data entry clerk

J D Wetherspoon PLC

I was a bar associate for over 6 months, and I would not recommend this company to anyone!

The hours were ridiculous; working from 3pm - Finish (which, On a Friday or Saturday could be well into 3am) the management bribed you with offers of bonuses at the end of the month; a joke to say the least. I was told I'd received 100% on my CQSMA with a mystery shopper, a thing that my pub hasn't seen in a while. What did I get for it? £5. Looks like it's time to treat myself with the 'awesome bonus' I received!

The management are a joke, especially the deputy manager and pub manager. They spend their time locked up in their office, even on a busy club night like Friday or Saturday. The only time I've ever seen them leave is when they order their food. No respect whatsoever. 

I was also forced into a situation where I had to train a newbie, when I had only been in the job two months myself. Its the managers job to train new staff, not mine. 

The bar and floor associates, especially the younger ones, are taken advantage of to the point where it's painful to watch. If you complain, you're a burden. If you don't, you'll be taken advantage of. It's a vicious cycle. 

The rota was a joke. I was constantly having shifts changed without my knowledge, and then getting reprimanded when I didn't show up for a shift I didn't know I had. The communication between the staff and management was non-existent.

The only good thing I can say, is that I did get on very well with the other bar staff. I mainly think it's because we were all in the same sinking ship together, so we all connected over our shared hatred of the job. I met some wonderful people, and while I can't say I enjoyed the experience of working there, I am glad I got something beneficial out of it. 

If you're seriously thinking about applying for a place at Wetherspoons, I'll tell you now; the cons far outweigh the pros.

I worked for wetherspoons for 5 years and it was the worst experience I've ever had.

To be fair the company wasn't actually that bad some good benefits and the pay was pretty alright, however the management was awful!

Work life balance? Of course not that wouldn't help the managers with rotas and having any form of a social life. Sometimes you were purposely put on days you said you couldn't work and being persuaded to work and made to feel guilty.

Single parent ( Father ) after my kids getting to school age i requested having weekends off I knew it wasn't ideal for them but for me it was the only time I would get to see my children and also coming out of a abusive relationship thibgs were not easy; but they couldn't care at all and instantly had excuses and grief from management.
I was told that it doesn't help the company and other people were in the same boat ( no one in the pub I worked at was in my situation ) 

Management were invasive in my personal life asking things that were none of there business which made me uncomfortable. Being asked what days my partner worked and if my or my partners parents could have the kids so I could work. Its not fun having a manager make fun of your life choices because it didn't suit there rotas.

Things happened which shouldn't have but were just brushed under the rug, working plus 12 hours shifts and having Little to no breaks at all. Rotas were adjusted to management preferences and if you were a favourite.

Overall good company to work for but beware the management you get because they can be the drain on your job and life. 

A Typical Day at Work:
Shifts varied depending on whether I was on the bar or in the kitchen. Bar shifts involved serving customers and keeping the area tidy, while kitchen shifts mostly had me on KP duties in a very busy pub. It was fast-paced and kept me on my toes.

What I Learned:
I gained valuable experience in customer service, multitasking under pressure, and working efficiently in a busy environment. I also improved my teamwork skills and learned how a large-scale pub operation functions.

Management:
Management were approachable and supportive, offering opportunities for staff to be cross-trained and increase their hours. That said, the way scheduling was handled sometimes meant my expectations did not align with reality, which influenced my decision to move on.

Workplace Culture:
The team was energetic and friendly. Everyone worked together to manage the busy periods, which made for a generally positive environment.

The Hardest Part of the Job:
The most challenging part was KP duties during peak periods. Washing dishes and keeping the kitchen running smoothly in one of the busiest pubs in the Wirral was physically demanding.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
I enjoyed working on the bar and interacting with customers, as well as the sense of achievement in keeping up in a busy kitchen. Cross-training gave me a chance to try new roles, even if it ended up shifting my schedule more than expected.

I worked at wetherspoons i must say worst job ever
it was so bad i went in one day manager goes to me time to punch in i aint paying u to stand around, my shift started at 6pm and it was 20 to 6 so i thought " i quit"

This job is like a bad dream

most of the time i did closes
most of the time we had 2 staff missing
our bonus will be taken away by Tax man
Management treat you like rubbish
Late shift customers like to shout abuse
Terrible pay pay
you need like 6-7 energy drinks to keep you going
BUSY environment (sometimes we would have 2 bar staff and like
 20 customers waiting) 
Management get free meals( bar and kitchen staff get 50% off)
and to top it off they ask you to wear all black with office shoes
in a bar environment your feet loose Feeling.

For a company that has over 800 pubs this company is the worst 
pub ever.

Also you provide excellent customer service you don't even get a thank you or even a tip.

Cleaning up waste from the toilets

some food will drop on the floor they would pick it back up and cook it sometimes "hence why i don't eat there!"

Had some manager Worst manager ever
she had 2 of her kids there, she wouldn't shout at her kids
but all the other bar staff got screamed at.

Management tends to walk all over the other staff like we are worth nothing.

The only thing i will miss is my bar colleagues such hard working kind and caring people "thanks guys for everything, you got me by them 4 months"

My hours vary from very early mornings to very late nights. Every shift is different, depending on what time you arrive. If I'm opening the kitchen I'll be starting at 6am, if I'm closing the kitchen I'm normally there between 12-2am, depending on how busy it has been and how many people are closing. I have learned so much since I started working at Wetherspoons, I'm a quick learner so I picked it up easily but there is more to it than meets the eye. I'm very comfortable in my job and I know it so well that when I'm at work, it's as if I'm on auto pilot. There's always something new too learn but it's easy to adapt to it as everyone else is doing the same thing. 

