store manager

assistant manager

manager

front of house staff

café manager

Jamaica-Blue

Pros: Amazing staff
Usually genuinely lovely customers
Food and drink discount and the homemade food and JB coffee is worth the discounted price

Cons: No management, everyone was expected to do everything with zero compensation 
I understand staffing issues occur but expecting one cook to do 10-15 tickets during a busy dinner service and get food out quickly and looking good is ridiculous, especially when most of our cooks had little cooking experience.
“Supervisors” (they had no real authority, were just expected to cash up and lock the store with no pay increase) were seemingly selected at random and were told they were now supervisors on a random day
£5 for a little square of a brownie or £7 for a mozzarella and tomato flatbread is absolutely insane.

Advice to management: Change your food prices to entice more customers, engage in holidays to entice more customers (we were told by head office to have no Halloween or Christmas decorations) and respect your staff. Don’t expect them to bend over backwards if you don’t care about them or reimburse them.

Really earlier starts due to breakfast and then was shouted and berated by small group of people working there because I didn't wanna be part of there crowd management didn't help in anyway when I was having trouble with my mentle health just told me to get over it, I was once even locked in because I wanted the kitchen to be cleaned and was taking my time with it and they had locked me in because they wanted to go home instead of helping me, the hardest part of the job was being left in my own alot to deal with food tickets while.the head chef and manager of the store would go on trips this job made me hate being a chef and made me feel so worthless I quit one day on the spot because no one would help with tickets when I was doing them all on my own and I had just had enough and left a few people understood and left with me, I also believe you should.have a free meal when working here nothing huge but atleast alittle something

This is the worst job I’ve ever had. Many of the 5 star reviews on google are created by the owners and some employees. 

The new management are terrible - unorganised, do not care about their staff or the customer wellbeing. The new manager is dreadful - he’s rude and micromanages everything which actually prevents the store’s efficiency. It’s all about saving money - they buy some of the food produce from Aldi and sell it at extortionate prices. 
 
A few staff members are extremely creepy towards women - staring and making comments about women customers and employees in their own language. It’s disgusting 

It’s also a zero hour contract - RUN - and shifts are allocated based on favouritism not ability. 

The Arndale branch should be shut down, the job caused me so much stress and financial insecurity, I am so happy to be free of never returning to that store again. Do not work here guys, unemployment is better 

Worked at JB through my GCSE’s/into my college years, just about a year and a half.
I must say it really was good for me and taught me a lot about hospitality and built me up in terms of experience. I met many good friends and management were proactive, apart from a little bit of gossip, and I sensed quite a bit of favouritism throughout which I did struggle with. 
But overall the job was good - fair pay and although at peak times stressful (especially on bank holidays), the sections work well together and push through. 
This is also helped by arranged staff events through social events like drinks, meals out and team building meetings, which JB does well.




I worked at Jamaica Blue for 3 months and gained experience in a busy cafe environment. During opening shifts, I helped restock milk and prepare for the day, and during closing shifts, I cleaned front of house, including tables, floors, and cabinets. I also practiced latte art, learning to draw hearts, tulips, and basic patterns.
I enjoyed working as part of a team, supporting each other during busy periods, and contributing to small events like the Christmas promotional video. The environment helped me develop my customer service skills, teamwork, and ability to work efficiently under pressure.

The Maidstone location purposefully overhired around 30 people and then quickly got rid of 20 of them in the space of two weeks for no reason at all other than that they hired too many staff. They do not let you know that they are letting you go, instead they just remove you with no warning from the work WhatsApp group. You are paid minimum wage and are not paid for breaks, which just given them whenever the cafe is not busy, not whether you actually need one, so that they can pay you less. I was given two half hour breaks for only a 5 hour shift because it was not very busy and they didn't want to pay me. I was hired as a barista yet was given no training making coffee. The management here is awful and I would not recommend working here at all. 

- Unhealthy work environment & an incredibly high staff turnover.
- Management let go off staff if anyone has any bit of knowledge on how a company should be ran.
- Hired many staff with the intention to fire more than half within two weeks of opening. 
- Overworked staff with no reward or acknowledgment. 
- Give responsibilities like cashing up & locking up to any staff member without any pay increase or supervisor/keyholder title. 
- Terrible management, not understanding or approachable in anyway, shape or form. 
- Not disability confident, don't work here if you  have any disabilities, not accommodating at all.  

I gained valuable insight into the day-to-day operations of a fast-paced customer service environment. As my first job, it offered me hands-on experience in handling customer interactions, working as part of a team, and learning the intricacies of food and beverage preparation. While the role provided an opportunity to develop skills in multitasking, communication, and problem-solving, it is worth noting that the compensation did not reflect the demands of the position. Despite the challenging work conditions, I consider my time there to have been an important stepping stone in my professional development.

Just like any chain cafe/restaurant they expect regular requirements, being able to waitress and customer skills but apart from that it’s exhausting, 30min break ONLY which is unfair for if you work 6+ hrs. If you buy food from here, you pay 50%, but it tends to be overpriced or takes a long time to be prepared, so you get less time to eat on your break. Management is all over the place, rota gets sent out on Sundays, so no one knew if they were working the next day and was completely unpredictable. It’s a 0hr contract so they can send you home at any given point during the day. 

My personal experience was horrendous. Overworked, underpaid. Expected to do everything for little to no recognition. No encouragement or motivation from management to succeed, belittled for miniscule mistakes through not being shown things properly. Expected to drop everything at the click of a finger. Unrealistic expectations, shunned for trying to work on your own initiative. Just don't waste your time. Not inclusive of disabilities and discriminative in many ways. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store manager 7 salaries reported	£13.25 per hour
Assistant manager 2 salaries reported	£12.75 per hour
Manager 1 salary reported	£14.00 per hour
Front of house staff 2 salaries reported	£13.21 per hour
Café manager 1 salary reported	£27,750 per year

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