customer service representative

team leader

store manager

deputy manager

consultant

Southern Co-op

Entered the company as a Customer Service Assistant, left as a Duty Manager. The work itself is exactly what you would expect from convenience retail. Customer service, restocking shelves, working on tills. Company provides good training on all of those, and after working at multiple stores I never had a team that was anything less than great to work with. A couple were very, very close, very supportive of each other, and never came across any issues with cliques or divided work teams. 

Store management is a mixed bag, but generally my experience was positive, with one exceptional store manager, one very poor, and the rest decent to good. As a standard part time job, it ticks all the boxes and if you have any experience in retail it will feel very familiar to you. 

The issues are also, unfortunately, familiar. 

The company works on a contract system rather than a rota, with staff being given fixed hours in their contract to work each week. Unfortunately the company still reserves the right to require you to work overtime and there is often resistance if you don't want it. The shifts are also quite short, averaging 5-6 hours, so many staff were finding themselves working 5/6 days a week and not getting any work/life balance to be earning barely 30 hours total a week if they were lucky. As is usual in retail, the company expects your life to revolve around the business. This is especially true for Duty Managers who, while certainly its fair to expect more commitment, are still also hired on part time contracts, yet the company expects full time availability whenever they need you. 

Overtime is also often not communicated to staff, it is instead put up on a rota and if you don't notice, or just aren't in before your next shift to see, then they take no responsibility for changing your hours without contacting you, the onus is entirely on staff, with contracted set hours, to make sure they're up to date on a rota that may change multiple times a week. 

The biggest issue however relates to security. 

In my city, every other retailer has accepted that permanent security is necessary in the face of increasing theft and increasing violence against store staff. This has very notably increased during the Covid pandemic. The coop however has continued to ignore repeated staff requests for security and to, either wilfully or through ignorance, ignore what staff are telling them. The concerns and fears over safety at work continue to be the number one issue raised by staff at meetings and are notably prevalent in other reviews from ex-staff. Upper management however continues to tell staff to just call the police (who will then tell us off for wasting their time with petty theft), or generally give suggestions that act as if the theft we were dealing with was cheeky kids trying to pocket some sweets, and not drug addicts who will happily walk in, clear a shelf right in front of us, and then calmly walk out knowing there are no consequences. Company understandably wants staff not to interfere to keep them safe, but ignore that this then leads to all thieves in the area attacking our stores because its an easy target, which leads to worse types of thieves entering who will abuse and assault staff whether we intervene or not. We are hired to work in a shop. Being abused and in fear every shift is not in our job descriptions and should not be seen as an acceptable risk of the business. It is not. 

I dealt with daily abuse from thieves and was assaulted on multiple occasions working for the company, but still the advice and response from upper management clearly showed a complete lack of awareness of the reality in store. This included being shouted at and my job threatened by an area manager for restraining a thief who had started being physical with my staff and other customers. I was simply chewed out for touching a thief, with no concern shown for my safety, my colleagues or any interest in hearing the context that had led to the incident. 

This is now being rectified with an operation by the police, but it should not take such a drastic intervention for this to have started being dealt with. When staff tell you they have persistent, daily thieves being abusive and threatening to staff it should not take months and months of increasing violence for the company to start taking it seriously. 

This was also true for tasks, with staff numbers being cut and area managers consistently asking why X task on their computer wasn't completed, with unreasonable expectations of what was possible while working 1 on 1 with customers to serve and a whole business operation to oversee, not just the tasks the AM's can see on their computer. 

By far the single best thing the company could do to improve operations and staff happiness would be for Area managers and head office staff to have to spend a couple of shifts a year working in a store alongside store colleagues so they could actually keep in touch with the reality on the ground.

