Management in a fast paced retail environment with a wide range of responsibilities
A department manager is responsible for using reports weekly and daily to set up a department for commercial success. They are responsible for ordering the stock and how the department is laid out based on best selling lines, proportional sales for each section and promoting markdowns to clear less popular or soon to be out of season stock. In order to achieve this they manage and develop a team whose size is relative to the sales of their department. This same team will have the main priority of delivering excellent customer service through serving on tills, keeping the department tidy and through assisting customers on the sales floor. They are responsible for managing the performance and development of this team using formal reviews, formal meetings where necessary about attendance, conduct or performance and (for me) most importantly informal coaching in all of these areas. Their team is part of a larger team running the whole store so they need to have excellent communication and flexibility to work with and support other managers to make sure service and safety standards are met at all times. They will also be responsible for a number of health and safety checks (shared between the management team) such as fire extinguishers, pallet trucks and first aid checks.
6 months ago I switched to managing nights which involves receiving deliveries and filling up the whole store. I have 9 staff to manage and on average we receive around 500 boxes per night as well as finish w
ProsChallenging, Good Pay, Opportunity to make Decisions, Ethically Minded
ConsLong Hours, Demanding mentally, physically and socially, Frantic Pace
I worked as a floor assistant, and a typical day involved making sure that the shop floor is clean of products, and that the stands themselves are well organised. The job itself isn't too difficult, unless you're asked to move boxes and to change stands/fixtures. The difficult part was that you weren't really told what to do, especially when it came to something you never did before, for example taking care of the trending area of the store: I was told to place whatever "looked nice", even though I voiced my concern over not being the best at fashion. Additionally, while I mentioned an injury and it acknowledged, I wasn't offered much sympathy; but I guess that's expected in retail. Likewise, the air conditioner hasn't been fixed in years in our store and summers are very difficult; it isn't just us feeling the affect, but the customers complain to us very often, too.
The worst thing about working at Primark is the management. I required them to complete a form that my landlord's background agency required of me. While I can't possibly know what this third party was asking Primark, when I went in on a weekday to talk with the HR department and explain that it's very necessary that I get this reference (or else I will end up without a place to live in), they spent a significant amount of time shouting at me about how they don't care that I'll be left without a flat, and it's none of their business. However, surely one can argue, that it is their business: they are the HR de
Prosnice staff, good for students, overtime opportunity
Consawful management, inflexible, nagging for overtime, awful pay, no incentives
For most people, this type of job considering the familiarity of this brand, especially for younger people, would seem like a dream come true. However, this is far from the truth. Despite the fact I only worked part-time on a weekend for 4 hours, I struggled to get myself motivated to actually attend work most days as I had grown an aversion to the place. The general area, despite cleaners was generally quite unclean and the age of this store was starting to show. Unlike most Primarks, this one hadn't been updated in the 18 years that it has been around which made it seem run down in comparison to newer stores like Meadowhall. It tended to smell bad and was very dusty underneath most stands and on occassion I have seen Silverfish crawling underneath clothing which was unhygenic and unpleasant. I would not be surprised if the hygiene standards of the store contributed to the multiple times I have been unwell. One of the only acknowledgeable positives were the people I had met during my time working there who were very friendly, chatty and inclusive regardless of your background. I would say I have made a few good friendships with some of my co-workers during my time at Primark, but that is where the positives end. However, I did find I had problems with the management as the majority of the time they walk around the store talking to one another rather than helping take care of the shop floor like you would have expected them to. Sometimes, they were very rude if you couldn't m
Retail Sales Associate | Newtownabbey | 22 Jan 2020
Fast Paced and Productive
A typical day at Primark can be described in one word - hectic. It is a fast paced and stressful environment and it can be easy to become overwhelmed but I would recommend it to anyone as a first time job or anyone interested in retail. The average day of a retail assistant will start off with a 'staff huddle', in which the supervisor will give the team a run down of things going on in the store, such as percentage improvements on the previous week, things that need to be double checked, if a visit is happening etc and then staff members being given a task to do. Depending on your shift, this may change. For example, a staff member doing a 4 hour shift will usually be given one task to do for those 4 hours e.g work on the tills for 4 hours or work in a zone or department for 4 hours. A staff member doing an 8 hour shift will perhaps work on the tills for the first 3 hours of their shift, have a lunch break then return to the floor and continue the rest of their shift in a department or zone. Breaks are given to shifts above 4 hours.
During my time at Primark I have learned how to use tills, handle money, use equipment, practice work safety, how to communicate with customers and colleagues, work as a team.
Management is very good. I have always been able to talk to my managers freely and easily.
