I've done some pretty degrading things in my working life - handing out tissues on the streets of Japan and screwing lids on to vinegar bottles in a factory in Leeds are two notable career low-points.
But neither of these harrowing experiences come close to the plight of Starbucks' embattled workforce.
Picture the scene. It's a freezing November afternoon, the streets of Newcastle are bustling with the lunch-hour rush and Christmas is weeks away.
Despite all of the above, your boss has slapped a cap on your head and forced you out into the cold to sing Christmas Carols to the hordes of shoppers.
As if that bad wasn't enough - your bosses at Starbucks have re-written the words of Carols to include humours jingles about the coffee powerhouse.
You can just imagine the conversation that must have transpired at Starbucks Newcastle in the early hours of this morning:
General manager: Lisa you're on tables, Sarah you're on juices and Lee - you're on carol duty.
Lee: Bugger!
Surely there's no more fitting symbol of how horribly commercial Christmas has become than a worker from one of the world's biggest corporation singing words written by their bosses to the tune of traditional carols.
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