assistant manager

retail assistant manager

store manager

retail store manager

pharmacy manager

Superdrug

Only worked here for a few months. I got the job instantly as I was recommended by a friend who had worked there for a while and they were desperate for more stuff. This friend had always told me how bad it was to work there, but I needed some income and took up the offer.

I don't even know where to begin with this. 
Firstly, I started working there not knowing what my salary was. I had literally no idea. I asked a team leader (the team leaders at my superdrug were lovely, I had nothing against them) and they asked me what my friend was paid and how old I was. I stated and they said I'd get paid £6.90 (the same as her). On another day, I asked my manager when I'd get paid, because, you know, I was literally told nothing about my role. They replied with a comment along the lines of "are you really needing to know urgently, are you in a rush to get your contract?" like yes, of course I am, I'm literally working here. I had to wait pretty much 2 months to get paid.

I never had a proper interview. A couple months into working there, the assistant manager told me to come into the office and do the interview because head office were asking for the paperwork. This was sprung out of nowhere. They answered 90% of the questions for me and put a fake date for the interview (they put a date that was around 3 days before I started working there) and then sent it off.

Staff would watch the manager do pretty much nothing while she would get annoyed at everyone. The assistant manager had a tendency of putting his jobs onto other people. The manager also broke one of the main conduct codes, which was to not put yourself in any danger and always try and keep yourself safe. They would tell us to confront someone stealing and always made comments that went completely against company policy. There were barely any days where I'd come in and there wasn't someone stealing. The area I worked in was also quite a dangerous area. I had witnessed a staff member be assaulted. People were often dodgy and would start commotion near/outside the shop. The manager would also blame team leaders for me not being told certain information that the manager was meant to tell me.

The team leaders were great. They would always be on their toes and running about to do jobs. It's a shame that upper management never seemed to appreciate their work and always tried to say they were doing something wrong yet barely doing anything themselves. Towers would often be messed up. Security tags put over barcodes. Messy overstocking.

Another big thing. I was on an 8 hour contract. The contract states that 25% give or take can be put to that contract sometimes. That means, at minimum, they HAVE to give you 6 hours. At one point I was given 5 and confronted my manager about it.

A deeper note - I had noted on the information page I had to fill on my personal superdrug page that I suffer from a couple of mental health issues. It was very apparent that they were not read. One day I was having a really hard time, having something happen earlier that day and then my work environment getting to me. I walked up to my manager and simply stated that I was having a panic attack. They gave me my break then, which was only 15 minutes. When I told them on the headset that I still wasn't okay (it was evident by how I sounded), they wouldn't leave me alone. They asked me personal questions on the headset, which, anyone else working with a headset on could hear, and I told them that I do not want to talk about it. They tried to force me to tell them on the headset and had asked me if I had previously taken medication for my problems. She was invasive and I know that isn't allowed. Even though I didn't like the assistant manager, when he asked why I was leaving and I said it was for personal reasons, he didn't ask further questions and was nice about it. On the headset, while still having my panic attack, she would keep telling me that she would have to close the store if I don't come up from downstairs. I didn't come up. They ended up sending me home and did the store end up closing for the day? Nope.After the situation she gave me the 5 hours that one week. On a promotion day, they were trying to make me do many things at once. When I was doing one thing and not the other, I got screamed at from across the store. A co-worker said to me that what the manager did was totally uncalled for. 

When the assistant manager wasn't in, we had a worker from another store cover them. They'd state how much of a mess the store was. They called me into their office to fill out the sickness sheet, This was the second time I had to do this. The first time though, I was only shown the back page which is pretty much just a page where you have to sign at the bottom. I thought that was all to the absence sheet. I was wrong, The second time, the cover assistant manager started to go through the page I was never told about with me and I told them I didn't know that there was more than one page. The first page LITERALLY states the reason you were unable to work. They said to me that it's really bad that I wasn't told as management could of written anything on there which isn't allowed.

We barely had security in either (shocker) and half the time security didn't do much. When they were not there, the manager would expect us to do security's job. Actually, more than what security are meant to do. 

