assistant store manager

visual merchandiser

store manager

supervisor

assistant manager

Søstrene-Grene

I was hired for the new store that opened in sheffield. when the job began it was an empty shell, I helped my colleagues to clean it up and stock shelves and sort out the warehouse. During these 2 weeks before opening I was working full time hours even though I was on part time. In the interview I was told there would be a lot of over time and would be on a temp 4 hour contract just to assess my abilities. However, after the store opened I was given 3 shifts over the span of 2 weeks. I was then told I was being let go despite the contract saying I would be kept on if my work and work attitude was satisfactory. When being let go I asked why, to which I was told there were not enough hours and that I was  a great employee. Since being let go I feel disappointed in the company as they told me there would be over time available and would have a chance of becoming permanent. I feel as though I have been used by the company to help get the store ready for opening and that was it, this was not the job description! During my time working here I found the area manager to be difficult to work with as they were stressed about the store opening but decided to take it out on others. I was assisting a colleague carry a heavy and large box and was told in a rude and condescending way that I am not to help and work on my own. After this I caught up with my colleague to find that they struggled to carry the box and ended up having to trail it on the ground. Advice for employers, area managers and managers I would give would be that no matter how stressed you are it does not mean it is fair to take it out on others and that being part of a team involves helping others if they are struggling!

Honestly the job itself isn’t hard but the company makes your life as hard as possible- consistently going over contracted hours, ‘forgetting’ to pay overtime, if you’re sick a couple of times expect to be ‘investigated’. Management is a non existent, no support at all. There is no flexibility in the job, if you’re working part time and you’ve agreed set hours due to childcare or another job or education, expect to be constantly scheduled in on the days you can’t do. Staff turnover across all stores is ridiculously high, which the company maybe should consider but they honestly don’t care about their employees. They make no accommodations for mental or physical health conditions, are always understaffed, continuous stock issues including recalls and shipment delays, yet you’re only allowed to put certain stock in particular places. Then upper management complain when the store looks bare when they’ve complained it’s full of the ‘wrong’ stock. This job has caused myself and every other member I’ve worked with serious stress and anxiety, physical pain and has resulted in everyone either seeking employment elsewhere or just quitting due to developing health issues. I would not recommend working here until this company fixes itself from the top. It’s a serious shame because the job is a standard retail job, yet you’re made to constantly feel undervalued, overwhelmed and insignificant. 

From the get go the job was extremely disorganised. Not enough members of staff, being made to work more hours than your contract, dangerous and disorganised stock room. The job itself was ok however due to team being too small there was a lot to take on and it was extremely unorganised. Unfortunately, the worst part of the job was how uncomfortable management made me and others feel. From the beginning the stand in 'manager' of the store would constantly criticise the company and in particular other members of staff. Several disgusting comments were made about staff and management by this manager and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Alongside this, this same manager would reveal confidential information about staff members to us and this then made me feel extremely uncomfortable and unsafe. I then knew from this point I couldn't reveal any confidential information if it was necessary. Lastly, it was extremely negative. The management, particularly the same stand in 'manager' constantly complained and made the environment extremely negative.
The pay is good, work rate is fine but the environment is extremely negative and strange.

I've worked for the company for a while now & have come to realise that management don't really care about you even though they pretend to. Want more hours? tough, it's not in the budget post Xmas even though my store can make upwards of 20k in 1 day at xmas could easily pay the salary of somebody who works part time like myself for an entire year. no real benefits, you're working minimum wage but you do get 20% off in your store only which would perhaps benefit somebody that wants to buy expensive tat for their homes but otherwise its not really used. customers are usually nice & understanding which is good for retail. oh the music drives me & everybody else insane even customers complain about it but sostrene are too cheap to get a different source for FREE USE music (it's literally free to use this music but the same 15 songs play in a loop, there is no excuse for this) customers always say how it must be nice to work there, alas it is not. its a good starting point for people, but not great for someone that's been in the industry for over 10yrs as you don't get rewarded you just get thrown on the till all day & have to stand up for long periods of time.

not terrible, not the best. 
Working at this retail job was an overall decent experience, though it had its ups and downs. The team I worked with was friendly, and I appreciated the camaraderie among coworkers. The training process was thorough, which helped me get up to speed with the company's procedures and customer service expectations. The job also allowed me to develop useful skills in communication, problem-solving, and handling cash registers.

