assistant store manager

packer

dismantler

store manager

administrative assistant

Spar

The job role- you have to be a key holder, administer fuel, clean the shop, pick up rubbish outside and change the bins, put newspapers out, clean the coffee machine parts in the sink while still serving on the till somehow, restock drinks, date check, collecting and receiving parcels, selling lottery tickets, sweeping and mopping the floors, putting out daily delivery, working on tills, filling out a daily check book, handwriting everything that arrives in delivery if the delivery sheet won't print out, train new staff, call your newspaper distributor about missing credit while serving on the tills and administering fuel all at the same time, cashing off your till whilst still serving on the other one at the same time.
The manager-was deceitful about my job role(hired as a retail assistant and later after they trained a new staff member I became the person who had to unload the deliveries every shift without notice only to learn it was their plan upon hiring me supposedly because I lived closest to the shop so could come whenever delivery decided to show up and it was also shorter shifts(around 3 hours) so I guess they didn't want others coming in to do it however all other employees lived a 20 minute drive away so not as close as me but not far at all so could easily have made it fair and made everyone rotate with putting away deliveries.This new role  was never mentioned to me once and was not the role I interviewed for just noticed I was given shorter shifts that coincided with when delivery would show up and was just expected to come in and get on with it(never would have taken the job and bothered with training and learning how to do everything if i knew that's what i would end up doing), gave my personal number out for a repair job on site without informing me, always put down and treated as if incompetent, constantly trying to pin the blame on me when anything went wrong, on my first solo evening shift was told not to call them for help as they wouldn't be available and would not pick up but many times after that got in trouble when I didn't call them and acted on my own initiative however from that incident I was so anxious to call as they literally acted like they would not have the time of day to help me(had only been there about 3 weeks and was still learning), never gave thanks for training up new starters or even asked if I wanted to(I was not a supervisor in fact we didn't have one), singled out and given extra tasks like cleaning all the shelf labels when I was supposed to be training a new starter however others training new starter were not given any extra jobs to do,  ridiculed for not always being busy working even when there was nothing to do, treated like a liar would not believe me about trivial things, office door always closed felt like a bother asking for assistance always had to knock on door for anything, insinuated new starter was doing great working their first solo evening shifts because they had more confidence than I did when in reality they worked evenings with someone for almost two weeks while I did my first evening shift solo after working with someone twice(to quote they said they think it's a confidence thing no it's a they had more training thing), always in the shop but rarely helped out, would make you reprimand colleagues who came late to take over from for you for the evening shift instead of dealing with it themselves which was awkward, accused me of doing things I did not do and insisting I did them when I did not.
The workplace-Things breaking all the time(cash machine,air machine and customers complaining about it), getting more products than we had space for but you had to make it fit somehow stacking products on top of eachother in the fridge, cages barely fit through the doors and in the store room and the shop was very small so it was impossible to move them around which made doing delivery hard, a lot of responsibilities for one person-always expected to be multi-tasking between being on tills and stocking on the shop floor(it was hard and unrealistic running from the till to administer fuel and back to the shop floor to unload delivery), rota and hours different every week so hard to make plans, staff to replace you for evening shift late everyday or filling up fuel when their shift had already started, paying out your own pocket for drive offs, making sure your till is not down and paying if it is, you have to remember to do a lot of things everyday kind of like your a cashier but also running the store so not worth it when you can work any other retail job with way less responsibility and accountability but same pay. This place is not a good environment to work in overall due to working solo, no help from manager, too much work for one person so do not apply you will get overwhelmed, colleagues watching you work and pointing out what you are doing wrong even right in front of the manager and then you get told off by the manager.
I would not recommend anyone to work here, I was hired under false pretences also I was not informed of the extensive list of tasks involved in my job role at the interview,the manager was very tricky to get along with and you are not compensated enough for the stress and huge amount of tasks you must complete in a shift. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Genuinely the worst job I've ever had and worst place I've worked at. No consideration for staff well being, mental health and workload balance. 

Management so incompetent it's a wonder she can find her way around the store.  There is a culture and system of whoevergets in with the manager gets the promotion. If you're after a job that rewards being lazy and standing around gossiping about collegues and customers right in the middle of a busy store then this job is for you.

If you are bright, genuine, honest, hardworking, reliable and concientous you will be singled out and made to feel an idiot for being that way.  Before the start of every shift you have to write and declare what you have on you as in items in a bag, coat even money in your purse in case security call and do random spot check.   If there is anything you have missed or not declared it is treated as a discrepancy and you risk being fired or sent home on suspected theft. 

Not allowed to have mobiles on your person even if switched off or on silent which manager says is because some staff have been talking or messaging when they should be working.  

Before you start work you are made to feel like you can't be trusted and managers expect you will nicking off the shelves, helping yourself to money and standing around on your mobile all day.  Way to treat your staff and make them feel like valued members of the team!!

Bullying, micromanaged to the point of harrassment in front of everyone customers included. 

Customers have turned away before stepping foot inside because of all the unwelcoming, unfriendly notes posted all over the front doors saying they don't allow youths to come in store unaccompanied, NO this NO that MUST NOT the other.  

Most customers I loved and have missed but there are regular abusive and difficult customers you would be left to deal with unsupported by the shift supervisors or managers.  Usually they would suggest you got them annoyed by asking for ID or not handling them properly.  Forget it you are left there and hung out to dry unless you happen to be on shift with a decent colleague that does have your back.

I had enough and quit in the end my health was getting worse from stress it's not worth it.  The two others that were great have left too.  None of us are welcome or made to feel we should even be seen using the cash machine outside the store never mind go in and buy something once you have quit you are banished lol!   

I can't understand how Spar or James Hall doesn't have a system keeping track of stores with bad ratings, bad reviews, high staff turnover and trying to figure out why there is a longstanding issue and getting to the bottom of it.

It's that simple really but I guess they would have to genuinely want to find out what's going wrong and put it right. 


I started working for this company about a week ago and the daily schedule for me is to start work at 22.15 and finish at 8.00.

 On a typical day I would be told to be on the tills to accept money from customers and organise the products around that area which is good as I will learn some things. 

On the other hand there is so much things wrong with such as:
1. management of this company is so bad as everything is just shoved into one are without any organisation of the product in the stock room. For example: the cleaning supplies of the company should be placed in the same area not in the staff toilet with other equipment/products such as: post cards, floor moping equipment etc. Furthermore, the staff room is just a small dirty "kitchen" with nothing but rubbish everywhere. 
2. Security of the work place doesn't really care about what's happen. I know that security are just door man but there was this one time that a customer payment didn't go through and without the security stopping them I had to chase them down and I asked the security guard if they saw where the person went and the response was I don't know. This caused me to think that my safety in the workplace is very questionable and a possiblity of being at danger.
3. There is no training days/ weeks as I just started and it's my first real job I expected them to provide training for me. How ever, they didn't provide any training which meant that I had to learn it on the go which caused me to be very slow. 
4. The break rest period for this job is only 30 minutes out of the whole working period of the day. This is absolutely ridiculous as this break is the only one and from there point of view it is our lunch and when past 4.30 in the morning we can't have. Furthermore I asked the manager if it's possible to work up until almost leaving time and just take it then and sign out and they said we can't for no justified reason. 

Also there was this one incident that I had with the senior manager. We had a small chat and they're insinuating that something is confusing me or I'm giving the wrong change. For example: the company isn't allowed the exchange money and when the customer wants to do that I will call the manager. Also, I noticed that a recurring pattern is happen that the last 3 shifts I have done my till is always down and I have done nothing wrong and followed the rule book of the company. Furthermore I feel this is an attack on me. 

If you would like to apply here I wouldn't as it's so bad.

I was the first person to serve a customer at this store, I had worked before the shop was open as security. All the original people left due to management and new people leave for the same reasons. The work environment would be better if there were more workers per shift and the management weren't so up you but they expect 2 people to get a giant shop done to perfection and sometimes you're needing to work alone on nightshifts and you're still having to get everything done, not allowed to lock the doors.

