retail assistant manager

retail store manager

duty manager

assistant manager

retail sales associate

Menkind

I worked at Menkind for several months whilst at college studying A levels, balancing over 20 hours of work per week with my studies. Performing well in both areas, this seasonal work gave me experience in how to maintain both education and employment, skills that I wish to continue to exercise during my second year of University.

A typical day would include a mixture of stock management and sales on the shop floor. I was assigned to the front of the store among the electronics and more exclusive items as well as certain prime selling items for which we received bonuses for meeting/exceeding sales targets. Each one of team members on the shop floor held responsibility for their department; meaning we had to ensure both the aesthetics and stock levels there. Most importantly was ensuring customer satisfaction which required a high level of product knowledge, meaning promotions, cost, features and availability had to all been memorised in order for one to successfully cross-sell and assist customers efficiently and effectively. This also ensured that the team was able to assist one another with customer support and training to allow the smooth running of the store and a high level of customer satisfaction.

Due to the seasonal nature of the store, many of our difficulties arose from stock delivery and management. Our first manager left and we were without one for several weeks as our assistant manager had to assume responsibility. I was required to open-shop and set up the store on several occasions and was involved in the counting up of the tills at the end of day.

The company encouraged competition between co-workers and stores, something that especially affected us over the christmas period. This brought the team in shop closer together as we would all benefit from the stores success, but there was also the opportunity for individual achievement through the means of in-store competition. this came in the form of sales targets and number of certain promotional items sold. Myself and my co-worker who also worked the same area as me (albeit at different times as I was part time) developed a friendly competition over the companies favoured promotional item (an induction speaker), something I strongly enjoyed over the course of my temporary employment.

I was trained in cash handling and till training. Days would include general cleaning duties to keep the store in good condition, restocking products on the shop floor and providing customer service, including managing the tills and answering customer inquires. Several times a week stock deliveries needed to be checked, processed and distributed to either the shop floor or the stock room. The atmosphere was very fun, the staff worked well together and products were often demoed by staff. 

The most difficult part of the job was the preparation for Christmas,in which there were deliveries every night and processing throughout the night and the late hours to prepare the shop for the next day. The fact that the shop was incredibly busy at Christmas time also made it harder to answer questions (due to the noise level) and longer to move through the store to perform general cleaning and tidying duties as well as fetch items for customers. 

I found the staff and the variety of products sold at the shop to be the most enjoyable part. The staff made every shift fun and the wide range of different products meant we had something for almost every customer. Management was also very understanding and considerate of university/college commitments of staff meaning there was some flexibility with shifts, when necessary.

I worked as a temp for a few months a few years ago and it was so awful. I am writing this review in order to help jobseekers, as I feel this has affected me, even after all this time. 

 A typical day would include sorting out stock, talking to customers and using the tills. That alone was okay, though it did get very busy at times it was perfectly fine to deal with. Doing stock and printing labels were simple to do. I did enjoy doing this at times. The job is straightforward enough, despite its challenges with customers. I did also get discounts with in store purchases which was a positive.

My coworkers were mostly okay. Many made me feel welcome and at ease, which I appreciated. However, there were a few incidents were I didn't feel safe because of another staff member (more than one coworker). This was not pleasant to deal with, especially in front of customers. 

Furthermore, the management and higher ups do not care about you as a person. They would release the weekly rota as late as they could and they would set really annoying shifts. They do not care about your personal life - evident in the fact that you are expected to work on bank holidays (apart from Christmas) which is terrible. 
Although it had its decent moments and the shop itself is cool with products I do actually like, I do not recommend working here.


Started good at first. Near my first Christmas shift I was tasked to remove huge amounts of cardboard from upstairs that could not take under an hour or two to clear out, as it needed to be broken down enough to fit in the bins out back (and not overflow). However I was shouted at for taking that amount of time and told I wasn't going quick enough, despite the fact it was physically impossible to do so without filling the bins incorrectly. I had been told prior to starting that task that I should not push myself beyond my limits.

My till code also stopped working after a few months and this was not fixed until over a year later, so I was pretty much always put on the same tasks every single shift despite making it clear it was displeased with this, and wanted my till code fixed. Even when it was fixed, I was never assigned to the tills.

Another recurrence was that I would be spoken to positively, and given encouragement, but minutes later was told off for random things and made to feel like I was a waste of space. I've had customers approach me, telling me how the manager is being out of order towards me.

I don't ever expect a sales oriented position to be easy, or non-competitive, but I don't expect to be gaslighted or gatekeeped so heavily.

I worked in several stores across the company for a few years, going from store worker to supervisor. 
I didn't get any formal training and was expected to pick stuff up on the fly. 
Was left running a store as the only permanent management staff for over a month while area managers attempted to find replacements. 
Area management also seemed reluctant to listen to front-line opinions from store management and staff; We were blamed for poor sales when our centre's footfall diminished drastically due to other store closures. We can't sell to people if there's no people to sell to. 