My shifts at work during my time at The Southern Cooperative were not well managed; the majority of the time it was just myself and one other person working the shop floor (the majority of the time the other employee was our supervisor) and this meant it was up to me to carry out every task needed in the shop. It was a busy branch, and my roles included checkouts, cleaning, tidying, stock replenishment and dragging produce from the warehouse - all on my own. It was very hard to keep on top of all the tasks in hand and perform efficiently with little help from my supervisor who was more often than not 'working' in the office throughout my entire shifts. One of my shifts was 7am - 2pm on a sunday, my break was always left until 12.30/1pm an no earlier - throughout this 7hour period I was the ONLY employee on the shop floor as the supervisor was out the back. 

Whilst working at TSC, you are made to complete online tasks which are to be done during your breaks (meaning I wasn't actually getting my break). 

Additionally their policies are very unfair, I have health issues of which I gave full information to the employer when I had my interview and warned him that my immune system is weak however he stated he ''wasn't aware of this'' when I went sick twice that year. One time I was suffering from the flu, however I was told I couldn't take my shift off and so I went in (this is completely against their health and safety policies) but eventually after 4hours my supervisor sent me home - much to her displeasure. Two weeks later I received a warning because I had this time off and this also stated I wasn't paid for the shift - which again, goes against their sickness policies as I had worked over half the shift and was sent home on request from the supervisor.

The TSC are also not compassionate, whilst working there I was going through a very traumatic time regarding an immediate family member's health and this had a huge affect on my health and was making me very ill my (doctor even backed this up), however when I requested two shifts off (a total of 12hrs) for compassionate reasons I was told "it's not a good enough excuse". That is what I call extremely unprofessional.

In all, I would not recommend anyone work the The Southern Cooperative as not only was the management appalling in my branch but the head office was poor as well. It is not a well run company.

I worked at the Southern Co-op for 4 years specifically the Bosham Station road one, my first year was awful as the manager did no, work whatsoever and eventually was fired. The following year we got a slightly better mamager younger but seemed less focussed on the wellbeing of his staff and more focussed on his own personal reputation with the area managers and his higher ups. 

Our third manager was awful didn't know how to organize the wearhouse it was always packed to the brim so much over-ordering of stock to where the wearhouse was a death-trap the manger did nothing as again she was more focussed on herself and quick to dismiss any blame and put it onto others. 

As the company saw this shop had been poorly performing for years they finally decided to send us a capable manager he turned the store around and made it a great place to work, he would treat his staff fairly and with respect and would try to help them with any problems with shifts or work related things. 

However this joy was short lived because as soon as he turned the store around the company took him away from us and sent him to another store. We then recieved in mh 4th year another terrible manager, he was rude, he treated staff with no respect abd would be hostile to anyone who questioned him, he would then blame his mistakes on other people, and would constantly expect us to perform at an impossible standard his excuse for this would be "He's a bit of a perfectionist" he had no social skills whatsoever and contrary to his belief did not follow the company's standard of keeping good hygiene he would reek of unwashed sweat.

He also insisted that the CSA's shouldn't contact him about any problems they had niether email or phone and woulf be angry if you did try to do so. (As I said no respect for his staff or social skills)

So overall unfortunately I had one good year at the Co-op and wouldn't recommened working for the company as it's demanding and doesn't help or look for solutions for your stores problems and the management is usually awful

It was the best experience I had in any retail or retail-adjacent job but at the end of the day it's still retail and therefore still miserable. That's not really the fault of the company though, it's the fault of the industry.

The biggest thing that will affect your experience is the other staff. The team I worked with was pretty good: everyone got on, people helped each other, did favours for each other, and even gave sincere gifts to each other. I've heard some horror stories but this store wasn't one of them.

Training was provided but only the bare minimum. It was considered acceptable to have to turn customers away when they asked for a service that was supposed to be available but nobody had received training for, because that would have taken time away from restocking the beer.

I did see a couple of people get promoted in the time I was there but it was the exception, not the norm. I think if I wanted to move up in this company then I'd have better luck applying for a higher position now after leaving than I would have when I was working there.