Decent pay but no bonus, no extra pay for overtime. Colleagues are mostly good to work with and everyone had enjoyed working with me when I was there. The work is very fast paced and you aren't allowed to sit. You have to be doing something every second. Customers, uber orders, deliveroo order and just eat orders non stop and also front facing the shop so you won't have time to rest.

Sometimes you can even miss your break because it's so busy due to the tasks. Running around the shop just to keep up with the tasks whilst serving customers, authorizing vehicles and looking out for shop lifters.

Send messages directly to you if jobs are not done, expecting an explanation and they expect perfection every shift and will keep piling on tasks to make your job even harder, even after explaining it's not possible without more time or another worker but they're not bothered.

Gained experience in everything I could but unfortunately they would not train me to learn anything outside the shop or management training even though I worked there for over 4 years. They had decided to train anyone who was going to work full time and not someone who would be more experienced and deserved to be trained.

They assumed I didn't want training for management when I asked multiple times and didn't actually come ask me directly. They promised to train when I decided to leave the job but already made my decision.

Had meetings which essentially was a waste of time because nothing came out of them.

Job affected me mentally and glad I have left. Would not go back into a retail job again or this place if I had to.

Positive was that it was close by, if you work well you will keep the job, colleagues are good to work with, decent pay, go out to eat for food with colleagues once a year? not for me, would've preferred something fun and food after. As the first year we went bowling but never did anything else after that apart from meals.

Would suggest working elsewhere but might be good for first job as they look for someone with no experience to get them going.

A typical day of work involves stocking the shelves, serving customers at the till, unloading and stocking deliveries as well as completing evening duties such as date checking, newspaper returns and cashing up tills at the end of the day.
I learnt how to work well in a team and how to be pleasant and polite when talking to customers.

The management is less than impressive, with the manager and assistant frequently badmouthing and gossiping about staff members. Promotion is also non existent, with no opportunities to rise through any ranks of work despite the sales assistants quite frankly outworking the managers in terms of how they need to run the shop alone in the evenings with very little time without something to do. If anything wasn't done up to a managers standard the most "able" team members were passive-aggressively shamed and they did not treat any of us with decency or respect even when the failings were out of character or difficult/impossible to avoid. Among these problems, the revolving door nature of this job is incredibly off putting, with underwhelming staff members being hired and kept for long periods of time and very frequent removal of incredibly enthusiastic and hardworking team members.

The culture in the workplace is very helpful and accepting but that is mainly due to the way that the staff apart from the managers are hardworking, helpful and incredibly genuine people to work with. 

The hardest part of the job was definitely needing to run the shop as a two man team on evening shifts, with stock work needing to be done by one person whilst the other serves and stocks tobacco and alcohol. We were also expected to complete multiple closing jobs such as returning the newspapers, cleaning the in store coffee machine and sweeping and mopping the whole shop and office area. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with co-workers and customers, with our team enjoying friendly banter with each other and customers. Multiple occasions have occurred wherein regulars come in and routinely praise the state of the shop and the manner of the staff. The importance of getting on well with customers, being friendly and approachable as well as talking to and catching up with regulars is not understated in a job like this, it really leaves you feeling like you're doing well by your community and many times I've left feeling like i have made a positive impact on at least some people's days. 

