laboratory manager

Marks & Spencer

I had always shopped at my local Marks and Spencer ever since I was little; and when I was eventually given the oppurtunity to apply for a position with them I was 'over the moon'...

Before applying for a role with Marks and Spencer; I was led to believe that it would be a fun and rewarding expeience to finally work for such a company where it seemed all the employees were friendly and helpful.

Unforetunately; although I applied for a job in customer service/ till work and filled in the application as such; it was only made aware to me AFTER I was hired that they never intended for me to work on the tills; instead I was to sort out/ scan and bring down stock from the 'cold room' (fridges) 

On my induction day I completed various quizzes and tests on 'fire safety/ emergency solutions" and was even told what it wouldf be like to work on the tills (see above!) when all of that was done I was given a 15 minute (at most!) explanation of the aforementioned role in the cold room; but was told "you'll probably not be in there at all; but just so you know what happens behind the scenes" (see above, again!)

For two of my shifts I was with another employee in the cold room; one was nice/kind/ willing to show me the ropes; while the other frequently lost their temper with me for making such (quote) "stupid mistakes" and how (Quote) "I should know different; even if its only your second day!" - this led me to realise not all staff are as friendly as the customers are made out to believe; to the point where I often overheard gossip about not only me but other employees, customers and management as well... - for my other shift; I was left entirely by myself in the fridges for an entire day shift (9am to 5pm) where although I was told I could have a 2-3 minute break every 20 or so minutes to ensure I didn't (quote) "freeze to death" evry time I did so; I was often reprimanded/ told off for not doing my job well or even fast enough.

Although I was entitled to a 15 minute lunch break; by the time I had got out of the cold room, down two flights of stairs to the cloak room to get my lunch box and then across the length of the store to the designated breakroom; I only had about 2 minutes to eat before I had to get back to work; and if I wasn't back in the cold room in time my line manager would often come in and scold me for "exceeding my allocated break time" - at one point they even phoned my home to ask if I had actually came in that day! (except I had 'clocked in' ...and spoken to the managers... and was in the cold room when the phone call took place.)

Unforetunately; between the short/ non existant break; and overall lack of proper training; slowly but surely added up and I was put on a warning; this kicked my anxiety into overdrive and caused me to make more issues; when I asked the managers if I was doing well/ improving they seem annoyed/ uninterested and unsupportive of such an issue... one week after I was warned; I was dismissed and told it would be 2 years before I could apply to any M&S again...

Same repetitive and degrading tasks everyday. Most of the time understaffed and when overstaffed and there was nothing left to do, employees were made to clean the stands and areas that are extremely dirty while the cleaner sat upstairs in the canteen (he gets more money per hour than the customer assistants). Some co-workers are hard working like myself but many stand around talking or take longer breaks than they are entitled to. Also, a few of the managers have their favourites e.g. siblings or staff in operations and would treat them differently to other members of staff. Also, one particular manager took a liking to young girls specifically (16 to 25) and would have them working with him as much as possible whether they are hard working or not. I have been treated differently because of my gender until I started working for M&S. Also, I was dismissed for being ill, I had a doctor's note and a doctor's certificate declaring that I was unfit to work for an extended period of time meaning I had a total of 9 authorised absences. Because I was on a final warning, my previous warning were also for authorised absences, I was only allowed 6 shifts off in a 3 month period which is diabolical considering I worked 5 shifts a week and falling ill is unpredictable. There is a fault within the policies and systems in place a Marks & Spencer; some staff would abuse the absences policy by taking just under the number of days they are allowed off before waiting for the 'triggers' to reset and then taking unnecessary days off again. For example, if you are allowed 9 shifts off in a 3 month period and have had 4 shift off in the last 2 months, some employees would take a further 4 (8 in total) off before waiting a month for the triggers to reset. It is quite remarkable how staff that are lazy and abuse the system are still at the store but I was dismissed due to illness. Management all talk among each other even about confidential matters that are discussed between a manager and an employee no matter how sensitive the matter. Most managers were very unprofessional when the store manager (head manager) was absent and took advantage of the power they had. Overall, I would say working at M&S has taught me that hard work doesn't always reap the benefits and your gender, relations, personality and how you look matter more than how hard you work and equality.

Whilst the branch in Stratford have mostly amazing staff, a great and important vision in line with environmental, ethical and business needs, standards and desires, there are several managers who are not ethically consistent. The failure to deal with certain personal issues with workers results in palpable injustices and I have seen several workers affected by this. There were however, very good managers mostly, whom I respect and liked very much.


As I worked in three departments; that is, in Operations, Staff Cafeteria and the Shopfloor Cafes, the typical day at work was different. Operations involved emptying the delivery trucks, unpacking and organizing stock in order to then take it up via the delivery lifts to the Shop-floors in the evening. Regular waste and maintenance of the operations area was important for health and safety standards. Filling the trucks with all waste, recycling, empty totes and DPD stock from the Customer Services Department would follow. Computer Registration of Truck Arrival/Departure and occasional computer-based training, as well as shop-floor maintenance; like basket-collection and assortment, hanger-box emptying and replacement featured also. 


In the Staff Cafeteria and Shop-floor Café, tasks involved making coffees, processing till transactions, cleaning tables and work areas etc, clearing leftover plates, dish-washing, maintaining health and safety standards, replenishing stock, performing free-taster role, sweeping and setting up/clearing up all equipment/items/instruments for beginning/end of day. 


The workplace culture generally was good, seemingly well organised within each department but could have been better and smoother in terms of communication and adherence to a clear common interdepartmental understanding.


The hardest part of the job for me was when staff became critically low on certain days and as in my final phase of my work there, tried to work longer hours; when things got extremely desperate, I found it hard to do the work which normally required 4-5 workers. These instances however were few and far between and the issues nevertheless managed to overcome.

On temp Xmas contract but after probation they kept me on. I was in the supermarket starting as cashier but it soon became clear I was made to do dogs body jobs! My fingers became so painful from stacking the freezers  it was my college friend that worked with me that mentioned they have gloves that I could use! I was doing 6am starts on a 9 hour day, no one else wanted to do but I was more then happy!

Then on my normal working day I had a different supervisor/manager working that day. He was really lovely and in the afternoon says ‘aren't you sad it’s your last day today’ to which I reply ‘Erm pardon, I haven’t been told this! so he said really and went off to enquire. I was called to the office to say it’s nothing personal and they were cutting peoples contracts short and as mine was a temp they are letting me go!!! To allow staff of other stores that have closed Down relocation! 

They kept my cv and said I’m first on the list for the next job available!!! There has been jobs in other departments but I’ve heard nowt! I ended up getting a new job as they were so unreliable and unfair!

I still have my named uniform and locker keys etc ... I also believe there was favouritism within the store but I will remain professional by keeping my experience private! 

It’s a shame as some people are there for the wages and not for the passion of the job! Highlight of my M&S experience was a disabled customer stating I wish there was more people like you, whilst helping him to his car with his shopping!

Yaklaşık 3 ay boyunca MS Kanyon mağazasında part-time olarak çalıştım. 

Benim deneyimimde çalışma ortamını oldukça stresli ve baskıcı buldum. Kasada yanlışlıkla aynı ürünü iki kez geçmiştim ve yaptığım bir hata sonrasında müşteri önünde yüksek sesle bağırıldı. Bu tarz iletişim biçimi benim için profesyonel değildi ve çalışma motivasyonumu olumsuz etkiledi. Ayrıca mağazada burcunun beni şiddet uygulamakla tehdit etmesi olayı da benim açımdan ortamın güvenliği ve çalışanlara yaklaşım konusunda ciddi soru işaretleri oluşturdu. Müdüre anlattığımda bu konuyla ilgili aksiyon almadı burcuyla eskiden beri arkadaş olduğu için olayın üstü kapatıldı Böyle bir durumun yaşanmış olması, çalışma ortamına dair olumsuz izlenimimi daha da artırdı.

Satış hedefleri konusunda yoğun baskı vardı .Hedeflerin altında kalınması durumunda mağazada saatimiz dışında çalışmamız istendi ceza olarak . Vardiya planlamasında da okul programımla aynı zamana denk gelen vardiyalar yazıldı. Durumu müdüre bildirmeme rağmen çalışmak senin seçimindi yapacak bişey yok gibi bir sözle karşılaştım benim açımdan tatmin edici bir çözüm sunulmadı.

Maaş süreci ve part-time çalışanların ödeme sistemi işe girişte müdür tarafından açık aktarılmadı. 22 temmuzda işe girdim ama 29 ağustosa kadar para alamadım. Ayrıca yol ücretiyle ilgili yaşadığım bir sorun için insan kaynaklarına başvurmama rağmen çözüm alamadım.

Çalıştığım süre boyunca ben de dahil birkaç çalışanın kısa süre içinde işten ayrıldığını gördüm. Benim kişisel deneyimim olumlu değildi ve bu nedenle bu mağazada çalışmanızı tavsiye etmiyorum.

Started as Christmas staff and was not kept on despite my contract being extended without notifying me twice so that I had to call each time to ask if I still actually worked there and if I was expected to turn up for another shift. Management were not helpful and there was no system in the store room (no way of knowing where to put stock going back and what was supposed to be taken out) so had no idea what I was supposed to be doing at any given time. Despite this you are always expected to be working and are made to feel stupid if you ask what you are supposed to do. Training was very minimal and was shown how to use a till for the first time in my life for approximately 20 minutes and was then left on my own to serve customers for 6 hours with no break as no one had told me the procedure for swapping over tills. Other staff were very hostile as they could sense I was different (I have high functioning autism and quite severe OCD which means I take longer to do standards as everything has to be perfect and struggle with social interaction) resulting in me feeling very alone through my time there and unable to ask for help when unsure. I was given a couple of hours shadowing someone as an introduction on my very first shift and was then left to figure out everything myself so was never quite sure what to do my whole time there.
Overall, I would not work there again unless I was given proper training and there was some kind of system when restocking shelves and using the store room as well as more approachable and understanding management and staff. The complete lack of structure and help made me dread every shift I had.

This is difficult to write as I loved working for M&S and gave 20+ years to the company, it genuinely was a pleasure to get up and go to work.  

As a manager, no day was ever the same, and gave the opportunity to drive the business and the team forward.  The challenge is that more and more is expected and less recognition is given, which is probably not an exclusive culture, but does eventually drain on the motivation and morale of both you and the team.  

One of the biggest challenges is the lack of autonomy, what was a company that thrived on initiative and commerciality, has been replaced by a hierarchy that needs to give its approval for every move you make, decision you want to take.  This is being driven by the cost management side of the business and the strive for operational excellence through continuous improvement all of which form the basis for its KPI's

M&S does however give you the opportunity to experience different roles across both the store and organisation, so from a CPD objective you can learn a lot.

My experience ended in redundancy which wasn't pleasant, however if asked if I could go back would I work for them again, my answer would be yes, they were my family, my role models and my teacher and for that I am grateful.

The staffing itself were amazing to work with.. unfortunately the management themselves let the store down.
I enjoyed every minute working there 
Never was given the right encouragement or the time for training to ‘excel’ to their standards.
The uniform doesn’t tend to your shape to make you feel happy or comfortable in. 
They lacked any praise or acknowledgement of your work and never on the floor, base your performance on any mistake done and not on the general work you provide. 
When asked for more training you don’t receive the help you asked for unless provoked. 
Nothing you ever did was good enough or to their standards, give you zero confidence or encouragement. Don’t give you any feeling of accomplishment or approval. 
It’s a shame it was a lovely environment, the customers were amazing to serve, the staff who did all the work were amazing people and provided all the confidence you needed to learn or exceed in certain things. 
Management were barely on the floor and had zero support for their staff or the team support managers, never cared about your well-being or availability with hours.
Refused to have security to protect the stock and left the store assistants to catch thieves..
I expected more from a company like M&S, some of their stores are a big let down. As I said the staff themselves are perfect and so lovely… the management are the let downs!

A typical day at Marks and Spencers was helping customers find their needs around their store, directing them in the right direction. Standing in the customer changing rooms, you then had to take the customers clothes and count the amount of clothes they had, showin the CCTV camera so there isn't any risk of theft. They would call you, asking if you could get another size in an item of clothing, or asking for your honest opinion. You occasionally order their goods on the IPad, sending it to a closer store. Getting the clothing racks from the changing rooms, (the clothes that the customers didn't want) and we had to put them back out onto the shop floor. I also packed behind the tills when the queues were long. 

I learned that you had to stay calm in the majority of situations as the customers feed of your attitude and the way you speak to them.

My co-workers were amazing, they helped me grow my confidence during my two week work experience, showing me how to do things and basically guiding me in the right direction.

The hardest bit of the job was constantly walking about, in the future, i will be prepared with comfortable footwear.

The most enjoyable part of the job was helping customers with their needs and giving the company a good name.

From my experience as a customer assistant at M&S womenswear, I found the workplace challenging yet enjoyable.

The most challenging part was dealing with tough costumers and their complaints. However, helping customers find what the are looking for and seeing them satisfied with your customer service makes the job worth while. Your hard work was never overlooked as positive feedback from customers was recognised as monthly rewards. I found that this was a great way of encouraging employees and being rewarded for your hard work.

Everday was different and everday I learnt something new about the workplace. The team worked together well which made the workplace more relaxed and enjoyable. However, the section management team that I had were terrible. I was treated poorly and degraded even after all my hard work.

It was a shame because the work was enjoyable and I receive the monthly rewards but was not appreciated for my efforts. For those who have exam study during working hours, I wouldn't recommend applying as they say they take this into consideration but leave you with longer working hours and added stress.

In the end, I was compelled to leave.

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