Some weeks I'd be given 8 hours, some around 20 and some around 10. It all made no sense.

There was also a point where someone working at pharmacy was asking where his pay was and the manager would literally moan asking why he really wants his pay so urgently. They're working there and want to get paid on time, just like everyone else, honestly ridiculous, 

I could write a whole diary of things but that would take forever.

The only upside, apart from a few really friendly members of staff, was the staff discount, and that is literally it.

DO NOT WORK HERE. YOU WILL NOT BE CARED FOR AND THE COMPANY CONSTANTLY DOES STUFF THEY SHOULDN'T.

When I was working at Superdrug one of the team managers told me that you are allowed three instances of sick leave in a financial year.
She then proceeded to tell me that in order to make the most of this rule, three times a year all of the managers faked back problems in order to get three weeks sick leave a year.

Pretty soon after that I got some kind of really bad infection which caused me to be experiencing vomiting and nausea every single day for three weeks. I had a note from a doctor and blood tests saying I should under no circumstances be expected to work, but due to pressure from my managers I was forced to work many days during my illness, and because they were sporadically forcing me to come in by threatening my job, instead of my sick leave counting as one incident it counted as many. 
 As a result as well as losing almost 18lbs and being the sickest I had ever been in my life, I was now having to face being unemployed as well.

There was no effective way of contacting my managers because we were not given emails or phones numbers to call, all we had was a whatsapp group which you were not allowed to use to say you were ill.
the only way of contacting managers was to call the store which, 90% of the time nobody would answer. You would then be blamed for not giving notice despite the fact that you may have been repeatedly trying to call them for hours.

When attempting to book a week of holiday, I had to talk to four different managers before they actually bothered to book it into to the system, during which time I was punished for not "doing it how I should have done it" despite the fact that I did everything I was told in regards to talking to managers, filling in forms, asking permission, calling the store. 

On top of this incident, team managers at superdrug have no trust in their employees, searching them on every shift and break like you're going through airport security as if they think every time you leave you will be smuggling half the shop in your underwear.

Strict rules from managers often contradict themselves, so one manager will punish you severely for leaving the till alone, while another will ask you why you haven't left the till in order to face up the surrounding aisles. They will often punish you for doing things wrong that you were NEVER TOLD were wrong, for example a lovely girl I new was fired because she did a shop and kept it in her locker before her shift which she wasn't supposed to do but nobody told her.
She had a receipt for all her purchases, but they still fired her.
There is also a slight culture bullying towards people who don't "fit in", especially between the managers talking about younger, less experienced employees.

On top of all these points, superdrug hired all its youngest staff earning the least amount of money to stay behind and do the closing shift, which involved closing up the shop, HOWEVER this often means staying behind almost 45 minutes after we had stopped being payed, as well as having to get home from a dangerous part of london late at night, sometimes for girls as young as 16.

ADDITIONALLY (sorry once I started to remember it all came back) for a six hour shift you only get a 15 minute break, and because they search your shoes, pockets, bag etc you usually only end up getting a ten minute break, which is not enough time to even catch your breath.

The only positive I can think of, is the people who I worked with on the till, and certain managers who were better than others. The team really was like a family, but perhaps mostly because people come together during times of adversity. The only thing I didn't hate about this job, were the other people I had there to hate the job with me.

I would absolutely not recommend working at superdrug to anybody.

1. A Typical Day at Work: A typical day at Superdrug is often chaotic, largely due to being understaffed and receiving last-minute changes to the rota. Employees are expected to handle multiple roles, from operating tills and stocking shelves to upselling products, all while facing constant pressure to meet sales targets. To make matters worse, assistant managers spend most of their time in the office, leaving the shop floor team and team leaders to fend for themselves.


2. What You Believe You Learned: While working at Superdrug helps develop basic retail skills like customer service, stock management, and operating tills, there’s little opportunity for personal or career development. Training is often rushed or lacking, leaving employees to figure things out on their own, especially when there’s limited management presence on the shop floor to guide or support.


