Employed as Assistant Manager i found myself doing more than the manager and getting paid nothing for it, my salary was shocking on under 17k for a fast paced environment, the management was stressing all the time over sales and the store standards yet did nothing to motivate the team and stay in control of the store, i gave ideas etc on how to drive sales and motivate the team but nothing was ever done and my opinion was just brushed off. manager would sit in the office all day and drink tea and smoke which is the only time we saw them come out the office. yes they have paperwork to do but not for 9 hours a day!
Cons for this company as you are made to sign a short service agreement at the commencement of your employment (at your induction) or 2 years where they can dismiss you for ANY reason what so ever, i gave up my old position as a well paid store manager for more flexibility in work life and progression only to be dismissed a month later leaving me without employment and at the job centre!
i would stay away from this company as they do not care about you as an employee and will do what they can to dismiss if they do not like the way you are or your personality, i worked hard kept my nose clean and still got treated very poor.
Through my time with B&M i spoke to a lot of managers and higher staff from HO and they all said it is not a good company to work for, even higher management would slate the company and say they have been looking for other employment and wish
Always short staffed, store manager more concerned about their bonus then staffing store appropriately. Head office not interested when issues are raised (health and safety etc). No air conditioning means in summer, stores are 30+ degrees which leads to staff suffering heat exhaustion and chocolate melting. Company does not care about staff, all about profit.
No proper training given, you are just 'buddyed' up with another staff member.
Clear divide between day staff and night staff. Not enough forklift trained drivers, so if a delivery is late and comes after the driver has gone home, deliveries are taken off using pump trucks which (depending on size of delivery) can take several hours, working in an unlit loading area.
If your face doesn't fit, you won't be treated fairly. Managers have clear favourites within employees.
Problems with wages nearly every month. If you are underpaid, it can take a few months to get what you are owed. It's always someone else's problem and is difficult to get things sorted.
If you win employee of the month award, you are meant to receive a £10 B&M voucher. I and another colleague have been waiting over 1 year for ours even though subsequent winners have been given theirs. Managers /head office useless.
Problems with rotas regularly. Shifts are changed without telling you and after saying you are unavailable to work on a certain day, you are still rotad on to work that day and you have to find cover.
Start the day with ensuring the store is ready to trade. Most recovery is done in the evening we come in and ensure we are ready to take on the day and trade our stores hard by ensuring the basics are in place with availability, cleaning and being ticketed. We can be as commercial as we like to be and have full autonomy to back lines and best sellers how we wish. Compliance is followed and we are safe and secure. Help is on top of our agenda for the day. We like to ensure our customers are getting the best possible experience in store and leave smiling. it’s always nice to hear positive feedback about shopping experiences and about the great service received. The culture in the work place is very much like a family and everyone is PROUD to work at B&M and very passionate about their store. The most enjoyable part of the job really is how busy we can get and how time goes by so quickly, it can be fast paced and if this is something you enjoy then B&M is for you. the hardest part can be linked to distribution, i know B&M is always advancing with operation, but right now with the busier spells can struggle to keep up and the stock incoming can get bottle necked. He still face this head on and once the stock lands prioritise and get it worked. It’s always nice to get recognised by the Area manager for efforts made too in delivering a good store.
B&M is a workplace like no other, it is fast paced and everyone takes great pride in their work. If there are challenges the whole team will work quickly and effectively to solve them and nothing is too much trouble. As a company B&M is constantly growing and getting better and they reinvest this growth back into colleagues and stores with schemes, learning opportunities, technology, new/improved equiptment and new systems.
There is never a typical day at B&M each one is different and thats what makes it so unique a place to work. One day you might be replenishing the shelves, the next you might be setting up a new aisle or display and the next you might be on tills serving customers.
The workplace culture is great within B&M, everyone works as a team to get the job done and provide our customers with the best experience possible. Management are amazing and will always try as best they can to cater to your needs, for example changing your shifts to different hours at short notice if you can't make it for personal reasons.
The most enjoyable part of my job is dealing with customers, I love going above and beyond to help them and do everything within my power to assit them.
ProsGreat atmosphere and amazing friendly staff.
