customer service representative

software engineer

team leader

administrator

client advisor

Utility Warehouse Limited

One of the worst work experience I have witnessed in a working career spanning 25 years.

I was taken on board as a CSA remote worker for 6 months and caused me a mental break down and feel so exhausted and drained mentally even a day after leaving, in the end i ended up leaving as i needed to support my family and my probation was ending in a month with no indication if i was doing ok other than being told "whatever happens" 

The 2 week training programme is long and exhausting with too many slides and videos and even their training and working processes are unstreamlined, to do the work with too many codes to be used on the system, other than being told "find the codes yourself" how do you expect a new starter to succeed with this mentality and not providing the tools. Moreover in the training in a group online they play your calls back in front of everyone and destroy your confidence and make you feel stupid.

They expect you to use slides on emails or search the intranet for answers when customers breath down your neck on the phone which is unprofessional.

While i was trying to get to grips with the role they start dumping so much on you with more 3-4 training sessions in alot of areas, codes processes, more slides and making you feel rubbish in groups when you cant answer a question.

With all this going on and the pressure they put you under, call time, transfer call percentage, training sessions, smart meter bookings and trying to get to grip with the role is too much for anyone, i suffer from a chronic illness for the past 15 years which is under the disability act and my illness has effected me in many ways even down to eye sight and concentration and had all this going on.

Utility Warehouse do not care about their staff or working parents your just a name and number there,  i have a 9 year old child who is at home with me all of the summer holidays and we are on our own they had the cheek to have a go at me for being 5 mins late for a irrelevant meeting as i had to help my son get dressed, sorry Utiity warehouse you do not care about anyone with a disability, or working parents all your care about is your calls and how many Smart meters you can book.

The hours were rubbish "Flexbile Hours" lol  working until 8 in the evening and having to wait 5 hours for a break also i was lied to in my interview 1 in 4 Saturdays hmmmm ok 2 in 4 saturdays and talk of working sundays.

This has been one of the most soul destroying experiences i have ever had as a job in so many years i dnt care what automated response you give this review or tell me to contact HR you need to seriously look at your training, employees metal health and support working parents as from what i have seen you you not care also streamline the way your system works as it is a shambles and not streamlined one bit.

Do yourself a favour people steer clear from this place there are plenty of jobs out there dnt waste your time with a employer like this




I signed as a customer over a year ago, saving a large amount of money on my utility bills. I decided after 5 months instead of giving customer referrals, i would like to join as an Independent Distributor, and working from as little as 5 hours a week and in my spare time, i would build up my own business gradually over a number of years.
It has boosted my confidence in myself, helped me to meet a lot of new friends, acquire new skills and invest in myself for the future.
It is a great team network all over the UK, and everyone has the time to help each other out on a daily basis.
I have also invested in shares in the company, as i believe within the next 3-5 years it will be a very well known company, as at the moment the company does not advertise, it's all word of mouth from Distributors like myself therefore the customers does not end up paying for advertising and therefore we save them money.
The company has won many WHICH awards over the past 6 years and is on the FTSE 250 market. Regulated by Ofcom and Licensed by Ofgem.
The companies Customer Services has just won another WHICH magazine award, i have never come across a customer services like it. 
The company gives you many benefits, which make you strive towards your goals in achieving. 

Changes within the company have created a work environment marked by office politics, favouritism, and questionable conduct, negatively impacting employee morale.

Several concerning trends are impacting team morale and productivity. The combination of heavy workloads, a perceived lack of transparency from management, and instances of workplace politics has created an environment increasingly uncomfortable and out of place. The workload often exceeds team capacity and a noticeable disconnect between managments understanding of this capacity and the actual workload. This, coupled with what appears to be a lack of transparency in decision-making and a culture of workplace  politics, has contributed to friction and distrust among colleagues. These concerning issues, if undressed, will negatively affect team performance and overall company success.

Training and development in communication and empathetic leadership would be beneficial.

I've observed instances where management's approach seems to deviate from company objectives and, at times, adopts an unnecessarily paternalistic tone with employees. This can be demotivating and impact team morale.

The company has cut incentives, raises, and employee support avenues while simultaneously offering voluntary redundancies and outsourcing certain roles to South Africa.

Applying for this role is legit the biggest waste of time.

After applying for the job this was the most extensive training ive been through for no reason when all their practices should be a lot more simpler 

You have no job security for the first 6 months since thats how long the probation period is for.

the training is done very poorly with no sense of organisation they put one person with 7 people which is clearly to little since people are constantly asking for help on the phone and one person could take up to 20 minutes while you put a customer on hold.

All you do in this role is listening to angry customers who are either in debt or have a complaint about how bad their services are which is not worth the salary for this role.

Everything you do is monitored from your PC screen to your toilet break and your calls one wrong thing said on a call leads to a disciplinary.

The overall floor is very loud and the equipment provided is very poor i could not hear anything in my headset.

They tell you lies about moving up in the ladder where it is actually impossible without being liked by one of the higher ups.

Out of all the retail jobs i have had this has been by far the worst one i have ever worked for by far and i have worked in retail all my life. I have never written a review on a review site for a job besides now just to warn people.

Don't you find it weird that they always have vacancies on their site?

DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS JOB.