The people I work with are great, they're encouraging and it's as if I'm working with my family. The hardest part of my job is the hours, the demand of the job itself and I'm looking for a career, not a job. I'm feeling the strain of the job and I'm only 20. I work long weeks, long days and I don't feel like I'm being rewarded enough, I'm very reliable and great at time keeping. 

The positive aspects of the job is the company, it's a very successful company and you do meet a lot of important people. They come in and out of the Kitchen and they give you advice which you take on board and act on it. I take criticism very well so I find that getting an outsiders point of view encourages me to reach goals and targets.

Due to Wetherspoons being one of the biggest pub chains in the country, I found that almost every shift was a challenging one. This however was countered by Wetherspoons being a friendly and close working environment. Working at Wetherspoons has been one of the biggest life defining changes I believe I have had so far. Having to work such long and late hours can be stressful enough, but having to do it whilst serving customers with such large quantities of both food and alcohol can present situations that I wasn't entirely prepared for. This could range from general complaints to handling customers who had drunk too much and were causing trouble. These situations taught me a great deal of confidence and leadership skills which eventually led me to receive a promotion as a supervisor. As difficult as the job was, it was made so unique by the people you work with. I was fortunate enough to work with such a hard working group of individuals that shared the weight and formed great working relationships as well as social. Many people I worked with made such a profound impact on my life that I still keep in touch with a great deal of them today. I think that good working relationships are such an important aspect in the work life because it truly helps spread the load during busy and hard periods as well as keep up strong working morale.

Poor from the start of my employment - I was hired under false pretences with a promise of higher pay than that actually received. 

Pay was far too low for the demand of the job with the 40 hour weeks, which always included evenings, meaning I had to completely sacrifice my social life. Rarely given the full time of my allocated break on long shifts. 

They seem to unfairly offload all friday and saturday evenings (which are by far the busiest and most stressful shifts) to all the newer members of staff, while older staff get precedence over choice of shifts. 

Poor communication between managers resulted in many difficulties including constantly incorrect rotas - no wonder so many shifts ended up being understaffed! Left on the bar by myself for 5 hours during the breakfast rush no more than 3 weeks in as the pub manager refused to help, unfair for me and the customers.

Stock levels were always low which resulted in more complaints, especially when the pub completely ran out of straws for a week straight (I'm unsure how it was difficult to keep an account of the straws required).

Despite this, other bar associates were lovely so I enjoyed some aspects of the job but, in general, an awful place to work for. Only benefits were the discounts on food and drink.

Interview took place in the pub, not in a private room.
Training took place in the fire escape, blocking the exit, and there was a flashing light above me that gave me a headache through the training.
Employees often talked about people behind their backs which resulted in another new starter crying. Staff talked about inappropriate things around each other which is ok if you're friends but makes you feel uncomfortable as an outsider. 
Very little training and people were mean to me if for example I poured a pint wrong or found the plates too hot to carry. Was constantly blamed for things because I was new but I was not doing the things I was blamed for.
Was forced to use equipment I hadn't been trained to use. And a manager once used equipment that was used to hold drinks (wine cooler) to empty the content of the drain in the women's bathroom into.
Conditions behind the bar were horrendous, with staff in unsafe shoes were walking around in water at least an inch deep.
 I will say however when I spilled drinks over a customer and was getting shouted at by the customers friends the manager who was in at the time was supportive, but could have gone further (I still ended up crying in the toilets).

Both my husband and I have worked for Wetherspoons (in different pubs)  and we both hated it. Pub work is always hard work for little pay and unsociable hours but Wetherspoons made it even worse. I was bullied by my manager and it shattered my self esteem and confidence and my health took a turn for the worse. 
My husband worked for 2 years in an understaffed kitchen with no air conditioning - all complaints to management were either ignored or blamed on another manager, no-one took responsibility for the issues and it continued to get worse. My husband was rarely granted any booked leave, even when booked in advance. He would be told it was OK and then when the rotas come out (usually the day before) he would be down to work and there was 'nothing they could do'. The few benefits you get are quickly taken away when something goes wrong. Staff are guilty until proven innocent and even then don't get an apology. It was all weekend every weekend, bad hours, bad pay, bad management and no morale. I would not recommend it to anyone. 
Of course if u had a nice pub with a good manager things could be different, but in my experience and from talking to others, that's often not the case.

Absolutely insulting work environment. Management treat you like children and speak to you with zero respect, work load is absolutely unbearable and it can take you absolutely forever to catch up with orders. All you get is a 30 minute break on an average shift, but if you take more than 25 minutes you are berated for being "late". You can have a full meal on your break for free but good luck being able to scoff one down in that time so people only eat something small like a brownie anyway because that's all you have time for. That is even if you get a full break, most of the time I was called back because it was too busy anyway. Kitchen was always disgusting because you never have time to clean because its so busy. Left every shift I had here burnt out, covered in grease and sauces from the good and water from "pots" (washing up station). It's also very cliquey, people talk behind each others backs all the time and will make working there a living nightmare for you if they don't like you for whatever reason. Was like being back in year 7. Just don't work for this absolutely dreadful company. Just don't. I have nothing positive to say except that it was weekly pay.

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