kitchen designer

installation technician

operations manager

kitchen team member

design consultant

Wickes

If I can do one good deed for today, it would be to reach as many people as possible to warn them off for even thinking about applying to go work in this place. 

2 great ops managers were coincidently 'moved on' to pastures new. Great for them believe me!!! as well as the head of kitchens and bathrooms, he done his job, reached his targets, then disappeared . I salute all 3 of you!! 

One was replaced by a pretty sound guy, that to no fault of his own, didn't really understand the ways in which it worked. 

The other fraud was about as useful as a chocolate teapot! there's nothing worse getting a patronising email at the end of the week, after breaking every single health and safety rule in the process in a warehouse to reach your targets, that it's stock can only resemble trying to fit a watermelon through a polo. Don't forget the 2 metre rule lads! After breaking our  backs for god knows how many hours a week, youd be sure  to find your inbox with an email right up top from that famous name................... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND GUYS!.................... Please!! 

I didn't need to see what the new head of kitchens and bedrooms was like as he never even came down to introduce himself to any shift. So that really shows what your big boss thinks of you. 


But don't worry guys..... For all the stuff you put up, we're gonna put the coffee on free vend for you for 24 hours and give you a free burger every 6 months  to soothe your aches and pains........Gee thanks boss! 


Had 2 great agencies bringing in some decent workers, they were both sacked off and replaced by another. I literally have no idea what zoos they were searching for this new batch of elite workers, but believe me they were the wrong ones!!! Oh and by the way, to your new agency, please tell their boss to stop getting in everyone's faces and not introducing himself first. It's rude and his breath stinks!!!! Caught one guy spitting practically right next to oneself, only to be told by the HR department, 'ahhhh its only spitting!'  so they created a precedent for every man and his dog to do as they please! If you're a 'yes man'  you will be loved in this hole!!!!! If you have a ounce of empathy or passion for your workforce, you definitely won't! 

But if you like gambling, sniffing substances at work, ordering take away every day, moaning about the same rubbish day in day out, bigging yourself up with your talk of how many women you have on the go at any one time, You'll fit right in! 
Your support network from your fellow supervisors can be likened to doing a bungee jump with an elastic band! Totally non existent. There's only one man left that shows an ounce of knowledge and drive, and he runs dispatch to an absolute tee! and il be very very surprised if he sees 60 with the stress he gets. 
The pick supervisors are on easy Street as they have hoard 75% of the workforce because they don't seem to know how to explain anything in the slightest when they don't reach their targets. Unlike dispatch,  which could do it with their heads held high and with ease.......EVERYDAY! And the other side of the operation........... THE BUSIEST ONE, is just left to rot and struggle DAILY. 


Young people are blindsided by good money and benefits. There's a reason for this lol. Be very, Very, prepared!!! 


After my 20 years of servitude in hmp wickes. I finally saw sense 

Up middle finger!

I started Wickes shortly after quitting my previous job which I had been at for a year and a half. On my first day at Wickes, everyone seemed nice at first and most of the tasks were straightforward. The computer based ones required a bit of navigation practice on the system but easy enough to get the hang of.

The workload was knackering and the pay was very shallow at National Min Living Wage rates along with very little reward or career advancements that could be made from working with Wickes. 

The issues slowly crept up as time went on when I noticed particular staff would say rude things about a couple of members of our team that they did not like much. I also once got the same treatment one occasion when my colleagues thought my headset was off. I decided not to surprise them with a response of acknowledgement as I didn't mentally have the energy that day. Other times would be when the management would not let me choose Holiday dates by claiming they couldn't and that they would ask me other times, which happened a few times.

The management were very sneaky and judgemental and often liked to assume the worst to maintain a somewhat passive aggressive level of authority. No matter how hard I worked there was always a complaint that I was 'too slow' at the task or slacking, sometimes even WHILE performing the workload.

