line cook

Sainsbury’s

Worked there for around 2 years. Very good money for a part-time supermarket job. 

Work if you're on customer services, would usually include serving customers on a checkout, managing self scan tills, or covering someone on collecting trolleys in the car park.

Very good job if you're wanting to learn new customer service skills or management skills.

Management was okay for the first year. It was most of the time organised and were only a few occasions we were short staffed or short stocked.
The beginning of the second year, not so much. We were short staffed almost everyday for a few months and was constantly called in for overtime. (Which I didn't mind because I needed the money) however when the store was busy it would become difficult for both the checkout assistants and supervisors. 
Customers would often query items at the checkouts instead of customer services which meant if something was wrong with the item such as, price or poor condition, the person on the checkout terminal would have to call a supervisor over to sort out the customers query. The rules became quite strict on what the attendant at the till could do in terms of a customers query. So you had to rely on the supervisors to sort it for you. 

This seemed incredibly stressful for the Supervisors as there would be only 1 or 2 on duty at the time and they would have to manage both Checkouts and the customer service desks. 
You could wait for up to 10 minutes waiting for the Supervisors to get you, which customers found very frustrating. This wasn't the supervisors fault though, as I feel it was due to poor staff organisation on managements part. I felt they had too many people up in office and not enough on shop floor. 


I found the hardest part of the job always seemed to be customer service for me. Usually you would get nice customers and there wouldn't be any problems. Even if there were, it was usually minor things that were solved quickly. Like all jobs within retail though, you're always going to get rude and difficult customers that come along every now and then.I feel you need to be a certain person to enjoy retail. It's either for you or it isn't. 
Id like to add as well. 
If you like long breaks, say goodbye to those as if you're working 6 hours you'll get 20 minutes and up 8 hours you'll only get a half an hour break.

If I had to say what the best things were about the job, it would be how easy it was and I always knew what I was supposed to be doing, despite the second year being quite difficult. Also, again, wages were pretty good for a retail job.

Overall it was an okay job. Easy income for an easy job but I felt management let it down a lot towards the later parts of my time there.

The company provides an array of benefits, including a commendable paternity leave policy and enticing shop discounts that extend to both myself and my wife. These perks certainly enhance the work-life balance and financial well-being of employees, demonstrating a commendable commitment to employee welfare.

However, it's essential to consider that while these benefits are appealing, there are certain drawbacks that impact job satisfaction. One significant concern is the repetitive nature of the work. Many employees find themselves stuck in monotonous tasks, which can lead to a sense of stagnation and diminished enthusiasm for the job. 

Another issue that often arises is the limited scope for career progression within the organization. Opportunities for growth and advancement are sometimes scarce, leaving employees feeling as though their potential is not fully recognized or utilized.

In conclusion, the company's provision of generous paternity leave and shop discounts for employees and their spouses is certainly a positive aspect of working here. However, the repetitiveness of tasks and the challenges related to career advancement do present significant drawbacks, making this a mixed review of the overall work experience. It is crucial for the company to address these concerns to maintain a satisfied and motivated workforce.

Working in an online department at Sainsbury's is not easy. Early starts, cold conditions, heavy work and relentless pursuit of KPIs. However, you'll like almost everyone you work with. 

Like any job, your experience of Online will depend entirely on the team that surrounds you. A decent manager and motivated colleagues will make time fly. However, if you get a poor manager or work with colleagues unwilling to pull their weight, you'll quickly be looking for a new role. Sadly, the turnover in Online is so high, you can find yourself flipping from one extreme to the other very quickly... this will wear you down.

I worked at Sainsbury's for a long time, and liked it. But, I can't recommend Sainsbury's Retail to anyone wishing to pursue a career, or those looking for a long-term role; the future of retail is too uncertain; online is too poorly paid for the work you are expected to do; there are no promotion paths available to those not wishing to be managers; and the rapid turnover of staff ensures that all thinking is short-termist. However, for those looking to gain work experience, or work around family or study commitments, Online may meet your needs.

