‘All you needed for the modern world was to know how to work a remote control.’
After all that nonsense at Heathrow, it came as particularly welcome to find himself upgraded to first class. This hadn’t happened to Alan before, and he looked around him with beady pleasure. Business class he was used to, club class and premium economy and what have you, the extra eight inches w…
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‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
‘The thing about a circular walk is that you end up where you started.’
‘He's the only person in the world who listens to me and does what I tell him (thought Zoe).’
‘There had been an unbelievable amount of talk about the weather, not to mention the end of the world and so on’.
‘If you happen to be friends with one of the world’s most fearsome food critics, don’t cook for him.’