One thing I really liked about this company was how respectful they were of my free time. We were usually understaffed, as every retail company always is, but I was never pressured into doing overtime. They'd ask me twice politely and then never mention it again if I wasn't able/willing to do it. The store and area managers took responsibility if the store had insufficient staff to operate, instead of taking the easy way out and blaming the staff.

The biggest criticism I can levy at this company is their policy of aggressively not allowing cashiers to sit on a stool or chair. My feet were agony after every shift and for absolutely no reason except that managers (who of course don't have to stand all day) think it looks good. This antiquated workplace practice should have been dead and buried at the turn of the millenium.

I enjoyed the interaction i had with the customers and staff because i felt i was being helpful and delivering excellent customer service as well as team work.
On a daily basis i would check stock and magazines. I would return the old magazines and put the new one's out. I would take requests from customers if they would like another addition of a magazine that we did not keep after two or three issues. I would use the till as well as use pay point and do the lottery for customers who would require it. I used to daily invoices that we received from Menzies and i would make sure that the invoice and returns note matched, if not i would call the supplier and would go through with them that the store wasn't credited for papers and magazines.I would help stock up if there was time but normally i would make sure the sandwich's an bread that had been delivered would be put out straight away before the morning rush.
The hardest part of the job was during rush hour especially if i was on the till on my own because i knew customers would be wanting to either get to work or home or just in a rush. I would always manage it as i am quick on the till however sometimes customers would be overly impatient and not be very nice.
I learned a great deal during my time at the co-op, i learned how to use a till and pay point. Also about food hygiene, how to address angry and upset customers in an appropriate manner, food produce. learned more about working as a team as we were a small team i learned to work more closely together and how it's better for each staff member. I helped train a new starter whilst i was on shift because my manager felt i would show her the inn's and outs of an evening shift if i had to work one. My manager and team leaders usually left me to my own devices because they knew that i would work on initiative and if i needed something to do i would always ask them.

-Lower Rate of Pay than any other branch of the Co-op company.

-INCREDIBLY HIGH expectations for trainees

-Constant staffing issues. High turnover due to the toxic environment. 

-Extremely poor Work-Life balance

-Upper management would rather have you suffer than send surplus staff. Store managment often expected to work 60+ hours with 24 hours free time, per week. Profit and customer retention is a higher priority than the mental and physical health of employees

-Extremely poor training, employees who have been there for several years cannot compelete basic tasks due to never having been told HOW or WHY. The training process is impeded by long-winded and inefficient E-Learning and group training sessions via video conference.

-Expect to regularly work 10-20 hours more than you're contracted for

-Higher management excused of poor behaviour and policy violations, whilst the "lower" members of staff are closely monitored and quickly punished. Store manager treats employee's genuine medical issues as inconviniences to the store, with very little empathy. Very strong "If I suffer everyone has to suffer with me" mentality to the environment. 

-Poorly functioning or outright unusable equipment

-Policies and procedures that make the job less efficient or easy.

-Frequent and shameless thieves
-Rota can and almost certainly will change on a dime. Staff constantly confused as to when they're actually supposed to be on shift

-Frequently called in to work on days off, with a notice as short as an hour. its 50-50 on whether its due to a member of staff not knowing they're supposed to be on duty, or they just didnt want to come back.

-The one genuinely good thing about working here is the ease of getting more hours. Since there are so many vacancies you can easily upgrade to longer hours as soon as another employee gets fed up and leaves.

When I first started I didn't have many responsibilities but as the first year went on I was given more to do. Towards the end of me working there a typical day for me would be go to break room to hang up my coat. I'd then go to my managers office and be given an update as to what had happened during the week as I only worked Saturdays and Sundays unless I was doing overtime in which case I'd work in the week. After that my manager would either put me on the tills or send me out the back to work delivery or back stock. If delivery wasn't in then I'd work back stock for an hour then let who ever was on the tills take a break. After that delivery would probably be in and I'd work that for 3 hours. I would then take my 1 hour lunch break and go back to the manager's office. He'd then either tell me to work tills or go back to working delivery. Delivery would include chilled, ambient and alcohol. Another 4 hours later and my shift would be over. During this time I may be called onto the tills if it was getting busy and would also be allowed ten minutes in each 4 hours for a tea break. If I was working a night shift then I would spend most if not all of my shift on the tills and towards the end of the night when it was quiet I would face up the products on the shop floor. Once the night was over I would lock up the cigarette and spirits shelves, remove the scratch cards and log out of the lottery machine. I'd then hoover the front of the store whilst my team leader washed the rest of the store. Once everything was done we would lock up the store.

