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The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 4 of 19 · 4'03" · B2

A Job Seeker's Sales Pitch, Explained: go through the whole routine

She walks in pretending to be a shopper, so the clerk walks her through the whole sales talk. Then she drops it: "I'm looking for a job." The clerk has been used as an unwitting audition panel, and now the boss has to say no to someone who just proved she is good at the job.

What happens

A woman enters Matuschek and Company in Budapest, pretends to admire a bag, and lets the clerk give her the full sales pitch. When she finally admits she wants a job, the boss, Matuschek, brushes her off: no opening. She leaves her name as Klara Novak and an address, still hoping.

Job interviewShoppingAskingSaying noStaff & customerB2fastamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

go through the whole routinemake yourself at homenot in the vocabulary ofin a bad mood

00:00 / 04:03
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

go through the whole routine

to go through the whole usual procedure

求职的姑娘怪克拉利克没早说自己做不了主，让她把一整套推销表演从头演到尾才开口拒绝。

Let's not go through the whole routine again.

Also in this scene

  • make yourself at home

    to relax and act as if in your own home

  • not in the vocabulary of

    something that never happens for someone

  • in a bad mood

    feeling unhappy or irritable

Everything marked in this scene

40 notes across 103 lines

Grammar · B1don't you think

tag question for agreement

It's a lovely bag, don't you think?
Sounddon't you think

elision

It's a lovely bag, don't you think?
Phrase · B1I beg your pardonOh, I beg your pardon.
Phrase · B1what can I show youWell, what can I show you?
Phrase · B1make yourself at home

to relax and act as if in your own home

Now, if you wish to look around, just make yourself at home.
Phrase · B1I wonder if I could ...Uh, I wonder if I could see Mr. Matuschek.
Soundif I

liaison

Uh, I wonder if I could see Mr. Matuschek.
Phrase · B1busy at the momentWell, unfortunately, Mr. Matuschek is quite busy at the moment.
Phrase · B1take care of somethingBut if you will tell me your wishes, it's quite possible I could take care of them myself actually.
Phrase · B1have a saleWell, I noticed in your shop window that you're having a summer sale.
Phrase · B1mark something downOh, yes, madam. Everything in the shop is marked down 25 percent.
Phrase · B1take for instance somethingNow, take for instance this compact.
Phrase · B2for a penny less thanYesterday you couldn't get it for a penny less than $3.90.
Phrase · B1a real bargainOh, really? Yes, that's a wonderful bargain.
Phrase · B1have no doubt of somethingOh, well, I have no doubt of it.
Phrase · B1be wise to do somethingYou were very wise to come early.
Grammar · B1won't be able to take care of the customers

be able to for ability

We'll probably have such a rush and won't be able to take care of the customers.
Phrase · B1take on someoneWell, in that case, maybe you should take on some extra help.
Phrase · B2go through the whole routine

to go through the whole usual procedure

You know, that-that wasn't very nice L-letting me go through the whole routine.
Phrase · B2what kind of business someone is doingYou can see what kind of business we're doing.
Phrase · C1of one's own accordI worked for two years at Blasek and Company and I left of my own accord.
Grammar · B2even if you'd worked at Mintz and Kramer

even if for concession

My dear child, even if you'd worked at Mintz and Kramer-- I did!
Phrase · B1deal with someoneWell, we don't deal with that class of people here.
Phrase · B1take someone backThey'd take me back right this minute.
Phrase · B1if it was up to someoneLook, if it was up to me, I'd put you to work right away. But I'm not the boss.
Phrase · B1put someone to workLook, if it was up to me, I'd put you to work right away. But I'm not the boss.
Phrase · B1be in a bad moodWell, he's in sort of a bad mood today.
Phrase · B1take a chanceOh, I'll take a chance. Maybe I can cheer him up.
Phrase · A2cheer someone upOh, I'll take a chance. Maybe I can cheer him up.
Phrase · B2know someone inside out'My dear young lady, I've been here for nine years' 'and I know Mr. Matuschek inside out.'
Phrase · B2word for wordI could tell you word for word exactly what he'd say.
Slang · B1huhSo, you know every reaction of mine, huh?
Phrase · B2a mind readerYou're not only a genius, you're a mind reader.
Grammar · B2You're not only a genius, you're a mind reader

