merchandiser

assistant buyer

administrative assistant

designer

merchandising assistant

River Island

What is the best part of working at the company?
Free clothing for uniform
40% discount on everything else 
Flexible working pattern 
Overtime 
Helping customers 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Something that’s not in the job description is people have specific roles. The job ad is very generic and will out line all the roles a sales Advisor could possibly do. But when you actually apply you are applying for a specific role but you won’t know till you actually start, it’s group interview so you won’t even be told then. I was lucky that I got the role I wanted, but some people will be in the back all day just tagging clothes. It seems pretty miserable and it’s cold in the winter and the lighting isn’t great. Some people preferred it, others were just put there because they were not great at being on shop floor. It has its perks that if you have friends there you can chat and snack all day whilst me on till has to starve and no one to talk to. You never get a lunch break if working less than 6.5hrs and even then you have to tell them to put it in- it’s a joke as there plenty of big companies give 15/20 min break on a 4/5 hr shift. 
Most staff stand around chatting all day leaving you to feel like your the only one constantly working or helping customers, I’ve lost count the amount of times customers would walk past the other employees as they are chatting in a group and the customer had to walk right to the back of the shop where I’m on till with a queue, just to ask me a simple question because they felt uncomfortable approaching the group. 
Staff are rude and unprofessional, I once even had a customer comment on another member of staff’s behaviour. 
Also they pay you wrong a lot of the time, so make sure you actually calculate the hrs you’ve done. 
One of the team leaders doesn’t even know the return policy on faulty items, even if it has been worn it clearly states it online. Which I did what the customer wanted and what the policy stated but team leader got annoyed because she thought the policy was different.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The people are not very nice in this particular store, couple of nice people so your lucky if you get a shift with them. 
Bad management, one of the managers is okay but the store manager is a joke. I don’t know how anyone takes him seriously and the other staff gossip about him but to his face they will be nice. Apparently he doesn’t like women, I was told he thinks women are useless and can’t do anything right. Not sure what that’s about. 
He once called me in to have a “meeting” which was probably the most unprofessional conversation I have ever engaged in. To tell me I wasn’t ‘fast enough’ yet when I timed myself and the amount I had to do I was faster than most. (As I was on till I had multiple jobs and everyone else just has one job. ) And at the end he goes “good chat” kinda laughing at the same time. 
Worst management I have ever seen. 
Good work is never rewarded (if your not in their clique) until I felt like they got too much I always helped with out with overtime even if it was last min and there’s a reason I was on till because I was really good with customers, like exceptionally good. New people even joined for the roll of till but they didn’t put them on till because most people are not  good at it, in this store. But they are happy to make up negative feedback.  I feel it’s probably I didn’t fit into their  clique , so they probably wanted things on file to get rid of me but lucky for them I had to quit as it’s a very toxic place. 
Really bad team leaders, no matter how polite or nice you are to them or no matter how much you try with them and make an effort, if you don’t fit into their silly clique they will keep giving you pointless jobs that don’t even need doing just so they can gossip amongst themselves without you getting in the way. And then they will tell you to just undo everything you did to take up more time. 
Also the amount of times I’ve seen staff be rude to customers too. It’s like they don’t know what good customer service is. Don’t get me wrong there a couple of people who are ok and a couple who are nice but on the whole it’s not a good/healthy environment, culture or experience. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was usually on till as I was good at it. You serve customers it’s all really easy to be honest using the till. You de-tag, scan the items, place into a bag and process payment. You also process returns and exchanges. There’s gift cards too. They will try to sell you this lie they are trying to go paperless for the environment but it’s not true, they make money for every email receipt they get. So they basically want you to argue with the customer to get it but I was against it as if you work there you will see the amount of unnecessary packaging they have. It’s so wasteful and they don’t even have any recycling. If you go online and read about river island their ‘principles’ they are nothing like what they claim to be and they don’t even strive for it. You also will have to do online orders, scanning them in and putting in correct location, scanning out for customers. And also returning online orders and packing them back up. Sometimes customers will take the mic with how much they return from an online order , personally I think they should put a limit on the amount of items one can return to store (to send back to warehouse) from online order because then you just get a queue building up. E.g. They should just have to send it themselves via post office. You also order online for customers to the store or their house. It depends what day you work, I worked delivery days so that also meant I had to tag new clothing whilst on till. You also have a scanner to check stock for customers. You have to wear a silly headset which is uncomfortable and in this store the management is never on the same page. And even when you do use it and ask for help no one listens because they are too busy gossiping. And then there’s the general making sure everything is neat, tidy and clean and there’s always a lot of that to do as no one else does it. And there was a lot of helping customers which I liked that aspect but it’s a joke no one else did it. 
They actually get a lot of theft in this store, I think maybe if they stopped gossiping for like a second and looked around to see what was going on they could probably prevent it. I’m sure there’s supposed to be a member of staff on till (me which is was) and then someone on kids, women’s and then men’s. And there was definitely enough staff, there was always 3-4 staff in excluding me. But they always just stood in a corner chatting.