3.0
Replenishment Manager | Fareham, VI | Mar 17, 2021
Good place providing working with great staff
I have been working at B&M for almost 8 years now i started of as a shop floor assistant and was promoted to manager after 6 months. It has opened my eyes to what retail is like your continously on the go as they are forever throwing department relays at you week in week out as well as dealing with the mega amounts of stock and hoards of customers coming in. When u do achieve ur relay it gives u a great feeling inside and u feel a job well done. During the current covid pandemic it has been mega tough and they still throw department relays at you sometimes 5 in a week and still expect them done while dealing with lots more stock and lots more customers and u can't get the relays done as the aisles get too busy with customers and its hard to control social distancing when customers don't listen to the signs and announcements and head office limit how much we can do. But other all its a good company to work for. I wish they would move with the times on the pay as its very low wage and other places for my role you would get more.
I worked at this store as a part time christmas temp for just over a month. The pay was poor, the hours were very long, the managers were lazy, clueless, unethical and generally treated everyone below them like rubbish. They often tried to make me do unscheduled shifts on days where I wasn't available (I did a full-time college course during the week, so they knew the days I wasn't able to do).
Someone I worked with there was physically assaulted by a group of men while he was on his shift. The managers accused the employee of provoking the group, when he hadn't. They sacked him.
I didn't receive any training. As a result, I, along with other new employees, were thrown into the deep end without knowing what to do, or where any of the stock in the store was. Customers would get annoyed with us for not knowing, and the management team would get frustrated with us.
I left after about 6 weeks, as I couldn't cope anymore. I was (and still am) suffering from Depression and Social anxiety, and remaining in that environment was making me feel worse.
ConsBad pay, long hours, no training, treated poorly.
steer well clear of this terrbile company to work for!!!
Where to begin? From the beginning a lot of promises were said but never followed up on. Me and fellow colleagues helped build up a new b&m store from scratch which took a lot hardwork and what shopfitters would usually do. We helped put up everything from shelfs to pannels, we were literally used and abused. Once the store was open they would drop peoples hours from 50% for example and expect people to survive on 10 hour shifts weekly which is not even part time hours. A lot of blackmailing went on during the probation period because the management had the ammunition of knowing people had not signed a contract, any voice you had on things, management did not take any notice of. A lot of favourtism occured and management liked to speak to people like dirt. Also on 6 hour shifts we were only allowed 15 min breaks which im sure is breaking the law. It was like working on a slave ship for very low pay, I would avoid this company by all means.
I worked for the B&M for more than 3 years. I never had any complaint from the customer or from the management, I did everything according to the schedule and work hard, as long as short I did my best at work all the time, but the result as a carrier development was nil because of poor management.
There is a lack of products and staff security in every branch,
Further the managers take advantage with the power they have, they fill the vacancy without merit basis. They don't consider the experienced staff to promote to the upper available position.
Hours distribution is only depend on manager likeness not to the deserving staff.
When the employed someone they kept the two week wedges and this money I never get back since I left the B&M.
They never speak with the shop floor assistant to ask If they have any issues with the manager. Its seems like mismanagement,
Good working environment with plenty of opportunities to progress
I have worked for the company for over three years and throughout my time at B&M I have taken on a variety of roles. Starting out in an admin role I have worked my way up to a cash office supervisor, along the way picking up many skills, such as communication and leadership, skills that will help me both in my current position and any future career paths I choose to follow. I was also given the opportunity to gain a retail qualification through the SQA, this was beneficial as it increased my awareness of the overall operation of the business and I felt supported through my learning from the management team in store and the organisation that delivered this course.
ProsOpportunities for development and approachable management team
ConsAge-based pay, as a younger person I get paid less than most of my colleagues for doing the same job
Really family feel to my work place lots of praise and recognition
I started at B&M 5 years ago just wanted a no hassle part time job .loved the company that much I wanted to progress and there support as helped me become a full time deputy manager for a large new store at Doncaster my confidence as amazed even me I joined onto there apprenticeship course was unsure at first because school wasn't enjoyable for me but I feel so passionate now about it I would recommend anyone to give it ago .if someone told me at 41 I'd be doing an apprenticeship I would have said there mad but it's the best thing I've ever started .I have the support of my manager and area manager and of my mentors .I've worked for other big companies for a lot of years and never felt any kind of praise or recognition I'm not just a number I'm part of a successful team proud to be B&M.
- worst place to work! Definitely a culture of if your face fits. If you suck up to management, drive them about, bring them in coffees etc, basically be their PA then you will go far.
- hard work gets you absolutely nowhere! Do everything that is expected of a great employee and go out of your way to do your best, improve, help others, cover shifts, work tonnes of extra shifts for free to help out does absolutely nothing. You do not even get employee of the month. Be lazy, never get all your work done, be rude to customers and in general be a bad employee but have a laugh with the manager then you are doing great.