not only for emphasis

You're not only a genius, you're a mind reader.
Phrase · B2not in the vocabulary of someone

something that never happens for someone

'So, I don't know what the difficulty is' but I can assure you, madam that the word "impossible" is not in the vocabulary of Matuschek and Company.
Phrase · B2out of the question- It's-it's out of the question. - Mr. Matuschek-- No, I've-I've no time. No time. I'm very busy.
Soundout of

liaison

- It's-it's out of the question. - Mr. Matuschek-- No, I've-I've no time. No time. I'm very busy.
Phrase · A2waste one's timeI'm afraid you're just wasting your time.
Phrase · B1have got to do somethingBut I've got to have a job.
Phrase · B1someone will be the firstOh, yes, yes. If we need anybody, you'll be the first.

A Job Seeker's Sales Pitch, explained

What's really going on

The comedy runs on a mismatch of registers. She is not shopping; she is performing, and the performance is an audition she never announces. The clerk does his job perfectly, which is exactly the problem: "that wasn't very nice letting me go through the whole routine." Her complaint is fair and also tactical, because it forces him to admit she did the work well. Underneath the sales patter is the anxiety of a woman who needs any job at all, and the small humiliations of asking. Matuschek's "out of the question" is not cruelty so much as the reflex of a shop on a tight margin. The scene sets up a longer battle of pride: she just proved she can do the job he will not give her, and neither of them can back down now.

Theme

MoneyA summer sale, a job hunt, and a boss's bottom line drive every line; the store's margin decides who gets hired.
ClassTalk of "middle-class trade" and "the finest clientele" shows class as something you sell to and are judged by.

What you'll learn

  • Use take on for hiring someone
  • Use qualifications to frame experience
  • Catch out of the question as a firm refusal
  • Use of my own accord for voluntary action

Listen for

  • don't you think — elision
  • if I — liaison
  • out of — liaison
Now, if you wish to look around, just make yourself at home.

A polite invitation to browse without pressure; here it is also the opening move of the sales routine she will later resent.

Look, I could do anything for you, I'd do it.

He offers to do anything she asks, which sounds generous until you notice he still will not take her to the boss.

Look, if it was up to me, I'd put you to work right away. But I'm not the boss.

The clearest line in the scene: he would hire her on the spot if the decision were his, but it is not, so the refusal belongs to someone else.

But I've got to have a job.

Her last, plainest plea. It strips away the flattery and bargaining; she simply needs work.

Questions about this scene

Why does Klara pretend to be a customer first?

She wants to size up the shop and its staff before asking for a job. Testing the clerk's patience and seeing how the store treats people gives her an opening to talk about her own experience.

Is Matuschek being unfair to Klara?

He is blunt, but he is also telling the truth: the store says there is no opening. Still, he never really listens to her qualifications, so viewers often side with Klara even when his reasoning is sound.

Why does the clerk say he is not the boss?

Because he has no power to hire, and he wants to avoid promising something he cannot deliver. It also puts the blame for the rejection on Matuschek instead of himself.

Does Klara get a job at the end of the scene?

No. She only leaves her address and phone number, with a promise to be called first if anyone is needed. The rest of the film follows what happens after that thin hope.

Why does the clerk keep calling her "madam"?

It is standard shop courtesy, and it keeps a polite distance. For a woman who is really there to ask for work, being treated as a well-off customer is both useful and a little insulting.

The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy Box
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek'sChapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette BoxWatching · Chapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales PitchChapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy BoxChapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen PalChapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on KralikChapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night OffChapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires KralikChapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the AffairChapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss NovakChapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the CafeChapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His JealousyChapter 14a yes manKralik Fires VadasChapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick KlaraChapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas GiftsChapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas EveChapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy HomeChapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to Kralik
Chapter 4 of 19 · about 67 min to go