I worked in River Island for a whole year and I would DEFINITELY NOT recommend it whatsoever. I worked in the Cardiff store in St Davids. Managers (mainly the higher up managers) were extremely rude on shifts. I came onto shift the one day and two of the managers stood on shop floor at the front of the store in front of customers and other staff and made me cry. They shouted at me for not taking overtime on a certain day and made out that I was lying that I had agreed to do it. I started to cry and they told me to carry on sorting shoes. I went to the back stock room and told a manager I trusted and cried to her out the back, the one manager that made me cry then came and told me that it wasn't just me and that they expect all staff to pick up extra shifts during the sale period. Two other managers that I walked past looked at me crying and turned a blind eye. I continued to cry on shop floor and the one manager that made me cry at the beginning of my shift pulled me to the very front of the store and told me to stop crying because "nobody died" and that she did not agree with me saying no to overtime because I was meeting a friend that evening and said that my priorities should be with River Island, even though I had also made these arrangements beforehand and they expected me to cancel on my friend. I didn't do this and after that I went home crying my eyes out wishing I had quit on that shift. My mum was absolutely disgusted with how they treated me and wanted to complain but I thought that would make my shifts awkward and even worse so this is the first time I am telling this story now that I have quit.
On shift, managers would be rude, handing you rubbish they find on the floor and demand you to put it in the bins with no please or thank you, they would favour other staff and get you to do the worst jobs, there was constant bad mouthing and snide comments done about staff that I sometimes over hear. They bully you into overtime and say that you must pick up overtime, and even have suggested of "getting rid of" the staff that "aren't pulling their weight" and "shipping out the bad" because of this, this was said right in front of me and another member of staff at the time, to suggest that they were talking about us.
I have spoken to other members of staff and the majority feel exactly the same and are fed up of being treated like this, it is mostly the quiet ones who aren't gobby and feel too scared to stand up for themselves, like me.
I would have loved to speak with head office about this and especially about the incident I spoke about at the start, but was too afraid that the managers would make my working life even worse.
I really would NOT recommend working there or even buying from the shop, the amount fo clothing that comes back because of rips and bits falling off is insane, the quality is terrible and the prices are a rip off.
Go shop somewhere where they treat their staff well because this shop does not deserve to even be open.

I arrived at work at 8.30am with two other managers before the store opened at 9am, to discuss the targets of the day and count the floats to go into the tills. Once the store opened each manager would perform a 'walk-through' of their department and write down what tasks needed to be completed that day. They would then be allocated to other members of staff to complete, although big roles we would do ourselves.

My role was different everyday, and I worked wherever was needed. This could be on the tills serving customers, on the fitting room, on specific departments, dressing mannequins in the windows, in the stockroom, in the office or managing the floor. If there was a delivery, there was priority to place new stock on the shop floor, so customers would see it. We would also need to sort departments into 'looks' so outfits and themes were placed together to make it 'shoppable' for customers.

If a sale was coming up, we would need to scan every item on the shop floor and prepare sale tickets with the marked down prices. We would also need to scan every item in the stock room and do the same. The night before the sale was launched, we would prepare the store and change the layout so all the sale stock was in one area, all correctly ticketed. In big sales such as Summer and Christmas we would usually finish in the early hours!

