Came in as assistant manager. 1 week in I was getting left in the shop on my own. Which would have been fine if I had been taught to do any of the basics (returns, refunds).
Learnt absolutely loads in the time that I was there. Whizzed through the set exams they have (if you don't the area manager puts your name on a list and sends it out to everyone informing them you're behind).
I got on with my manager, but she did take the mick by leaving me alone on the shop floor and going to sit out the back...'working'.
My co workers were great. We all got on really well. They were the best part of the job.
Wages are absolutely terrible for how hard you work...and you work really hard. Whether you want to or not there's always something that needs doing. The area manager sends stuff down (my one in an extremely sarcastic tone) and expects you to get it all done with little or no help if you needed it from him whatsoever.
God forbid you take a day off sick as well, you have to fill out a form that makes you feel like you're in court trying to justify yourself for being ill, despite having come in everyday until you thought you might collapse from flu, lol!
Bloody 5 2 drives and commission as well. We only got our commission if we got back 30 customer surveys a week rating us top at everything. A woman stated she couldn't find an item in our shop so gave us a mark down...we didn't get our commission...even though it was higher managements decision to stop stocking t
I am really shocked by all the bad reviews on here. I can say hands down i LOVE my job at H&B. The hours are not long, its a normal working day for most people. Overtime i see as a positive a chance to earn extra money and there is always opportunity to do overtime. Pay is well above minimum wage aswell as earning commission. 25% discount and 50% at christmas!! You also receive a qualification through this job equivalent to an A level.
There is a lot of work involved but thats your job to do and what you are paid for. I find all the work books very useful, i learn so much more through them. There are amazing career opportunities to progress within the company. They are a great company to work for, they care about there staff.
Through working here i have gained so much, i have found a career i love, its helped my confidence, i am a much happier person. Even health wise i am much healthier now due to my knowledge i have learnt and i have helped family members and friends which feels great. Helping customers with any health problems is a great, rewarding feeling. Joining this company is one of the best things i have done.
ProsDiscount, Qualification, Great career opportunities, Commission plus many more
ConsThe only negative thing i can say is security issues
I lasted 4 weeks before leaving- I joined as a supervisor but was hardly trained as there was literally no staff to cover while I went over the basics with the manager. My manager had a million and one things to do off the shop floor and therefore I was often left alone in my first week with very little product knowledge and little knowledge of vouchers/promotions. I don’t blame my manager for that, there is so much to do (cycle counts, date checking etc) as well as customer service and she had very little support at the time (mainly because there was no staff) .The studying is intense at times albeit very interesting. Problem I was to do these studies and tests on the products as well as “train” to be a supervisor and my pass my tests for that too- Work/life balance is non existent. Most of my customers were nice if not a little demanding and the store itself needed a deep clean (no staff meant no time to maintain it unfortunately)
ProsInteresting modules relating to the products, nice customers (mostly)
ConsLone working on my first day, no proper training, too much pressure to study etc
Managers and supervisors need training in customer service, the way they talk to and handle customers is appalling. Not professional at all.
Pay is awful for someone living in London. The amount of hours of study you're meant to put in for how much you get paid is not fair.
Never giving proper training on first day, just expected to know what you're doing.
Pay check is always late or their are problems regarding pay.
Great opportunity to learn and advance but bad pay and too much pressure
You do learn to master your craft with in the health food/supplement realm but you are constantly in a pressure cooker. The pay is very low compared to what you have to do.
Overall
The pay is average considering the amount of work you're asked to do.
No career development either, especially now with covid 19.
Managers push you for sales just so they get their bonus
good company to work for, especially if you want to climb the ladder, from staff to assistant manager up to store manager, plenty of incentives, commission, and staff discount aswell
Avoid if you can. Don't expect to be treated fairly
This company is unbelievable in it's treatment of its employees. There is blatant wage theft going on. The company has so many daily/weekly and monthly tasks and not enough staff to complete them, it falls on the management team to ensure it's done outside of hours, and outwith the hours that they are paid for.
