diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c111b3313..462cd4f83 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 *.gem
+*.swp
diff --git a/README.textile b/README.textile
index 11ec0728b..3e0f12639 100644
--- a/README.textile
+++ b/README.textile
@@ -123,6 +123,20 @@ end
 Delayed::Job.enqueue NewsletterJob.new('lorem ipsum...', Customers.find(:all).collect(&:email))
 </pre>
 
+You can also add an optional on_permanent_failure method which will run if the job has failed too many times to be retried:
+
+<pre>
+class ParanoidNewsletterJob < NewsletterJob
+  def perform
+    emails.each { |e| NewsletterMailer.deliver_text_to_email(text, e) }
+  end    
+
+  def on_permanent_failure
+    page_sysadmin_in_the_middle_of_the_night
+  end
+end  
+</pre>
+
 h2. Gory Details
 
 The library evolves around a delayed_jobs table which looks as follows: 
diff --git a/lib/delayed/worker.rb b/lib/delayed/worker.rb
index 1309062ac..754ef5f22 100644
--- a/lib/delayed/worker.rb
+++ b/lib/delayed/worker.rb
@@ -127,6 +127,12 @@ def reschedule(job, time = nil)
         job.save!
       else
         say "* [JOB] PERMANENTLY removing #{job.name} because of #{job.attempts} consecutive failures.", Logger::INFO
+
+        if job.payload_object.respond_to? :on_permanent_failure
+          say "* [JOB] Running on_permanent_failure hook"
+          job.payload_object.on_permanent_failure
+        end
+
         self.class.destroy_failed_jobs ? job.destroy : job.update_attributes(:failed_at => Delayed::Job.db_time_now)
       end
     end
diff --git a/spec/sample_jobs.rb b/spec/sample_jobs.rb
index 36e3c9252..6fe8a8bb3 100644
--- a/spec/sample_jobs.rb
+++ b/spec/sample_jobs.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require 'ruby-debug'
+
 class SimpleJob
   cattr_accessor :runs; self.runs = 0
   def perform; @@runs += 1; end
@@ -12,10 +14,15 @@ class LongRunningJob
   def perform; sleep 250; end
 end
 
+class OnPermanentFailureJob < SimpleJob
+  def on_permanent_failure
+  end
+end
+
 module M
   class ModuleJob
     cattr_accessor :runs; self.runs = 0
     def perform; @@runs += 1; end    
   end
   
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/spec/worker_spec.rb b/spec/worker_spec.rb
index 27de7dd66..314a7778f 100644
--- a/spec/worker_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/worker_spec.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
+require 'ruby-debug'
 
 describe Delayed::Worker do
   def job_create(opts = {})
@@ -134,12 +135,52 @@ def job_create(opts = {})
         before do
           @job = Delayed::Job.create :payload_object => SimpleJob.new
         end
-    
+   
+        share_examples_for "any failure more than Worker.max_attempts times" do
+          context "when the job's payload has an #on_permanent_failure hook" do
+            before do
+              @job = Delayed::Job.create :payload_object => OnPermanentFailureJob.new
+              @job.payload_object.should respond_to :on_permanent_failure
+            end
+
+            it "should run that hook" do
+              @job.payload_object.should_receive :on_permanent_failure
+              Delayed::Worker.max_attempts.times { @worker.reschedule(@job) }
+            end
+          end
+
+          context "when the job's payload has no #on_permanent_failure hook" do
+            # It's a little tricky to test this in a straightforward way, 
+            # because putting a should_not_receive expectation on 
+            # @job.payload_object.on_permanent_failure makes that object
+            # incorrectly return true to 
+            # payload_object.respond_to? :on_permanent_failure, which is what
+            # reschedule uses to decide whether to call on_permanent_failure.  
+            # So instead, we just make sure that the payload_object as it 
+            # already stands doesn't respond_to? on_permanent_failure, then
+            # shove it through the iterated reschedule loop and make sure we
+            # don't get a NoMethodError (caused by calling that nonexistent
+            # on_permanent_failure method).
+            
+            before do
+              @job.payload_object.should_not respond_to(:on_permanent_failure)
+            end
+
+            it "should not try to run that hook" do
+              lambda do
+                Delayed::Worker.max_attempts.times { @worker.reschedule(@job) }
+              end.should_not raise_exception(NoMethodError)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+
         context "and we want to destroy jobs" do
           before do
             Delayed::Worker.destroy_failed_jobs = true
           end
-      
+
+          it_should_behave_like "any failure more than Worker.max_attempts times"
+
           it "should be destroyed if it failed more than Worker.max_attempts times" do
             @job.should_receive(:destroy)
             Delayed::Worker.max_attempts.times { @worker.reschedule(@job) }
@@ -156,6 +197,8 @@ def job_create(opts = {})
             Delayed::Worker.destroy_failed_jobs = false
           end
       
+          it_should_behave_like "any failure more than Worker.max_attempts times"
+
           it "should be failed if it failed more than Worker.max_attempts times" do
             @job.reload.failed_at.should == nil
             Delayed::Worker.max_attempts.times { @worker.reschedule(@job) }
@@ -166,7 +209,6 @@ def job_create(opts = {})
             (Delayed::Worker.max_attempts - 1).times { @worker.reschedule(@job) }
             @job.reload.failed_at.should == nil
           end
-      
         end
       end
     end