As Senior Sales Advisor I was the lowest level of management, so did have some authority over others. I would be asked to authorise returns and delegate tasks to staff. I was able to give warnings and be a witness for disciplinaries. Sometimes I was the only manager on the shop floor, so would have to deal with challenging customers. We also had to keep an eye on well known shop-lifters, and radio each other if there was any suspicious behaviour. Management was good and supported me.

I got on well with my co-workers although once I was promoted and became 'above' them, it did cause some friction. However this was overcome with time.

The hardest part of the job was the amount of time and effort you had to put into it. Sometimes I wouldn't get a lunch break until very late as jobs had to be finished first. There were always lots of tasks that needed to be completed that day, and you needed to make sure you spent enough time and effort on each one, but make sure you had enough time for the rest! Some customers could become very angry and aggressive, but I just had to deal with them in a calm, patient manner and knew that I had security to call if I needed them.

The most enjoyable part of the job was helping customers. I enjoyed talking to them and helping them find outfits for specific occasions. People really appreciated the time I spent with them, and it felt good to know they were leaving the store happy.

I have only been working at River island a month or so now and I am already looking for another job. It is only a Christmas temp position and I don't know if that affects the way managers treat me compared to other staff or? 

typical day a meet up and team talk about targets for the day then off serving customers either on the cash desk or on the footwear department (or thrown about where ever the managers want you). Customers there are usually really lovely, don't mind waiting while you find something out, go to receive a parcel or order something in to store Etc. which I love as past jobs have differed which customer attitude.

Management. 
When I had my interview the higher managers who interviewed me where really friendly and bubbly just as I was expecting and gave me a call back almost straight away to offer me the job which I was thrilled about! unfortunately that quickly changed on my first shift. 

First of all you ask for help and get looked at like you're stupid! you do get employee discount which is great but it is limited so you cant just pop in over Christmas and expect to get all your presents sorted  oh no. You can only spend a certain amount and it can only be on you or immediate family (mum, dad, sister, brother) which I can understand but the managers try to make it as confusing as possible to when you are allowed this discount just so you don't spend it as it doesn't enrol into another month if you don't spend it. Same as uniform allowance so for someone who doesn't have enough money to spend there for their uniform this is not good. 

Another MAIN point is that since I first started all managers have been (overly) demanding, stuck up, and just blatantly horrible. There is a way to speak to your staff and that is not how you do it. Shouting orders in my face being told off first shift for getting something wrong on the till after only being trained for 20 minutes then being left on my own after I asked for extra help and refusing to let me home just 1 hour early even though I had explained if I left any later than 10pm I wouldn't be able to get home as busses had changed and I don't drive nor have enough money to be spending £10 on taxis every shift when I was only being put on 4-5 hour shifts with no break then being quite angrily told I had only been employed because of my availability when that member of staff had nothing to do with the employment process. Yes I understand that it is a business and I was there to work but they need to understand and empathise with other staffs needs especially when there had been ALOT of crime going off around that area. 

I didn't realise how much I had actually written so I will leave it there I could rant all day but to sum it up I am over worked, under appreciated, and sick of being talked to like sh *t.

Working at River Island has been an extra challenge for me whilst being at university. It has taught me the importance of being organised particularly with my time distribution and planning.

I began the job as a Christmas temp in my first year of studying, but since coming back to start my second year I have been given a promotion meaning that I now have more responsibility within the store. I normally work in the afternoon until closing every weekend. More often than not I have to help manage the shop floor, and ensure that daily goals and aims are met by all members of staff. I have a great liaison with the management within the store, which is evidential through the trust and support we provide one another, and with other members of staff as we need to communicate to one another in order for our shifts to run as smoothly as possible. Working until closing entails a number of jobs which need to be completed before the next day, for example standards of the shop need to be retained to upkeep the stores reputation. On occasions I will help cash up the tills, and assist in the banking, so I now have learned and picked up cash management skills, and increased my ability to be accurate. Lastly we have to ensure that all resources that will be need for the next working day are replenished to ensure that we can provide excellent customer service at every opportunity. 

