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In his latest book Punching In Alex Frankel a journalist and “brand observer” recounts his recent experiences working entry-level jobs for some of America’s best-known employers: UPS, Starbucks, the Gap and Apple among others.
Unlike those of us who prefer to learn about companies by reading academic case studies or magazine articles, Frankel discovers firsthand how employees are indoctrinated into becoming brand evangelists. He gets his hands wet by whipping up Frappuccinos, delivering packages, folding merino sweaters and selling car rental insurance.
“Whenever I neared the UPS building in San Francisco I felt a strange pull inward, a longing for something I couldn’t articulate,” he writes. Frankel decides to experience “what it felt like to be part of an interconnected global workforce by becoming a piece of it.”
Does a hive-like mentality pervade American retail jobs? If so, many of the worker bees appear to be drones, but according to Frankel the chain stores look for certain types of employees. The Container Store, for instances prefers compulsive neat freaks.
A chapter on looking for work at Home Depot includes his take on the psychographic questions the retailer asks to assess the personality of job candidates. Home Depot: “Other than pens, paper, or other supplies, what is the total worth of all the items and money you have taken from employers in the last 3 years?”
Frankel thinks about it and replies, $0. “That had to be a trick question, right?” he reasons. He is weeded out without ever receiving an interview.
The process is arduous. At one point, Whole Foods asks more than 200 questions online about his work habits. “Trying to guess which answer would get me invited in for an interview was quite difficult,” he concedes.
Two years is a long time to immerse yourself in a field for which you feel improperly suited, but that’s what Frankel reports about his experience. ”After just three days on the job, [at the Gap] I began to dread punching in,” he writes. The boredom of folding hundreds of garments each day makes him hungry.
Well, of course. I can’t say that I share Frankel’s curiosity about what it’s like to work entry-level jobs for America’s leading brands. I doubt I could last a day at Wal-Mart, but I think I’d make a good Starbucks Barista - except maybe during a rush. I’m not quite ready to turn pro yet.