However, there were also some challenges. The hours could be unpredictable, especially around busy seasons, which sometimes made it hard to balance work with personal life. Additionally, the management team, while generally supportive, was often stretched thin and could be slow to address certain issues or provide feedback. The workload, especially during peak times, could also feel overwhelming, as the store was frequently understaffed.

Overall, while the job had its drawbacks, it was a good starting point for building retail experience, and I gained valuable skills that will benefit me in the future.

Constantly overworked. Workload as a member of management was constantly overwhelming. Upper management never happy, things that were praised in the shop one week would need a radical VM redo the next leaving you never knowing what they wanted. Jobs lists were always unrealistic with the time frame of an average working day.
Company seems cute and fun from the outside and they advertise it as if you have creative freedom within your role, but in reality you’re expected to just do what you’re told by upper management.
Don’t expect to have a life outside of work - they’ll put you on a stupidly low hour contract like 6 or 8 hours a week, but routinely ask if you can come in on your days off, so you end up doing 40 hours one week, but then you’ll back to 8 hours whenever they feel like it.
The burnout from this job is real at all levels of staff 

On my first day I recieved no induction and was immediately put on organising delivery (which I had no idea on how to organise). The environment was stressful and I was given tasks which made me extremely anxious, for example, loading overfilled carts of products into an elevator in which I had no idea on how to work. On my second day, I was put on tills and was given a mere 2 minutes of training before i was left completely by myself in order to serve customers. When I asked for help, the assistant manager was extremely rude and spoke to me in a condescending manner. She also made the work environment very stressful not only for me but for other colleagues too. 
In all honesty, avoid working here as it's not worth the stress.

You are sold a dream with this job. As visual merchandiser your told you have complete creative freedom - not the case at all. Anything you do will be critiqued heavily and then changed , completely knocks the wind out of your sails and get no satisfaction from the job or praise. Told in interview you are there to merchandise and that’s it , this is not the case your made to do tasks the rest of management do not want to do like take rubbish out , clean the stock rooms , stand in the freezing cold and sort through deliveries. Would not recommend this job to anybody it’s emotionally and mentally draining. Store manager is unbelievably unsupportive as is area managers - very unprofessional.

In my time working at Sostrene & Grene I had many encounters with management and coworkers which where incredibly unpleasant. When I voiced how I felt I was overlooked and coworkers binded together against me due to their personal opinions on who I where friends with within the company making it a horrid workplace and instead of trying to sort the issues out first hand I instead felt forced to leave the company as I had little support and others I was close with had left due to these issues. Employees who where involved with making the workplace a bad environment had then been promoted instead of hiring externally making me feel even more alone and unseen it had gotten to a point where I couldn’t cope or even come into work. 

Absolutely loved my time at Sostrene Grene Norwich. The manager was super kind, organised & understanding in all areas of the role. Whenever I had issues or needed help, she was always there to listen and understand/work out a solution for me. The team were very close knit and all friendly - it really felt like a supportive culture where you can learn and grow. Even though there were times where the shop was super busy, the team would always work together to manage tasks and serve customers to the best of our ability.  I’d recommend to anyone! 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Assistant store manager 109 salaries reported	£28,661 per year
Visual merchandiser 46 salaries reported	£28,609 per year
Store manager 37 salaries reported	£34,378 per year
Supervisor 13 salaries reported	£12.73 per hour
Assistant manager 1 salary reported	£30,000 per year

Working at Søstrene Grene: company overview and reviews

Søstrene Grene

Søstrene Grene ratings

Popular jobs at Søstrene Grene

Salary satisfaction

Jobseeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected