duty manager

sales assistant

store manager

sales associate

sales

Smyths Toys

Originally I was excited and looking forward to working in the new store, I imagined it would be fun and good experience. I was very wrong! during our training one of the managers was horrible to us and particularly picked on certain individuals whereas others could get away with doing nothing. The training took place in the Watford store, the staff there were all really friendly and helpful including the manager. the training was five days a week, 11 hours a day. That wasn't too bad, it was just the way one of our managers treated some of us that got under my skin. After we were doing the store fit for our store, six days a week, 12 hours a day. The one day off we got was spent in bed recuperating from the physical labor. Throughout the store fit we were treated awful, as if we didn't have a clue what we were doing even though we had been told about a hundred times as if we were children. We were made to do pointless tasks when the store was done for example changing the red and yellow stripping everyday for a week 'because it's dirty and/or broken'. Since the store has been opened we've been treated as children and repeatedly told the same things again and again. Constantly spoken to in a patronizing tone and as if we were beneath them, just dirt on the shoes. a few individuals were spoken to like human beings, those of which have been dubbed their 'favorites', treated fairly and even able to do stuff we couldn't. One member of management seemed to think it was acceptable to drag myself by the wrist to an area of the store to do something instead of asking me politely to follow her. She then proceeded to reach out to one of my colleagues and snag her by the back of her top, in the process getting a fistful of hair and yanking her back. We made complaints and spoke to our store manager but other than speaking to her nothing was done and she continued to speak to us like dirt. Where as we knew if we did what she did we would have been fired on the spot. Discrimination at its finest. Older colleagues looked down on you and made you feel like they could bully you because you were younger. 

All in all I'm very glad I no longer work there, it was putting stress on me, making my depression and anxiety worse and caused me to have multiple breakdowns, one of which happened in store and they barely noticed ad definitely didn't care. 

Pros - made a few amazing friends and enjoyed the work. Relatively good pay. 

Cons - Awful management. Depressing and stressful. 5-10% discount. 

Do not work here!

I worked for Smyths Toys for approximately 3 months. I was paired with an experienced member of staff to teach me how to do the basics of the job but unfortunately, she was always too busy to really show me how to do things so I pretty much learned as I worked which wasn't too bad as most things were simple enough to get the hang of. 
The day started with setting up the customer service desk and till to make sure we had everything we needed through the day, including labelling stock that needed to be placed on and around the desk. Before the store opened I would have to answer any telephone calls that came through. Then I would have to spend the day tidying stock around the desk, answering questions, giving directions and serving customers with their products.
A general day was never really too busy, there would be the odd rush of customers but I never really felt overly stressed. Management were usually very busy but would always try their best to be available which was good. 
Once the shop was closed, we would need to 'face' the shop to make it presentable for the night staff/next day.
The most difficult part of the job initially was the aching feet! But after that it was the lack of variation in the job, as a customer service desk assistant I was not allowed to do any other jobs around the store I was only there to serve customers. I was desperate to do other things and learn new skills but the staff were just not available to show me these things. This was really frustrating when the shop was not busy and yet I could see floor staff struggling to do their list of jobs in time and being unable to help. 
The most enjoyable part of the job was the customers, the majority were lovely and seeing children buy toys from their own money and the happiness it brought them made everyday that bit better, or the excitement a parent or grandparent would show when they were buying gifts.  
I think this job is good for students and people looking for something retail based as it is just like most other retail jobs.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The weekly paycheck makes life a little easier, knowing I wouldn't have to wait to buy groceries.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Often times you were the only person on your department, so if you had a lot of things to do, and a lot of customers to serve, it'd be tricky to get through them. Only made worse when the store manager would add onto your already busy work load with something he could have come down to do themself. (I do understand that managers have a lot to do as well, but since they were usually the ones who set out the jobs, a little bit of consideration could have gone a long way.) The hours were a bit all over the place also.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The enviroment and culture would sometimes depend on who was working that day. Some managers and employees made a shift fun, others made it drag. I would also point out that despite them saying how open and accepting they were, and how much of a "family" we were supposed to be, so of the closemindedness and oftentimes harmful retoric said by managers/employees/out security guard irked me a little bit.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It depends on what department your on. Most departments start at 9am on the dot. If you were like me, you could start at at either 6, 7, or 8am (the 6am start was only during the run up to Christmas). During that morning you'd sort out click and collect, any price changes, and those were already done, then you could make a start on other jobs. When the doors open for customers you'd would serve them and start tackling the other jobs given to you. If there weren't customers, jobs often would get easier, but the October to December shifts would often times mean you'd also be doing a lot of click and collect too. There were times you would also have to cover other departments, say if someone was on their break, or if they had to step away to help another customer.