My time at SPAR has been very productive as I have gained an large amount of skills as I have worked there for 5-6 years. I started off to work as a cashier where I would work at the till where I learnt a lot of interpersonal skills, problem solving and communication skills. I also helped with deliveries and unloading them and stacking them on the shelves. I gained a lot of organisation skills and working with others as we had to communicate with each other as we all had different roles so we didn't want to get in each others way. I also had the role of doing paper deliveries for the company and producing end of day reports, banking and paying off bills. I would also be involved with the administration side of the business by producing letters and cheques and emails. Within the last two years, I have been assistant manager so I would be supervising all the staff when the manager is not here and I organise the staff rota and conduct small staff meetings where we discuss any existing problems in the work environment and any new promotions that are in place and festive occasions.Being Assistant manager has given me a lot of leadership skills and the confidence to work independently and encourage others. The most enjoyable part of the job is working along with other people and talking to customers as every day is never the same, there is always something new the next day however the hardest part of the job is during rush hour when everything becomes stressful and you ave to work under pressure but during the last 5 years, I have learnt to work under pressure and be calm.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working for CJ Lang Spar and the reason for this is that this company invests heavily in marketing, staff training and provides fantastic oppurtunities for it's employees to better themselves in order to progress throughout the company. They take great pride in customer service and ensure staff are fully and regurarly trained in order to upkeep high standards of customer service. They are a very competitive company that offers many services for customers other than grocerys.  
A typical day at work for me was always filled with enjoyment of some kind kind.  Because of the high standards set by the company there was always plenty of work to do and I personally enjoyed motivating my colleages to get stuck in and work together as a team so we could all feel like we had achieved something.  There was always excellent communication within my tea of staff which was important to keep things running smoothly.
The hardest part of the job was ensuring that all tasks were completed withing the duration of the shift and sometimes this could be a challenge as the store could get extremly busy.  
I learned that strusture, preperation and self-discipline were key in dealing with times like this and if everyone stuck together as a team and retained a positive attitude difficult and stressful periods were always much easier to cope with.  It presents a good example and rapport with customers when they can see a well organised team able to stay calm in stressful or challenging situations.

At first this position seemed like a good step into the world of retail, however I quickly realised that this particular store was one of the worst places I have ever worked. The manager was overly obsessive, overly critical and would only focus on the negatives, even when I had worked incredibly hard. Hard working, good staff were overlooked and overworked with no reward while other staff were praised simply because of their family connections within the business or community. One particular staff member was incredibly disrespectful and horrible and would treat me far differently from other staff, shouting at me for wrapping food up in the wrong way or taking slightly too long in doing a task I had never done before, and even being critical of me for not knowing how to do tasks which no one had showed me how to do, while refusing to show me how to do them, or making comments about me not working when I had just served a customer and was about to leave the till to  work. There were very few staff who were genuinely good to work alongside or even good people, in my opinion. Staff discount was only 10% and the items in store were so expensive there was very little point in using it. Would not recommend anyone to accept a position here. Working here feels like you are constantly walking on eggshells even when you go beyond what is expected for you in terms of customer service.

Spar is an exceptional organization to work for, offering a plethora of advantages and fostering a positive work environment. One of the standout qualities of Spar is its commitment to employee development and growth. The company recognizes the importance of nurturing talent and provides ample opportunities for advancement through training programs, mentorship initiatives, and internal promotions. This not only empowers individuals but also instills a sense of loyalty and dedication among the employees.

Moreover, Spar values work-life balance, understanding that happy employees are productive employees. They prioritize flexible scheduling options, promoting a harmonious integration of personal and professional commitments. Additionally, Spar's supportive and inclusive culture fosters collaboration and teamwork, encouraging employees to share ideas and contribute to the company's success.

Furthermore, Spar demonstrates a genuine concern for the well-being of its workforce by offering competitive compensation packages, comprehensive benefits, and various employee wellness programs. They prioritize the physical and mental health of their employees, ensuring a fulfilling and sustainable work experience.

Overall, Spar's commitment to employee development, work-life balance, and well-being makes it an excellent organization to work for, fostering a thriving and fulfilling career for its employees.

I appreciated many aspects of this role, especially the fast-paced environment that kept me on my feet and constantly engaged. It was never a dull moment, and I enjoyed the sense of purpose that came with staying active throughout the day. One of the biggest highlights for me was the team I worked with—supportive, dedicated, and genuinely great people who made challenging days much easier.

However, I often found the experience with upper management and head office to be less positive. There was a noticeable disconnect between leadership and frontline staff, which led to a sense of being overlooked or undervalued. Despite the hard work many of us put in, recognition and support were limited, and concerns were rarely acknowledged in a meaningful way.

Over time, it also became apparent that there was a shift in how long-standing staff were treated. Some decisions and patterns of behavior seemed to suggest a quiet effort to phase out experienced employees, which created tension and uncertainty in the workplace.

Overall, while I valued the day-to-day work and especially the people I worked alongside, the lack of consistent support and appreciation from higher up made it a difficult environment to thrive in long-term.

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