branch manager

customer service representative

hire assistant

recruitment manager

assistant

Jewson

For a large company the organisation of tasks is a bit of a joke. New staff thrown into roles with absolutely no training or product knowledge. When given a promotion there is no assistance in learning the new role, expected to jump into it and hit the ground running. People in the position of Branch Manager who don't have the ability to properly carry out the role, all about themselves and no interest in the customer or other staff. There are some great guys work for the company but most tend to be the yard/warehouse guys and some of the non management sales team. 

I found the pricing structure to be very poor, with companies under the same Saint Gobain ownership charging Jewson more for products than independents. With the overheads Jewson have (contract sales, credit control, transport departments) the independent merchants are commonly able to blow Jewson out the water on pricing for materials.

Health and safety is an important issue in any workplace but Jewson have taken it so far that the updating of H+S records on reporting has become almost a job in itself and takes a massive amount away from the already difficult role of a branch manager or assistant manager. Directors who don't return calls, e-mails is very common. Expected to accept a promotion and work on the same low salary for 6 months until you prove you are up to the job. A nonsense as an external new start to the role would immediately start on the full salary. 

I worked for Jewson for several years and found you can earn a lot more and receive a proper induction and training by moving to work for an independent merchant

I kept myself to myself and didn't really have any problems, but I can give you an honest insight,
Like every employment i was excited about starting and first year ish was alright, then you can see the corruption, I wasn't looking to stay long myself anyway as I was trying to get into another career path soon as opportunity came up which is the reason I left,

However..

No consistency through the company, 
You have people that do same job roles as others on different pays and seems progression is not on merrit but on if you can get in the click, 
Really can be brutal, I saw many hard working employees there get the chop or just not get rewarded while the brown noses were getting promotions and perks. Really got to watch your back with some members of staff, just waiting for the littlest thing to throw you under the bus.
I'd say if your a slippery car salesman type you would fit in at Jewson.
Definitely just be careful who you trust.

also  like any other place you work you got the stubborn lazy gits there stuck in there ways but everywhere has them I guess 😃

Can't really put my finger on any standout good things about working there really not that I didn't enjoy it just say it's a busy high demanding office/shop trying to meet customer and management demands.
Tool hire guys look like they had best job but didn't pay as good.

Can meet some great people, 
met some brilliant builders that come in that helped they day go by, but also some very unhappy ones haha

All the best.. 
don't work to hard 
And follow your dreams

I have worked as a temp for a few weeks at several different branches in South Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire area as a yardman involving FLT driving, picking good for deliveries and customers Can be messy as it involves lifting heavy building materials sometimes by hand including cement, plaster etc bags the dust can end up on you. Largely outside work so weather a factor. They all vary quite a bit. Some appreciate you being there are others have no team spirit negative aggressive atmosphere, a blame culture, apathetic are disrespectful with no people skills. Some of the managers and staff are good, knowledgeable, communicate, understanding, helpful and friendly with good work atmosphere other branches the opposite. I have seen more cheerful staff at a funeral,at some branches, other ones you can have a good laugh Some branches are busy others quiet. All branches always seem short staffed, with people leaving regularly or staff being temporary moved to and throw between branches. Fairly long hours and because always short staffed inflexible with holidays etc. . Long hours 7.30-5.00 Mon to Fri along with working alternate Saturdays 8.00-12.00. Plus stock take (if employee not temp) for no extra pay which can take all day. Hour unpaid lunch break (but if they're busy they may resent you taking a break). Pay not great. 
If you are a temp they expect you to turn up on a drop of a hat but equally lay you off with no warning. If you are sick or have a pre planned event so have to take time off they will very quickly replace you. On the whole reasonable but uninspiring place to work
Free hot drinks machine with no limit to as and when you have a drink.

When I first started in jewson I loved the job had a great team to work with except the other yard man as we clashed now and then built up great relationships with the customers and it was just a great place to work. But then after about 7-8 months management moved round and the manger when ended up with ended up being the reason me and the driver left as she would ask for something to be done then the next day change her mind I must have moved the yard round about 10 times in about a week then I was constantly promised progression never got it just ended up with the responsibility of being a key holder and anything that went wrong in the yard was automatically my fault I worked the yard on my own for a good few months and loved it this was before management change and even took shorter brakes just so the yard was constantly covered if a customer turned up but once the new manager took over she expected you to cut your brake short if stuff come up and had the wrong and if you said you were on your brake it was like the world ended so to me it was the best job I had but then became the worst job if you end up with a team like I had starting out then I'd 100% tell people to work there and would still be there now but if you end up with someone that is all about making themselves look good your done for 

Big on health and safety when it suits them.
My Experience working For jewson as a cluster Driver out of Reading.
One your not valued. No matter how much you do . They just want more and more. You give them an inch they take a mile. Your always chasing your tail. You will spend hours driving to different Depots throughout the week covering sickness and holidays. When covering Depots you'll get the worst jobs. The easy jobs get given to there own drivers. You don't feel like you belong. You will always be under pressure to finish on your contracted hours. You DO NOT GET PAID OVERTIME. To many jobs booked for one day. You will be expected to do 3 runs a day at least if not 4 . Its possible to do if there local but that won't happen much. 1run could be one drop or 3/5 drops. Always running around every minute counts. The most enjoyable part of the job was going home! (Mangers use manipulation techniques to get what they want). Very sneaky. Keep your personal life to yourself. There are some good mangers and yard staff. You meet some good coustomers and have a laugh. I enjoyed using the hiab.  You become a professional after few month.
If your one to speak up and say something you won't last at jewson.  I wouldn't recommend this job to anyone. No Progression 

My typical was busy to say the least It would start at 08.00 with a quick security sweep of the yard while making mental notes on way round ie; tasks to be done ,house keeping ,low stock and staff at their respective work place. Once satisfied ensure all vehicles have left site on their rounds and then proceed to make sure daily checks of vehicles and machinery has been carried out and correctly documented ie: fork lifts,side loaders,saw mill equipment etc.After a quick visual check on any racking and other storeage facilities i would set about organising the next loads for the vehicles and detailing individuals to take care of each load and helping with those loads where necessary.This process would repeat itself constantly throughout the day all the while attending to customers needs, First aid and health and safety responsibilities and reporting to senior management.From 3pm the following day becomes 2nd priority behind customer service all first loads are to be prepared and loaded on vehicles so they can simply pull straight out in the morning.This was to be completed by 16.30 when it was now time for me to tour around the yard again to make sure items were being stored away correctly and securely .

You will not find friendliness or social attachments like you can find at Jewson anywhere else, Everyone is friendly and everyone can have a great laugh. 

I learned how to deal with customers in a polite and professional manner, How to serve customers at a cash register, Store management, Fire management and correct lifting training.

The management is nothing but spot on at Jewson. Everything is organised and well planned out and it keeps the customers and the staff happy.

My co-workers were friendly and knew how to help when I needed it the most. They were never too hard on me but did knuckle down if they noticed that I was performing below expectations.

The hardest part of the job was store management as it required a lot of planning and co-ordination. After a few weeks though, I picked up on how things should be done and how to take care of problems that may arise.

The most enjoyable part was getting to interact with customers when they needed support. It made me feel part of the team and made me aware on how to deal with customers and to not take matters into your own hands if you know you can't solve their issue.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Very friendly and light hearted environment to work in. 
They do however keep changing the hgv driving policies and what you must do and cannot do, personally I hate all the cameras which there are 6 recording your every move, including in the cab facing you, that said if it doesn’t bother you then it’s a nice place to work, I spent 21 years there as a driver. I can recommend them as an employer, most managers are great people persons in my experience, so if your looking for a driving Job then go for it. If it’s shop or yard based I can’t really speak from experience, only that I have never experienced any real issues, I’m not saying it’s perfect, but this company is one of the better companies out there. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
To stick to company policy when your in a hurry. Like most jobs I hate being stuck in traffic. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
As stated it’s a nice friendly environment on the whole. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy , Busy ,Busy  never seems enough hours in a day.

When I first started here, there was a lot to learn as I had never worked in this sector before but I picked it up really easily and made some strong customer connections. After Stark bought out the business things went downhill quickly and we were expected to do the work of 2 or 3 people each. My sense of satisfaction in providing a great customer experience soon disappeared and I felt more and more pressured to ‘hit a number’ rather than providing good service. We were extremely understaffed and the staff that had been there the longest seemed to do the least and get away with it. Senior Managers (Area and above) rarely visited but were quick to email and call if the sales weren’t there! There was no work life balance and you were expected to just cover extra time without pay. God forbid you ask for your time in lieu back and I built up quite a substantial amount which I never got back. I raised the issue of not getting my allocated breaks and was told I ‘should’ be taking these regardless but there was never any cover when needed!
And then they had the nerve to give me 8 days notice of the closure of my branch and my subsequent redundancy!!

I worked as an area driver in east anglia ...got the job easily...alarm bells rang already !!!...went on a weeks HIAB training course ...all very nice..then the job started....OH my god this job is awful !!! ...I would spend hours of my week travelling around different Jewson sites covering for holiday's , half the time I wasn't needed (management mistake), the other half running around like a headless chicken trying in desperation to complete the drops given...it's an absolute ball ache of a job and dangerous too....the biggest problem's are builder's who lie when asked if an HGV can fit at their delivery address because they wan't their gear...and you are left with the problem and stress of trying !!  ..insane Health and Safety Rules are given ....which if you followed nothing would get done !!!  the list goes on...then when you finally do make it back to branch they pull out another stack of deliveries an hour before home time ...overtime that was not paid to you !!. .. AVOID AT ALL COST UNLESS YOU ARE STUPID IN WHICH CASE YOU WILL FIT IN GREAT THERE...AN HONEST REVIEW.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Branch manager 5 salaries reported	£54,300 per year
Customer service representative 11 salaries reported	£19,771 per year
Hire assistant 11 salaries reported	£22,297 per year
Recruitment manager 3 salaries reported	£26,306 per year
Assistant 1 salary reported	£27,362 per year

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