supply chain analyst

content marketer

HobbyCraft

As an Artsy person Hobbycraft seemed perfect for me to work in. 

It’s a mixed bag, one moment it’ll be fast paced and busy and the next it’ll be empty and you have to find things to keep yourself busy. All holidays can be exceptionally challenging  - especially Christmas.

Most of the placements are part time so you’re looking at working around 16 hours a week unless you ask for more hours, which isn’t always an option. The shifts are set which made the work/home life easy to manage as I could plan around my shifts. If you wanted to change the day of your shift permanently you are allowed to as long as it works for the whole team. 
If you work a 4 hour shift you do not get a break which is understandable. If you work 6-8 hours breaks are given. My feet would be killing me at the end of my shift because there’s no seats on the tills - but if you are disabled and need a chair one can be given to you or you can have the option to not do as much till work. 

All the colleagues I worked with were a dream. Very relaxed and quirky, I enjoyed working with them a lot, they’re very supportive and aren’t afraid to have a laugh. 
Management was also lovely, very supportive but at times also demanding. I always got thanked for my work and day which was so nice.  

The only downside to working here is the constant pressure of reaching “signup and swipe” rate goals. The pressure of this caused me to eventually leave, which I was extremely upset about. You have to reach a certain target every day otherwise you are constantly being warned or talked to about it. But let’s be real - not everyone wants a card so it’s not realistic! Also everyone’s “stats” on said swipe and signup rates are put on display for the whole stores staff to see which can be a bit demoralising and embarrassing.

They can be extremely understanding of mental health in the workplace, until it starts to effect your ability to work to the stores standards. They will offer ways to help you by asking if they can change hours of your shift, etc. and will offer support systems like retail trust which you can use. My personal experience with them and mental health wasn’t so great. I felt they were happy to be rid of me and I actually got dismissed via what felt very much like a constructive dismissal. It depends on if the people working there have worn the shirt. 

You can get a 25% discount off anything in the store with your colleague discount which was really nice, and you can also use your Hobbycraft card discounts too. However the two cannot be used together. 

Overall, really wonderful store that I enjoyed working in, some awesome products to buy in the store and amazing team members, but the horrible amount of stress of getting a certain number of signups per shift became too stressful and my mental health declined.

It is generally quite enjoyable, days are spent either on the till, tidying the shelves, talking to customers, checking prices and/or replenishing from the stock room. The hourly rate is very good, as is the colleague discount. 

There are a lot of different sections and products to get your head around, and I've learnt a lot about different crafts since working here. Customers will always ask for advice on their projects so it's worth having good general knowledge, but this will build up the longer you work here. You can also make demonstration products during quiet shifts.

The first thing that struck me negatively is that the shop and management sometimes aren't very organised. The stock room is difficult to navigate. Different managers tell you different things, which could get confusing and frustrating.  Often assistants are blamed for poor store performance even though there are many more factors in it.

You will most likely not stick to contracted days/hours, each week is different and often I worked at least an extra day a week. Asking to change shifts or stick to contracted days is sometimes made to feel very inconvenient.

The company enforces strict targets to meet (selling club cards and star buys) so there is a lot of pressure on the assistants to fulfil them.

Customers do tend to complain about product prices (both the expensiveness and the fact that the pricing is unclear) so a lot of time is spent making sure labels are in the right place and up-to-date.

My colleagues were all great, Hobbycraft do seem to hire friendly, creative people which has been nice. 

All-in-all it hasn't been bad, but can get confusing from an organisation perspective and there is a lot of pressure on the assistants to meet company demands. But it's a fun and creative place to work and the team all feel fairly close-knit.