The hardest part of working in River Island is that I do not get to go home over Christmas, Easter and for the best part of summer. I took on a part time job to support myself whilst being at university, and knew that this would be a result of doing so, but sometimes it can be challenge to forget that you won’t be spending time with your family, particularly when you’re away from home for long periods of time. However, working with the other employees at River Island makes it slightly easier because there are others in the same position, and those who are not are very understanding. 

The most enjoyable part of working in River Island is getting to talk to such a large scope of people. I especially enjoy talking to what I would class as ‘regular customers’ as you get to build a rapport with them. Talking to customers not only makes the shift more enjoyable, it also makes customers feel satisfied with their visit to the store, makes asking for advice or product knowledge a lot easier, and also means that they will be happy to return. I am studying a communication degree, so it also allows for me to understand theoretical ideas about communication further, and put into practise some of the theories I have learned about. 

Overall I enjoy working at River Island, it can be stressful on occasions, but that only makes me stronger at my role and as an individual. 


The job itself keeps you busy and colleagues on the shop floor are lovely. However some of the management really makes you lose a lot of motivation for the job. Over 2 years of working there i can honestly say i never once received a word of praise but managers were quick to pull you over to tell you something you did wrong. They discourage staff events and parties as if you're too friendly with each other we become unproductive! You're constantly scrutinized and if you're too busy to pick up overtime,the managers will use the fact you don't do enough overtime to deny you holidays or bully you into picking up more hours. My worst experiences include being told to come in the morning of my operation as i did not give enough notice (even though I found out with less than 2 weeks), missing a shift due to spending the night in A&E and being told "i owe them" for letting me have that shift off, the St. Davids centre telling shops to close due to icy roads and dangerous driving conditions later that night, river refused to close as it was still profitable, as a result, my journey home resulted in a car crash, no sympathy was shown. Not to mention I booked a 5 hour shift off for revision but it would only be considered if I picked up hours during the week, picked up 15 hours in the week and they then acted as if they never told me picking up shifts would make them consider getting time off (left me worse off for my exam,significantly!), on another incident, they wanted people in on a Monday night for sale launch, these were not my contracted hours and never have been due to my other responsibilities, but the manager told me off and said i should've been available to work and this was unacceptable. I can think of many more bad experiences from myself and my colleagues, overall i would not recommend working here, you're bullied and feel as though you constantly owe them! I can say that working here really does make you feel useless and that you can't do anything right, I became depressed and exhausted and cried almost every shift. Please consider ANY other job before you consider here, they seriously do not care about their staff.

Great company only issue is they only offer 3 month contracts at a time and even though your contract may be renewed this doesnt mean you are guarenteed to stay working there as everything you do reguarding productivity is logged and if you under acheive then they give you lots of file notes, warnings and disciplinarys which cause you to worry and lose sleep over.

I arrived to work on time every shift, I am an honest worker who is friendly and spoke to all of my fellow team mates/other employee's and built rapport and friendship with a number of people there including my supervisors.

They dont seem to take into account what type of person you are and that you have done well in every other aspect other than productivity and they ended my contract because of this.

No more training was offered even though I requested it, I also asked if I could move departments as I wanted to stay working for River Island and they said no due to my productivity.

I learnt alot about distribution and how everything and everyone interlinks.

The hardest part was the physical labour. You are on your feet walking all day, picking up and loading heavy boxes with clothing. Its also very cold in winter and very hot in summer which made it uncomfortable. Reaching targets on productivity was difficult too and when I spoke with others they thought the same too.

Not many english people work there so took longer to fit in and make friends but I did in the end.

Most enjoyable part was meeting new people, a decent wage and pay cheque every month was great and the set break times and facilities were brilliant. Knowing what my day was going to be like before i started my shift was reassuring... I knew when my breaks were, i was able to go to the toilet as and when i needed, routine was in place and a set shift pattern.

Management were ok apart from leaving my contract meeting until after the contract expiry date.. which meant I had no idea if I was staying or leaving and had no time to look for another job.

It was unsettling and not assuring at all.

The management and organisation of River Island was very poor.

When you want to take some holiday, you have to take a week at a time - if you only need one or two days you have to waste so much of your holiday in order to get it. If you are a temp then that is all of your allocated holiday.