- problems that have been ongoing for years, like the same members of staff repeatedly doing the same mistakes like NEVER pricing their aisle or rotating dates with stock goes unoticed. Even when it is pointed out. In fact they just get employee of the month or the overtime they have been looking for.
- pricing is always a problem, always will be and has been for years but nothing gets done about it so it will just continue. Pricing problems not only aggrivate and put cusomters off but it also causes major problems for till staff having to deal with angry customers and holding up the queue. The till staff then have to call for a member of staff to go and check the correct price. Sometimes the bar codes do not work either so if the person who put the stock out actually went to price it they would realise this and it could be taken to the office for
ProsStaff, banter with staff and customers, 10% discounts, sometimes getting items like bedding or rugs for 10p or £1.00
ConsNo training, no progression or benefits unless you are management, minimum wage, stocktakes, favouritism, bullying I could go on all day.
I got sent to B&M on a two week "placement" whilst I was on Job Seeker's - I was already volunteering three days a week at a charity at the time.
My first day consisted of an "induction" which lasted approximately three hours - we signed paperwork, and were shown the fire exits within the store.
I asked the manager of the day if I was okay to wear a long-sleeved, plain jumper (not unlike the company-provided ones, sans logo.) and this was okayed after I explained that I had eczema on my arms; I understand that it's not nice to look at, and I prefer to have it covered up in any case. But just an hour later, she scolded me for wearing a jumper and asked me to take it off; I had an appropriate t-shirt and changed into this, but was later told to change BACK into my jumper as there had been "complaints" about my eczema.
All this aside, my co-workers were lovely - perfectly willing to show me what to do and help me. Mostly, I was left to my own devices, making sure that stock was appropriately rotated, and faced forward. On my first day, I had done what was asked of me, and attempted to find a manager to find out what I ought to do next. On my way, I saw an employee who was struggling with her job, so I offered some assistance. We completed it together, and the manager came up to me at this point, and scolded me for using my own initiative and helping a co-worker.
I was also made to push stock cages that were taller and heavier than me, despite obviously struggling wit
ProsSome nice co-workers
ConsAwful manager, lack of consideration for health conditions, privacy not considered during bag searches, bad organisation.
Stressful, chaotic, zero communication, just awful.
B&M in a nutshell.
As Till Staff you are made to work in severely understaffed situations. It can be packed in store, and you would be the only till staff on duty (not including till supervisors), you can be in situations where you need a supervisor to reduce something or speak to a customer, and they would all be sat in the office talking (this will be a recurring trend). If you are someone who has social anxiety, that wont be taken into account, you will just be moaned at for not selling more upsells.
As Shop Floor, your job is basically quantity over quality. When putting out stock, its just about pallet count "How many pallets have you done" "why haven't you done 'said' amount of pallets" they don't care if you put the same product at 3-4 different points on an isle, as long as you don't bring it back in the warehouse. This leads to the store looking awful. You spend time merchandising the area you want to put some stock out, so that the products you have will actually fit, and look tidy? You will be told off for taking too long putting stock out. Are you the kind of person who will go out of their way to help customers? you'll get told off for not working stock fast enough.
There can be situations where both Shop Floor, and Shop Floor Supervisors are working stock, The Supervisors would just throw pallets of overstock and cages of cardboard in the warehouse, (and therefore work the stock quicker) then complain at the shop floor for working slower than them. If s
ProsGreat Co-Workers.....that's about it.
ConsMinimum Wage, unorganized, huge lack of communication, favoritism, bullying, treated like pigs.
Hollow promises, poorly run company, hapless management
When I started at B&M it was from the very beginning, I was 'trained' (I watched a ton of irrelevant videos) with people who became the reason I continued the job. We put the place together, became like a family, hours were good and management were laid back and pretty understanding. The first two months were fantastic and I can't take that away. However...
Come the end of the second month it began slipping, and fast. Waves of redundancy whittled down staff from 80 employees to 20. The workload kept increasing, the teams were less than half their original size and we're all expected to meet totally unrealistic targets in order to keep our jobs. The hours went from 40 down as low as 10 some weeks, now reaching their plateau at 20 meaning our salaries are just pitiful.
The immaturity and lack of professionalism within the management was at first endearing but in time you learn a company can't operate like this. Rumours run rampant in all walks of the store, no intervention in fact the flames were fanned by management till morale completely declined and favouritism took over. The total lack of competence is quite literally indescribable, if you came from a professionally run company such as ASDA or Sainsburys, you would be horrified I can pretty much guarantee.
The 'freedom to retail' they tout means they can and will rearrange half the shelving at whim and you will be penalised for the extra time you take in having to track down the newly located lines of stock. Th
A typical day would involve entering the store, going through to the back & signing the attendance sheet. There's normally someone there to talk with & get yourself ready for work...
Then it goes downhill!
I used to get on with my work as soon as time started, as did the other replenishment staff. While the day staff would be sitting around the canteen or chatting in the aisle/ at tills. Management would be in the office... doing "paperwork"
It was fine and didn't bother me at the beginning... but it soon becomes apparent that YOU are working way harder than other staff, yet paid the same wages... £6.05 per hour by the way... legally the lowest wage possible.
I could be standing unloading a cage, then talking with customers & helping with their enquiries. The cages were old & some broken, but just functional... BARELY. I'd load the cage full, go out into the store and begin re-stocking the shelves - a day staff member would come up & start chatting... would they help with the cage? NOPE! They stand there watching you work, sweating and worried your not moving quick enough... no teamwork there - then twaddle off to the canteen for another drink/chat up with other staff...
I worked extremely hard, as did other members of the replenishment team. We did a lot of good work but never really got thanked - and if you were it was like a backhanded "ta-very much! oh you're sooo great at your job!" patronising way. Treated like a child, even though your an adult trying to
ProsThe day I chose to leave, it's close to home... some nice people I worked with
ConsMy mental health suffered, Horrid pay, Low morale, stuck in a rut type job
Without a doubt the worst place I've ever had the misfortune of working, even after quitting I still can't decide what the worst part about it was. From 0 covid precautions to the dealing with the most ill mannered customers no day in B&M is ever the same - it somehow gets worse with every passing day. Favouritism runs rife across the board from work duties to working hours and that's something that won't change so if you for some reason still decide to apply for a job here don't think you'll be enjoying weekends off anytime soon. A prime example of this favouritism is asking evening staff members to start early unpaid to allow day staff to go home, when in reality the day staff sit in the canteen with 20 minutes to go on their shift and the night staff are 9/10 times forced to stay 15 mins unpaid after while waiting to be let out of the building.
The management and a few of the supervisors have 0 management and man management skills. Seriously have to wonder how they managed to get the job. They treat the staff like dirt and speak to them in the same manner. The store manager is so disconnected from what goes on with their own staff and only cares about whinging at stuff they can't be bothered to do themselves. Don't think for one second about voicing any concerns because they will be swiftly ignored.
During covid the lack of any precautions speaks volumes for what type of store B&M is, from no social distancing in the canteen, to 80% of staff and customers not wearing mas
B&m is a fun environment to work in, everyone’s always up for having a laugh & your always being productive so when it comes to long hours you don’t actually feel like you’ve been there for that long. I’ve always loved my job & being in customer service. You’ll find people who you get along with more than others & you’ll soon find your regulars that come in who you can have a laugh with.
They don’t tend take your mental health into consideration. Sometimes the long hours can be draining when you’re not in the right head space but they don’t understand that. I’ve suffered a lot whilst working here & when it came to returning work no one ever really asked how I was or if I wanted any help, it just got brushed under the carpet & forgotten about. They offered the retail trust service so I rang them explained how I was feeling they just told me to ring 999 if I ever felt in danger towards myself & that was it. The way B&m described my mental health issues was an ‘illness’ which it is far from that.
The wages are only minimum wage so when I first started at the age of 16 I was only on £4.35 & I’d do 30 hours a week & only came out with just over £400 a month, even now I’m 19 I’m on £6.56 which i don’t think is very fair considering I do a lot more work compared to some of the older ones.
I think the younger staff are treated very differently compared to the older ones, the younger ones seem to be watched a lot of the time on things they’re doing.
Having no drinks or chairs allow
Pros10% discount
Consno chairs on tills, no drinks, no support, no work-life balance, poor wages
3.0
Customer Service Representative | Belfast | Nov 25, 2021
Productive workplace, Fast paced workplace, Bad Salary
I have been working at b&m for nearly two and half years and I can say I have had my ups and downs with the company especially regarding the salary that b&m pays for there younger staff as well. At the age of 18 I was working the same hours as some of the senior staff and they were making at least £300 more than what I was and we were both working the same hours and doing the exact same job therefore I was struggling to make ends meet with paying certain stuff off and not being able to afford some of the stuff my friends were getting like being able to get a house/apartment or even just by going away as I was working long hours just to be able to get by. I can say that b&m are a very fast paced business that can give you the experience to learn more quickly and to be able to stock shelves a lot quicker. I would say when I first came to b&m the training I got was limited and had to learn off other staff members who of course were very helpful with helping me and I can say I have enjoyed my time at b&m but I would say they definitely have to do something about the salary that they pay there staff cause it is ridiculous how staff are paid depending on the age yous are as you are doing the same job as everyone else and are coming out with a different pay every month. I would also say for staff being able to step up into management roles is limited as well as if you aren’t approached by your manger or it isn’t put on the notice board in the staff area then you aren’t told about a
ProsFriendly staff who are willing to help when needed
I worked for B&M from the age of 17 till i was 20 years old. The money was good for my age at the time and i got regular pay rises starting at £6.50 to £9.55 per hour but only if i asked for it and was willing to do different jobs. Training is very slow within the company but is available. Its not bad its just theres a lot of conflict between shifts due to management wanting to be the 'best' shift which means preferential jobs were given to shift members on the current shift even if they are not the right fit for the job or not very good at their job.
for example,
i was a reach truck driver who was averaging around about 13 pallets a hour every day on my shift and 110cph picking and worked on the weekend shift. However, when my shift crossed with the week shift instead of doing my normal job i would be told after the start of the shift to go onto picking. which if youve worked in a warehouse before is a bit rubbish because chances of there being a good LLOP left is very slim meaning your gonna look bad at your job.
heath and safety at the time was very poor with bad 'roads' for trucks being cracked and uneven which when driving a reach truck or counterbalance and getting a pallet from level 3-6 this causes a huge risk as you could push the pallet through the other side potentially killing someone.
Managers were probably one of the worst aspects of the job with them not pulling their weight in the work place. I was promoted to manager working at B&M and i witne
Don't do it
Ne le faites pas
Tun es nicht
Non lo fate
それを行ういけない
ampun nindakaken
мұны білмеймін
그렇게 해달라고
dont facere illud
dont darīt to
Dont tai padaryti
үүнийг бүү
nie należy tego robić
não fazê-lo
ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ dont
dont a face aceasta
не делаем его
I think I have covered most languages here,
I'm sure not all areas are the same and I'm convinced that your experience in this company will purely be down to who your area manager is and how you are supporting delivering their area not just your store, you are employed to deliver their area not your store
this company will take your soul and will replace you when your burnt out simple there is no loyalty in the company at all
The recruitment adverts make suggestions to autonomy....believe me there is no freedom to retail it's all about the area managers autonomy
store management are threatened into making so many commitments that I can't honestly remember what I agreed to and when in the end
Again this is driven my the area manager I I have little doubt any of this was sanctioned by the HR dept
The biggest issue is there is no right or wrong when if comes to merchandising your stores it's all based on opinion and believe me it's not yours or your teams opinion that counts
you will need to have a strong partner to stand by you if you start work with this company as there is no work life balance at all,
there is a huge difference between engaging with your team to drive produc
ProsSurrounded by a hard working team
ConsEverything else
Questions And Answers about B&M
What is the work environment and culture like at B&M Retail?
Asked Sep 20, 2020
environment is a fast paced ever changing variety retailer with good Culture within the business
Answered May 22, 2021
friendly staff and goal focused management
Answered Jan 28, 2021
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at B&M Retail?
Asked Sep 20, 2020
Be your self
Answered Oct 26, 2021
Learn about the company so you know the background of where you want to work
Answered Nov 21, 2020
What advice would you give the CEO of B&M Retail about how to improve it?
Asked Jul 20, 2020
Improve communication between shop floor staff and H.O.
Training for people in charge, so they can answer questions that a H.R. would deal with.
Decent pay rise.
Better contract hours.
Clarification on holidays, spread out through the year, not struggling to fit them in in march.(or loose them, not fair)
Employ store detectives that would cover 4 or 5 stores each team so the same people thieving, stop getting away with it.
Answered Mar 18, 2021
I love B&M and think it's definitely moving in the right direction.
Answered Feb 8, 2021
If you were in charge, what would you do to make B&M Retail a better place to work?
Asked Jul 3, 2020
I always like to work hard and make sure jobs are done in the correct way and I will help to guide my staff to make sure they are happy in there work and role and I would also make sure everyone is happy and healthy and would always be there for them to talk if ever one of them had a problem
Answered Feb 24, 2021
better rate of pay
Answered Sep 5, 2020
How flexible are your working hours at B&M Retail?
Asked Jul 3, 2020
Good flexibility within reason Obviously the company has needs also