3. Management: Management is a frequent source of frustration. Assistant managers rarely come out of the office, providing little direct support to the shop floor staff or team leaders. This lack of involvement leads to poor communication, and changes to the rota are often made without proper notice or consultation. In fact, Superdrug regularly fails to provide the legally required 7 days’ notice for rota changes, uploading shifts at the last minute or changing them without informing employees, leaving staff scrambling to adjust their schedules. This creates an added layer of stress and confusion.


4. Workplace Culture: The culture at Superdrug can feel quite stressful, with the constant pressure to meet upselling and loyalty card targets. The lack of support from management only adds to the tense atmosphere, as staff and team leaders are left to handle difficult situations on their own. Colleagues do try to support each other, but the high turnover rate and lack of consistent scheduling make it difficult to build a strong team dynamic.


5. The Hardest Part of the Job: The hardest part is managing the workload with little managerial support and dealing with unpredictable shift changes. The constant pressure to meet sales targets, coupled with last-minute rota updates and schedule changes without notice, makes it challenging to balance work and personal life. The shop floor often feels understaffed, making it difficult to provide quality customer service or meet targets efficiently.


6. The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job: Interacting with friendly customers and the occasional camaraderie with supportive coworkers can be a highlight. Additionally, the staff discount on products is a small perk. However, these positives are often overshadowed by the overall disorganized work environment and the lack of support from assistant managers.

Horrible place to work. Stuck on the till 9 times out of 10 whether you started working there 2 weeks ago or 2 years ago, nobody seems to progress everyone just stays in the same role no matter how good a worker you are. The customers can be horrible and disgusting towards you which can really tip you over the edge when your stood there for hours on end having to be polite and smile regardless of the customers behaviour. The company put too much pressure on staff to push points cards, star buys and now Superdrug mobile, then if a member of staff does a great job on selling and signing up points cards, there is no praise but more like "Great, now do it again."
Hours are also terrible, they employ too many people so that they can spread the hours thin so they don't have to pay for breaks. Most days there will be 3 people a day each doing 4 hour shifts, basically tagging one another off of the till.
Unless you are a manager or supervisor, you cannot open your till without a cash transaction, you can't process a refund or exchange, change a price if the tag is wrong and you can't void an item over £5. If you void an item under £5 that accidently scanned twice or the customer doesn't want anymore (including 5p bags) you need a supervisor or manager to re print your receipt and sign it. There is 0 trust in their staff at this company and it has got worse over time, it is embarrassing to have been there for nearly 4 years and have to stand there waiting and apologizing to my customer because I have to wait for someone to take an item off my till that accidently scanned twice. The tags across the store which have to be changed every 4 weeks are always at least 30% the wrong price, so every promotion week is horrible due to the amount of customers complaining they read a different price to what the till is saying, and once again I have to wait for someone to come and change the price.
The company has also promised an amazing re fit that will make the store so much better, but of course this keeps getting pushed back every year so this has been promised for about 5 years now and I just don't think it's even going to happen.
I would not wish my worst enemy to work here.

Within the time i have worked at superdrug i have met many wonderful people, all hardworking, kind and a pleasure to be around, however the job itself can be tolling on your mental health, and i found the all-round experience to be one of the worst jobs i've applied for.

A typical day in your workplace will consist of you either doing tillwork, makeup filling and tidying, keeping the shop well stocked or helping customers. Each member tends to focus one job to ensure everything gets done. 

"Starbuys" are the companies way of pushing you to sell more, these are specific items which rotate per week which you *must* sell, you have an overall score which is shared with other superdrug branches to show how well you are doing and managers are urged to push everyone to get a starbuy score of 5 or under, anything over 5 is not acceptable enough and considered unsatisfactory, on top of that, you are urged to sell their sim cards and member cards aswell which is why the overall experience with doing tillwork for the day can be incredably stressful as you'll always have the pressure of each individual failed starbuy sale, (the score rises per each failed customer) making your score higher.

(All team members contribute to the star buy score whenever they make a transaction aswell, adding or taking from everyones final score.)

Stocking the store is by far the easiest thing youll do and was actually enjoyable for me, all you need to do is restock, and help customers that need the assistance.

