You’ve never known hell like these part-time job horror stories

It’s nearly Christmas – loans are running low and going to mum and dad for money will probably get little sympathy after asking for the 15th time this term. There are two choices: try to survive living off microwaved noodles or get a part-time job.

We spoke to the students who chose the latter and have seen the worst of it, from frostbite to wench costumes.

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Connie, 3rd year, Liverpool

I was working at a Tudor themed restaurant and I had to wear this ridiculous wench outfit every shift. My boss’s wife used to click her fingers at me and address me only as ‘waitress’.

Melanie, 4th year, Man Met

I worked at Peter Pan Land; it was a soft play area for kids. I hate kids. One of them threw up on me after going down the slide. I lasted two weeks.

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Kate, 3rd year, Sussex

I worked in an independent craft shop in my hometown. One time when I was working in the shop on my own a toddler decided to pee on the shop floor. Her dad picked her up as I directed him to our toilet, streaming her pee all over the shop. I had to spend 30 minutes scrubbing a toddler’s urine off the floor.

Ellie, 3rd year, Manchester

A restaurant I worked at would serve full roast dinners on scalding hot plates. Carrying them was practically impossible due to the heat. They gave us black rubber gloves as they couldn’t find any heatproof ones and I got 2nd-degree burns.

Luc, 4th year, Leeds

I used to do house clearings for my local council, normally when people had been evicted from council housing. In one house, there were bin bags piled up to the height of the second floor, under which was a nest of rats. I had to search through them all for £6.50 per hour. 

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Lyddie, Masters, Manchester

I used to have to wheel an ice cream bike truck through a country park and serve ice cream all day. I got frostbite from continuously having my hands in frozen tubs of ice cream and one time during a storm the truck fell down a ditch.

Hannah, 2nd year, Swansea

Working at my local supermarket I had to get rid of all the old ham and pies that had gone bad. On a bad day, I had to take an overfilled bag to the large industrial bins at the back. The weight of all the rubbish was too much and the whole bag completely split. It put me off eating them for life.

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Patsie, 2nd year, Portsmouth

I worked in a Chinese restaurant where the minimum wage was £3.40 and the owner kept all the tips. I once spilled scalding hot coffee all down my right forearm and they refused to let me leave work early to treat the burn.

The only reason it didn’t blister horrifically or scar me for life was that the chefs dragged me into the kitchen and smeared this green paste which was apparently from tiger teeth, onto my forearm.

Natasha, 3rd year, Manchester

I used to work in a luxury department store in the women’s clothing department. During a shift, we’d have to spend hours going around each rail, finger-spacing every hanger. Every. Single. One.

It was a never-ending job because customers would constantly come and rampage through a rail, meaning all of your hard work was ruined approximately every 25 seconds.

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