If you decide that your not going to do the tasks (and quite rightly so, because unpaid labour in the uk is illegal), due to not having enough staff or time to do it in, you will be met with a disciplinary for not doing the task. When you discuss this with ASM you will be told that you have poor time management, which is just really insulting to the manager's who have been in retail for decades and who have been successfully managing stores for other companies.
There have been a few reviews on here about attitudes of store management and how they are very poor. You may find in some cases that the managers are really stressed and continually under-pressure. They are just human. In other cases you will find that other managers have been with the company for such a long time, that they don't know any different and they are following the company culture. It's actually quite frightening to think that companies still run this way. Basic tasks such as cleaning and replenishment are not being done. Yes one of the most basic principles of retail, putting the stock out for the customer to buy, is not being done. Cleaning as well, considering you are dealing with food
Where do I even start? Interview process was easy and everything seemed fine. I was 16 when I began here in 2012. A lot has likely changed since then, but my treatment there was so awful I would never give it a second chance.
The assistant manager at the time was the nicest woman I've ever met, would always care about the workers, if you had a personal problem she would do everything she could to help. When she left, it went downhill.
With no assistant manager for a year, everything fell on the manager himself, who is the worst manager I have ever worked for. Rude, narcissistic and treats employees like dirt. Due to being in college, I was contracted and could only work weekends. I was constantly hassled by the manager to work shifts during the week, something I couldn't do when I was at school at the time. If I didnt he would make horrific comments to other staff about how 'useless' I was. Constantly put me on the tills, wouldn't let me do any other work and if we were busy he would stand around doing nothing but shouting at staff in front of customers because of how many customers were waiting. No one could have a break before him and he would award himself breaks that were over 2 hours long so he could go to the gym. Some staff ended up never having breaks because their shifts ended before he returned. He treated older staff nice, but the younger staff he treated like they meant nothing. I had constant comments from customers about how rude he was. He reduced me to te
PRESSURISED ENVIRONMENT
I was expected to pass a number of tests within strict time limits. As there wasn't enough time to do the workbooks during the working day because staffing was so poor, I spent a huge amount of my own time after work and on days off doing the work. Bear in mind, this is all for bog standard minimum wage. There was a huge amount of pressure on all of the staff to pass these tests or face getting booted.
I was a supervisor and did a test called an RMP which qualifies you to open/close and run the store. Holland and Barrett are all about "progression", so what you may initially think is a 16 hour a week job, soon becomes you being pressured to take a management course and so forth. Great for some, but not for all.
LONE WORKING
"Hello, I'm looking for this product."
"I've checked on the system and it says we have one in stock. As it's not on the shelf, it must be in the stockroom."
"Excellent, can I have it please?"
"I'm afraid as I'm the only member of staff, I can't leave the shop floor to go and get that product, so you'll need to come back when my associate starts their shift."
Expect to have to apologise for something you know doesn't make any sense and it's your fault. Utter nightmare.
UNPAID HOURS
During a full time day (of which I did at least three a week), I was paid between 08:45 and 18:00. I was expected to start work at 08:00 and often didn't finish until well after 19:00. (Even later if the Area Manager was coming to
I read these reviews before I started and thought "it can't be that bad" but seriously, it is.
PLEASE don't get a job here, at least not a managerial one. It is salaried and you will feel under paid within a month because of the endless tasks involved.
The bureaucracy involved is incredible, lots of authorization needed to do simple things and tonnes of paperwork. Potential disciplinary proceedings for leaving doors unlocked. Have to pass a test to open and close the store etc
The tills are extremely SLOW and you will often apologize to the customer for the receipt being frustratingly slow to print or the system going offline.
Learning the knowledge is overwhelming at first and you won't get paid for it as a manager and you will definitely have to put in the hours at home. They have brought in a new thing were they pay people for study but as far as I know it only applies to Sales assistants up to Assistant Manager's as they are paid hourly. Potentially, and most often, Assistant Manager's have it good, they have less stress and can out earn store manager's which isn't fair.