Makeup filling is what the name suggests, you will also assist customers who need help and youd be reccomending other products that you feel would suit their needs, this also includes starbuy makeup for that week. The only issue i had with this was the sheer amount of makeup that youd need to sive through in order to find the missing item youd need to fill, other than that it was enjoyable.

You will also need to keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals and act accordingly if one is spotted, further adding to the amount of tasks you'd need to do for that day.

All in all i can't reccomend this job, the amount of stress that comes with it is not worth the amount you'll be earning.

* A typical day at work
A typical day at work often consists of maintaining a store environment that is a pleasant experience for customers, employees and employer by doing wide range of work, such as paper work; supervising employees; managing cash; ordering stock, payroll, and marketing and promotion and securing the store upon closing .Also had to deal with customer complaints, employee work delegation, staff shortages, equipment failures and other unexpected things that occur in a retail environment. Usually normal day was 8 to 10 hours long, sometime even more.

*What you learned
I started to work in Superdrug as a sales assistant in 2004.Since then, I learnt wide range of skills by myself as well as attending for training program including how to work as a Cashier, how to work the delivery in efficient way, how to provide the best customer service, how to order stock using HHT( Hand-Held Terminal ), how to do paper work, how to do promotion change, the best way to work in a team, how to do cashing up, banking and many more. I had a chance to became a team leader in 2009 and became an assistant manager 2013.During that time I was fortunate to attend a program called retail management training.

*Management
Since I joined the Superdrug, I worked under different management in different stores. They all are great managers. They had different management and leadership styles. But I managed to grab the positive qualities they had and make my own style which suit for me and for my colleague. 
*Your co-workers
I have worked with hundreds of colleague who came from all over the world during my Superdrug career. Their skill levels were different, but we helped each other and manage to work without any dispute.
*The hardest part of the job
I have never experienced that because I always found the best possible way to do different work. If there is something you have to do, there should be somebody who is very good at. Talk to them learns from them. If you find an art to do something, nothing is hard.
*The most enjoyable part of the job
I enjoyed most of the things I did in my Superdrug time. But the most I like was work the delivery with my colleagues.

An intense, power hungry management took every opportunity to talk down to and patronise staff. I felt like I was a child being lectured by a sad, spiteful teacher rather than a team of managing staff aiming to motivate staff and build their team morale. Lectured and talked down to for not pestering customers who only wanted a packet of crisps, to sign up to a loyalty scheme, and we part-timers were constantly compared to the sales of the full-time, more experienced staff. 

Everywhere you turn in the staff rooms there are posters warning you about how many people are fired!!! for not abiding by the rules of the staff discount service. Literally, you cannot have 5 minutes to use the toilet in peace because the door a meter away from you is plastered with signs of "We will terminate you without hesitation. Your job is on the line. We are always watching you." Felt like I was in 1984. 

Production-line style of work with customers flying through, a constant line of customers in the queue with only two tills to serve this stampede. 

An overall very dirty store. Management more concerned with remerchandising and restocking than they are in ensuring the store is actually hygienic. I was chastised for taking the time to scrub the fridges storing drinks, sweeping and wiping down shelves with old pieces of candy that was scattered and stuck to merchandise shelves, and shouted at for not, instead just stocking up and closing for the night. 

Manager has an awful, intimidating customer service approach where he will persist customers and expect us to do the same.

One manager had a personal problem with me, and after being hounded by an aggressive customer one night, she accused me  basically of always being a brat, and rude. I had a senior member of staff to completely back my story and a coworker who witnessed the whole thing, but the manager decided on personally attacking me for an event that she wasn't present for, rather than consulting those who were involved in the event and knew better.

Don't work here unless you have lost the will to live already.

