McDonald's People
Apply Now
Ather Ali Bokhari
I inherited wooden tiles and a tattered scrabble board (1956 edition) from my father when I was in tenth grade. My father did not play after that but I was hooked by the magic of letters. I sometimes wondered what it would be like to play scrabble with those who were masters of the game.
Around the time I joined McDonald’s in Ireland, I started playing scrabble professionally in RISPA (Republic of Ireland Scrabble Players Association). I started as a novice and ended up at number 56 in the rankings in my first year. It was not easy to play with people who have been playing for the last 20 or 30 years but I didn’t give up and last year I was up to number 20 in RISPA rankings.
Playing scrabble weekly, monthly and quarterly in different places all over Ireland (Dublin, Cork, Wexford and Galway) would not be possible without my McDonald’s flexible working hours. My managers took care of all my requests for days off for outside tournaments and early shifts so I could play on Mondays at my community club. I wonder if I could have gone that far with any other kind of job.