I work there part-time, after few months I got my hours doubled on contract, so if you really want to work there and they need you you can get more hours on contract or as an overtime. As a colleague you can get max 30hrs per week on contract which is still part time. Only full time workers are team leaders and managers. 
You should be prepared that the only days off are Christmas and Easter (that’s our bank holidays at hobbycraft), so if you’re lucky and your shift is on these days, you’ll have a day off, yay! You usually can’t use your annual leave before and during these periods as it gets super busy and deliveries are enormous. 
The job itself is pretty simple if the store isn’t busy, there’re no bank holidays or half terms. You should be prepared that some customers want to start a new hobby, they don’t know what they actually like and expect you to help them, it’s funny sometimes. Also surprisingly many customers expect you to know everything about every single item in the store + where it’s located. You will be spending your time doing stock, put backs, being on tills, tidying or doing demos or merchandising from time to time all of that under fire of customers’ questions. 
What annoys me the most in my job is the pressure on sign ups. Hobbycraft’s loyalty card system doesn’t really give the customers anything valuable so you’ll be often listening to complaints of regular customers that they don’t get any discounts, nor vouchers or they get them very rarely. It’s all about our customers so it’s sad to see them disappointed. We definitely could do more about it, add some wow factor. Also IT at tills could be improved, it’s sometimes hard to work with slowly responding register, so be prepared, be patient. Overall Hobbycraft is a really nice workplace if you’re with the right team and management. Salary as for retail environment is really decent.

My experience at hobbycraft stores was not one I ever wish to experience again. The team I worked alongside were sensational, both polite & welcoming. The management of the store however, are inconsistent, rude, would sometimes not even give you the time of day when you walk by to begin your shift, which I find truly appalling. I was really excited to begin working at Hobbycraft, the management seemed to care about me & my interests, but really, the business is all they care about, and if you don’t “fit in to their regime”, you can get lost, or as the manager told me on handing in my notice “you can leave now”.

I don’t want my review to seem all negative, as there were great company perks working there, and the team were brilliant at helping you to learn the ropes.

I very rarely leave reviews that are negative, but I genuinely feel so disappointed by how the company treated me, I couldn’t let this go un-noticed.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I began showing symptoms of the virus one day after my shift, I called the store first thing to inform them I’d be getting tested & would resume work the moment I knew it was negative/ or I’d isolated for 14 days. During this period, the store manager pestered me with constant messages for updates, demanding I return to work at the earliest possible convenience as they were short staffed, but never once invited a message to check if I was healthy, safe or ok. What kind of manager does this?

All I ask if someone from Hobbycraft head office is reading this, you really concentrate on recruiting a management team for your stores that actually puts the health & wellbeing of their staff first.

Thank you for reading.

A typical day at work would include putting out the deliveries, and putting back returns/things customers changed their minds on, or put in the wrong place. Serving customers on till, making sure you ask for feedback and whether they'd like to be a part of the priority card... they push for these figures. Daily statistics and everything. 
Also to give advice to customers who are wondering around and unsure about things, usually where specific things are or if we have it in stock. 
I learned that these 4 hour shifts feel just as long as an 8 hour shift elsewhere. 
Most people are friendly and willing to help when you start, but you soon get to know that other people are not enjoying working there and there's a lot more problems than you thought, which puts you off. 
Management seem to be busy doing other things most of the time, which is alright, except from when you actually need them. They also don't feel like they're a part of the team, and make unfair accusations and give you difficult tasks to do within a certain time limit if they feel you're not working hard enough. Just to add unnecessary pressure.
The hardest part of the job is expecting to know where everything is, and having to run around the shop trying to find it, especially while the stock gets moved around the shop floor. 
The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to meet creative like minded people, and creating display and example pieces, experimenting and demonstrating the tools.

Not recommended unless you only want to do part time work, and don't need extra funds.