The job offers they presented on Indeed/their website stated a specific number of hours and a specific shift pattern, but when you arrive to your interview you are left disappointed to find that you could be receiving any number of hours and a completely different shift pattern. Why advertise certain hours when you are highly unlikely to get them?

When I was called with a job offer, the store manager told me different information (which days I would be working) to what the contract I was presented with during my induction said. 

After I handed in my notice, I was told that I had a certain amount of holiday left to take and that I would be able to leave my shift early on my last day. The day before my last shift, my manager told me that on top of that holiday, I had another few hours so I'd be using that up on Saturday. The issue was, I handed in my notice the Friday before therefore my contract ended on Friday - why was my holiday being used for a day I was no longer employed? When I turned up for my last day I was told I would be finishing at my normal time! It was only the day before that I had been told I would be finishing my shift half way through. Eventually it was decided I would be able to leave my shift early.

The store manager made it clear in a condescending way that when I use them as a reference it would be clearly stated that I left my last shift early (even though I was supposed to be using up my holiday!) and that I might not get paid for the holiday that I am owed!!!

I was never late to work, I never skipped any shifts, I tried my best at work and I was very polite to all the staff. I don't understand why my leaving the company was made so difficult.

The other employees that I worked with were all very friendly, accommodating and easy to get along with - they made the experience alright.

For the most part I do look back at RI with fond memories, however my particular store had a high level of management turnover which impacted drastically. There were definitely favourites, this has changed now from what I have heard however when I worked there it had a culture of management letting certain people get away with everything and others with nothing which can really impact on morale. Sometimes it felt like floor staff were punished for the high stress piled onto management. Looking more positively, there were plenty of overtime opportunities and progression could be achieved with hard work.

 The brief at the start of each shift was a fabulous idea, however I would have liked more one-to-one's as sometimes staff could be criticised in front of other members of staff or customers on the shop floor which is unprofessional. Rewards wise, there was 'Employee of the Month' and encouragement to praise fellow staff for hard work however this was not always completed due to the levels of managerial staff turnover mentioned above. 

I myself had wonderful thorough training, however by the time temps were taken on this had changed and I found they were on the tills with no training and it was left up to Sales Assistants to help them. This then led to resentment from certain staff and a bad atmosphere. The way they were treated by management and fellow staff was appalling at times. 

The pay was great, and although it could be sometimes dull during the week as this was a quiet store, you could usually keep yourself busy. Could be rude customers as with any job; RI has a very strict refund policy which led to members of staff often being abused, but similar things will happen in any customer facing role. E-receipts are a big focus and it can feel stressful sometimes, however this does give experience for other target-based roles. 

Overall, honestly RI itself is a good company to work for if you have a good team. Perfect retail experience. Just research your specific store and be careful not to become a victim to work cliques and gossip. 

Typically a day as a River Island employee would vary greatly on the specific day that is being worked. Because of the time period that I was working, as well as the holiday season, it was increasingly manic and sometimes stressful. Due to my role, I was responsible for creating and maintaining a tidy and presentable department, this takes time throughout a typical work day due to the constant perusal of customers. I would also welcome and approach customers that may need assistance, as well as checking stock off of the shop floor.

During my time at River Island, I learnt a great deal about the company itself, as well as specific retail skills which can be applied to other fashion outlets and high street stores. These included the basic expectations of welcoming and greeting potential buyers, as well as occasionally offering fashion advice and opinion based on the independent characteristics of a consumer.

Management and co-workers were very different in their demeanor due to the differing roles they were placed in. Management leaders were all very firm yet generally understanding and friendly. Co-workers were exceptionally friendly and welcoming to myself and to other temporary employees. They were a pleasure to work with. 

Challenges arose most often at peak sale times, there were often times where numerous customers would approach for assistance and require me to check stock or leave where I had been assigned to work. This was especially difficult if a radio or scanner was unavailable and I was alone (each department had to have at least one member of staff at all times). 

However, it was not without its merits. Working at River Island was a refreshing change of work environment, as previously mentioned the individuals that I came to work alongside of were always pleasant and friendly, a true pleasure to work with.

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