I suspect Area Manager's bonuses are linked to store expenditure so they don't care about lone trading which happens all the time! You will be by yourself, giving advice to one customer who needs time and attention and there's a queue at the till or vice versa and it will be you that has to deal with irritated customers not anyone else.
There's other tasks too that you need to concent
All the positive reviews are obviously manufactured from head office/Area Managers/Regional Managers
It's very clear that all the positive reviews are obviously manufactured from Head Office/Area Managers/Regional Managers.
I suggest to Holland & Barrett some Management Tips from Roman Slave Owners.
'The Romans understood the household as the basis of their society, and well-functioning households needed slaves. And just like employees at corporations, slaves responded better to reasonably good treatment and opportunities to improve their standing in the house than they did to abject beatings'
I worked at Holland & Barrett Retail 'Paid' Part-Time 28 hours for a 'Unpaid' Full-Time job (for nearly 2 years )
At one stage I was alone covering the manager who left the company, with no staff or help from area manager (I had been there a few months with very poor training) to run a store by myself for 10 weeks. I surprisingly did very well and the store did brilliantly and people noticed! I was best in the region in all the sales tables for the 10 weeks and mentioned CEO monthly blog. I was very proud of what I achieved.
I kept asking for Manager positions all over the region without any luck. My Area Manager really didn't like me is the blunt of it. I was fully capable and with all my experience plus my passion for people. I felt very dissatisfied.
Pros:
Some of the staff are lovely.
Cons:
Managers take home just over £1000 a month. A Supervisor about £650. I don't think this justifies the vast amounts unpaid overtime and the considerable amount of L
ProsSome of the staff are lovely.
ConsSecret shoppers, Training updates, Not getting paid, Paid monthly for minimum wage, Lone working lot, Very high pressure sales for Supervisors level & upwards, Ask open questions to everyone who enters the store & link sell 4 items to every customer
MANAGEMENT
Ignorant, bossy and know-it-all behaviour. It didn't feel like working in a nice environment or feeling like a big family.
WORKING HOURS
As Supervisor, I was almost forced into over 50 hours a week by the manager as this was 'expected from a Supervisor', while all other employees were kept Part Time, apparently because 'too many people are leaving too often and this is risky for the company'.
WORKLOAD
On delivery days, the store was messy, not up to health and safety standards, and we were forced moving heavy boxes upstairs and downstairs sweating like crazy.
All while asked to reach certain sale targets daily (if not met, we could risk our jobs). Not to mention how the manager would make us work with and delivery, while he was standing on the till taking sales under his name.
FACILITIES DEPARTMENT
Fridge temperatures were wrong as thermometers and fridge were constantly broken. These issues were reported to the facility department, who always ignored us.
We also constantly reported other issues, from staff broken toilets, store shelves broken, top cupboards broken and falling down (which endangered customers and us while working). So the store was kept a hazard environment.
TECHNOLOGY
Slow, messy and not up to date technology. Several times, there were issues for the system used at the till as it wouldn't work, connect to internet, turn on, load etc.. Many times we had to work writing down customer details or product purchased, or had to stay
I began in a small store as an associate. There were enough staff members, good targets, just a few KPIs and focus was on customer care not selling unnecessary products. Over the 8 years I was with H&B I progressed through the company. The training when I began was reasonable, adaptive to learning styles, considerate of learning disabilities and reflected in the pay. Now it's restrictive to one particular learning style, colleagues are rushed through and pay is not competitive and suitable for the level of training expected. Stores are not given adequate resources, there are stores with no common areas or facilities for the disabled, places with just a sink in the stockroom with a cupboard and this is designated the staff room/kitchen, no tables or chairs for lunch breaks. There were expensive changes with new back office systems and hand held scanners (both of which were implemented too soon and took months before they functioned properly) and yet stores were suffering a recruitment freeze (staying understaffed), told they couldn't cover staff holiday/sickness and told they couldn't even order toilet paper to save money. During my time as a manager I was strict with rotas and adhering to hours allowance, yet staff had incorrect pay and I had to chase this up with payroll and it would take weeks sometimes months to correct the error. Staff safety and well-being is not considered at Holland & Barrett. Staff are expected to lone trade, this will sometimes be all day in a busy h
ProsNone
ConsNo work life balance, LONE TRADING, unrealistic targets, excessive KPIs, no concern for staff welfare, inadequate resources, poor pay, staff shortages/high turnover, poor priorities, incompetent departments.
Overall not a bad place to work. I was hesitant at first from the reviews, only to discover the management and associates I worked with were quite lovely and supportive. Other store managers and staff were also helpful - only a phone call away to answer queries. Stores seem to help each other out for cover with store associates doing shifts at nearby Stores and being reimbursed for travel expenses, but there are still moments of lone trading which is unacceptable. I was under the impression Head Office are looking into eliminating lone trading, but this was not resolved during my time there. Stockroom and storage systems (for the store I worked in) could do with an upgrade - overhead cabinets are not ideal from both a Sales and Safety perspective.
There is alot of e-learning and product knowledge which at first glance is quite overwhelming, but its all informative and really does help with customer engagment and finding the right products for them. I also appreciated the communication through their "Hub" - it made it easy to access e-learning, log IT issues, etc. and get updates on new promotions so you could be prepared for the next big task or product launch. I was given time to work on the e-learning in store on the clock or found time in-between tasks, particularly on days when the shop was quiet. Most days there is plenty of tasking to do along with being proactive with customers so you're always busy.
KPIs such as Sales Targets, Counter Unit sales, and Loyalty Card e
ProsDiscount on products Supportive culture Opportunities for progression
ConsFrequent lone trading Fluctuation of hours and schedule changes Challenging KPIs
1.0
Retail Sales Associate | West Midlands | Sep 4, 2015
Terrible
A typical day at Holland and Barrett involves restocking the shelves, tidying the store and helping customers find products suitable to their needs.
Advising customers requires a great deal of specialised knowledge which is gained through massive amounts of training. The training can be divided into two parts: Workbooks which must be taken home and completed in your own time, you are not paid for these workbooks. The other part is training updates, these come down from head office every few weeks and must also be completed in your own time, except you cannot take these home so expect to be working on them through your lunch break.
Considering that the job requires such huge amounts of knowledge and training, it is very low pay with store associates earning minimum wage until they are more qualified, which earns you a pay rise of 17p per hour. Associates also earn 1% commission on all sales, this may sound like a lot but that 1% is then divided between all members of staff working that day. The commission is also dependant on customer service reviews provided by customers. If the store's total review score is lower than 50% then you will not earn any commission, and if it is lower than 70% you will only earn half of your commission.
You will also be required to travel across the country to attend three training courses. These training courses are paid, travel will be paid back and a £4 lunch allowance is given.
Management is often very poor. Managers have very little idea
Pros25% staff discount, friendly colleagues, a few nice customers
ConsLong hours, lack of communication, unpaid training, early starts, late finishes, awful managers
Obviously I can't speak for the entire H&B estate across the country, but the region I was apart of was appalling.
Where to start? An inexperienced manager who was clearly hired on ability to sell alone and absolutely nothing else (or rather, bully customers into buying products they didn't need). On more than one occasion I was largely doing the manager's job for them, like submitting the staff hours for example. They didn't know how to handle staff, had no clue about the operations of running a store and what's involved, no work ethic (rarely lifted a finger) and took responsibility for absolutely nothing. It was always someone else's fault, 'the internets down', 'the area manager told us the wrong thing', 'head office are useless' etc. More than once I was thrown under the bus, which led me to give up to an extent and become completely disenfranchised. My manager was constantly causing dissent within the team, and put ridiculous twists on comments made, which obviously caused issues and an atmosphere. To top it all off, the store manager would frequently make inaccurate, and even illegal, claims about the products Holland & Barrett sold; probiotics to treat chemotherapy treatment for example and CBD to aid sleep.
The company did not once provide me either physically or digitally with a contract detailing days I was to work. You're told your contracted hours, however even though I could prove with my interview notes my availability from day dot they still tried telli