Work place culture in Primark is very casual and friendly. Most of the staff can have a laugh with each other in the break room as well as on the floor as long as they are ke
A typical day included arriving around 10 minutes before the start time, get clocked in and straight onto a till or department. After the store closed, everyone came together to put out the returns and clean up.
As for many of the weekend workers, Primark was my first job. Being in a working environment with people your own age really made coming to work worth it, as you find your co workers soon become close friends and it was nice to come to work, have a good laugh while getting the job done, then head off to the pub later on. The weekend supervisors also try their best to organise days and meals out which includes all staff members and helps team building.
However, I found that the overall management structure on the weekend is incomparable compared to the mid-week team. I found that some management adopted a 'teacher like' status- such as making workers ask to go to the toilet, questioning sickness calls and telling workers off for the smallest things such as communicating with other workers. I was once literally shouted at for asking for time off despite giving over 2 months notice. The evening team supervisor isn't the nicest person either, and will mock and talk down to you if you make even the smallest mistake. The other management, however, are really friendly, professional and down to earth, especially the store manager herself.
Primark is great for helping to build up your customer service skills, as well as initiative and time management. From the first
Sigh* where shall i start..
The work is very simple and is a busy environment.
I was praised for my hard work and managers were happy with my work, which was nice to be appreciated.
However i would never recommend anyone to work there as i was disrespected and bullied.
The management and some of senior members are real bullies they were name calling, making nasty comments and basically treat you like a slave.
I will never understand why they do that especially when u work hard. Its stupidity and primark needs to sort it out how they operate otherwise they will have to get use to staff leaving every other month.
I would advise anyone not to bother, if you have no choice then leave as soon as you get another job.
I left because i have self respect and did not appreciate going into work everyday listening to name calling and being disrespected. Also dealing with stupidity because thats what primark is.
Yes the job is simple, but not the greatest job but was a job and i appreciate the fact i was working there, but it was the attitude and behaviour of management and supervisors, that made me leave.
You have some talking behind your back and then being nice on your face especially when they ask you to do overtime. They pressure you to do overtime and if you dont they treat you even worse by puting more pressure on you. They were like snakes hissing around and you knew they behind you or watching you, when you hear silly immature comments and name calling, but they pretend
ProsNothing at all!
ConsManagement are bullies, dont care about employees, management need to change their attitudes then maybe staff will not leave, worse possible working environment, stressful
If you want to work for a company that expects you to work like a robot, deal with continuous disregard from customers and be treated like a child by a bunch of managers who would struggle to organise anorgy in a brothel then you've found the perfect job for you.
A retail operative position in Primark has around about a 3 month 'honeymoon' period where you think 'hey this isn't too bad! it's fairly easy work the pay's not horrendous and if I want to come in looking horrifically hungover I can! How fab!' But trust me when I say that this soon wears off! Yes you can get away with being hungover in work, mainly because the managers are feeling too rough themselves to pull you up on it. However the easy tasks quickly become pretty menial and repetitive, and I can assure you there's only so many times a customer can unfold a t-shirt they've literally just watched you fold before you're ready to kill every customer in the shop! (and I'm personally not an angry or violent person!)
Back to the management (or lack of!) In my store we had about 6 or 7 managers on each floor, so you'd think the place would be pretty organised right? Wrong! The AMs (floor managers) are generally a breed of evil aliens (with the odd exception) that all other managers are scared of. The floor managers expect every member of staff to be able to work a 10 hour shift without uttering a single word to another member of staff and if you dare do you be prepared to get the death stare for a good 5 minutes solid
If you want to work for a company that expects you to work like a robot, deal with continuous -insert naughty word here- from customers and be treated like a child by a bunch of managers who would struggle to organise anorgy in a brothel then you've found the perfect job for you.
A retail operative position in Primark has around about a 3 month 'honeymoon' period where you think 'hey this isn't too bad! it's fairly easy work the pay's not horrendous and if I want to come in looking horrifically hungover I can! How fab!' But trust me when I say that this soon wears off! Yes you can get away with being hungover in work, mainly because the managers are feeling too rough themselves to pull you up on it. However the easy tasks quickly become pretty menial and repetitive, and I can assure you there's only so many times a customer can unfold a t-shirt they've literally just watched you fold before you're ready to kill every customer in the shop! (and I'm personally not an angry or violent person!)
Back to the management (or lack of!) In my store we had about 6 or 7 managers on each floor, so you'd think the place would be pretty organised right? Wrong! The AMs (floor managers) are generally a breed of evil aliens (with the odd exception) that all other managers are scared of. The floor managers expect every member of staff to be able to work a 10 hour shift without uttering a single word to another member of staff and if you dare do you be prepared to get the death stare for a goo
Primark is a great starting point for someone who is new to the working environment and wants to get a head start. However, I would not stay there longer than 2 years as you will most likely become overworked and tired of your role.
