they cleverly worded the winnings for this weekends contest? Now, after contest is over, they state we had to be logged in for every hour. Who in their right mind is going to stay up until 3AM & still be a "WOW" guide? I saved the email about the contest it doesn't say we have to be logged in the whole time it says random drawings during each hour & guide that answers most questions in that time period.

I think they need to look at our history of accuracy instead of creating a quota.
OVER WORKED & NOT PAID!!!! MY $.10 worth answer!

I stayed up till three am! Lots of iced coffee. I wasn't even close to winning.

 

[mebfalcon]

I've been one of those doing it very part time (but I do give good anwers, otherwise I'd be there already!). I was just going to get to the $100 in August and get my money. I have about $75 and just want to get it and get out. Is the pay me know option a real hassle? Is the check option easier so I should just get to $100. Please help!