Homejoy says goodbye • Hacker News Board

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#361

Post by DarthMader » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 10:43 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #208

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was a good talk but I can't help to think that she should have spent more time working on the business than doing these types of speaking engagements (because she had done quite a lot of them, not just this one). Though the time spent doing these engagements and preparing, maybe that was worth it for the advertising? Not sure but they don't sit right with me.

One of the primary responsibilities of a CEO is building (and maintaining) relationships with external parties, such as prospective clients, partners, or even potential employees. Speaking engagements are a great way to do that because it gets you in front of such audiences and helps you demonstrate authority, which builds trust. So I'd say that she was simply doing her job.

She was involved in a lot more speaking engagements than any of her other on-demand counterparts though.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#362

Post by s73v3r » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 10:50 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #183

toomuchtodo wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You don't get a moral blank-check just because you don't like your job. Whether someone can "feel" your passion about a job isn't about morality. I can do my job well, even if I feel its the equivalent of shoveling horse shit, and have zero passion for it. Whether someone is doing their job well is never a moral question. If someone didn't do the job you agreed to, its contractual; don't pay or pay a reduced rate b…

You're interpreting it too literally. "Passion" in this case simply means "actually gives a fuck and tries to do a good job" as opposed to "doing the bare minimum." So yeah, you don't have to have passion for your job, or even like it, but if you're not going to try to do it well, just quit and let someone else take over.

I don't think so. Remember, this is the same crowd who constantly is bombarded with recruiter spam seeking people who are "passionate" about development.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#363

Post by s73v3r » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 10:53 PM UTC

mycroft-holmes wrote: post #191

seizethecheese wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, however another "advantage" of many "sharing economy" companies is that they skirt regulations that incumbents must adhere to.

The real question to ask in this case is whether those regulations should be there in the first place.

If that was the question, then these companies would be lobbying to get rid of those regulations. Far too many of them see their ignoring of regulations to be a competitive edge.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#364

Post by s73v3r » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 10:56 PM UTC

onewaystreet wrote: post #289

ceejayoz wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no scenario where Uber becomes MySpace to a competitor. Sure there is - the IRS says their drivers are employees and they need to provide multiple years worth of backpay/benefits. Any competitor that's been doing that already wins.

It's debatable whether the ride sharing industry can survive if drivers are classified as employees (which is why Uber and others are working on self-driving cars).

It's not debatable; there are plenty of companies that do it already.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#365

Post by baddox » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 10:56 PM UTC

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #308

zaidf wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Those who claim cleaning is not a "skilled job" should get off their keyboard, spend a day cleaning their moms house, and get back to me when they learn they are 3X slower than a pro and destroyed something with bleach-based spray. x100. There is a lot more variance between two cleaners than say two Uber drivers.

Due to the regulations needed to drive. Put someone with no experience driving behind a wheel and you'll quickly see how skill based driving is. Just, unlike good cleaning, we have a lot of training and experience with good driving. Or if this is too extreme of an example, look at what happens when you give a driver who has only driven small cars a big truck pulling a loaded trailer. They'll definitely be slower than…

That comparison is confounded by the fact that most people, at least in the United States, get their driver's permit and license at a fairly young age, and don't have driving experience before that. A fair comparison would be between licensed and unlicensed drivers with the same amount of experience, but that's pretty hard to come by.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#366

Post by aranibatta » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 11:00 PM UTC

Rather than looking at it from a purely business perspective, I think that HomeJoy accomplished a lot in its tenure. It set an industry standard and a format that I'm sure will stick for a long time. It made huge strides in quality control and tackled a lot of the problems in the industry, if not completely solving them. You can only hope that Google keeps that spirit alive, and having met her, I have only amazing things from the impression that Adora Cheung left on me. I'm sure whatever she chooses to do next, she'll do it well.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#367

Post by frou_dh » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 11:02 PM UTC

ianlevesque wrote: post #26

I'm just so glad they didn't say it was an incredible journey.

Evidently we'll be exposed to the phrase either way.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#368

Post by FireBeyond » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 11:29 PM UTC

nostrademons wrote: post #296

tehwebguy wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but also I want a business with a name worth protecting to be on the hook when I have a room booked, not just some homeowner.

AirBnB's that business now. They used to claim they were only a matchmaking service and any risks were to be worked out between the homeowner and renter, but after some really bad publicity c. 2011, they've really doubled-down on customer service and insurance. Everyone I've known whose had a bad experience with AirBnB lately has had it turned into a good experience.

"Everyone I've known whose had a bad experience with AirBnB lately has had it turned into a good experience."

Minor nitpick on this... it's doubtful that it 'turned into a good experience', as much as "AirBnB was able to compensate, monetarily or otherwise, for the bad experience (which still exists)".

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#369

Post by gohrt » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 11:32 PM UTC

ectoplasm wrote: post #344

michaelt wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of jobs involve what sociologists call "emotional labor" - jobs where, to be an effective worker, you can't always show your first-choice emotions. If I'm at a table service restaurant and my waiter is visibly unhappy about having to bring us food and drinks, I don't want to be an asshole by keeping on making him do that. I'd rather cook my own food at home next time. But a table service restaurant where waiter…

That's an interesting concept... but doesn't it apply to every job?

Only for customer-facing jobs. People don't care how much Bangladeshi children hate sewing shrts for them.

Re: Homejoy says goodbye

#370

Post by FireBeyond » Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 11:34 PM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #252

Baghard wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I firmly believe this business model can work. I know of a local business that is going into its 6th year of operations. Cleaning houses is a large part of their revenues. They match house cleaners, handymen, grocery shoppers, cooks and assistants with professionals starved for time. The model is subscription-based and they have some large companies which give out these subscriptions as a bonus/perk to their employee…

You are comparing apples to potatoes. Every city has cleaning and janitorial service companies (I worked for one in high school). Obviously that model works. We pay our housekeeper $60/week and she's amazing. What doesn't work is selling a service–cleaning or otherwise–for $20 when you have to pay the contractor $50 and a CAC of $12 (spitballing BTW). At least Groupon shared the deal price with the restaurant and had…

"What doesn't work is selling a service–cleaning or otherwise–for $20 when you have to pay the contractor $50 and a CAC of $12 (spitballing BTW)."

I know you were spitballing, but the one time I looked at Homejoy, it most definitely wasn't on the cheaper side of the coin, quite the opposite.

Anyone care to give numbers?