Usually a typical day involved driving the fork lifts and stocking shelves but on occasions I would be moved into other positions.
I learnt a lot about customer service and how to handle all customers in a professional manner.
The management were mostly good, understanding and supportive but there was one who had a tendency of not backing up their staff on occasions when they should which ultimately lead to the store losing money and business.
My co-workers were excellent and a pleasure to work with. I learnt a lot from them.
The hardest part of the job was swapping from nights to days regularly.
The most enjoyable were driving the forklifts, working with customers and also being told that the store had received letters regarding my good customer service which was a big boost.
ProsWorking with customers and driving forklifts
Consswapping shifts
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Coleraine, MN | Oct 7, 2014
Don't expect to be treated like a human being.
The worst work environment I have ever encountered. No staff, and even less moral. Customers come into store expecting to be disappointed and so are always ready for a fight. Management are free to do whatever they want, which is usually sitting in the managers office watching all the people on a level 1 pay grade dealing with angry customers and complaints whilst also running the shop and doing all the work. I was in admin, doing all the paperwork for customer orders. I had to do this job from a checkout because staff levels were so low. Horrible place to work where anyone who is willing to brown nose will get far, but anyone relying on their good work and excellent customer service will be completely ignored. Company doesn't care at all about it's customers and even less about it's employees.
Loved the work. Lots of Lifting. Lots of walking.Got payed basically for keeping fit.Some very nice people. Spoilt by others
I was working in replenishment. The Job was very enjoyable. The only reason I left was because of the wrong supervisors in place.
And because of these so called supervisors I was suspended on full pay for 5 shifts as on one particular shift I couldn't stand the lack of management any more and asked to be let out 2 hours early. I told the supervisors that I would make the time up during the next week. When I returned for my next shift. I was told I had been suspended until further notice and escorted off the shop floor and told to wait in the canteen. I was then given a full disciplinary by my Manager and a supervisor with a witness in attendance and then and escorted out of the building. I thought this whole procedure absolutely ridiculous.
B&Q Athlone are going through a great transition and are very good to work for
I have an excellent team of staff who have performed extremely well and we have won a number of performance related competitions including the Best Performing Seasonal and Garden Centre in both the UK and Irish markets.
I look after all Promotional and Seasonal area's in the store which leads to a very busy working week. As each season starts and ends I would need to re-merchandise and promote these high footfall area's, such as the present Christmas floor display and promotional area,
Although this can be a very busy and highly pressurised part of the job I have an excellent team of co-workers who assist me with these.
A lot of my time would be forward planning promotions, store set up and stock and Point of Sale requirements for these promotional changes.
Poor management structure, no morals or regard for staff. Constant hammering of budgets targets figures, job threatened daily, fear factor drummed into every employee, not an ounce of compassion 0 room for error, employees come and go like the wind, absolutely no benefits, pay always late, full time contracts do not exist so when you take holiday they only pay you your contracted hours usually 16 per week. departmental supervisors are known as "managers" which gives them an unnecessary sense of power making them behave like complete tossers. Just don't get yourself into this sham of a company.
Had a part time after college job working on checkout asked to be given more responsibilities was moved to refunds till was stressful but I guess I learnt and happy management gave me a chance.
At that time and at my age as a teenager the money was better then other retailers offered would recommend for a starter job and also a career job witnessed many colleagues be promoted in departments they had interest in, I gave it an average as I personally dont like retail so it's not for me as a career.
I worked at B&Q in Melton Mowbray for around 2 months as a customer advisor in seasonal/hardware and loved every second. Although it was a short time, every single member of the team was welcoming, helpful and friendly from customer advisors, to management. Training is given from day one but every day was a new experience and kept me motivated to do well for both the business and the team around me. Would fully recommend as an excellent employer.
ProsGreat team, great management, great atmosphere.
ConsNone
5.0
Work Experience Placement | Corner, VA | Jun 15, 2016
Work Experience
Interacting with customers, assisting them with any questions or loading items onto trolley. Replenishing stock, watering plants and helping wherever necessary. I have learnt about all kinds of gardening plants and accessories. The management are really supportive and the people I work with are friendly knowledgeable and helpful. I really love the work I am doing, interacting with customers and helping with the smooth running of the seasonal department
ProsValuable experience
Consunpaid
2.0
Replenishment Associate | Darby, PA | May 28, 2013
fun was havin a lagh with the co workers
My review about b&q i was there for them when they needed for someone to do overtime MANGMENT they didnt get on with me but i was there for them CO-WORKERS we got on really good THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART was makin new friends and doin the forklift A TYPICAL DAY AT WORK was when i got in to work i always know wot i was doin and i alway had it done on time THE HARDEST PART was leavin but they wouldnt let me have my brack
Worked here as a temporary advisor on checkouts.