I have worked in several places over my life and it's the most depressing, socially crippling and disgusting place ever. 

The London Road cooperative in Waterlooville,  Hampshire is a cess-pit. 

Everything was going well...

(If you could call "well" a disgusting staff room. A dirty toilet which nobody but I cleaned during my scheduled BREAK)  

We had a new manager who was bullying me and few other staff members we subsequently left a couple of weeks after. 

The pay was terrible 
They don't care about any illnesses you have 
They belittle and talk down to you. 
They don't care about staff happiness, you're basically a drone who can be easily replaced 
They're ageist 
Staff working conditions and security are basically non- existent. 
Holidays are excluded if you become ill and cannot work (That includes doctors notes)and plus the wages you earn are deducted if you become legitimatey ill 

You will get treated like a drone.. I can't stress that enough, I became increasingly depressed over a short period of time working for them. 

The Assistant managers, supervisors and area managers will treat you like utter rubbish 
 
After being bullied by my manager HR told me just to ignore the person in question without taking any action 
I'm aware of 9 other people across England who have also been treated like they don't matter and are replaceable 


Please, never work here...for the love of God. 

I'm not exaggerating... You'll end up like I did

What is the best part of working at the company?
The staff are really friendly and  get on well with each other. 
I enjoy the fast pace of the shop, with lots of different tasks to do.
I have got to know many regular customers and  have developed good relationships with them too.
I did enjoy it when I checked  the date ordering, things need to be moved back into order and I like to work with numbers.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
If it is too quiet, too often.
I do like to keep busy.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I like the fact that we can talk to the customers. This particular shop is a friendly shop with lots of regular visitors, also the staff are get on well with each other.
As long as we work hard, we are welcome to be polite and helpful to the customers.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Sunday morning
Put the kettle on 
Go outside to fetch the papers, bring them to the till to put the inserts inside.
Leave that there, put the sand buckets out and fire extinguishers.
Make the coffee.
Then sort the papers, clean the tills, serve and put security lids on the wine bottles. Tidy and make sure we have everything we might need.
Carry on serving until my break.
Then after my break I would be putting out the delivery, this would be approximately ten cages so it would take me to the end of my shift.

normally we would get into work and swap over with the person whod be on the till and then at the non busy times who ever was on the till would be re stocking the soft drinks fridge as long as there was no one at the till to serve or there would be cleaning tasks which would be done as and when we had time but the other members of staff that was on that day would be doing the same as in filling shelf's or cleaning tasks just to keep busy or on delivery days you'd be putting delivery's away on the shop floor as well as serving customers or when you could like on the busy days if there was a delivery you wouldn't have chance you'd just be on the till.
In that job i learned how to time manage so that i knew how to long it would take for me complete each task so that they knew they could rely on me to get the tasks done and that i was competent i was also doing supervisor tasks on a late shifts because i was trained by one of the supervisors on a night time making their shift easier and helping me get more confident and more of a valued member of staff.
This was one of my favorite jobs i've had because it was a very relaxed atmosphere we just knew what had to be done in the day and as long as they got done and the customers were served and we had a positive attitude it didn't even feel like i was at work i built loads of relationships which the customers that would come in regulatory.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 528 salaries reported	£12.42 per hour
Team leader 144 salaries reported	£13.56 per hour
Store manager 10 salaries reported	£32,349 per year
Deputy manager 1 salary reported	£23,753 per year
Consultant 22 salaries reported	£13.26 per hour

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