The following is an excerpt from Brandon Christopher’s book ‘The Job Pirate: An Entertaining Tale of my Job-Hopping Journey in America’.
The begin of any descent into the world of retail always starts with two simple words: Job interview.
Larger-than-life characters and daily life as a journalist in the surreal world of Kabul, Afghanistan.
After this, I was handed over to a department, given a walkie talkie with which to communicate and told to work. The department I received first? Men, shoes and baby. Seems I could not escape shoes even if I tried.
So what did I learn from all of this? First and foremost, do not get hurt at work, just rub some dirt on it, walk it off and pretend as if nothing happened, because that is exactly what everyone else is going to do in regards to your case and situation.
In a perceived act of corporate evil, it seems that the time clock at work is operating on a different wavelength from the rest of the world. Time for Brian Brehmer.
In his column, Retail Tales, Brian Brehmer looks at the essential, but often unpredictable, aspect of retail: the customers.
In a series of ill goings-on across a life spent travelling the length and breadth of the world, Frank Sonderborg recounts a few cautionary travellers tales.
Called in on his day off with the promise of over-time pay, Brian Brehmer finds himself at a pointless, five-hour meeting for the photo department. Retail Tales with Brian Brehmer.
After a blackout leads to a serious car accident. Gary Hartley opens up on depression, Middle England, and perception in this introspective piece.
After a year of mind-numbing repetition, Brian faces up to the enticing prospect of reflecting on his actions in the annual review. Retail Tales, with Brian Brehmer.
I took a job in a factory that cans peas, a less than rosy introduction to the working world.
The soul-crushing tasks that make up the world of working in retail. Whether it’s mopping up sewage, or taking babies’ passport photos, you can count on Brian Brehmer to take you through the worst jobs.
I went to London with trashy dreams, expecting to finally have the sexually free gay experience. I dated a drag queen one summer but it didn’t work out.
The employee handbook. Time to knuckle down and get ready to give everything, even your life, for the multi-national corporation in which you work. This is the nature of retail. This is Retail Tales with Brian Brehmer.
A voyage into the world of unintentional music today. Maybe you don’t notice the music, or muzak, that plays away while you shop. Why would you? Well, the workers do, believe you me. Retail tales with Brian Brehmer is back. It’s time for ‘Retail Tales’.
The Jobcentre can be an ugly place. Steven Bradbury follows up his experience of trying to get on the dole in austerity Britain with the second instalment of ‘Dole Life’.
Eager to escape from the drudgery of the floor, Brian Brehmer heads for the supposed sanctuary of the break room, only to be greeted with anything but the tranquility he desired.
Skint but with the mouth-watering prospect of working as a potwash in the local pub, famous for its aroma of old farts, Holly Watson reluctantly goes to a job interview.
Don’t you hate the corporate drivel? They give you an award for all the time you have spent earning very little while making the company so much richer. When they take your time and your dignity to boot, then it’s time for Brian Brehmer.
What you have to do for £50 a week in Britain. This is British life on the dole. Steven Bradbury gives Talking Soup the inside scoop on a life of Job Seeker’s Allowance.
The day to day machinations of the retail industry as told by insider, Brian Brehmer. In the latest in his series, Brian recalls some of the brilliantly bogus refund claims brought about by the infamous ‘Dumpster Divers’.
Not everyone who drinks wine has any idea what the fuck they’re drinking. I sell wine and these are the things that piss me off about the job.
In an attempt to appease the downtrodden workers, management tries to push the ‘Employee of the Month’ scheme with limited success. Welcome to ‘Brian Brehmer’s Retail Tales’.