This used to be a great company but has really gone down the tubes. Expect real terms pay cuts  if you work in customer service.  Managers on 6 figure salaries give you patronising answers about why your pay don't keep up with inflation when the business makes huge profits.

 At the same time the works gets more complicated and more hostile every year.  All the easier interractions are dealt with by the call centre in South Africa who make a lot of mistakes you will have to mop up.  They reduced the number of UK staff drastically to ensure there's no down time at all.  They really want to squeeze everything out of you with no acknowledgement that you're just a human being. It's a 9 hour day so people get burnt out dealing with shouting customers and the most complicated queries for such a long period.  

When there are systemic problems that customers complain but the organisation does nothing to fix them when we raise it, so the customers complain about the same things over and over again and we take all the anger for their lack of action. 

You have to collect stupid points to get vouchers, like a child collecting gold stars.  If you get enough points your might be able to feed yourself for the whole month, because your salary is not going to cut it in this day and age.

It seems like a great place to work at first, then the management make promises that they don’t stick to and put employees as their lowest priority. The turnover is unbelievable because of the long hours, lack of holiday acceptance, only 1 hour break throughout a 9 hour day in a high stress environment and no praise whatsoever for the hard work you put in. You’re also trained in multiple different departments like business, metering, prepayment to take calls which you don’t get any extra pay for even though it’s a significant increase to your workload. Taking calls for 8 hours a day is stressful enough let alone not being given holiday hours your entitled to especially Saturdays because of “lack of availability” as well as management nitpicking at minor errors like taking slightly more than 2 minutes in between calls and using these minor errors to put you onto the disciplinary procedure and stopping you from getting bonuses/promotions. There is no progression apart from becoming a team leader, other departments off the phones are less pay. Had to quit because of the stress of the job impacting my life and I’m all the better for it. Do not work here it is bad for your health.

There is no typical day at UW and that's one of the great things about working here. The business is evolving and there is great diversity that every day is different. There is a great social buzz in the office where people are really welcoming and supportive of each other which I have never experienced before.

The facilities on-site are great including a subsidised canteen, lots of break out areas and a great social events calendar including movie nights in the auditorium. We get free-parking, various discounts and most importantly get to work with really nice people!

The management just blend in which is fantastic! You will see the CEO and other leaders walking around the office taking the time to talk to you and wanting to know what you think. It took me time to adjust from working in London and more corporate businesses to turning up to work in jeans and talking plain English instead of corporate jargon but I love it now!

For me the most enjoyable part of working here is that I get to work with great people and get involved in more than just my day job. I feel valued and feel like I really have an opportunity to make a difference.

Based in a call centre, my day to day routine consists of taking incoming calls regularly whilst doing computer based admin work at the same time so attention to detail is a key element. 

Having to talk, listen, and process the information, queries, complaints etc whilst talking to customers has truly helped me build up my multi tasking skills, especially manging my average handling time on every call I take. Working at Utility Warehouse I have improved my customer service skills, learning not only to go above and beyond, but also identifying the diverse ways to deal with complaints from different customers, assiting them appropriatly with regards to their personality.

Managment are very encouraging, and are always willing to help at anytime, and the same goes for my co-workers, the envrionment is very warm and welcoming and I found it so easy to get on with my team not just in my department but the rest of the company.

The hardest part of the job would honestly be the constant incoming calls, especially when its busy, but other than that I mostly enjoy the different conversations I have with the customers and my team mates.

I have to be honest, there are some good people there. However there are some who ENJOY making your life a living ell and they don’t do it with reason, they just do it for the fun of it, that’s one of the reasons I decided to leave. Also opportunities are given to “friends” aswell as always stressing people about their time on calls and being told off on that putting it across that they just care about quantity not quality, for example you could be one call off your target and they would tell you they are disappointed in that not understanding that there are some days where calls that are longer than usual because the member is upset. Quarantine has definitely made my decision easier because they loved to send you an email/give you a call every second about what you’re doing wrong. We would take back to back calls whereas the people who are higher up would just lay back and demand instead of guide. It was either leave the job and think later about how you’re going to support yourself or stay and damage your mental health. I had to leave. 


*Overall Experience*
I worked at Utility Warehouse for three years and had a positive experience. The company provided me with opportunities to grow and develop my skills, and I appreciated the support and guidance from my colleagues and managers.

*Strengths*
1. *Supportive team*: The team was friendly and supportive, making it easy to fit in and feel part of the company.
2. *Opportunities for growth*: Utility Warehouse provided opportunities for training and development, which helped me to grow professionally.
3. *Good work-life balance*: The company offered a good work-life balance, allowing me to manage my personal and professional responsibilities effectively.

*Areas for Improvement*
1. *Communication*: There were times when communication could have been improved, particularly around changes in processes or policies.
2. *Recognition*: While I appreciated the support from my colleagues and managers, I felt that more recognition for employees' contributions would have been beneficial.

*Would I Work There Again?*
I would consider working at Utility Warehouse again in the future. The company has a good reputation, and I enjoyed my time working there.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 12 salaries reported	£25,225 per year
Software engineer 6 salaries reported	£67,583 per year
Team leader 6 salaries reported	£32,500 per year
Administrator 4 salaries reported	£25,877 per year
Client advisor 5 salaries reported	£27,260 per year

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