Staff: Overall, there are some great members of staff, however during my time there I realised Supervisors were sometimes unfair to Assistant staff. Constantly giving them new tasks to do on top of the ones they have yet to complete and expecting them to do it in impossible time frames, whilst they did the easier work. Management didn’t seem to correct or do anything about this either.
Customers: Weekdays are a lot better than weekends. Most are nice and understanding if you are in a rush or don’t know where something is because it’s been moved. They can sometimes be rude or impatient if you can’t retrieve what they want or the wait has been too long, but it’s nothing you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
Work: The work itself is relatively easy, it’s just everything else that makes it harder, the time frames they want you to complete it in, the customers who ask you for help or don’t respect what you have just tidied or because you have to keep going from tills back to your department.
Pay: The pay is the best part for working in retail, they pay the most at £8.35 out of most clothing stores. I think working nights too, if you are 18+ you get extra money too which is great if you need the extra cash.
Extra hours: There’s almost always overtim
ProsGreat pay, overtime, good for 1st job
ConsLong hours, overworked, holiday period is short, must work all bank holidays
Everyone needs to start somewhere and i am thankful for primark to give me the opportunity to do so, though that is pretty much all i am thankful for.
A typical full day working at primark would consist of putting out delivery in the morning till mid day and the rest of the shift would be recovering a section. During my time at primark i was given up to 3-4 sections to look after while also being called to tills as they were understaffed. 3-4 sections and tills is usually a whole days work for 2-3 people but management expect that you get it all complete by the end of the day and if it is not then they can legally keep you for another 15 minutes as it is in your contract that you sign even if it means that you are going to miss your bus home.
I received till training during my stay there which has been a valuable skill to have though all training that i received was rushed and you were basically expected to learn on the job which to be fair isn't too difficult but it is frustrating considering that's what managers and supervisors are paid to do. Everything else that i learnt from the job was from my own accord as many times i asked to receive training from the managers and it was just dismissed and forgotten about even during 8-10 week review which didn't take place till about 18 weeks in. Management in this place is sloppy and they all want something for nothing. All managers are on salaries so it is very common to see them taking an extra half an hour on their hour dinne
Un incubo, non si puó descrivere in altri termini. Ecco la VERITÁ
Ho lavorato da Primark per 3 mesi, i più lunghi della mia vita. Sono stata ai camerini e nei reparti. I primi giorni ti mettono a piegare centinaia di maglie per tutte le ore che sei a lavoro, non puoi scambiare mezza parola con i colleghi che vieni richiamata(almeno che non sei simpatico ai supervisor e scherzi con loro),ti viene spiegato una volta e una soltanto come si sistemano gli abiti(ogni capo ha la sua gruccia e il posto dove riporlo all’interno del camerino), peccato che mancano sempre le grucce giuste e che anche i superiori non sanno dove vanno riposti i capi(ad esempio c’è lo scaffale denim, quello delle bluse etc ma si confondono anche loro). Il primo giorno una supervisor mi disse”capisco che sei appena arrivata ma se ti vengono dette due volte le cose te le passo alla terza bisogna essere mongoloide”. Ero li da due ore, di sabato, c’era il caos. Sinceramente non mi sento stupida, sono laureata con il massimo dei voti, abbassasse la cresta. Poi decidono di mandarti a smistare ovvero a riporre gli abiti nei giusti reparti. Peccato che nessuno ti ha fatto della formazione e tu stessa non trovi lo scaffale e il reparto giusto(anche perchè ogni giorno cambiano di posto, tanto per, per hobby probabilmente).Ovviamente ti ritrovi con 30 grucce appese alle braccia e kg di pantaloni da sostenere, sudi come non so cosa e ti fermano i clienti per sapere dove sia un determinato capo. È vietato dire “non sono di questo reparto”,piuttosto devi fingere di sapere dove sia e gi
Poco stimolante e molto caotico, ottima come prima esperienza