Understandably, the company is sales driven, with a lot of emphasis made on demonstrating various products to customers and pushing sales. But, especially in recent months, the overall quality of the product seems to have diminished, with many items coming back faulty, often with glaring quality issues. 
The company in general seems to care only about the quantity sold, with little regard to quality. 

That said, with a good team, day to day store operations can be enjoyable, finding the right balance between professionalism and bonhomie. But between the pressure & attitude of higher management, and the mediocre pay, good people tend to leave for better jobs.

I was lucky in having mostly good workmates and decent in shop management. For a retail job the work was pretty varied, you could be working on stock one day, actively selling another or demoing fun products another. It was fairly laid back, but they would encourage you strongly to give help to customers so it didn't feel like you were offering a bad deal, which is nice.

Made supervisor after about seven/ eight months of hard work, but was paid really poorly for both positions relative to industry (minimum wage then 8.03 an hour as supervisor). They keep you on temporary contracts even if you work over a year so that when the time comes to close shop they just shut you out in a fortnight to a week, with no warning.

The contracts are normally pretty poor as well (0 hours for sales staff). They would use hours competitively, giving most to those meeting KPIs, unless of course they were the friends of management or even related to them. Then they would get the most if they wanted it. 

For all that, it was pretty easy work.

A typical day at work would start with me arriving on time and going to the till, who ever was team leader or manager for my shift would give a breakdown on sales for that day, any targets and whether I would be on demonstration, till or shop upkeep. From working for MenKind I learnt a very high level of patience and being able to remain professional at all times, with queues of over thirty people at a time and stressful days and customers it was adamant that I stayed in control of the situation and ensured that the customer was given the service they desired.

The management were very good, they would change shifts around  straight away if you needed them too, they ensured the shop was run smoothly and that everything was being done. 

All of my coworkers were a delight to work with, they were all hardworking and intelligent, everyone got on very well with each other and it was a genuine pleasure to work with that group of individuals. 

The hardest part of the job was having to deal with extensive queues of stressed out customers and ensuring that they still got the service they required. 

The best part of the job was being on demonstration and being able to demonstrate drones and RC cars etc to the public, very often resulting in sales being made from this.

I have worked for this company for almost 10 years and although at the beginning there was lots they could do better they really have done that, they are now an EOT (Employee Ownership Trust) they have a training program and courses you can do for free, regular reviews and feedback and it’s actually an easy going environment, the management structure has changed over the years and for the better, I have worked for some big businesses and this is the first where what you do has a real impact on your store, your team and the business overall, I can share ideas and they are listened to and although it’s very and I mean very hard work at Christmas that’s how I like it, I cannot praise them more, ignore the very old feedback, this is a great business to be part of and the business was one of the very few who survived COVID and came out stronger which is down to everyone in the business 

Everyday is spent desperately trying to hit unreasonable sales figures as well as having to juggle KPI's which are used as a measure of worth rather then actual customer interactions. 
Little to no support from upper management and when they do decide to grace you with their presence they typically end up creating more problems then they solve, only willing to stick their necks out when they get something out of it.
Job roles have been left unfilled for months at a time, causing the existing staff to have to work twice as hard for nothing extra. 
Most of the products sold there are cheap, overpriced tat, meaning that returns are a common occurrence detracting even more from the sales figures that were unreasonable to begin with.
The only enjoyable part of working there was that thankfully the staff in the store itself were all friendly and supportive. however everything else was pathetic and I would advise everyone to steer clear of it at all costs.

Don't supply necessities like water or toilets. Have no regard for the staff at all. Didn't even supply a table to use for an office for a new shop opening for the manager. 
Health and safety doesn't exist in this company, lots of manual labour not outlined in the job role. 
No training or product explanation when joining. 
No consideration for people with disablities, i saw someone fired over having a disability with no attempt to make work adjustments. 

Head office management are awful they are deceiving and make the job out to be something it isn't. They set impossible targets for the type of shop it is and put a lot of pressure on you to reach them. There is no support or HR from the head office.

Pay is also terrible its minimum wage supervisors only get about 20p above it at most. Don't pay sick pay, if you go off sick you are most likely going to be fired. 

The only highlight of the job was my co workers who were lovely but all felt the same about the company. Most working days consisted of moaning about the company and helping each other look for new jobs.

Do not work for this company, as they really don't have any respect for their staff.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Retail assistant manager 13 salaries reported	£26,368 per year
Retail store manager 4 salaries reported	£28,375 per year
Duty manager 21 salaries reported	£12.83 per hour
Assistant manager 16 salaries reported	£19,715 per year
Retail sales associate 1 salary reported	£20,000 per year

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