Nice hours, good pay, day to day can be easy but be aware, targets to hit and upselling always compulsory.  Headsets are a nightmare and in house radio repetitive. Always get the chatty one that talks and sings to all the songs and adverts. Promotion weeks are hard. So much work and merchandising only for it to be changes the following month. ( usually to where it was before) . Star  buy weeks are awful as well. Just leave them where they are. No customers care. 9/10, they dont want it. As most jobs. If your face fits you will have a great time. Be aware that card sign ups are monitored. You can be pulled in to address this as with the star buys. 1 in 5 is the goal. Customers where I work are really nice and you get to know your regulars. I have no issues with the customers, just the staff. Lazy,  always on their phone, always looking busy when there not, ridiculous conversations over the headsets. I'm a team leader but have no respect from the small team that we have. Always asking for shift favours but never return them when I ask. My assistant manager stands out I'm sure and everything is about her. The manager is quite but gets things done and does work really hard. The other team leader is in collaboration with the assistant manager so they are the same. 2 other part time girls really nice but idol. 1 full timer I'm sure has a screw loose. Many times times having a melt down for no reason,  just attention seeking. 
Pay is good and discounts can be variable but worth looking at. 1st come 1st serve on good discounts. But you need to be in with the  staff as they put it all aside to buy at the end of the day. You don't get a look in.  Breaks, need to ask or you don't get. All full time will take their allocated hour and more but will have a go at you if you take longer than given. Most staff take a look break, followed by a smoke break, then take their 1 hour break. I refuse to take my break as there is so much to do and don't get time. That's on me though so not complaining about that. Just unfair when you work your hardest and the rest take thier sweet time. 

A typical day at Superdrug consisted of starting the day making check of the stock and taking note of what is available, after this the stock would then be arranged on the shelves, depending on the day my job role could consist of working as a cashier which would involve handling of cash and dealing with the customer, other days could then involve the checking of stock and helping and aiding any customer who may have an inquiry or problem the. During my work experience despite being a short time i feel that i took a lot of experience away from it this being the improvement of my social skills towards customers, my ability to work alone or in a group as well as generally giving me an impression of how the work place actually is like. The management i found in the work place to be relatively polite and overall on the whole easy to work for however i did find that by me being young and on work experience they didn't give me the feeling that i was actually part of the workforce which i wasn't particularly impressed with. My co-workers were relatively in the same boat as me being that they were also on work experience like me, i had to do a lot of tasks in groups so i found that working with my co-workers a lot helped me to get to know them and as a result made it easier for me to work with them. The hardest part that i found with the job was the hours as i had never previously had any job experience a 9-5 shift i found to be rather hard though despite the long hours it was rewarding to help and aid customers not to mention help customers who on a occurrence i recognized so was able to get to know them more personally which i found to be helpful during working as it made it easier for me to communicate to them as i had seen them previously. So overall i would rate this job as a fairly decent job placement sure it has some faults but the rewards that can be taken from the work placement is rewarding and tends to overwrite those faults.

The crazy targets are what make us leave. Most people i know left because of this very reason. Everyday we are forced to sell starbuys! The goal is for 1 in 3 customers to buy one (strike rate of 3). If the strike rate is over 3 (target is not met)  we are forced to buy them out of our own pocket to reach the daily target. We get so much grief from management if we dont perform well at forcing customers to buy £2 deodorant they don’t need!
On top of that we are also forced to register new beauty card members because theyre more likely to spend more. Once again, we get so much grief if we dont reach the targets. Its very hard to get new registrations, particularly in small towns where population doesn’t change and everyone already has a card or is not willing to participate in the beautycard scheme- but the company is delusional and chooses to ignore that matter. 
In the recent years we were introduced to selling sims. Since 3 network is a sister company of Superdrug they decided to make some profit out of it. The sims dont work in Northern Ireland yet we are still forced to sell them and lie to customers. I seen on many occasions where managers bought a sim out of their own pocket to keep the area managers off their backs. 
Year on year we are made to do more and more. We now all have to get social media pages and post regularly- this can be fun and many people do enjoy it but we already have a billion of other things to do. Lately they also introduced piercing services to every store in hopes to get more business back. We were given a free training and qualification but we don’t get extra pay for doing this service on top of 100 other tasks we have to do everyday.
 Management is sooo sick of targets and the pressure, they all look like they lost a will to live especially when they are forced to work 50hrs a week while only getting paid for 39hr. 

On the good side you get 30% off all own brand stuff and exclusives. If the pressure doesn’t put you off and they see a potential in you, there is alot of opportunities to go into management and loose your will to live.

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