For instance, I got in trouble by the management team for apparently 'refusing' to call for help when I was alone on tills serving a large line of customers, to which I responded that it was not possible because my headset was not working making me unable to communicate and there were just 3 other staff members in store who happened to be unavailable at the time. 
I was told that I was making excuses and was in denial.. without taking in any consideration for the fact that I could NOT leave the tills as it was against guidelines.. 

they would also use the 'Be honest' strategy to get you to tell them about your doubts in your role as a weapon to use against you later on. 

This is the case when I told them that I feel like I may be performing the task too slowly, which they verbally denied and insisted I was doing well at the job, which later came back to bite me as they then used it as an opportunity of argeument. 

Just some examples of their sneaky tactics such as set up to fail and catch 22 methods to slowly chip away at my probation...which is something they are apparently known for doing to staff towards the end of the year. 

walking was the best thing I did.


Where do I start? Honestly where to start. Wickes don't invest anytime in their people. You can express an interest in a certain endeavour and you'll never get it unless you're a relative or very close friend with management. This is what makes it an uphill 
battle.
I'm writing this review extremely quickly because Wickes isn't even worth wasting my breath or time on. However trying to let people know not to work there is worth it as I wouldn't wish working there on my worst enemy.
I honestly could write a book on my experiences. LITERALY write a actual book. It's that much of a joke. 
If someone dies you are only allowed a maximum of 1day off due to them "needing you". But if somebody stands up for themselves they'll find a way to fire them. So much for "needing" staff. 
Which brings me to point 1- job work/life balance. If they need you for overtime and you don't fit the time in to do it that's it you're public enemy number 1. Your average shift will be either 6:30-4 or 11-8.
Point 2- salary/benefits all Wickes provide you with is a payday on the 15th of every month and that it all. During the winter months you will go back down to your contracted hours. They will say "sorry even though we are a multi million pound company we can't afford to give out any more hours"...until one of the big wigs high up announces a visit then they ask everybody to come in and those who don't are public enemy number 1.
Point 3- job security. Well they'll put you on a low hour contract so if anybody gets out of line they can drop your hours right down leaving you to beg for forgiveness. The management there must be really unhappy in life but I can understand that after all they do work for Wickes. 
Point 4- management-almost everybody thinks with a political motive, i couldn't stand how everything was like treading on eggshells. Handshakes and smiles to the face then finding anyway possible to report something you didn't do properly by the book. It's was really pretty and looking back thinking about it you really couldn't trust nobody.
Point 5- Job Culture- well it is a monotonous routine everyday. Those that put the extra mile in won't get any appreciation, instead it will be just expected of them. Bottom line is you will never find a workplace ever in your life were you're so NOT appreciated.

When working at wickes at the start it was amazing everyone was so nice and welcoming and it felt like a second home around 6 months in the store got a new manager and things where still going so well everyone wanted to work and work hard a small group of us would work a lot harder than everyone else to uphold the store. But this is when everything changed  because we worked harder and longer than most staff , we then started to see changed we were being given all the late shift 4/5 a week every day (there was no fairness done with the rota) the same people got all the earlier and the rest of us got the lates. 

Furthermore if you where to ask or give them a head up you would like a early or different shift through out the week as you are doing all the unsociable hours you where told you have to do what fits the Business needs. But when your other colleagues moaned about their shifts they were changed. 

There is only one manger that actually felt like they wanted to help you and would sort out your problems the rest where happy doing what ever as long as it didn’t cause them to much stressed. 

I have been a witness to how a place of work, to how that place of work can suck the life out of you as a colleague and no work place should do that to a person. They put alot of pressure on a small Minority of their staff to carry the whole store when the rest of the staff come in and do a bare minimum job for minimum wage. 

