Banter-loving employees from Amazon’s Coalville fulfilment centre have become the overnight stars of Chatterbox, a new global campaign from the company, thanks to their workplace bromance. Chatterbox features Tom Alldread, 27, and James Webster, 21, colleagues who have become good friends, dishing out their hilarious, unfiltered views on the world – from the proper way to make a cup of tea to holiday etiquette.
The video series is filmed on Amazon fulfilment centre floors around the UK, asking the important – and not-so-important – questions from ‘what’s the most confusing UK phrase?’ to 'what’s the perfect chat-up line?' The duo love a debate – “debating life’s problems is a terrific way to make the day go by,” said James. “There’s nothing better than getting someone on board and hearing them say ‘Hmm I’d never thought much about it before. But now that you mention it…’”
In this week’s holiday-themed edition the pals clash over when one should get to the airport – with Tom claiming he arrives an extraordinary FIVE hours early for a flight.
“When we did our trip to Portugal, we got to the airport five hours early,” he said. “People say that's too much but as far as I’m concerned you can never be too careful, and if your airport has a Wetherspoons, you can get cracking early”.
James on the other hand opts for a two hour grace period, explaining you don’t want to get too merry on your flight and ruin the first day of your holiday.
“Anyone who drinks too much is a liability at the best of times, but on holiday it’s even worse. It’s a very British thing isn’t it, getting too drunk on holiday? Why would you waste the first day of your holiday by turning up knackered after getting drunk at the airport? I’d rather turn up fresh and enjoy myself”.
As part of the campaign, Amazon has polled its workers on a range of issues, with the team at its Coalville fulfilment centre settling some age-old debates. 83% of Amazonians in Coalville put milk in last when making a cup of tea while 57% put cream on their scone first – far higher than the national average of 50%.
Amazon is one of the UK’s biggest and most diverse employers with over 70,000 people representing over 100 nationalities, offering a unique perspective on British society hailed by Oxford University professor Dr Tom Crawford as a “fascinating insight into the make-up of modern-day UK”.
The research asked employees what they considered to be their ideal holiday, and showed 74% would choose a beach over a pool day. There was little up for debate with Tom and James on the matter, although both were firmly in the minority among colleagues in the East Midlands – 80% of people there picked the beach.
Tom said: “74% of respondents are wrong! Beaches have sand, and sand is universally known as the most annoying thing on the planet. I’d choose relaxing by the pool over all else. I recently went to Portugal with twelve of my mates and we did just that for the whole week, it was ideal.
James agreed with Tom, adding: “Oh yeah 100% pool. I’m happy to just sit around for a week. I hate to say it, but sightseeing is overrated. As soon as you take that picture on your tour, you’re realistically never going to look at it again … that being said my girlfriend insists we go back to the same spot in Portugal, whereas I’m keener to spice it up and try a new location every time we go away.”
Asked what their ideal holiday destination would be, Amazonians picked the USA, Spain, and Dubai. Men are more likely than women to want to go to the USA (18% vs 11%), while women are nearly twice as likely to want to go to Greece (13% vs 7%). Tom on the other hand-picked Poland.
Tom said: I’d go to Poland in a heartbeat, nice and cheap, easy to get to. I think beer is about a euro there and I love dumplings. To be honest I’ve already been to my dream destination. I travelled to Brisbane’s Gold Coast a few years ago, it was amazing. If I had to choose somewhere new that wasn’t Poland, it would probably be Hawaii – a bit stereotypical I know but that’s for a good reason”.
James said: “It would have to be Canada for me, Moraine Lake specifically. My girlfriend and I want to go there – it’s absolutely stunning. We’re saving up as it will be the trip of a lifetime for sure.
Asked whether he would consider a staycation, Tom said: “I don’t get all this staycation nonsense – what’s the point in taking a holiday if you’re just going to stay here. People go on hikes don’t they? It’s not for me.
Watch the pairs antics in the series here
