Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee by Alex Frankel (2007) | Book Review
Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee by Alex Frankel Genres: Non-Fiction
Original Publication Date: 2007
Source: I purchased this book
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Find the Author: Goodreads, Amazon
Punching In: During a two-year urban adventure through the world of commerce, journalist Alex Frankel proudly wore the brown uniform of the UPS driver, folded endless stacks of T-shirts at Gap, brewed espressos for the hordes at Starbucks, interviewed (but failed to get hired) at Whole Foods, enrolled in management training at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and sold iPods at the Apple Store. In this lively and entertaining narrative, Frankel takes readers on a personal journey into the land of front-line employees to discover why some workers are so eager to drink the corporate Kool-Aid and which companies know how to serve it up best.
Table of Contents
Punching In Examines The Varying Work Cultures Of Different Companies
The author applied for and actually spent time in each of these jobs.
Alex Frankel went into these jobs with an open mind. Frankel tried to give each company a chance.
Punching In is an interesting comparison of entry-level jobs.
Frankel Describes The Different Workplaces
Frankel delivered packages for UPS in hilly San Francisco. He was also a salesman at the Apple Store.
Alex became a rental agent for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He also trained to become a barista at Starbucks.
The hiring process was just as interesting as the jobs. Some companies were easier to get hired at than others.
Frankel never made it through the full hiring process at The Container Store.
He did manage to get hired by the Apple store.
Final Analysis
Frankel was interested in how various companies trained their employees.
He was interested in how effective the training was. He was surprised to find out the differences between the jobs.
The UPS delivery job was exhausting physically. He did come to admire the company.
Folding jeans at Gap was mind-numbing.
At Enterprise the goal was not about renting cars. It was about persuading customers to buy “extras”.
Many jobs were different than he thought they would be. He was also surprised by how much was very hard work.
Further Reading
Please read my other posts on RESISTANCE and politics:
Heronfield by Dorothy Balchin | Book Review
Marie: A True Story by Peter Maas | Book Review
How the Good Guys Finally Won: Notes From An Impeachment Summer by Jimmy Breslin | Book Review
All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein | Book Review
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich | Book Review
and some other book reviews:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith | Book Review
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp | Book Review
Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman | Book Review
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath | Book Review
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker | Book Review
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey | Book Review
and check out my other blog:
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Thank you for reading The Literary Lioness!
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