Ho aperto il primo negozio italiano e quindi la voglia di fare bene era tanta da parte di tutti. Purtroppo dopo pochi mesi è stato tutto smorzato dalla classica gestione all'italiana. ingressi di manager in posizioni strategiche perché "amico di" o ex collega dell'altro, ha portato una rete di "amici" ad avere oggi tra le mani le redini dei vari Primark italiani. i vari Claudio, Antonio, Antonino, Roberto, Luca etc si conoscevano in altre aziende e così la meritocrazia ha lasciato l'azienda. I nuovi ingressi di responsabili sui vari livelli avvenivano con lo stesso metodo tramite l'ex collega o amico dei vari Gap, Decathlon, Upim, HM, etc etc questa cosa ha iniziato a creare malcontento, i manager stranieri che hanno saputo adattarsi sono stati ricollocati in tutta Italia, gli altri sono tornati nel proprio Paese (Inghilterra, spagna, Portogallo, Irlanda). Ovviamente la crescita del personale da staff ad altri livelli è rara e comunque si viene ricollocati in tutta Italia e avviene tramite amicizia stretta, oppure per le ragazze tramite...ci siamo capiti ahimè! E non è segreto in azienda, anzi se ne parla quasi apertamente e la palpatina o l'abbraccio del manager di turno, che ora lavora da Gucci tanto per citarne uno, ad una che potrebbe essere la figlia di vent'anni non è una cosa così lontana dalla realtà. Per il resto, stipendi senior manageriali molto alti dai 2000 fino a superare i 3500/4000, supervisori sui 1500, staff full time 40h circa 1350 euro, part time weekend 1
ProsColleghi giovani si creano buoni rapporti, rotazione ogni tot mesi delle mansioni, possibilità di avere feedback periodici e migliorarsi, ottimo come primo lavoro per prendere dimestichezza con i clienti e il mondo retail
ConsNessuna pausa fino a 6h, niente Rol o permessi, no buoni pasto, scarso parcheggio (soprattutto il weekend), dress code, management incompetente, elevato turn over
Okay to work, if you know how to eat some cr*p from time to time
The workplace isnt that bad, and at start it all seems nice, everyone is sorted to work in departmens/ fitting rooms / cashregisters/ stockroom, so one can know exactly what is ones job for that day, and you can mostly choose for yourself where you wanna work for each day.
After you're around for a couple of weeks, you begin to notice things (through time).. Like how there is favouritism almost everywhere, and some people always get the easiest jobs because they suck up to managers, and know how to look busy doing actually nothing and get away with it. You notice how many employees go by the "not my problem" logic. How many students teach other new students who later teach other new students and so on and there is actually no "training" in its complete form and the way one might imagine how it should be. You notice how p&c is practically a mess when it comes to scheduals and how many workers to put on each part of the store
example: students send their preferences of when&where they want to work next week, and it doesnt take long to hear "there is too many of you trying to work on (lets say for example) men clothing, and too few on women clothing. no number limit for stockroom. so it comes to the day when there is a lot of students in stockroom, and limited number on men clothing. All of a sudden that day, they have "too few" on men clothing even though they have the amount of workers that should be there - meaning if limitation is 10 workers, they have 10. And so they
ProsEvery once in awhile there is an era of employees discount for whole purchase, you can (mostly) change where you wanna work
ConsLong hours, p&c and managers could&should do a better job, organisation needs to improve, stock room hardly satisfies the space need for storing overstock etc, workers know way less than they should know
Ho lavorato come interinale presso il punto vendita di Roma est. In quanto interinale, si viene inspiegabilmente visti quasi sempre sotto una cattiva luce. La maggior parte dei dipendenti e manager ti etichettano già come "agency" e in quanto tale hai diritto solo a piegare magliette. Già un'attività più "complessa" come spostare dei prodotti per far spazio ad altri, sono cose troppo "difficili" e quindi senti il capetto di turno dire al dipendente Primark "mi raccomando questo fallo tu, non farlo fare all'agency".
Per esperienza diretta posso dire tranquillamente che moltissimi "agency" hanno lavorato molto ma molto meglio di alcuni dipendenti diretti Primark. Io stessa ho dovuto insegnare alcuni di loro come piegare pigiami, come rimettere l'intimo nelle confezioni ecc. perché non sapevano come fare. Ho sentito dare ai clienti informazioni sui resi completamente errate e ho spiegato io che alcune cose non si cambiano e che non bisogna fare prima la fila in cassa per lasciare il capo da rendere con lo scontrino. Ho trovato tanta disorganizzazione, commessi buttati in negozio senza un minimo di informazioni, neanche quelle base.
L'atmosfera è totalmente finta, scritte motivazionali sui muri nell'area dipendenti, cose tipo "siamo tutti amici", "tutti uniti per lo stesso sogno", "insieme si vince", "il saluto è la prima cosa" e poi la realtà è l'esatto opposto. La mattina meeting mattutino prima dell'apertura per far vedere che l'ambiente è cool, figo, tutti amici, quanto sia
Prosalcuni colleghi
Conslavoro ripetitivo e alienante, nessuna possibilità di crescita, contratti brevi e poi a casa, non c'è possibilità di scambiare due parole con nessuno, per andare in bagno ci manca solo la richiesta scritta, si viene spesso trattati in modo non adeguato
Ambiente lavorativo frustrante e ripetitivo RECENSIONE VERA!
