You Want Fries with That: A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage [Hardcover]

Prioleau Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2008

The American Dream used to include a white picket fence, 2.2 kids, and a dog. In todayÕs frantic world, itÕs . . . well, letÕs be honestÑitÕs quite different. But what would happen if you did have the nerve to quit your white-collar job? Prioleau Alexander can tell you: He walked away from a lucrative career as an advertising executive, seeking a life Òlike that dude on Kung Fu.Ó Over the next year he worked minimum-wage jobs as a pizza deliveryman, ice cream scooper, construction worker, ER tech, fast food jockey, and even cowboy on a Montana dude ranch. In YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?, Prioleau explores life at minimum wage and proves unequivocally that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Prioleau Alexander, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, and a graduate of Auburn University, is a former Marine officer, an advertising veteran, and a conservative-libertarian, gun-nut, religious wacko with anarchist leanings. His wife, Heidi, and their three dogs are okay with that.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing (April 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559708646
• ISBN-13: 978-1559708647
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The grass may be greener because it's full of crap..., June 14, 2008

By 

Erik Olson "Seeker Reviews" (Ridgefield, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You Want Fries with That: A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage (Hardcover)

In the last couple of years I've read many books by folks who abandoned their unsatisfying routine lives in search of fulfillment. These stalwart individuals embraced risk by leaving secure jobs to realize a long-buried passion. Some moved to a distant locale vastly different from their longtime home, others subjected themselves to some sort of extreme physical test like climbing a mountain or walking an ancient pilgrimage trail. In the end, most of them felt they made the right decision and were happier and better off as a result. However, Prioleau (pronounced Prew-Lowe) Alexander tells otherwise in this humorous and interesting look at the dark side of life renovation.

As part of the rite-of-passage that characterizes a middle-age existential crisis, Mr. Alexander decides that he has had enough of the advertising field. Despite a lucrative salary, a high-end position, and the misgivings of his wife, he quits. His next downwardly-mobile move is to embrace the simple life. Part of that strategy involves diving into the shallow end of the job pool. "You Want Fries With That?" documents his journey through the minimum-wage world of delivering pizza, jerking ice cream, doing clean-up at a home improvement project, sliding through icky bodily fluids as an ER technician, jockeying a fast-food cash register, and riding herd on a dude ranch.

Our idealistic hero figures that he'll find contentment doing an honest day of service-oriented work. But his dream gives way to disillusionment as he discovers the unromantic nature of these jobs. For example, after tallying up the costs of delivering pizza he finds that he's basically paying for the privilege of feeding his customers. Impolite and unhealthy shoppers make scooping ice cream an exercise in torment. Cleaning up patient leftovers in the ER grosses him out so bad that he finally flees in disgust. And riding a horse on a wagon trail day after day takes a harsh toll on his middle-aged body.

Despite these tribulations, the author manages to dredge humor out of each occupation. Sometimes the customers are his target, but often he pokes fun at himself, bad management, or the oddball workplace procedures he encounters. Indeed, I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading. Be advised that Mr. Alexander's a self-proclaimed "conservative-libertarian religious gun-nut wacko," so his humor has a refreshing lack of political correctness. But in the midst of the laughs, he shatters the myth that the simple life is a noble one. The hours are long, the work is mind-numbing, prestige is non-existent, and the pay sucks. In the end, he abandons ship and returns to the comforting familiarity of white-collar work - much to the relief of his longsuffering spouse and their deteriorating household financial situation. Looking back on his experience, he provides a thoughtful and non-judgmental analysis of why people wind up in these jobs for the long term.

"You Want Fries With That?" was a fun book to read. I'm the same age as the author, and that, along with a shared Marine background, helped me to identify with him. As an aside, I enjoyed how he wove his military experience into his adventures, such as using the SMEAC acronym to describe HVAC work and comparing riding horseback in boxers to getting jacked up by large Samoan dudes. As they say, once a Marine, always a Marine. Dogmatic liberals, the stridently politically-correct, and diehard fans of the book "How Starbucks Saved My Life" may not appreciate Mr. Alexander's take on things, but everyone else will appreciate his lighthearted insights. Recommended with an enthusiastic "Ooh-rah!"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A warning to others, July 4, 2008

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You Want Fries with That: A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage (Hardcover)

I heard about this book when the author appeared on CSPAN-BookTV. I liked the author, loved his background as ad man and ex-marine, and wanted to learn more.

The book itself reminded me of Barbara Ehrenreich's ventures into minimum wage jobs. Ehrenreich gets serious about the injustices that force some people to remain in those jobs and really work.

On the other hand, it's a nice counterpoint to Gill's How Starbuck' Saved My Life, a euphoric ode to his service as helper and barista.

The best part of the book for me came at the very beginning, with Alexander's description of his life as in advertising. His description of clients and the lack of respect for marketing expertise were very accurate.

The second best part was getting behind the scenes of a pizza delivery company, an ice cream shop and more. I didn't realize it was so hard to get jobs at the Big Box store.

Of course, we don't know how typical the author's experiences are. Why would a pizza delivery person keep delivering pizza when he spends more for gas than he earns? Was the ice cream store a franchise, like a Baskin Robbins?

The hospital example seemed a little over the top. Apparently Alexander was assigned just one type of case, courtesy of his doctor friend who got him the job. I was disturbed when the doctor put a patient through an uncomfortable and unnecessary procedure because he didn't want to embarrass the nurse, who had set up the room.

I was sorely tempted to give this book just 3 stars for one reason. On television, Alexander was asked how he came to write the book. It turns out he didn't really try out the minimum wage life. He had a book contract and he was not living on the earnings from those jobs...ever.

Not a problem, but I believe Alexander should have disclosed his intentions up front, as Ehrenreich does in her books.

Still, every career coach talks to clients who fantasize about reducing stress by taking a lower level job. Usually it doesn't work. And now we can see why.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Want Fries With That?, April 26, 2008

By 

Julie M. Walters (Charleston, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You Want Fries with That: A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage (Hardcover)

Mr. Alexander's book completely entertained me while making me realize what a gift it is to not have to go to work everyday in one of "those" jobs. A book that gave me a different perspective on life: I certainly treat Pizza delivery guys with a hell of a lot more respect, not to mention the burger guy, the ice cream guy, and the riding on the range guy. The fact that the book is non-fiction, is about this dudes real life experience, and written with unequivocal humor makes it the best book I've read in recent memory.
G. Walters