Bernard accidentally hires Manny while drunk and regrets his decision the next day. Manny turns out to be the ideal employee, he's great with the customers, he manages to sell almost all of the books in stock in just one day and is even able to effortlessly re-order more books, all tasks that Bernard really despises.
However, Bernard doesn't like change and ends up firing Manny despite admitting that he was great with the customers and good at selling books. Unfortunately for him, Fran likes having Manny around as he's someone she can actually talk to and demands that Bernard rehires him immediately.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Accidental Misnaming: Drunk Bernard calls Manny 'Gerald' and 'Samantha'.
- Berserk Button: The customer who Manny approaches yells at him because he's sick and tired of shop assistants talking him while he's browsing.Customer: WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE! I'm sick and tired of being hounded by salesmen in shops. I'm browsing, alright? Browsing! And at the end of it, I might buy something, I might not. But you will not influence me one iota! Not one jot. Now I've finished with you, you may go!
- Blatant Lies: "He was sucking his trousers and laughing!"
- Brutal Honesty: Bernard tells Manny exactly what it's going to be like working for him.Bernard: You know, the pay's not great, but the work is hard.
- Creator Cameo: The series co-writer Graham Linehan appears as the “I Love Books” customer.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Bernard looking a lot like his namesake Ludwig.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Bernard's middle name is revealed to be Ludwig. Manny seems more bothered about it than Bernard himself.
- Hates Being Touched: Bernard.
- The Illegible: Bernard has awful handwriting. 'Walkmans' looks like 'wigwams' and 'Bernard L Black' apparently looks like 'singe, bugger, cack'. Even Bernard himself can't read it.
- Mistaken for Gay: Manny and Bernard by each other. Bernard even thought he was gay himself once.
- Negative Continuity: Manny being in pain whenever his mobile phone goes off is never bought up again in the series.
- The Nicknamer: Bernard calls Manny “David Copperfield” and “Lord of the Rings”.
- Not a Morning Person: Bernard is greatly distressed on being woken up at 10:30 in the morning, claiming that he's never been awake that early before.
- Really Gets Around: Fran, by her own admission. She assumes that she had sex with Manny because he's a man.
- Suddenly Shouting: The customer above.
- Tempting Fate:
- Bernard declares that nobody wants books in the morning before a book nut enters the shop.
- Manny tells an unsympathetic Bernard that he gets a sharp pain in his head whenever his mobile phone goes off. Cue Bernard writing down his number and then phoning him again and again.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Bernard forgets he hired Manny the night before while in the pub.