First off, this company is great to work for if you are a student or part-time employee with no overtime objections or issues. Oh, and you get a 25% discount which is quite nice. 
That is where it all ends. If you work anything higher than this such as team leader or assistant manager, you will regret ever working here within a few months. This is a company that is unfair and uncaring towards its hard-working store teams. As a great example, Hobbycraft changed our New Years Day open times from Sunday hours to Saturday hours with just three days notice. The hours had been sent down in November!! They don't care about your personal lives or plans. Hobbycraft don't support you when you are off for stress they caused. Hobbycraft sends far too much stock or far too little of the certain stock we need. Hobbycraft has unrealistic KPI targets that stores struggle to achieve in areas. Hobbycraft force more and more work onto the store teams that cannot be done in a reasonable time. The list can go on however some of the truly disgusting acts cannot be mentioned for confidentiality reasons. 

My advice is this. If you are in school, bored or want a little bit of cash, join as a general assistant. And stay like that. Never progress as you will be stuck in a role that is underpaid and stressful to even the strongest.

I enjoyed my time at hobby craft and learnt a lot about managing and leading others, also juggling large work loads along with the essential every day tasks inc. cashing up, arranging staff holidays till and lunch rotas pulling information to read at the morning meetings, customer orders, stock monitoring and ordering etc..
I worked very closely with the management as i was duty manager for tills and shop floor when ever i was on shift and attended all managerial meetings, i felt they valued my opinions and listened to me greatly.
The hardest part of the job was balancing that and my home life once i started a family i was forced to reduce my hours so that i could work until my due date as the work load was rather intense and sometimes stressful the company was undergoing huge shifts in owner ship, growth and management structure at the time, it put a lot of pressure on my staff and co-workers and all of this for not much more than minimum wage.
The most enjoyable part of the Job for me was working in a close friendly team with supportive mangers and the chance to learn something new on almost daily basis, no two days were the same and the customers often presented challenging questions that i enjoyed helping to answer.

You get involved in facing the shop, help all customers who have queries and advice regarding the products or projects they are working on. The staff are extremely friendly and all very interesting people. You will enjoy being part of a great team and helping all kinds of customers. Obviously you will be pressured to do sign ups at the till for every single customer and hear that dreaded "NO!" when you offer a loyalty card which will chip away your positive demeanour one by one. You will also be  dealing with very, very strange customers who get angry easily so better be ready to put on a brave face. Also be ready for lots and lots of theft. Our nice shop is often targeted by drug addicts who want to steal high value items to sell and get more drugs. We can't seem to get any security so the shop will lose money constantly. Money wasn't that great and I needed to leave so I can find a job that can actually keep me going. The workplace culture was the healthiest one I have ever worked in so I recommend it if you want to make friends and make great memories together with your colleagues.

What I enjoyed about working at the Cambridge Hobbycraft store was the people - whether that be the customers, or the working staff. 

I had a strong relationship with my manager, and we engaged with warmth, honesty and good humour - three things that I value highly when at work, in whatever environment that may be. Working with a smile on your face makes a huge difference, not only to your own well being, but the the satisfaction of the people you work for/with.

The retail environment is demanding, with stock to be managed as well as the customers using the store; so having focus, discipline, and a strong work ethic was essential. Demanding hours and busy store periods were a challenge, but with good teamwork, anything is possible.

Meeting different people each day, helping the customers with concerns and queries, or simply having a pleasant chat with the consumer can brighten a long shift and make the work extremely rewarding. Retail work demands a real 'people-person', and I gained a lot from my time in that store.

Unfortunately working for this company wasn't a positive experience.

Training was given months too late, some staff were even ignored to take part in training (one new starter wasn't trained to go on till until 6 months into contract). Very slapdash and expect you to pick things up straight away.

Management were an issue, seeing 4 members of upper ranking staff come and go within 8 months. They favoured staff members, usually selecting some for 'easier jobs' or 'to help out in the office' which translated to hours chatting.

Working hours are very sporadic, with early starts at 8:00 and sometimes finishes at 10pm (however I believe they don't make people stay this late anymore) and sometimes pressurise staff to stay later than this if there is a new product or display that needs to be finished (one night we were asked to stay close to midnight to finish cleaning up and moving displays for an audit).

On the positive note the discount is generous at 25%, and some of the staff you encounter are friendly and make the place worth staying in a sense.

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