truck driver

Marks & Spencer

The m&s cafe staff have to gain a food and hygiene safety certificate.  It's a pity that the management don't.  This means that the staff are more qualified than the managers who spend little time in the cafe and prefer to spend their time drinking in the office.  When their attention is required on the shop floor they say that they are not here to sort problems (nice attitude).  I have never received any thanks for any work done.  On one occasion I had to stop a customer from assaulting my section manager.  I received no thanks but was told off for holding a customer at a safe distance (I'll let him get a grip of the manager in future).  The cashier on the till was physically assaulted by a customer, two staff members had to restrain the offender.  The staff were disciplined and the customer received an m&s voucher.  The cafe's hygiene standards leave a lot to be desired with: hot water running out in the dish wash halfway through the day,  one of the coffee making machines was condemned because it contained silverfish. Safety doesn't mean a lot with staff receiving scalds on regular occasions.  One member of stall is suing the company because she was ordered to clean a coffee machine that she hadn't been trained to do as well as being too young to do the job.  The result is that she is now permanently scarred on her hand and wrist.  On more than one occasion 'live' flies have been found in the prepacked sandwiches.  Perhaps the unhappiest part is seeing thousands of pounds worth of perfectly good food being thrown away every night (so much for plan A).

If you are knowledgeable or skilled in the warehouse or is actually trustworthy enough to get the job done. Don’t expect to be rewarded, instead expect the management team to purposefully use you as a 1 man army in the basement as they know you’ll get it done (despite it being a two person job most of the time). 

M&S unlike many other retailers also do not pay you more depending on the role you work. You will still get the standard customer assistant pay despite doing a job which is far more stressful and far more demanding. You are also expected to be on the call-out team, meaning if all your frozen/fridges go down at 2am, expect a call from M&SCITY informing you that you have to go in.

Also the second you complete the so-called temperature training M&S provide, expect the managers to treat you as an engineer yourself. 

If you’re a key holder you get an extra 10p an hour, which is an absolute joke. Same with being a first aider, and the training you get for that role is a joke compared to incidents you will see (especially ones concerning the elderly and your in-store escalators).

I would definitely stay clear of this role in the store as it is not worth the stress and back-breaking work you do. Just be a customer assistant on the shopfloor !!!

To start, this applies to all stores. The holidays are bad and you have to book your holiday for the next calendar year nearly 1 and a half years before! You also have to wait til midnight to book the holiday on the date it is released or you WON'T get holiday. 

The management is poor and act superior to you. If you are an older employee you are respected, however poor young teenagers get treated like dirt and forced to be silent even if they speak. 

They want you to be flexible but they are never flexible for you. 

And the biggest advantage, if you leave, you MUST work a full month before you leave otherwise they claim the money from the hours you have worked because you didn't work the full month. All of this, you are NOT told about! Lot's of people I know have been overpaid when they've left and the managers/company never educate you on this. I was advised to work two weeks before I left so I didn't owe any money, which I now have found out is a lie. 

I also was overpaid in May and they have only just decided to tell me when I left that I owed them money for that too. 

Also, I have took no holiday. They do not owe me it apparently because I hadn't left in April. 

Overall, they will not help you out and they have a pay system that means they can work out how to claim your own money.

I arrive and clock in and check with my collegues what our agenda of the day is? then i proceed to open my computer and check for mail from management or my supervisor and get on with my normal routine check  mail , send it off , reply to all urgent messages and take all customer complaints and try solve them etc.
 
Customer cannot be always pleased regardless of what you do, we just have to put a brave face and attitude and do the best plus 100% more to take care of the customers need.

Management was my support system.
Management is alway there when you need them and that the care about you effort and also support and upraise you for job well done.


My collegues alway were my confidants, especially in my team as we always helped each other achieve what goals or deadline that need to completed on time etc.

Was always dealing with very angry customer who seemed  not to careless what you tried to do for them,regardless on how professional you handled yourself they made you feel small and unknowledgeable.

The benefits and when at least one of the customers gives good feed back about my efforts to help her.

I was initially employed as  Sales Advisor. IA typical day at work in cluded: duties such as cashiering, assisting customers with their enquiries/queries, replenishing stock as directed by Floor Manager. I began hours 11am -3pm, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. However, as I was responsible for a young child at home, I could not commit to the longer unsocial hours that were requested, nearer to the Christmas period.  This was the hardest part of the job.I enjoyed my work and the interaction between the public, and other staff members immensely. That was the most enjoyable part of the job.

Referral Manager at Head Office:
The team are sensational! Very supportive, understanding and friendly. The job itself is extremely stressful as it includes handling escalated customer complaints via phone and email. The level of stress and verbal abuse this involves is not reflected at all by the salary. I do feel like the job description was not as accurate as it could have been and the training, while it gave me all the skills and info, did not prepare me for this role. I feel like M&S could do a lot more in terms of supporting staff who work customer facing roles, and perhaps addressing the problem at the root -  encouraging customers to be more respectful.

shift work,  no proper uniform  given as no size fitted, finally received  full  uniform and  shoes in  last week of employment.
I learnt never to do overtime as required as you would never get paid more than contracted hours.
So many lazy people worked   at store incredible they still had jobs.
management were dumb and lazy never accepting any responsibility.
Hardest part of job  was  walking 50 miles a day, and throwing away  so much food into  cardboard boxes lined with plastic, which  could  have gone to food banks .
Lots of  staff abused their long term contracts and  were always in different groups in  staff canteen,lunch was only 30mins with one 15min break in  every shift.

Very busy work place, a typical day would include checking for date expired food; Ordering stock and doing shifts on the tills. in the longer term I will also perform shelving moves; I manage stock takes and am responsible for customer service in the food hall. 
I work in a small store so we are a close team of individuals. This gives us all a very satisfying feeling when we do well with a visit from head office or an audit. As retail is a fast moving industry the hardest part of the job is the long and random hours that I do often 45+ hour weeks. The most enjoyable part of the job is the routine during the day.

Really enjoyed working for this company at the start but seeing as how Marks and Spencer changes out management teams quicker than one day changes to the next, the experience went downhill quite quick.

In the end, when i left due to issues surrounding my mental health, the management team really came through for me by ensuring i was fleeced out of £200+ in overpaid wages because they decided to end my employment over 2 weeks AFTER id actually left the company. This is one of the many reasons why id never recommend them to work for.. And also why id never personally shop in a marks and spencer store ever again

We always have a busy and challenging work experience daily which is good for personal development and satisfaction. It creates sense of responsibility, ownership and belonging. My customer needs knowledge was broadened and confidence in interpersonal relation improved. The ability to innovate and use personal discretion was encouraged. Team work and team spirit was imbibed that makes work environment positive and fulfilling.
There is nothing that is hard. My experience is challenging work environment brings out the best part of you.

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