Product Description

Seven potential customer service representatives start their training course under the professional guidance of Rob Church. From the start, he is disillusioned with the quality of his latest batch of trainees, but ever the professional and an inveterate optimist, he plunges into his routine. His worst fears are confirmed. Each of his charges, with one exception, is a loser. As he works his way through the embarrassingly formulaic training set-pieces with never a doubt about the value of his corporate objectives, the awful reality of the appalling quality of the human material he has to work with becomes clear. From failed actress to religious puritan, from would-be pop star to tarty young temptress, none is the trainee of choice - except, perhaps, the apparently sophisticated Charlotte, professional lady to her fingertips and romantic and professional hope of the slick and be-suited Church. Perhaps - but perhaps not. In parallel with the hilarious accounts of Church's attempts to instil a corporate culture in the team, we are treated to funny and sometimes moving stories of the individuals' private lives and their relationships with each other on and off the job. The threads of their lives are tangled and disentangled, and the course ends with some clever and satisfying events and conclusions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #819068 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Aliya Whiteley is an accomplished short story writer and her experimental prose/poetry book, Mean Mode Median, was published in 2004. She has a lively and informative web site.

Excerpted from Three Things About Me by Aliya Whiteley. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Monday, 30th October, 9.00 am

‘Okay, people, let’s break the ice! Hopefully you all got your information packs last week through the post and have all had a think about your facts, so let’s play Three Things About Me!’

Rob makes his initial evaluations of them, taking into account their appearance and speech as well as the two facts and one lie about themselves that they were asked to prepare. These first impressions are an important moment in the trainer/trainee relationship, and Rob tries hard to make insightful and valid observations, jotting them down on his pad. For the first trainee he writes:

Balding. And overweight too, Rob notes, in the way that middle-aged men are, with an extra layer over the top of the trousers. The remains of his blond hair, combed into strands across his forehead, are glued there by tiny beads of moisture. A bit short. Awful tie. Bad teeth.

Customer Reviews

First impressions
Great quirky, black humour that draws on every persons recollections of: Stupid questions I have answered in order to get a job!
How much do we give away of ourselves with our answers?
These characters evolve from our first impressions of 'weirdos' into full blown heroes(& heroines)who have survived the storms of life with absolutely no help from the crummy training course they have to endure. Good read.

Really enjoyed this book
I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm not easy to please! I didn't want it to end. This is a really interesting way to write: from the perspective of all the characters, on a day by day basis. It is very well written, clever and funny. It would suit someone looking for something to read on holiday just as much as someone like me who has limited time and will read it over a longer period. You will definitely have met people like some of those in the book! It made me laugh out loud at times.

Three things about me
As seven students embark upon a management course, we are treated to their pasts, their present, and their expectations, hopes and plans for the future. As the course unfolds and the characters interact, subtle changes begin to take place within the group.

I have always supported the theory that we can learn how to deal with life's experiences through reading a good novel,and from the comfort and safety of our armchair. This novel is no exception, with its interesting characters, social interaction and plenty of problems to ponder and procrastinate over. It is very well written with a depth of characterisation that will stimulate plenty of discussion; it will go down extremely well with Reading Groups.