Best thing about Sainsburys is the colleagues that you work with. Range of very varied people from different backgrounds. 
Unfortunately the management are awful towards staff, very unsupportive if you have any issues and the customers mostly consist of people who think you are lesser than them. Management think that it’s fine for staff to be treated badly. 
Cannot be absent more than either three times per year or one week per year (whichever you reach first) without being dismissed, even with valid proof of medical certification, doctors note, hospital letters etc. 
As for promotions, these are available but seem to be on a more word of mouth basis and highly dependent on which managers you are friends with. Even the lower management are traded out very often, if a manager of higher status disapproves of them. Also, the lower managers seem to consist of a load of people normally aged 18-30 who do not even want to do the job role that they are in.
Overall, it’s not a good company to work for unless you are a student doing no more than two days a week.

A typical day at work consists of replenishing stock onto shelves and serving customers on the till. Also helping customers with any queries they may have and try to make there shopping experience enjoyable. I learned a lot in customer service and how to put the customer at the heart of the job. Also cash management and the importance of making sure you are fully concentrated at the task at hand. My co workers are all hard workers and also know what it takes to deliver great customer service. I believe i have a great relationship with everyone i work with. The hardest part of the job is working to a deadline to get all the stock replenished at a certain time but this feels rewarding when its done to a good level. The most enjoyable part of the job is speaking to new customers and let them know what sainsbury's is all about and to sure we are a great supermarket.

The job I do is relatively straight forward and I did receive intensive training for the role. 5 years ago, it was a great place to work. Since then, the company has become increasingly more ignorant of aiding its staff in achieving a realistic work/life balance. 
The training regime for new staff is now completed by lower ranking staff instead of by a store trainer. The pay does not reflect any extra responsibility. 
If the management cared as much about the staff as they do about getting their yearly bonus, it would be a much more pleasant place to be.
The sickness and holiday policies are confusing at best. I have, on more than one occasion, felt victimised and harassed whilst off sick or on holiday.
The one part of the job I did enjoy was working so closely with such a great team. The team I work with are the nicest bunch of people you could ever wish to meet.

6am starts, organise job roles for the general assistants, allocate work to shoppers and set up delivery routes for the drivers. manage the day to day running of the department monitoring sales, complaints, availability and productivity ensuring i attend management meetings when called upon. taking control of phone lines, liasing with our online call centre ensuring orders are delivered within the customers time scale and all orders are satisfactory.

my day to day tasks are very demanding and energetic and can be extremely difficult at times. It is a growing business and there is room for improvement with the right training and staff required.

This role has pushed me to become the very strong team leader i am today and i have enjoyed the pressure and stress of the job because every day i am rewarded knowing i have achieved the targets that were set and my work always acknowledged.

I work this job for 15 years and during this time I really made some wonderful life Long friendships with the staff. However the workload was unbearable the pay was minimum and the balance of life and work was not fair. Sainsbury's had to take priority whether you have family at home or not. The workload was so unbearable nobody would offer to help yet I'll be expected to go down on shop floor and help stack shelves and serve on the checkouts when they were busy. In the end I thought the job wasn't rewarding enough and decided after all those years it was time for me to move on which is one thing I do not regret doing I felt I've got my life back since then. From experience any other job above a band 2 was never secure. You can work very hard for progression and then be made redundant???

Sainsbury's is a great place to work due to the environment and the overall colleagues you work with. However, management are poor often and seem to be on a power trip. Most managers seem to be in cliques and look down on others. The work is relatively simple and fun if you work with the right people. Not unsociable hours and good pay. The other negative is that contracts are never full time anymore hardly. Small hour contracts and inconsistent and unpredictable overtime hours which are not reliable for a steady income. Overall, the work at Sainsbury's is good but there are a few cons of working in a supermarket.

On a typical day i would be in charge of the checkouts customer service desk kiosk and car park, with a team of around 50 colleagues. I would be sorting out and printing schedules sorting holidays. completing health and safety checklists. reviews of colleagues on their performance. Coaching and guidance, dealing with customer complaints. Que managing and pre planning. delegate tasks as appropriate e.g such as cleaning duties. Having challenging conversations with colleagues and customers. Reporting back and communicating with my department manager and the other team leaders.

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