sales assistant

sales associate

retail sales associate

delivery driver

sales

ZARA

Working at Zara is genuinely the worst thing I've ever had to do. The actual work itself, things like tidying the store and dealing with customers no matter how rude is honestly the better part of it. The organisation and management of the workplace honestly overrides any enjoyment or 'benefits' that the job may have. 
People miss shifts because the rotas will be changed last minute and no one will be told. Shifts get mixed up and confused because of stupid stuff like the handwriting on the paper. You will have no real training, not that it would matter if you did because the language barriers at what seems to be all Zara's is a very real thing meaning there aren't really any relationships between any employees, on breaks everyone sits in the staff room in silence. 
All payslips, employee discounts and wage matters are dealt with in an app. I've been working there for over two months and have only just been told about this and despite many requests I've had no efforts to show me how to log in or use this because I haven't been given my employee number. I don't know what my exact wage is either. 
Overtime is also a massive thing, I get calls at least once or twice a week to work another shift, to cover someone else, to come in on a different day and each time I show up it causes so much confusion that I don't even bother answering work phone calls anymore, I would rather save myself the hassle. If you try to call the store you will just be taken to a helpline and I have not been provided with any other way to contact managers or the store.
I don't know how widespread this is but my store has also introduced a new policy where all employees must work 5 days a week. I am on a short contract meaning I now work 5 shifts, all of them four hours which is a waste of petrol and a pointless amount of time to work. I feel like my feelings on working here must be shared by other members of staff because people constantly seem to be quitting and joining, I have not been here very long and have three different managers. 
Obviously all stores are different and will probably have various ways of managing tasks and assigning rotas but the Zara at Bluewater is quite a major store and I am sure this will probably be seen by at least one prospective employee. All of the staff that I work with are wonderful and polite however the management of the store is awful and unorganised, it is a job I took purely to save some money over the summer and so far has caused me such a large amount of hassle that I am now looking for other work and I'm not even out of my probation period yet. Not to mention the fact that the temperature in the store is a borderline health and safety issue, and I am not allowed to reserve time off of my shift for essential mental therapy outside of my work.
In terms of tasks on the job, checking for things in stock is done electronically and is very easy, customer communication is simple and things like running to the stock room, working the changing rooms and tidying up is something that is easy to grasp and not stressful at all. Im sure employee discounts are good but no one has made the effort to talk to me about this yet so I dont know. Co-worker relationships aren't bad, but if you are not looking at a full time position be aware that this is not a job that you can just go home and forget when your shift is over, as you probably wont even leave on time.

•       Process sales, exchanges and refunds efficiently, accurately and quickly in all payment methods
•       Ensure that customers are acknowledged and receive a quality service either face to face or over the telephone
•       Ensure all departments have sufficient Cashiers cover by planning and managing the Cashiers daily rota’s in liaison with the management team
•       Open and close main and auxiliary tills according to your shift
•       Ensure complete efficiency when following opening and closing cash desk procedures
•       Maintain an organised and tidy cash desk at all times
•       Assist in management of the recruitment and inductions of new team members
•       Assist in training and development for all Cashiers 
•       Investigate and resolve discrepancies (their own and their team’s)
•       Monitor and record till discrepancies 
•       Provide till reports throughout the day to Managers and colleagues when required
•       Assist in maintaining accurate records and control of daily and weekly employees documents
•       Ensure security measures are taken and that Cashiers are updated regularly on these
•       Control store stationary and bag orders whilst maintaining required levels
•        Process employee expenses
•        To be the main point of contact for all managers in store for all cash desk related queries (if the head cashier isn't available)
•       Ensure all cash desks are in good working order and maintained regularly
•       Manage the request for change in the store and follows up
•       Liaise with managers to offer Cashiers assistance on shop floor when necessary
•       Ensure effective communication with the Management Team at all times
•       Continually develop stock knowledge and promotions throughout the store
•       Complete other tasks as necessary to support the overall store
•       Be aware of what happens day to day in the store
•       Comply with the Company Health & Safety Policy

I learnt a lot about management, how to manage a team, administration and how to remain calm and positive in a stressful and high paced working environment. 

This is a very messy workplace, which you can see instantly already during the recruitment process. The shop is too big for any manager to care about their employees or to give them correct and necessary information. For example, I was not given a uniform for almost 3 weeks and when asking my manager to receive a uniform I got questioned why I needed one and also sighed at.