In italia, in generale, i turni possono variare dal full time 40h al part time di 20 o part time verticale 18 h nel weekend (9h sabato e 9h domenica).
L'ambiente di lavoro è duro, intenso, soprattutto per i full time e i weekender, si ha a disposizione 1h di pausa non retribuita. Durante il turno di lavoro non è concesso parlare nemmeno per un secondo, bisogna solo lavorare, o meglio, la mattina solo aprire i bancali e inserire la merce, il pomeriggio/sera solo piegare vestiti, anche per 5 h consecutive. L'ambiente è frustrante, non solo per via di alcuni manager che non sanno apprezzare il lavoro svolto, ma sono solo capaci a dare giudizi, ma anche e Soprattutto per i clienti. Sono rimasto scioccato nel vedere certe persone, non pensavo nemmeno potessero esistere persone così maleducate arroganti. Per 8/9 h è un continuo piegare e ripiegare gli stessi vestiti perché ovviamente i clienti, anche di proposito, vengono a distruggere tutto il lavoro appena svolto. Buttano a terra i vestiti, li calpestano, urlano, ti spintonano e fanno molte altre cose non degne di note, che rendono l'ambiente lavorativo insalubre, stressante. Non ti senti più una persona. Oltre a questo il livello culturale medio della clientela di primark è molto basso. Non ci sono incentivi, si cerca solo di tirare avanti per tutte quelle ore, compiendo sempre lo stesso movimento di piegare i vestiti, come in una fabbrica fordista. Se uno inizia a lavorare da primark poi non avrà più vita... Chi lavora nel we
ProsPaga, relazione tra colleghi (staff)
ConsStress e frustrazione, relazione con il management, mansione ripetitiva, no buoni pasto o sconti clienti (tranne il 10% sotto natale), CLIENTI
Questions and answers about Primark
If you were to leave Primark, what would be the reason?
Asked 17 Mar 2017
The management and high school mentality from the staff - very uncomfortable environment
Answered 21 May 2022
The answer is simple; bad management. Favourtisim is a serious problem here; chatty, ‘charming’ but lazy ones are loved the most. Not being appreciated can make you feel unworthy especially if you have to work with managers who are unfriendly, egoistic can make you miserable most the time.
Answered 15 Dec 2021
What should you wear to an interview at Primark?
Asked 18 Mar 2017
Wear smart and casual clothes to the interview at Primark.
Answered 23 Oct 2021
Nothing, Run fast in the other direction.
Answered 8 Jan 2020
Does primark have a staff room? and if so what facilities are available in there?
Asked 25 Apr 2017
I have worked at two different stores and the staff facilities were very different. At one it was very modern with booths and comfy seats, bright and colourful designs in both the locker room and staff canteen. The other store was grey and the canteen was just rows of benches
Answered 2 Aug 2021
They usually have a fully operating kitchen. Fridge, microwaves, kettle, and hot drinks machine. In addition other vending machines.
In the cloakrooms, they have lockers and changing rooms.
Answered 16 Nov 2019
Why did you leave your job at Primark Metrocentre?
Asked 18 Mar 2017
There's a lot of competition to get lexible and full time contracts. I was stuck on a twiglight shift 5-9pm which meant getting home was very difficult due to limited public transport.
I initially wanted to get day time shifts as it would be easier with transport but they only seem to be given to specific people such as mothers. If you are a student or genially young you are not a priority.
Answered 16 Nov 2019
Primark - Yeovil
I left because I'm only contracted to weekends, I have previously applied for a better contract (Monday - Friday 14:15 - 18:15) and got no response or even an interview. The management isn't the best, very unorganised and not very good communication amongst themselves or the supervisors. Working 4 hour shifts doing the same thing every weekend made the day go really slow and boring.
The only thing I did enjoy is, even though the communication could use a little tweaking, I have met some of the best people working here and made some friends for life.
Answered 24 May 2018
How does someone get hired at Primark? What are the steps along the way?
Asked 25 Feb 2017
Applied online, received a phone call to arrange an interview, had a 1 to 1 interview with a supervisor, called to confirm I got the job, attended the induction. My induction was 2 days and consisted of till training, basic customer service skills, like how to talk to customers, a tour of the store, ordering uniform and signing the contract.
Answered 9 Aug 2019
Applied online, had a phone call a few weeks later, then a face to face interview. If you are accepted you then have an induction.
