team leader

store manager

assistant manager

assistant store manager

retail store manager

Kenji

Positives:
The best part of this job was the people. My co-workers were amazing, and many of them became close friends. The store manager was kind and understanding, which made day-to-day interactions pleasant. The job itself was relatively easy, and the shifts were manageable, typically around 5–6 hours.

Cons:
Too many to list but the main problems lie with the upper and operations management who were the complete opposite of supportive. They often made it clear that they didn’t care about or respect the staff, and this ultimately became the reason I left. When they came to review the store, they would nitpick everything, which felt frustrating and unnecessary. They had a habit of micromanaging and would even monitor staff through CCTV, just to catch someone making a mistake. If you did slip up, instead of helping you improve, they’d threaten warnings or to cut your hours which was an issue when you’re on a zero hour contract.
Hard work never got recognised, and it felt like management’s focus was always on what was wrong rather than what was going well. Many of us were left feeling undervalued and humiliated. Myself and other coworkers were brought to tears on shift because of the way we were treated and spoken about. For staff with disabilities, it was even worse, as their needs were often ignored or dismissed.
On top of that, deliveries were so inconsistent and poorly managed that it created constant stress. And when employees tried to raise concerns with any of the upper or operations management staff were told to, “Just deal with it.” There was no system or HR department for listening to or addressing staff grievances. 

When I first started at Kenji, I couldn’t say enough good things about it. But in the months leading up to my decision to leave, things went downhill fast. By the end, it had taken such a toll on my mental and physical health that I had no choice but to leave for my own wellbeing. It was sad see a company I had worked at for several years throw out all their morals and values for the sake of profit. 

Great team mates but abysmal upper management who will hand out warnings and cut shifts for no real reason yet are not confrontational at all and will talk about you and how bad you’re doing to others behind your back or when you’ve left, rather than raising concerns or points for improvement to your face.  Management will spy on you through CCTV at all times and if you don’t look busy for the cameras you will be penalised. They also have clear favourites and provide little to no safeguarding for their staff members, and let the store get so understaffed that we were being forced to work 7, 8, sometimes even 9 shifts in a row without even a thank you. Christmas bonus and holiday pay is quite good but other than that I wouldn’t say staff are treated or paid fairly at all. Day to day the job is boring but easy—but there’s no real training but you’re ridiculed if you do something wrong. Would be a good place to work if management actually cared about staff well-being and allowed us to speak to them about concerns or worries, and if they implemented any helpful changes for issues 

I loved the time I worked at KENJI! It has genuinely been the nicest place I've ever worked. Everyone I worked with has been so friendly, including the Managers! I was told that the big boss would pop in every other week and I thought that would be a bit scary, but she was lovely and would go out of her way to say hello and ask how we are even though she's busy! My manager aswell has been so lovely and supportive, if I've ever had any issues, work or personal, I felt comfortable to go to her and she would help where she could.

A typical day would be either opening or closing the store, serving customers, stocking and cleaning the shop and bringing in deliveries. Nothing too hard or complicated. Some days can be quiet, but others quite busy. I had enough shifts throughout the week so I was happy with that, but it is a 0hr contract. 

Highlights: They threw this big Chirstmas Party last year which was so good! They do a Christmas Bonus which was actually more than I expected! The people and enviroment is just so nice and chilled. 

Average work hours of 5hr and 6hr shifts but often left to work by yourself even during busy trading hours. Clear favouritism in management and complete disregard for staff wellbeing and mental health.  Worked in a small team that all got along well and formed close bonds with co-workers that helped get through the shifts. 
average company benefits with slightly higher than minimum wage pay but that does not make tolerating the way staff are treated worth it. staff are often felt disrespected and brought to tears by store managers and when brought up to higher ups it is often brushed aside and staff are told to just deal with it.  There is a lack of support for disabled staff members and those staff members are often pushed to their limits and physical abilities. 
Overall I would not recommend working for this company at all it seems they only care about building the franchise and making money and not their staff.

I worked at Kenji for 2 years and I had to leave because it completely destroyed my mental and physical health. 

The positives: the team are so lovely and I’ve made my closest friends through this job.
The negatives however are too many to list. To echo a lot of these reviews management do not care about you and all they care about is money. They promote their favourites rather than people who deserve it. They are very patronising and condensing towards staff, they make them take on all the workload whilst they sit in the office on tik tok. They don’t listen to your availability and will consistently put you in 7,8,9 days in a row. They also just hire anyone and don’t bother to train anyone properly and make team leaders do everything for them. 

The job changed so much over my time there and it’s so sad to see a unique company fall into the despair of temu quality rubbish. 

Job was fine, average retail worker experience, had to leave because the management was so poor, tried my best to get a team leader position but all of them were handed to the "attractive" girls in the team that just had to bat their eyes at the manager to get a promotion, they then proceeded to go on full power trips, making everyone that wasn't a team leader or higher (usually the guys) do everything around the store whilst they sat in the back having mothers meetings, any times they were forced to be on shop floor they would sit at the tills and chat, slowing the entire store down to the point that the line for checkout would reach the back of the store. 
The job itself could be done by a 12 year old with little trouble, which makes it even more sad that the people they consider team leader and assistant manager level cant seem to function as anything other than petty tyrants. 

This being my first retail job I was expecting a lot of stress but I was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed it was compared to stories from other stores. I enjoyed being trusted with supervising and tidying the storefront. The management was always quick to help in the odd occasion where something went wrong. Coworkers were good people and did their share of the work so as time went on the store became just a organised, easy place to work. Only downsides being the odd difficult customer and the easy nature of the job meaning you didn't learn or progress much. The workload was busy enough so you'd have stuff to do or could find something to do but rarely ever became too much to handle. 

Working at Kenji has been a truly rewarding experience. From my first day, I was welcomed into a supportive team environment where collaboration and respect were part of the daily routine. My role allowed me to engage directly with customers, helping them with purchases and ensuring they had a positive shopping experience. I enjoyed learning about the products, assisting with restocking, and working at the till, which gave me confidence in multitasking and problem-solving. Beyond the responsibilities, what stood out most was the vibrant and friendly atmosphere. Each day brought opportunities to connect with different people, both colleagues and customers, which helped me improve my communication skills and cultural awareness.

I cannot speak for other stores but please avoid the Manchester Kenji at all costs. The management don't care for their staff as we are ridiculously understaffed, but refuse to hire any more people, and therefore are overworked to the point of crying. They have not listened to any requests, and staff dread coming into work.
There is favouritism and they get away with things you would normally get told off for, and many get shouted at for no reason. They also snitch behind people's back which is very unprofessional.
Please avoid, it is not worth the low pay and stressful workplace.

the management are lovely very understanding, they ask you about the hours you feel comfortable working my co-workers and so nice and we all get along and communication between us all is amazing. typical day for me would start at 12:30 till 5:30 and would usually consist of serving customers and bring down the stock from upstairs down so it could go onto the shelves. at the end of the day i'd hoover the shop floor,dust the mop before closing. I've learned communication is key to working as a team because we all know what were doing within the working day.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Team leader 7 salaries reported	£13.29 per hour
Store manager 5 salaries reported	£15.30 per hour
Assistant manager 4 salaries reported	£14.13 per hour
Assistant store manager 3 salaries reported	£12.70 per hour
Retail store manager 2 salaries reported	£15.00 per hour

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