Ben Cheever was a senior editor for Reader's Digest for 11 years and has published three novels. In 1995, however, his latest book proposal had been rejected, so he went looking for work. This is his wry account of the dozen jobs he held as an entry-level employee in the service sector. As he filled out applications, no one seemed to mind that he was vastly overqualified for the positions. At CompUSA, passing a urine test was more important. The jobs were disorienting. At Nobody Beats the Wiz, despite team building meetings, employees were fiercely competitive for sales. At Cosi Sandwich Bar, other employees called him "Gramps." He loved selling cars, but working as a Cadillac salesman netted him less than minimum wage. From his position on the other side of the service counter, Ben Cheever gained a new respect for the millions of people who work long hours for low wages. Now that downsizing is a permanent part of the workplace, his observations provide a valuable perspective of how our jobs define who we are.
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"This is one of the funniest books ever written about the blue collar rat race. A must read for anyone who makes little or no money in the service industry. Wait...does that include teachers?" — Kristina (5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the funniest books ever written about the blue collar rat race. A must read for anyone who makes little or no money in the service industry. Wait...does that include teachers?"
“Funny, vivid and honest.”
“By turns earnest and comic, analytical and self-obsessed.”
“Entertaining...Cheever’s voice is utterly genuine, humble, and likable.”
“A touching and insightful workplace memoir.”
“The funniest memoir of the downsized economy.”
" It is upsetting how true so much in this book is. "
" How to get by on your Daddy "
Benjamin Cheever, son of the novelist John Cheever, is the author of four adult fiction novels, one children’s book, and two nonfiction books. He has also been an editor at Reader’s Digest and a newspaper reporter for the New York Times, Nation, and New Yorker. He has taught at The New School for Social Research and the Benning MFA program and has hosted a television show called About Writing. He lives in Pleasantville, New York, with his wife and sons.
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.
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