Still not quite the service memoir I'm looking for.

I always had this dream of writing a memoir about working service jobs for the bulk of my career, and how my twenty-five years in the profession (I started young, selling veggies at my parents' farm market stand) had one overwhelming result: I now hate people.*

But it turns out it's work to write a memoir, so it remains a dream. In the meantime, I keep searching for the type of service memoir I always wanted to write. During my search, I've read a lot of books that didn't particularly turn me on: Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Caitlin Kelly's Malled, etc. About the best one I've found so far has been Debra Ginsberg's superlative Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress. I would highly recommend that one.

The latest entry in this field is Anna Sam's Checkout Girl: A Life Behind the Register, which has been translated from the French. Evidently, if the cover can be believed, it's an international bestseller. And although it was a fun, quick read, it wasn't quite what I wanted either. Sam makes the point, well, that one can indeed be well-educated and still end up working as a checkout girl; she's got advanced degrees and she works in a supermarket. Anyone who's worked behind a service counter will find a lot to chuckle at here: making sure your register "cashes out" correctly; people talking on their cell phones while you wait on them; devious customers finding new ways to cut in line; spotting shoplifters; etc.

But one of my favorite anecdotes was this one, about being used as a cautionary tale:

"When you hear a mother tell her child as she points her finger at you, 'You see, darling, if you don't work hard at school, you'll become a cashier like the lady,' there's nothing to stop you from explaining that it's not a profession for stupid people, that you'd rather do this than be unemployed, and that you actually have a good degree...

Well, I have news for all those ignorant, self-righteous parents out there: it's been a long time since a degree guaranteed a dream job. Today's graduates sometimes have no choice but to do less skilled work. Dear parents, thank you for reducing our profession to a warning! Wake up: this is a new century." (p. 104.)

I found that funny and scary. So yes, this one was kind of fun. But I think it suffers a little bit in translation, and it wasn't quite what I had in mind. But still a book that might make you chuckle if you've ever stood behind a cash register.

*This is actually the chicken-or-egg question of my life: Have I always hated people, or did waiting on them so early make me hate them? It's a thinker.

Comments

[bybee]

When my son was working at Wal-mart, he said that he was ringing up some guy's groceries and the man started lecturing him about how he should go to college and did he want to work at a crap job like Wal-mart for the rest of his life? My son proceeded to tell the man that he was a student and rattled off a list of courses that he was taking that semester.

Have you read Other People's Dirt by Louise Rafkin? Entertaining, but I would never let her in my house to clean.

[Citizen Reader]

Bybee,
Well, actually, I'm touched that someone in Wal-Mart had the energy to care about their checkout person. No one ever gave me that type of grief--evidently I looked like I belonged behind that counter! :) And most patrons at the library were too busy fighting fines to give any thought to my career arc.

LOVED "Other People's Dirt." Thanks for the reminder. I'd let her in my house to clean, but then, I would let anyone in my house to clean. They wouldn't have to do a particularly good job, either.

[Brandon]

I hate people, too, but I blame customer service jobs for that. I think people's overall shittiness stems from the fact that they all think they're special, that it's a privilege for someone to wait on them. People aren't remarkable, and the world would likely be a better place if they realized this.

I'm reminded of something a customer once said to me. He had to change his plane ticket, and I happened to find the last seat for the date he needed. While I was doing my work, he kept yapping, remarking that God had sent me to watch out for him, to make sure that he could get to some sporting event. Evidently, I was supposed to respond, because he actually asked me what I think, so I said, "I think that's a really crass thing to say." He finally shut up.

In other news, Michael Connelly is going to be on Craig Ferguson on November 29.

[Citizen Reader]

Brandon, my very favorite Michael Connelly news source,

It's an indication of how long I worked in customer service and what it did to me, but when I read your story this is what popped in my head immediately: "Well, sir, I'm praying to God that your team loses. Should be interesting to see how this one works out." When I worked behind the counter I had to squelch a need to say things like that about every minute. It was exhausting.

I enjoyed your crass comment too. Anything that shuts the customer up is a winner. I also think your specialness theory is as good as everything I've heard. I always figured people must overall be in a) pretty good health, or b) not have any real problems, if they were willing to swear at me over fines, tell me that their half-caff half-1% half-whole milk cappuccino didn't have enough foam, etc. It was always amazing to me what charmed lives a lot of people must lead, if those types of things qualified as problems.

I wouldn't even mind if people thought they were remarkable, but couldn't they then realize the other people they're interacting with are remarkable too, and treat them with respect (whoever they are)?