I've had a lot of jobs with named companies and this is one of the best in terms of work-life balance, I never felt stressed or felt like I was taking work home with me, the store was diverse but everyone accepted each other, they were generally flexible etc.
The only annoying thing would be the last minute change of shifts they would do.
ProsReally good breaks- 15 mins on 5 hour shift at least
ConsLast minute rota changes
2.0
Customer Service Representative | West Midlands | Sep 13, 2016
Not great but could be worse
Where to start: So I want to start out by saying that there are far worse employers to work for (and i know from experience) but that being said there are some key problems with the company and as such I will list them below:
1) Contracts- Probably my main issue with the company.
-Firstly you are incredibly lucky if you are not offered with a weekend contract. Essentially this means that whilst you can work overtime in the week you MUST work every saturday and sunday (unless it is booked as a holiday) There isn't really any flexibility with this kind of contract for example, if you want to swap a saturday and/or sunday for a day in the week because of an important event you cannot really do this. As a result this severely affects your social life.
-Secondly you are also lucky to be offered with a full time contract (39 hours) or anything over or equal to 30 hours. Instead they will hire several people on 16-24 hour contracts and give them full time work when it suits the company. But when the overtime gets cut during bad sales months, expect to be working just your contract. I find this unfair on people who rely on the job for full time work. Also when you book your holidays you will only be paid for your contracted hours. The company's counter argument to this is that it means they have more staff to cover the busy periods but i think that this is inconsiderate and selfish on behalf of the company.
2)Management- This is a multi-layered criticism
-Management are oft
ProsBreaks, Pay (could be worse in retail), Holidays
ConsIncreasingly poor management, contracts, training
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Oldham | Sep 14, 2020
Worse place i ever worked, Modern day slavery.
The whole company is poorly managed and we are told we are hear for the greater good of the company and should worship B&Q as if it is a religion. Staff are overworked and exploited with poor pay and working conditions.
The company cuts costs at every level that you are burden with so much workload. The stores are understaffed and poorly run that it has a negative consequence on the employees in terms of customers complaining and taking out their frustration and shouting at the poor service you give them.
Everyone has a can't do attitude to work and the moral is really low due to the poor pay, workload, bad management, bad culture and working conditions which ruin your health. Everyone wants to leave and find a better job. But B&Q exploits the weak and vulnerable in society who can't get jobs elsewhere and are stuck and trapped there.
The management and the company don't care about the workers and treat you like rubbish. I have never worked in a company like this.
1) 50% of your colleagues are horrible unprofessional people.
2) Poor pay 50p to £1 above the minimum wage.
3) Overworked doing 3/4 people's jobs, as the company does not employ people.
4) No training is given so you have not got a clue how to do the job properly.
5) Short staff in every area of the store.
6) Management are rubbish and don’t have a clue how to manage people and get the best out of people.
7) The staff moral is really low
8) Poor health and safety and working conditions
Pros1) 50% of colleagues are friendly and nice to work with. 2) 20% staff discount
Cons50% of your colleagues are awful humans, 2) Poor pay 50p to £1 above the minimum wage, 3) Overworked doing 3/4 peoples jobs, 5) Short staff on every area of the store, 7) Moral is really low, 8) Poor health and safety and working conditions, 9) Staff toilets are not clean that you can’t even breath when you go in there smells of pooh, 11) No career development, but who wants to work there anywhere, 11) Exploitation of the weak and vulnerable in society who can’t get jobs elsewhere.
Friendly and helpful Co-workers and Managers, makes a job pleasant and a business succeed
Make sure that the customers are assisted no matter what tasks have to be done the customer came first.
Tidy the sections and make sure the products are well and looked after if they are alive.
Arrange prices and displays with new offers and remove the old displays when necessary.
Answer the call-outs whenever other department call for my department and walk over to get them the prices they need or answer any queries.
My department had 5 sections where I had to work in and help the customers, whether with other team members or if I worked with one other person or alone, have the ability to multi-task and be able to work under-pressure and in different seasons/weathers.
I worked inside and the majority of the time I worked outside looking after the products/ tidying and advising customers and whenever customers needed something from the warehouse I would assist them go there and bring them their orders.
I would do physical searches for products that the customers require or search online for them and provide other alternatives, or call other local places belonging to the company I worked for and ask them if they have the product that customers is looking for to reserve it.
My co-workers would be very helpful every person doing their role and being responsible for a section.
I learnt how to work with people from different backgrounds and about team work and also I learnt how vital it is to have good communication and being a responsible person in the role that I or
ProsNice team members in numerous departments
ConsSome irresponsible managers (not all) favouritism and not fully present, leaving more work for others
Worst Place I Ever Worked, Rubbish Management, Overworked Like Slaves and Poorly Paid, Full of Scallies and Chavs.