The workload is very heavy and the environment very stressful, especially on weekends, and you have to work every weekend of the month unless you work full time (you then get one weekend off). One of my first days when put alone in a big section where I hadnt been before, I was being yelled (and clapped) at by a colleague with a superior role that I was too slow and needed to be faster.

Many shifts its impossible to keep on top of your work and you are supposed to be many places at once and literally run across the store and work faster than any one could. Pay is minimal, the work atmosphere is very clicky with unfortunately a lot of s*** talking behind colleagues backs, but worst of all are the people management skills of the managers and supervisors. No one cares if you faint from the crazy workload, they just remind you of all the money Zara is making. Schedule wishes and anything else that could motivate you as an employee are ignored. Managers are also constantly behind your back making sure you dont stop to talk to a colleague or similar.

I wasted my time at Zara and would not recommend anyone to work for them.

Honestly would not recommend anyone to work at ZARA because management is poor due to many managers at once in one store, they expect staff to do EVERYTHING at once. Very demanding and careless of staffs' wellbeing. They would text me 6/7 hours before my shift to start "earlier" (this was during midnight), VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! Majority of staffs' shifts are closing shifts until 10 if not later! Don't even get to go home on time because you would have to clean, tidy and run all clothes from rails. No social life and I did 24 hours. So imagine working more hours. On top of that, sales assistants that has worked there for a long period act as if they are the managers, very rude and patronising. Zara is understaffed therefore expect sales assistants to do different things at once as well as customer service. Zara does not care about customer service, they care more about the products and stocks and to run all clothes from rails! Staff speak Spanish to each other majority of the time which is so unprofessional because they most likely will be talking about you. Not friendly at all. My shifts were very unreliable and they would always do it wrong by adding an extra day or not going by the dates I've given them that I am available. Not enjoyable and it is the only retail job I dislike. I literally dread going to work and that is not normal. Customers are very rude and demanding as if they are shopping at a designer store. Please do not apply at ZARA or Inditex if you care about you mental and physical wellbeing. They pay high street wage and have designer standards, it doesn't make sense. Sales period is also the worst.

My average day started and 8-8.30am, and for the first hour I would read reports and check the sales floors. Staff meeting at 9.45 and store opened at 10. Checking all daily plans and emails for tasks. Any correction, replenishments or adaptations to the floor would be finished by 11am and would need to be checked, and an further merchandising carried out. A stockroom walk would be carried out daily and plan for the stockroom team covering daily and weekly goals would be set out. 
Then the lunch time trade would begin and it would be all hands on the floor and as few people as possible tasking. I'm a manager but customers have always been my favourite part of retail. I'm driven by sales and the interaction with the customer to achieve these result.
After the lunch time rush emails would be checked again and tasks actioned. 
Four times a week delivery preparation  needed to be actioned, allocating the right amount of staff to the size of deliver. This plan would be written out so any manager driving the deliver would know expectations and time scales. Deliveries need to be managed and all stock must be replenished to the floor or housed correctly in the stockroom.Throughout the day the stock is constantly replenished electronically and missing stock must be checked by a manager.
Then it would be evening trade and close down,. This was always the toughest part of the day balancing staff closing to customer service.

Management: They tend to sort things out 50% of the time but the other 50% is dillydallying and not communicating with other managers or team leaders. Their priorities tend to conflict and there isn’t much sense of appreciation for staff that get caught in the middle. You can be expected to carry out tasks that conflict with another manager/colleague/department’s interests. You also won’t receive any personal training. All training is on some brukup app that doesn’t give you any sense of achievement.  

Colleagues: This will be excluding management - The colleagues are very kind and willing to help each other out. I personally felt a strong workforce bond between employees within their departments. There wasn’t any secondary school behaviour going on. However, there is a very strong department hierarchy. For some reason cashiers are gods??? 

