Interview with Author

James E. Alston

Sensations:  James, I want to welcome you to Sensations Publishing and thank you for taking the time to speak with us.  Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book, “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”   I had a hard time putting it down.  I kept telling myself, “Just one more chapter and then I’ll stop.”  You have led an extraordinary life.  This autobiography is a compelling read.  Tell us, why did you choose a career in the food and beverage industry?

James:          I am a people person at heart.  I enjoy the social dynamics of interacting with people of all cultures and being helpful in contributing to the improvement of businesses.  I feel to do well in the food and beverage industry that this type of work has to be in ones blood.

To earn additional income during high school and college, I found myself working in snack bars and food establishments’.  I found this industry to be challenging and interesting, yet fun.  The people side of the food and beverage industry business is what I enjoyed immensely.  I was afforded the opportunity to work alongside and meet a great number of interesting people from all walks of life. 

In one instance in my career, I recall having met a professional photographer in my restaurant in Herndon, Virginia who resided in Reston, Virginia where I lived also.  He had become a regular guest to the restaurant where he and I had interesting discussion on politics and other topics. One day he told me he was a professional photographer assigned to cover the White House. He invited me to come take a personal white house tour with him, which proved to be impressive. The most interesting part of my tour was when I was introduced to President L. B. Johnson in the oval office.

Sensations:  Wow!  That is impressive!  I’m sure that in your 30-year career, you’ve met any number of interesting people.  In your book, you reflect on your early childhood years in Franklin County, North Carolina, prior to your parents move to New York.  What role do you think your upbringing played into your ability to persevere under the adverse conditions you experienced in your career?

James:           I was raised in a two-parent household.  Both my parents were young, hard-working, responsible, and held me accountable during my early childhood and young adult years.  Though my parents were young, they were grounded and family came first.  I was taught to give respect to others and to respect their property.  I was taught to give back more than what was given me.  I learned that sacrifice, knowledge, tenacity, and hard work are paramount ingredients to ones success.  Most of all, I was taught not to be a quitter, and that anything worth having is worth working for.  Live by the rules of our society and things will turn out alright, and you can influence respect from people by your hard work and strong results. 

Sensations:  Those are life-lessons that most parents want to instill in their children.  Obviously, you listened well.  What inspired you to write about your career experiences?

James:           I was inspired to write about my experience when I felt that it could be used as a field guide to help employers and employees better understand civil laws in the workplace by introducing a pre-remedy to some of the ills that occur in the workplace more often than we may comprehend.   With the encouragement of my attorney, and many others, I decided to write “No More Mr. Nice Guy”.

Sensations: I was amazed at the frequent episodes of covert and overt discrimination and sabotage that plagued your career.  What life lessons do you hope that your readers will come away with after reading your book?

James:           My book has the unique value of exposing the racism and bigotry faced on a daily basis by those whom most would describe as middle to upper-middle class black people.  I would venture to say that most people would never think of middle to upper – middle class blacks as being subjected to racial discrimination, covert or otherwise.  So many people believe that if racism exists at all, it is confined to those blacks who are under-educated, impoverished, and living in inner-cities or the rural south.  But every person of African-American decent has been and continues to be a victim of racism, whether covert or overt.  It is likely that if you sat down with any black person, whether it is Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey, or Michael Jordan, they could all be able to recount tales of discrimination solely based on race.  The difference between these people and "June-Bug" on the corner is how they handled these encounters.  Some people are better equipped to navigate the seas of prejudice and injustice.

 By reading my book with an open mind, people of either gender or color will be enlightened, and will come away with a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in the workplace.

Sensations:   I have to say Amen to that!  And I, for one, appreciate your insight and tenacity to write about such a taboo subject.  What can we expect next from James E. Alston?  Is there a sequel?

James:           My next books is called:  "Where Has Service Gone? And why are we thankful when we find it?"  Being a customer, and advocate for great customer service, I have a passion and quest about getting the best customer service experience that is humanly possible.  I have given serious thought to writing this book during and after my career of over thirty years in the service industry.

I disclose a unique perspective on how service really affects everyday lifestyles. Service or lack of great customer service definitely has an impact on us mentally, physically, and on our everyday decision making.  Customer service affects our very lifestyles, and has an impact on businesses positively or negatively.  I have taken notice collectively from a customer’s point of view as well as the business side, right down to the sales representatives that stand in front of me to close the deal.

During my career I found, there were times when the customer needed to be protected from my company or in contrary when the company needed to be protected from the customer. My thoughts and experiences in this text will help to bring the customer and service closer together, verses adversarial to each other.   I will differentiate satisfactory service verses a great customer service experience. The big question is: Where has service gone, and why are we so thankful when we find it.

Sensations:     As one who has experienced really BAD customer service, I hope that your new book will become required reading for everyone in the service industry.  Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.  And thank you, again, James, for taking the time to talk with us.