After a few years went by I had worked in other Wickes stores and seen how well looked after other stores treated there staff I new it wasn’t right at the Southampton store. When handing my notice in as I got a different job I was told that 

“ loyalty isn’t rewarded so leave” and “ you’re the traitor” 

Overall my experience at wickes was amazing to start but then I was empty when I left 

Let me start by saying Wickes was a good place to be employed both in terms of company values towards its employees and the work involved on any particular shift. However things have changed and not for the better, certainly after separating from the Travis Perkins group there have been many negative noticeable differences. Such as;
*Sfaff rotas not done in advance and its assumed you can work any shift or day even if you have childcare responsibilities. 
*Health and Safety is a joke, what you have to learn, to what in reality is practiced due to work load and staff shortages ( No surprise there ) are night and day apart and Wickes Hierarchy wonder why accidents are happening at an increased rate.
*They state you can earn bonus, yet budgets and targets are so out of reach you'll never see it. 
*The hierarchy that run Wickes think that giving employees 30% off at Wickes for the month of October 2022 will help employees that are struggling with the ever increase of the cost of living ( say no more )
*If you work a Sunday you are expected to work 15 minutes unpaid before and after your shift starts.
*The till system is so antiquated its unbelievable and so unreliable it also makes working on the till so difficult.
*Following on from above when working on the till you are expected to serve customers purchasing items, check stock for customers, deal with faulty products complaints and returns,  process click & collect / online orders and somehow answer the telephone all at the same time!
To all that are considering a role at Wickes as a sales colleague or whatever they call the role these days. You may get lucky with a good management team, but to me it's a big gamble and remember you will still be working for a company which is now all take and no give. There are better job opportunities out there...


Very poor place to work.

Most colleagues were fine except for a few who were often two faced and rude to other members of our team, those being close with the management team which is rather ironic. 

Management team were most fo the problem, and would expect the worst in you and accuse you of not working hard enough even if you've completed most of your task list ..and at which point they would find other things to complain about. They had a different approach to different colleagues. Essentially biased to whoever they got along with best. and if you brought it up with them they'd gaslight you and avoid answering the question.

If you're socially awkward and like to just get on with the task, they automatically had an issue with you and would try to make it an issue while trying to hide it so you couldn't really complain about it...Psychology tactics.

Impolite staff were never dealt with professionally, instead it was pinned back onto you for bringing it up to the team 

I requested more hours which they said no to and then proceeded to call me into the office towards the end of the probation out of nowhere to complain that my performance was not good enough despite the fact that my pace of work has actually improved. which was just yet another textbook strategy to get rid of staff they didn't like. 

They wait until the 5th month to get funny with you when thy want to start cutting back on staff.

Bottom line is that if the management don't like you, your efforts will simply go completely ignored and you'll probably fail probation... especially if you joined in the middle of the year, at least according to ex colleagues who had the same experience as me. 



Working at Wickes was greatly enjoyable on a day to day basis. The people I worked beside were a thrill to know and we all got a long like a bit of a family, a real tight group. 

My average day at Wickes was very, very busy, which I loved. I was constantly taking leads off of customers for the design consultants to get a rough idea of what they want for their kitchen, bathroom etc. I made a lot of sales myself, which I loved as the commission was great. I also made a spreadsheet at the end of each working day displaying how many sales, and how much money was made in the showroom that day. I also did a lot of installment payment chase ups to customers that had not been paid, which was great experience for my later job at Thornton Springer.

The Store Manager was brilliant, everybody loved him and he was a great boss. But my actual line manager who was the Customer Service Manager, was a lot less popular, she didn't seem to make many friendly relationships at work, she was extremely condescending and refused to talk to her employees as an equal, this was the opinion of a vast majority of the staff working in the store. Eventually, the Store Manager was replaced as he looked toward career progression and changed companies. As of then, the new Store Manager decided all of the temporary contract staff as me and many others were, were to be let go, whereas we were promised permanent contracts by the previous store manager. 

The hardest part of the job was the huge distance I was travelling 5 days a week, it would take me over 2 hours to get to work. Also, the fact that it was only a temporary role, these are the reasons I am looking for a full time, permanent, London based role in accountancy and finance.