The store I worked at before I left to recover my mental health was awful, it looked great, the work wasn’t the issue.. it’s the management, the mental health trained didn’t care and were the hardest to talk to because they couldn’t stop being a manager to be supportive “honestly as a manager it worry’s me that you’re being like this” they spoke Ill of customers and staff behind their backs on the radios, you were always being watched and monitored by someone, weather by the experts or management or just other staff waiting to run to a manager to tell on you, no one wanted to stay there, and no one trusted anyone else.. the steps they tell you to be health and safety conscious of, but the gate has a child height spike sticking out of it and I nearly fell down the rickety things numerous times, we had to rush through delivery and then spent the remaining hours just tidying.. you can’t use the word “help” because you’ll fail the mystery shopper thing and get in trouble for that and so on and so on…

I’m someone who has mental health issues, my manager decided it was a great idea to put me on 10 hour shifts right away… my other manager constantly got stressed and told me to be quicker and “this worries me if you’re going to be on my night team” when I was only there for 3-4 weeks… 
I’ve left for my mental health and I’ve heard another 3 have also left, as well as knowing that half the staff plan to find somewhere else after Christmas.. 

The thing is, it would be fine if the stress put on management wasn’t so high in the first place, but the managers I worked with, though good at their jobs, were the reason I won’t go back to that place.. other stores might be better, but the one I was at was toxic..

Oh and I can’t forget the first day on shift, after watching a health and safety thing online, all of the managers climbed onto the rails of the steps to reach canopies, which the health and safety said against.. “don’t do what I’m doing by the way” 

If you walk through the doors make sure it is to buy things and not apply for a job, or you will pretty soon regret this decision.
The gen staff are great, as are select managers, but thats about as far as the good stuff to say goes.
If you are unfortunate enough to be either needed or good at your job you will have 8.45-C on your rota 4/5 days per week and have more & more jobs piled on you as a consequence.
The same is not true for the managers though.
Less jobs for them and you will likely not see 1 full day per week where they are rota’d for an open to close let alone 4 or more per week.
No consideration or care is given for your life outside of here but you are expected to care about the job in the same breath.
You will find the word “close” on rota a lot, this means you will not have a finish time and actually told you are not allowed to go until its done.
So if the store is trashed and they need to cut back on hours AND you are short staffed, you ain't going home so 1hr+ after potentially very long shifts 4 days per week.
Good luck if you have someone waiting to pick you up outside or the last bus is after a certain time, not their problem.
Point blank don't care even if you explain this.
You will not get a rota in advance so you cannot plan your own life, you will get it on a Thursday/Friday for next week and put on standby for certain days but also not paid if you are not needed despite being expected to be available.
Also if sales are quiet you will then have the other extreme and no hours and barely enough to survive on, some of the staff are on as little as 12/14hrs some times.
Staff turn over is horrendous and its entirely down to the culture within the walls of the building.
The way staff are treated and spoken to.
No staff, no hours, no help, no respect.
Dont do it, run forest and keep on running.




The work/life balance is completely one sided. As a manager, we are paid a salary based on a 39 hour week, but we do well into the 50s on a regular basis and during christmas it isnt unheard of to do over 80 hours and we also have to work a minimum of 12 hour day 6 day weeks. This goes for the shop assistants as well, they never finish on time and usually work an hour after they are supposed to finish. There is even regular +16 hour shifts of which we receive no thanks for.
The safety of your job completely relies on weather or not the store manager likes you personally and as for the rota system, we don't receive the rota until sunday for the next week which leaves absolutely no room for planning anything outside work life.
This is only a review from one member of staff in one store but my personal experience is the same as everyone else in the store. The upper management are purely focused on the growth of the business rather than looking after the staff that are of value to them, therefore losing most of the in-store management. The turnover of both staff and management is by far the most frequent i've ever seen. Think long and hard about applying for a position in this company if you want a career because what I have witnessed in the past and present, there is no room for error for management who come in from other companies. The salary of which you are offered initially may attract you but the stress of the job itself and the way these stores are run will deter you sooner rather than later. As for the floor staff, I have been one for all to long and I feel for the ones who cannot find other employment.
In short, I warn people from this company based on empathy for my fellow smyths workers.

I worked at the Greenford branch as a Christmas temp in 2020 and I have no regrets! 
A typical day would be handling cash and card payments on the till, keeping the store neat and tidy, making sure that I completed tasks set by the manager, assisting them with pricing as well as other tasks. 
To be completely honest, it was very boring when there were no customers and I did struggle to stay awake at times. As well as that, there was no seating near the till so you had to stand for the whole shift, which was very tiring. But the shift was good when the right people were in work.
We had the chance to use the devices when processing online orders and dealing with click and collect orders during Lockdown which was very interesting and something that I enjoyed because it was different. 
During the November lockdown, it was very boring because there were not many customers. 
The store manager was excellent and super friendly with exceptional leadership skills, who had lots of empathy. The others liked to micromanage you and if they were not watching over you physically then then they would see you on the camera. 
Colleagues were great and always willing to help out, giving you advice and reassuring you that everything will be fine. One of them said that we are all one team and we should not let each other down, which is something that every retailer should adopt. 
I really liked the customers, the cute little kids who were excited to buy something or the parents that were buying something for their kids. 
They also need to work on making the store more secure as people kept on stealing stuff. 
But overall, it was a nice place to work and I have no regrets.

Typical day includes; a shed load of tasks to complete, even before you clock in. I have learned how to talk down to people and not to listen to any needs of the member of staff. Management is non-existence. The workplace culture is just a toxic relationship between staff and management. The hardest part of the job includes: not allowed to have water on shop floor, asking to go toilet. But waiting for cover so you can go up. Constantly overworked & underpaid. If your shift is 12-8 your looking to leave at 9:30 on a good day. The most enjoyable part of the job is going home. Member of Staff who think they are better than everyone else. Asking everyone for availability, do they follow availability?! no they do not. Roles like Toy Experts.. should not exist. They seem to think everyone one is a robot, so calling in sick once or twice will get you a final warning. Your expected to do everything in such tight-frames. Hours not guaranteed one week your doing 25+, the following week your only on 8 hours. Part time doesn't support the needs of the business apparently. So in theory you should aim to be there every single hour of your time. Smyths claim that, you are the difference. But its them that's the real difference. Constantly managed for small small issues. No such thing as trust in this 'Business.' Managers whistle-blowing other managers for ones personal gain. NO SYMPATHY FOR MEMBERS OF STAFF who live far. Management is very much corporate, TARGETS TARGETS TARGETS. SALES SALES SALES. No holidays from September to December. No such thing as Job Security. One weeks notice, even though 'Management' know about Contract expiry dates. No staff meeting to explain situations so member of staff can't plan ahead. Overworked & Underpaid. IN THEORY I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SMYTHS TOYS. Save yourself.

Typical day includes; a shed load of tasks to complete, even before you clock in. I have learned how to talk down to people and not to listen to any needs of the member of staff. Management is non-existence. The workplace culture is just a toxic relationship between staff and management. The hardest part of the job includes: not allowed to have water on shop floor, asking to go toilet. But waiting for cover so you can go up. Constantly overworked & underpaid. If your shift is 12-8 your looking to leave at 9:30 on a good day. The most enjoyable part of the job is going home. Member of Staff who think they are better than everyone else. Asking everyone for availability, do they follow availability?! no they do not. Roles like Toy Experts.. should not exist. They seem to think everyone one is a robot, so calling in sick once or twice will get you a final warning. Your expected to do everything in such tight-frames. Hours not guaranteed one week your doing 25+, the following week your only on 8 hours. Part time doesn't support the needs of the business apparently. So in theory you should aim to be there every single hour of your time. Smyths claim that, you are the difference. But its them that's the real difference. Constantly managed for small small issues. No such thing as trust in this 'Business.' Managers whistle-blowing other managers for ones personal gain. NO SYMPATHY FOR MEMBERS OF STAFF who live far. Management is very much corporate, TARGETS TARGETS TARGETS. SALES SALES SALES. No holidays from September to December. No such thing as Job Security. One weeks notice, even though 'Management' know about Contract expiry dates. No staff meeting to explain situations so member of staff can't plan ahead. Overworked & Underpaid. IN THEORY I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SMYTHS TOYS. Save yourself

A typical day at work is very draining and boring, there is never much to do apart from walk around especially when it isn't busy, however when the shop is busy there is loads of tidying to do and it does make the day go quicker. I learned quite a bit at Smyths, how to use the tills, how to use the gun and printers, however the down side of learning there is you have to learn mostly everything yourself, there isn't much training from management. Management can be helpful but mostly don't help you when you need them and you can be left a while until helped by a member of management. personally i felt looked down on by certain members of management and felt like i always did something wrong when attending my shift. They weren't very friendly and didn't really interact, you had to be a favourite to be liked and spoken to by management, they mainly look on the mistakes you make instead of the achievements. working with staff is great but you always have to be careful because management don't like members of staff working together unless asked to. Throughout your time there you learn which staff you can trust and who you can't, its a very immature place to work, nearly everyday is like being in a school play ground, personally best thing to do is keep yourself to yourself. certain staff members have no respect towards you, they speak to you like rubbish and make you do everything, very lazy and very rude. The hardest part of the job is dealing with certain staff members and dealing with the constant she/he said. the most enjoyable part is making friends with the ones who you can trust and make great friendships with, apart from that nothing very enjoyable about working there.

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