On the flip side which ties both employees and management together; the young persons workforce of Zara (aged 18-25 which is about 80% of its employees) can be VERY soft when being called out for mistakes made and if they’re not doing what’s expected of them. I have seen employees whether it be floor staff, cashiers or stock room assistants shut down because they were told off or had a rude customer. I’ve also seen them be very unprofessional and escalate situations when there was no need. To be fair that’s not Zara’s issue that’s the individual but that being said if they’ve been hired I’m sure Zara will hire anyone 

The work gets very mundane and repetitive very quickly as you are stuck doing the exact same task all day because there is no job rotation, which becomes draining and the time drags. 
The working environment unfortunately has to be the most toxic place I've experienced. As soon as you walked into the shop you could feel that people were talking behind your back which is very unpleasant to be surrounded by all day every day. They treat new people like they don't exist and majority of them don't make any effort to get to know you or really include you, which creates a very cliquey and high school like atmosphere. This is quite disheartening when you're new to a job, as all you want is to be friendly and feel welcomed but I found this wasn't the case. Even basic small talk and a smile back makes a difference, but they don't care as they're all in their cliques.  Even though I did make friends there, you never got to see them due to being on other departments and as you never really leave your allocated area- it's not the best. 
Majority of customers were not too bad, get the general rude person but you find that in any retail job. 
Management were pretty chill and friendly, except from some favouritism. 
The pay is what keeps most people there as its good, but for it wasn't as the repetition and bad environment was depressing & I was miserable so i knew I had to leave. Its better as a weekend job rather than full time. There is also a 25% discount which is good.
 However, overall I would not reccomend working here. 

I am currently employed as a Visual Merchandiser for Zara Limited UK. My role is such that it has given me a keen eye for color and coordination, and also developed my progressive strength for fashion forecasting. My job has been such that it has allowed me to utilize my latent skills, experience and education.
My long running love for fashion has consistently pushed me to grow and expand on my knowledge and competencies. I have supported these efforts by traveling, working and studying abroad. This has expanded my cultural diversity and challenged me to adapt to different lifestyles while showcasing fashion from around the world. This coupled with my passion for the fashion industry allows me to create added value in any organization.
Over the three years in a similar position I have become someone with a track record for ideal visual merchandising with a strong grasp on global exposure. This was achieved through drive and ambition with a strong ability to work on my own initiatives, without losing company focus. This has allowed me to maximize selling opportunities and to confidentially communicate in a clear and convincing manner, increasing weekly sales, resulting in a major impact on the company’s bottom line.
Although my present position has been stimulating and fast paced, at this point in my career I am confidentially exploring a new challenge where my broad expertise and education can be fully utilized.

A typical day (morning shift) would include putting out stock which was overflowing from the cupboard from the night before. Trying to find out where stock was after the bi-weekly full store move, which was a pain as you are stood behind the cash desk all day and do not get time to explore and learn the shop floor, and thus get told off from management for 'not being fast of efficient enough' at the task at hand.
No help from shop floor staff of managers, was a very 'us and them' feeling between the cash desk and shop floor, which was so frustrating as you were non stop all day processing sales and refunds as a cashier and as such there was no time to do stock checks/running out clothes/tidying the cash desk from hangers and trash and as a result from that customers would be having to wait stupid amounts of time just to queue.
MORE STAFF NEEDED on each shift I cannot stress how much this company needs to address this! Staff work so so hard and do not get payed enough or enough recognition for the amount of stress and pressure they endure as a result of not enough bodies on the shop floor. 
Very bad job/work balance, was so tired from the sheer amount of work and hours they ask of you (I never finished on time always late out guarantee.) I felt like I had to go home to rest. 
Overall, would not recommend.

Zara is friendly working environment that enjoy pushing there staff to better there selves. When I started in Zara Derby they trained me extremly well. i was trained in merchandising, stock control, transfers in and out of store and also on how to to operate the cash desk. After nearly a year in the Derby store i took it upon myself to move to the new store Zara Stratford London, here i helped train all the new staff and act as a mentor for them. I then move to the cash desk where i became supervisor which involved me organising the cash desk team which could consist of up to 24 cashiers at any one time. My responsibilities consisted of organising the team productively weather it’s covering breaks in all departments, finding time to complete store chores or organising the team to stay on which till. I am responsible for the daily plans, opening and closing the store, stationary orders, training and Loomis. I have also taken part on the management training programme which aided me in conducting one to ones and being note taker in the investigation and disciplinary hearings. The staff were extremely friendly and everyone worked well in a team. On a whole my time in Zara was an enjoyable one and if i never moved back home from London i would of happily continued working there.

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