Pros
The publisher is a good sales person (when she does her job, which is rare); you can see it in how much of her sales pitch is in all these new ‘anonymous’ 5-star reviews. You occasionally get gift certificates, however the publisher keeps whatever she wants before allowing staff to rush to whatever little she releases to them. The only other positive is that you can occasionally work from home, but not without constant micromanagement, which she (the publisher) claims she hates and never does. The employees that I worked with are great people, and we bonded quickly over the hostile work environment and were each other's support, those people have fortunately all left the company.
Cons
No matter how much the publisher spins these negative reviews, and lashes back calling them flat out lies, there is a reason there are negative reviews. She is currently attempting to flag them to have them removed. This is not one person launching a smear campaign against her, this is a large portion of former employees who desperately want to prevent others from having to go through the same frustration and harassment that we endured at Yellow Scene. It is a highly unprofessional environment, with frequent late or no pay. Bounced checks are a regular occurrence, it was a joke (unfortunately based in truth) that the first one to the bank is the one who gets paid. She will defend it saying it’s a ‘unique pay structure’ being paid bimonthly. What she doesn’t say, is that paychecks are frequently short the full amount so she can avoid paying the taxes on payroll. I left after several months of not receiving two paychecks per month, as per my contract. The contract (terms of employment) is heavily skewed to benefit Yellow Scene/SMB Advertising, and should never be signed in its current form. The publisher offers vacation time but will constantly remind employees that she doesn’t have to do it, and about how generous she is being. To accrue the second half of your vacation time per month, you cannot REPORT any over time. However, she has flat out stated in a recorded staff meeting that you should still be working the overtime, if you report it you will lose that accrued vacation time and the week off at Christmas. Her entire staff walked out after not receiving a paycheck for weeks. She attempts to view the work as “challenging but gratifying” (see title of one of her false reviews) and states that she makes it clear what is expected up front, but how she treats you is abuse (even if she does give you a mild disclaimer before taking the job), and the work never ends because she is always trying to claw her way back from the brink of failure. The claims she makes about the magazine’s success are false, she does not distribute the amount she says she does, she does not have the reach she claims, and she rips off clients and businesses constantly. I have witnessed many illegal business decisions be made (running credit cards without permission, etc.). I have never felt more unsafe, uncomfortable, or ashamed of where I worked. I hope that anyone reading this and considering Yellow Scene as an option reconsiders for their own wellbeing. No matter how she spins my words in her response, it is a desperate attempt to make mud shine.
