Selling Ben Cheever: Back to Square One in a Service Economy

by Benjamin Cheever

Ben Cheever's hilarious and profound odyssey through the want-ad world.

In 1995, America was in the throes of downsizing-fever. Many thousands then, as now, were losing their jobs to the corporate demand of more money for the top, by tightening the belt below. Unable to sell his latest novel, Ben Cheever started to think about what employment opportunities were out there. Mustering his courage, he skimmed the want-ads, made some phone calls, went to interviews, and ended up as everything from a security guard to a computer salesman.

Rejected by Brooks Brothers, accepted as a sandwich maker, successful as a car salesman, Cheever brilliantly chronicles life on the other side of the counter. As we see him confront his own demons about what a particular job means to him, we are compelled to consider how our egos are affected by not only what we do, but how we do it. It is through Ben's experiences that we begin to think about our approach to our own jobs and to confront our fears about what we would do if we didn't have them.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

395 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2001

Reviews

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have misgivings about rating this book so highly -- it is full of odd digressions and repetitions, and it often lacks transitions between episodes (i.e., jobs). In addition, the descriptions of some of the jobs Cheever takes makes the book feel every year its age (such as promoting the Mac Performa, selling Pontiac Firebirds, etc.). However, Cheever truly explores how it feels to work in the service industry, and his observations ring true for anyone who has ever held this type of job. And one of the best features of a decent book is the reader's sorrow to see it end. Even though Cheever did not need the jobs to support himself -- failure was not catastrophic and thus held little tension -- his succession of service jobs makes a fascinating narrative full of interesting situations and characters.

[Kenghis Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is upsetting how true so much in this book is.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read "Nickeled and Dimed" before this book and was suggested this book because it has a similar premise. (Chronicling a well off person works minimum wage jobs). I liked Nickeled and Dimed better and I didn't even think Nickeled and Dimed wasn't all that great a book. But I appreciated how Nickeled and Dimed she actually tried to live off the wages.

This book started off good and had it's funny moments. But after a while it got boring and dragged on. There was much plot or much happening. If you've ever worked several jobs similar to the ones Cheever worked then you won't find this book exciting. I'm confused about the timeline it jumps from job to job but skips around a bit. And I don't necessarily think the way the book presented it is the order in which Cheever actully held the jobs. And it sounded like there were other jobs he held that didn't make the book (at one point he claimed to have worked over 15 jobs). Not that it matters though, just felt like pointing that out. Additionally this book shows it's age easily with outdated technology mentioned frequently and everything about it sceams 90s. Nothing wrong with that either and it was nostalgic reading this book.

Overall this book is not a bad book. But it is boring and simple if at times a tad bit funny. Just a guy finding and working ordinary jobs. There isn't much else to it. I enjoyed it for what it was but I don't need to read it again.

[D D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheever has a class bias against retail employees. It’s only when he’s forced to accept a retail job that he comes face to face with how customers, as he was, think of retail employees as “less than.” He’s humbled and realizes the bias that so many millions of Americans experience. He also discovers the camaraderie among retail workers, but doesn’t quite understand it’s because employees feel a common disgust with how horribly customers treat them.
There’s a great moment when Cheever complains to a second customer about how poorly the first customer behaved, and he’s genuinely shocked that the second customer is offended that he would say such a thing about a customer. Yes, Ben, you are not considered their equal no matter how superior you feel you are to the other retail workers.
Good read if you haven’t had a retail job to understand how retail employees are a underclass in America.

[Cookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It had some funny parts. But it was another book like Nickle and Dimed about a non poor person cosplaying a poor person for a few months. I'd rather read this topic from a person who has actually lived this life, not pretended to.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been Cheever had written three books, and none had gotten published. His economic security provided by his gainfully employed wife, he took a series of low paid, generic jobs in suburban New York. He was a clerk a Borders, did a stint as a security guard, sold computers, made sandwiches, and sold Oldsmobiles. Cheever is an astute observer of his fellow human beings, and the book is pretty funny, to boot.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest books ever written about the blue collar rat race. A must read for anyone who makes little or no money in the service industry. Wait...does that include teachers?

[Dan Piette · Rating 3 out of 5]

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