Very low pay for what is expected. Salary paid is ridiculous as you end up doing 50/60/70 hours per week, it worked out at less than minimum wage. Regionals managers are useless and have no clue how a store actually works. They expect blood and give nothing. The company is going more and more downhill every day. The new thing is that people who spend years working their way up through the company, dedicating their lives are worth nothing. The focus is on bringing in external managers who can’t even do a refund and paying them 10k more than someone who knows the store and company inside and out. 

And don’t even think about leaving, especially on salary. You are paid two weeks in advance so should get two weeks pay when you leave plus holiday. I just left, worked my full notice and did everything I could to handover properly. First wickes issue was not paying me at all on my last payday. Apparently they cannot complete the basic maths of half a normal salary so recalled it to recalculate. No communication to tell me. I couldn’t pay my rent or bills as they are all set to come out that day and due to lack of communication I couldn’t put in place contingency plans. They quoted 15 working days until I got paid. They eventually paid me nearly a week later after myself and my old store manager chasing but still messed it up. It seems the incompetence of the company spreads to maths, they couldn’t calculate half my salary and have underpaid me by £300. That won’t go far to pay all the bank charges accrued!! 

Avoid this company. 

Great at selling to you to make you want the job, disgusting treatment whilst you work there and disgusting treatment when you leave.

I worked at the Oldham store with another design consultant who had worked for Wickes for over 14 years. He and the showroom manager worked the rota so that we had at least one of the days off at weekend which was unusual for a DC but it worked OK.

The training course was held over two weeks and was really good.
My showroom manager was keen to help out in the initial stages but as time went on she spent most of her time covering the general manager and the front end.

The hardest part of the job was working in a 2 DC store that clearly had not enough work for only 1 DC. I was given the same sales target as the established DC of 14 years with no allowance for a new starter trying to get my head around the systems and I ended up having to pull my own leads which wasn't a problem but I felt as though I was not part of the team at times.

I would love to work for Wickes again but its highly unlikely as I have applied 5 or 6 times since being let go after only 11 months with the company. This was a real shock to me as I had over 20 years experience in this kind of role and I have never been treated like that before. I believe it was to  make way for a returning member of their team who had left to get some experience designing and selling kitchens eleswhere but I have never been back to prove it.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with other people in the store who were always helpful and nothing was ever a problem if I was in need of advice when dealing with customers elsewhere in the store.

Been at Wickes better part of a year now, it's a nice place to work mainly for the people you work with and the regulars, the actual work itself is pretty mundane with little change up bit figured it would be when getting into it. There are a few staff who definitely have their favourites and if you pipe up they'll make sure you get lumped in the tills for hours and can get a bit arsey about breaks (which are unpaid) but this isn't that common of an occurrence but if going for the job be wary of it and stand your ground from day one. 
The majority of the time at work goes by pretty quickly and most people you work with are a laugh and that helps overcome the more boring parts of the job.

Another downside is the way hours can be divided you can be working from before midday till after 8pm then the day after be in at 630am so the schedules are a bit over the place but not too bad once you find your rhythm.

Another big plus is job security especially in these uncertain times and the 20% discount is appealing too. If the store performs well you can get bonuses aswell which helps bump the fairly meager pay up but isn't a consistent thing.

All in all 3/5

Pros:
 good people, nice managers/staff most of the time, discounts, work can feel rewarding sometimes.

Cons:
Minimum wage, expected to work through unpaid breaks if busy sometimes, favouritism, hypocrisy.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Kitchen designer 4 salaries reported	£34,000 per year
Installation technician 11 salaries reported	£10,005 per year
Operations manager 3 salaries reported	£29,000 per year
Kitchen team member 5 salaries reported	£1,100 per month
Design consultant 3 salaries reported	£28,377 per year

Working at Wickes: company overview and reviews

Wickes

Wickes ratings

Popular jobs at Wickes

Salary satisfaction

Jobseeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected