retail customer service representative

customer service representative

assistant sales manager

shop manager

deputy manager

Betfred

Your social life will suffer more than anything. Booking days off, taking personal leave or having to arrange for emergency leave is nearly impossible. Flexibility is a must, there is no such thing as routine or set-shift rotation. This can be ok for a few weeks but after a while the lack of routine can damage your sleep pattern.
The pay is awful for what you'll be expected to do on top of what's advertised officially. No mention of being a machine technician, counsellor or bulletproof shield. Greed is an obvious obstacle for the business, and angry punters are abundant, usually angry by their own fault, but you're the first in line for their temperament.
Staff incentives are small and not very appealing (such as a free £1 bet on the Irish lotto for Xmas, a small bonus if you're attendance is 100% for 370 days, and an extra £10 if you end up single manning between 6pm-10:15pm regardless of whether you've single manned a whole day.. which isn't bad in a quiet shop but very unfair if it's a busy one). You get more benefits in the form of tips from customers. No holiday pay, overtime pay, double time for Xmas, nothing like that.
Staff rotation is bad - constantly having to train new staff up only for them to leave within a few weeks for various reasons can be quite daunting. Often it's better to single man than work with a trainee on a busy day. There are never enough staff to have a full week's worth of adequate and comfortable staffing and you're more than likely going to single man most of the time. This might not be so bad for a short shift but for a whole day it can be tiring not having a break due to nobody available to cover.
Memorising 1000+ faces and names is very beneficial to the job. If you happen to cross paths with a con man or someone who's self-excluded it's up to you to recognise and deal with accordingly, if you don't, you'll be punished accordingly.
Management are rarely empathetic and show little concern for personal mentality or wellbeing unless it interferes severely with the job. They're not there to be your friend, so this is expected.
From a personal perspective this is one of the worst companies I've ever worked for, and I've worked for charitable organisations and call centres. This pales in comparison. If you have the choice, keep jobhunting and skip this one..

This is the worst place on the planet to work!!! I've had my own businesses in the past and only took this job quickly to earn money due to sudden family change.

Thank goodness it wasn't because I thought it was a career move. This company needs investigating. Seriously. 

They allow one day of training. My first shift was a Saturday, and I was thrown into the lions den. Not a huge problem if I'd actually been given a bit more of a chance on their computer system, an idea. Give me a clue, any clue!!!! Plus helpful if the addicts/gamblers were told I was new, but no the Man Manager thought it was funny to laugh at the Mysogonists offering their thoughts on being served that day by a female new member of staff.

My 1st week of contractual 30 hrs, turned into 6 days in a row and much more than 30. My second week was 7 days in a row and full of 12 hr shifts. Neither was I asked first nor did I sign and opt out of the Working Week Directive.

This company needs to be investigated for this. They also expect employees to finish a shift at 10pm and be back at work on an early shift and expect an Open to Close shift.  Thus leaving less than 11hrs between shifts and working over 12hr long shifts. Pretty sure placing an addicts bet isn't 'life or death' nor is it part of the emergency services. 

The area team is an absolute joke and couldn't manage an under 5s egg and spoon race. 

I was too scared to actually inform them of my qualifications etc as I'd be expected to do everything without training then be told off for something I'd done wrong but I hadn't actually had training for. Because God forbid you actually make a mistake within your 14 day training time. Yes you guessed it, you get a telling off. 

Constant turn over of staff, yet the area team for the staff have no idea why. I sent an email highlighting issues I had and why I was leaving to the general area manager. He took, Two Weeks to respond. Yet they expect you to be Self Trained within that time frame, reading a file, whilst serving angry customers, working 12 hr shifts, with an absent manager self medicating out the back, with only 2 days off in that entire 14 day training time.

You couldnt make it up!!!!!!

Avoid like the plague...

The work is boring as the betting industry is a dying business with people now placing their bets on-line as the bookies offer the better odds on there, even though the shop belongs to the same company. The majority of the business is from the Machines, which attract violent creatures who only come out at the late hours of the night to keep you open until the stroke of 10pm.
the wage is low for the risks that you take in the job. For example, I'm entrusted in banking the shops turnover on many occasions throughout the week, the total of that is more than my yearly wage, and if I'm mugged, the piece of paper I sign practically makes it my fault. I'm also expected to deal with customers in a way that is expected from qualified professional therapists, at cut cost, which is difficult when the customer is violent, or doesn't speak English. 
The workers at head office constantly change rules and prices on the TV screens in the shop, which customers read when they're placing their bets, but with how most tills are situated, the worker can't see these changes to anything, and often end up giving out the wrong price which is the fault of the employee. 
The hours are unsociable, the shop is open 7 days a week, 14 hours a day in most cases, meaning that social lives and family lives are a thing of the past. But not only that, it means that on a Sunday night, nearing 10PM when everyone is in bed, or just not out, and all is quiet. An employee is left in complete risk of being robbed, and recently a shop with in the area had this, where the employee was stabbed in the face, and yet the security team didn't warn anyone within a 50 mile radius of the incident, and it was left down to the employees to read about it near the back of a local newspaper. 

Overall, this job is unsafe, low paid, and of high expectation. They expect a 24 hour call out for no extra cost, and care not for if violence is an issue.

I'm worried about the future of the company.

I joined as someone who enjoyed sport, was good at maths and knew a little bit about betting, which you don't necessarily need to succeed in the job, but it helped me.

You learn about the other aspects of the business, so you balance security, compliance/governance and customer service, as well as the self service, or 'machines' (sport and casino) element of the industry.

The industry has evolved a lot since I was aware of betting shops and I'm not convinced that it's for the better.

My family are still surprised that we are open until 10pm, EVERY day (the festive season being a welcome exception). My previous line manager stated that they would have the shop closed at 9, if it wasn't for the local competition, but having empty shops from 7pm onwards can be quite demoralising and draining.

The virtual racing for every minute of the day, as well as bingo, as well as the live events, as well as the machines, is rather galling, especially when you things go wrong, or if there is a sudden rush of bets, which you would expect, but having a load of punters betting on Aintree, makes a lot more sense than Sprint Valley or any other cartoon races.

The standards required to work is A LOT lower than when I started and the support from management is a lot lower. To be honest, the management team here is easily the worst that I've ever experienced and all in all, that's what makes the job even more difficult, as they don't like to be contacted.

I have family that are about to enter the jobs market and I would advise them to avoid this industry as the mix of impatient, rude and error strewn customers, combined with disrespectful management and unsociable working hours, have made this job untenable.

Decent job for a few weeks if you’re jobless and have nowhere else to go. Expect to work alone a lot and work through break times, even if you’re a new starter due to the sheer lack of staff. 14.5 hour shifts can be mentally damaging. Don’t get any shift allowance or bonus’ at all. Used to get attendance bonus for 100% attendance but that has been ‘frozen’ due to ‘not making any money’ for years now lol. Expect a 24 hour contract and expected to work 50+ hours all over the north east. Very malicious shop managers with horrendous training facilities. Nobody is trained to train anybody, expect to pick most of it up yourself as you go along. Can only get promoted as far as Deputy Manager as nobody wants that position due to the awful pay rates. Two promotions to Deputy Manager and you’re only getting 10p more than the cleaners and cashiers (Minimum wage). Impossible to apply for the managers positions as they no longer get advertised as they just hand the job to the person whose face fits which is just unfair and bad for busines as I have first hand experienced. In all the years I have worked here, things seem to be getting worse. Currently job searching myself to get far away from this awfully ran business. Best off stacking shelves or pressing buttons in a factory somewhere as it is a lot more money and a so much less responsibility. Apply with serious caution, you do not know what you guys will get yourselves in for. Good luck.

Betfred has provided many opportunities for me over the past few years and I have been involved in vaoious promotions, restructures, rebranding, equipment roll outs and many more including staff and training development including my own.
My day consists of monitoring staff levels in various locations throughout Kent and Sussex, I visit this shops to ensure that both retail standards and customer service levels are maintained to excellent levels.
I am responsible for many other aspects of the betting industry which include Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and training necessary upon instalation, health and safety and Fire risk assessments and I have to ensure that these are assessed as required by law and the Health and safety executive.
I love meeting new people and customers which is part of my daily routine and I enjoy discussing action plans, personal development plans and work strategies with staff which can range from new starters and long standing members of staff.  
I have to think on my toes on a daily basis and have to utilise my excellent communication skills either via email and or telephone to solve various concerns, enquiries and to brief information to shop staff and Senior management.
The hardest part of my job can and does involve investigating members of staff which can lead to suspension and even dismissal.
Overall I have learned many valuable life skills and work skills which has benefited both myself and the expansion of the company over the last 8-10 years.

I start work 9.45/10.45 and am there til 10pm. During these hours I handle customers bets, deal with any queries, sort the shops banking out, translate the bets and also help to keep the shop tidy and upto date with promotions and offers.
While in this job i have learnt a small amount of knowledge on the gambling industry, how to defuse what could be explosive atmospheres as the environment is quite highly charged. Also i have added to my existing skills of handling difficult customers, my cash handling skills and also using initiative when on my own.
My manager at Betfred knows her job extremely well and all the customers regard her quite highly. The manager is quite organised but when it gets busy can be known to go missing. I also work with 2 other colleagues who are a bit more laid back and when working with these i tend to takeover the running off the shop as they let the standards of the shop slip which i cant accept as i always like to have pride in my work place.
The hardest part of the job is the long hours, as i go in at 9.45/10.45 and then am there til 10pm it means i see the day pass me by quite often without challenging me. When i do get challenged it is mainly by a upset customer and i feel my best skills are not been tested or put to best use.
The enjoyable side of the job is the banter you can have with customers and seeing them enjoy a win. Since i started there i have become very friendly with many of the shops customers and am now seen as part of the furniture of the shop. My manager has had customers praising me and i have also took praise of the customers myself for handling their queries or sorting bets out for them.

Starting at lunch time, which was normal for me I was very pleased to do as it gave me plenty of time in the morning to get things sorted at home and do my every day chores before starting work leaving me with less worries ( i.e. shopping, paying bills etc ) and being able to start work in a nice relaxed manner and happy to greet customers with a smile and enjoy the tasks ahead. Taking the bets and translating them was my favourite part of the job and having a colleague along side who I was able to turn to and ask for help if I found anything confusing was a great comfort to me as the managers I worked with were very knowledgable, I could recommend them most highly. Learning to do bets on a computer rather than manually as I had done in the past was very insightfull to me I found this very interesting even though it made my job as a settler in the past obsolete.The hardest part of the job for me was the late time of finishing of 10.00pm where it got very boring without any racing and people only interested in playing the machine's and hardly interacting with the staff, I thought head office should have allowed every shop to have a small t.v. behind the counter for staff to watch when it was very quiet at night in the winter months. The most enjoyable part of the job being the busy periods especially on big race days and working with colleagues who had a good knowledge and were always friendly and welcomed me as a friend from day one, I am appreciative of this and feel I made some friends for life.

A typical day at work would be a colleague of mine and I processing bets throughout the day. I would also arrange for banking to be done and over-seeing managerial duties for the period of my shift. I also open and close the business depending on my shift that day. 
In my current employment it is very specific and considered a specialist job. I have learned so much about the betting industry and also I have gained the ability to manage the business on my own for a day. 

Management in my current employment is not the best example of good management I have worked under although my manager is possibly one of the best managers I have worked under. 

Co-workers in my current employment are the best I have worked with and they would say the same about me. We work as a team and pull together to get each other through the day and also make work life a little easier by organising shift patterns to suit everyone.

The hardest part of my job has to be the responsibility that comes with opening and closing the business. At the end of the day I have to make sure all the figures add up and nothing is out of place. Also the long hours make it difficult to balance work and life in a healthy manner.

The most enjoyable part of my job is the customers I see everyday. They make work what it is day in day out and with them there is never a dull moment. I have formed an excellent customer/employee relationship with 98% of all customers and they see me as a good friend.

During my time at Betfred, I’ve built up a few pros and cons for working with the company. 

Pros - 
A mostly sit down job.
You meet some great people. 
Opportunities to work yourself up the ladder. 
You gain a lot of useful skills for the future. 
Relatively easy if you do all your research. 

Cons - 
Poor company management. 
Very long hours (14/15 hours for a full shift).
Pay rate is very poor considering the lengthy hours. 
Company will not hesitate to sack you if you make any sort of inconvenience to them. 
You will run into a lot of A holes, wether it be staff or customers. 
There is a lot to take in, especially if you are not a sports person, you will need to do your homework if you want to succeed in this place. 
Higher management will pick favourites, and there will be a lot of back stabbing and gossip that will fly around. 
Bank holiday and late Sunday work (unsure if they allow religious holidays). 


Betfred is a good place to work if you want to start looking for work experience, if you can turn a blind eye to all the work drama it really isn’t so bad. 
I do think Fred should be paying his staff more than what he is at this current time, since Betfred is known for being one of the best bookies on the highstreet (Fred prides himself on this) and in some areas, they are the bookies that are open the latest. 
The company does offer paid maternity leave, you are entitled to so many paid holidays a year also. 
Regular staff competitions where your shop could win vouchers, money etc. 


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Retail customer service representative 541 salaries reported	£12.91 per hour
Customer service representative 11 salaries reported	£23,076 per year
Assistant sales manager 1 salary reported	£12.55 per hour
Shop manager 43 salaries reported	£14.21 per hour
Deputy manager 29 salaries reported	£13.96 per hour

Working at Betfred: company overview and reviews

Betfred

Betfred ratings

Popular jobs at Betfred

Salary satisfaction

Jobseeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected