WHSmith
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DismissWHSmith is a retailer. They sell books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery.
whsmith.co.ukWHSmith job reviews
Showing 101 reviews
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Best thing
I love learning new things so the Team Leader position is perfect. No one judges you if you don't know how to do something, there's always someone willing to help. The team I work with are really good,everyone gets on with each other. Sometimes you get celebrities coming through but we don't bother them as they're just getting in with their day as a human being. Your entitled to 1 staff meal deal per day which is £3.50 instead of the full price £5.50.
Worst thing
We have to use the station toilets.
WHSmith Team leader, March 2024
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Best thing
Nothing
Worst thing
Understaffed
Bad management
Expected to do more then paid for
Rotas short notice
No respect for personal time from managerWHSmith Sales assistant, March 2024
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Best thing
Colleagues are lovely
It's easy to learn on the job (since you don't get trained you have to pick it up yourself)Worst thing
no training
no sick pay
you are expected to know rules, policies and skills you are not taught
managers only do things to benefit sales and other managers or team leaders, sales assistants concerns are ignored
constantly understaffed, sometimes left in a store alone all day even when it needs atleast 3 staff members
breaks are unpaid
you never get a thank you or a well done even if you work above and beyond for them
rotas are not available until on the day or around 8pm ghe night before, and you can pnly see it if you are already at work.WHSmith Sales assistant, March 2024
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Best thing
I have only have 4 tasks a day
Worst thing
I have to work 6 days a week
WHSmith Employee, February 2024
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Best thing
The tasks are rewarding
Worst thing
The people
WHSmith Sales assistant, February 2024
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Best thing
Everyday is different
Worst thing
Rude customers
WHSmith Sales assistant, February 2024
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Best thing
To be honest nothing much.
Worst thing
It’s stressful. Never have management. Low on staff.
WHSmith Store manager, January 2024
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Best thing
Flexiblity and chilled work environment
Worst thing
Bad management and hard to book leave
WHSmith Sales assistant, January 2024
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Best thing
The people you work with and you are always busy so never bored
Worst thing
No bonuses or extra pay, not getting paid when things run into your personal time, no chance of a pay rise and being basically on the minimum wage, no career progression and no supervisors
WHSmith Sales assistant, January 2024
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Best thing
Colleagues I work with , and good management
Worst thing
Nothing
WHSmith Customer assistant, January 2024
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Best thing
Familiarity
Worst thing
Shortages of staff
WHSmith Employee, December 2023
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Best thing
The general team is super nice because we're all in the same boat against management.
Worst thing
There is so much of a lack of communication between management themselves and management with roles below them.
WHSmith Sales assistant, November 2023
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Best thing
get to take out of date chocolate home at the end of the month
Worst thing
everything: customers, team, management, lack of training
WHSmith Sales assistant, November 2023
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Best thing
Serving customers
Worst thing
Packing up so pests aren’t eating snacks and chocolate
WHSmith Sales assistant, November 2023
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Best thing
Other sales assistants
Worst thing
Managers/ Team leaders
WHSmith Sales assistant, October 2023
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Best thing
The team and staff discount
Worst thing
Understaffed most of the time due to staff costs.
WHSmith Sales assistant, October 2023
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Best thing
Interaction with lovely people.
Worst thing
Sometimes handling some customers can be a very strenuous task.
WHSmith Sales assistant, September 2023
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Best thing
My colleagues and the tasks to do
Worst thing
Head office lack of awareness of what is going on, the fact that air conditioning never worked properly in the summer, scanners breaking down, management being cut so triple the workload, high expectations but not enough hours or training given
WHSmith Employee, September 2023
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Best thing
The discount
Some of the customersWorst thing
The other type of customers
Reorganising the store for ChristmasWHSmith Sales assistant, September 2023
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Best thing
Other staff members.
Worst thing
Injuries, stress, poor communication, can't access systems, I haven't seen a manger in at least 5 months, the managers phone me at 9 at night when I'm not working.
WHSmith Customer assistant, August 2023
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Best thing
Just the store staff
Worst thing
The customers and the company above the shop floor level is useless
WHSmith Sales assistant, July 2023
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Best thing
The people I work with and the customers I get to know.
Worst thing
The employer only cares about money card and machines and not there staff at all.
WHSmith Employee, June 2023
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Best thing
The other staff members
Break team and home timeWorst thing
Poor training
Rude customers
Dealing with a work environment that WHSmith clearing has no intention of investing any money in.WHSmith Sales assistant, June 2023
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Best thing
Variety of jobs I have to do
Worst thing
Being chronically under staffed and unable to complete tasks as a result
The public shouting at you because you're short staffed and there are queues
Being expected to work without breaks and without supportWHSmith Operations manager, March 2023
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Best thing
I work in an airport, it is a fun and lively environment
Worst thing
The hours I work, the amount of manual labour involved, the low hourly rate, the fact that I work harder but this is not reflected in my salary. The fact that it is extremely disorganised which has created an unprofessional vibe in the workplace. The fact that we are always understaffed
WHSmith Sales assistant, March 2023
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Best thing
My team is amazing, everyone gets along
Worst thing
A lot of the roll is winging it
WHSmith Employee, February 2023
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Best thing
The fantastic teams, the nature of the job allows social bonding between the team too. Additional to discounts food that is wasted at the end of the day can be purchased by staff which is a nice touch, helping the sustainability of stores and morale.
Worst thing
The workload was reliant on everybody working as a unit. While it was inevitable some staff picked up the slack for others, it was done far too often due to managerial issues at the time.
WHSmith Sales assistant, December 2022
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Best thing
You don’t have to do to much
Worst thing
Line working and no manner support if a customer complains
WHSmith Sales assistant, December 2022
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Best thing
The Staff and some of the customers
Worst thing
Grumpy Managment
WHSmith Sales assistant, December 2022
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Best thing
Meeting people & gaining confidence talking to members of the public
Worst thing
There are some times when I have finished a task & I don’t really have anything else to do
WHSmith Sales assistant, December 2022
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Best thing
The people you meet including some of the customers. The ones who come in all the time are so friendly and it's great to have a chat. I have always enjoyed helping people get what they came in for some are so happy!!!
Worst thing
They send too much stock, there is no room on the shop floor or in the stock room for everything. They send too many stands to go on the shopfloor. If I put out everything they sent then there would be no room for the customers to move around.
WHSmith Employee, November 2022
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Best thing
The other employees, we're all going through the same thing and they're like a little family at this point.
Worst thing
The communication, there's been multiple times that I've come in and been sent somewhere else or be told that they've arranged a holiday for me without telling me. Always understaffed.
WHSmith Customer assistant, November 2022
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Best thing
The people I work with and the job I do which is stock stationary
Worst thing
Post Office
WHSmith Sales assistant, November 2022
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Best thing
The people that work there are a community in their own right and it’s not overly difficult
Worst thing
It’s allot of heavy lifting and you need to stay happy even if your not for customers
WHSmith Sales assistant, November 2022
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Best thing
The people I work with and some members of management are really nice people to work with. Management make an effort to help with out of work issues and cover shifts at last minute.
Worst thing
We get sent too much stock and don’t have enough space to put it and end up with messy stock rooms which we have to constantly tidy but don’t have time because we have to maintain shop floor ,put out delivery’s and help customers . Head office make plans for position of stock but don’t consider how efficient it is or how it looks on the shop floor . I feel I am underpaid for how hard I work ,minimum wage makes me and other staff feel we are not valued and are worth only the bare minimum of payment .we feel under appreciated by the company.
WHSmith Sales assistant, October 2022
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Best thing
Interacting with customers and giving customer satisfaction
Worst thing
Some employees and managers
WHSmith Supervisor, October 2022
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Best thing
Sometimes got paid the actual full amount of hours I worked
Worst thing
Manager was disrespectful
Made fun of me Infront of customers on my first day when I was struggling with something she didn't provide me training for
Wasn't paid certain hours I worked
Rota was changed last minute and I was blamed for coming in 'late'
Worked during COVID and didn't have proper training
Not allowed to stand up for myself
Made fun of and talked about behind my back
HR did nothing about my issues at workWHSmith Sales assistant, October 2022
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Best thing
Nice team members
Worst thing
Having to do too many things at once
WHSmith Sales assistant, October 2022
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Best thing
Customers have become friends
Worst thing
Solo working store so can’t close for breaks easy, have to wait for customers to leave and can be waiting to take break for up to 40 minutes
WHSmith Sales assistant, September 2022
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Best thing
Colleagues are very friendly
Worst thing
Underpaid, understaffed, head office don’t understand the pressure of working, usually by myself attending a whole floor, theft and unsanitary staff room.
WHSmith Retail assistant, September 2022
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Best thing
I love the people I work with
Worst thing
Management is dire, staff levels are too low constantly, you could bend over backwards for WHSmith and they’d still dance on your grave.
WHSmith Duty manager, August 2022
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Best thing
the people i work with, the proximity of my job to my work
Worst thing
management is unorganised, the work is draining and the conditions are less the ideal, loads of people keep leaving as soon as they start because of how bad it is
WHSmith Sales assistant, August 2022
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Best thing
Just being park of a really good team, seeing people from all over the world.
Worst thing
Pays not the best but it’s still above national minimum.
WHSmith Sales assistant, August 2022
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Best thing
My colleagues
Worst thing
Managers and Higher staff are disrespectful towards their team, unsympathetic, unorganised, discriminatory towards staff and/or customers and extremely unfair
Incentives are awful- ‘prizes’ for completing are worth little to nothing or are a voucher for the WHSmith store anyways
Claim to support mental health but turn away staff from their supposed helpline
Overpriced
Unable to take on extra hours
Understaffed most of the time
Customers always rude or inappropriateWHSmith Sales assistant, July 2022
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Best thing
Break time
Pay dayWorst thing
Staff are unhygienic
Manger doesn't care about staff
Avoid working here not worth itWHSmith Sales assistant, July 2022
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Best thing
My team
Worst thing
Customer's attitude
No rewards system
Pressed to do things with no creditWHSmith Sales assistant, July 2022
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Best thing
the people
Worst thing
the lack of hours
WHSmith Customer service assistant, June 2022
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Best thing
That it’s fast passed and it’s a different thing everyday
WHSmith Team leader, May 2022
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Worst thing
Being expected to do management-level tasks yet being paid minimum wage. Being overloaded with pressure from head office who have no idea what it’s actually like working in the stores. Management hiring too many college-age people who can’t often cover shifts because they have college commitments, so you end up working when you’re ill.
WHSmith Sales assistant, May 2022
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Best thing
The people, they are lovely to work with.
Worst thing
Sometimes not enough tasks to do.
WHSmith Sales assistant, April 2022