B&Q is the worst place I ever worked. Poorly managed by incompetent undeveloped management who don't know how to lead and manage and look after a team of workers. The manage are scally and chaves who have become managers because their face fits. They don't have a clue in management and never been trained to be managers.
The whole company is poorly managed and we are told we are here for the greater good of the company and should worship B&Q as if it is a religion. Staff are overworked and exploited with poor pay and working conditions.
The company cuts costs at every level that you are burden with so much workload. The stores are understaffed and poorly run that it has a negative consequence on the employees in terms of customers complaining and taking out their frustration and shouting at the poor service you give them.
Everyone has a can't do attitude to work and the moral is really low due to the poor pay, workload, bad management, bad culture and working conditions which ruin your health. Everyone wants to leave and find a better job. But B&Q exploits the weak and vulnerable in society who can't get jobs elsewhere and are stuck and trapped there. The management and the company don't care about the workers and treat you like rubbish. I have never worked in a company like this.
As you have read in other reviews this place is an awful place to work and the good reviews look and feel fake.
I have reduced my working hours since I started working there and n
Pros1) 50% of colleagues are friendly and nice to work with. 2) 20% staff discount
Cons1) 50% of your colleagues are scally and chaves, 2) Poor pay 50p to £1 above the minimum wage, 3) Overworked doing 3/4 peoples jobs, 5) Short staff on every area of the store, 7) Moral is really low, 8) Poor health and safety and working conditions, 9) Staff toilets are not clean that you can’t even breath when you go in there smells of pooh, 11) No career development, but who wants to work there anywhere, 11) Exploitation of the weak and vulnerable in society who can’t get jobs elsewhere.
First off, ill start with the positives. The actual job itself (the activities on shift etc) is not bad, and the colleagues I work with aside from some of the managers and supervisors and lovely and make the job bareable, amongst the regular staff there is a family like feel and we try our best to support one another and keep spirits up. I have developed skills which may serve well in the future such as running the timber saw, customer service, processing orders for deliveries, learning to use various equipment and systems which require a high level of responsibility. Thats really about it as far as the positives go.
And so the negatives.
Firstly, if doing more than 30 hours per week, say goodbye to any life you have outside of work. The shift patterns are terrible and designed as if they think their staff have no life at all outside of B and Q. I am mostly working 12pm-9pm with an unpaid lunch hour. Include an hours walking commute in with that and thats an entire 5 days a week totally used on B and Q. My days off will be irregular and as an example, i would finish at 8pm on a Sunday evening, making it home for 9, have the monday off for which most would be sent resting up after working physically hard for the past 4 days, before having to get up at 5am for an early shift on thr tuesday, giving you no chance to actually do anything worthwhile on your days off.
The pay is better than minimum wage but even so they hardly ever get your pay right and often completely for
Typical day at work is working 3 times as hard as you would normally work through lack of staff, they will never admit there is a staffing issue, and it's obviously cheaper to run a store with less staff,, most are part time ,,topping up there pensions, there are good people and shurkers who take the mickey, I'm lucky I work with a few good people who are good at there job,, I know it's annoys them when they see people not pulling there weight,, I guess that's down to a very poor store management who are unable to control there staff,,unfortunately the wages they pay arnt enough motivation for the staff for what they are doing,, they will claim they pay very good wages but in reality they don't pay nearly enough , In my time there my wages have only gone up through government rules and a low wage increase forcing them to put the wages up and my wages are still way off the a comparable warehouse job,, it's s weird one because it's retail they get away with paying less then they would for pure warehouse work,,even though a lot of the work is warehouse work, I guess that's how they make there money by keeping staff costs litterally at rock bottom. They have done extremely well over the lockdown and we got a frankly tiny bonus as a small thank you for putting our own health and safety on the line in lockdown,,, there is no loyalty for long serving staff,,they want one wage rate to pay someone who has 0 experience as me with a few years service,,I won't say .,,the workplace c
ProsHandy for commuting
ConsVery low wages and poor work life balance, quality of some staff work!
Before applying for B&Q I expected the job to be fun and enjoyable however I was quickly disappointed when starting my first day and have not been impressed since.
The management is poor and is slow to making easy decisions which non-managers are not allowed to have input to try and help them as we are 'incompetent' or at-least treated like we know nothing. There is a big divide between managers and full-time staff members for no reason.
Young staff members are treated like minions and have to do all the work no one else wants to do which do not allow them to grow or learn anything in the business often making them leave the job as they are missable and have no responsibilities. The young staff do not have any say in what they think can be done and often ignored when talking with managers and team leaders which I find rude and arrogant. The managers clearly feel that because they pay us well, 16-18 £8.30 they are allowed to treat us with zero respect and expect us to do a ridiculous amount of work as they pay so well. Older staff members seem to have an easier time as they are expected to do less even though we are employed under the same job title and get payed the same. The treatment to different age groups is clear and obvious as they are given easy jobs and stand around doing nothing. An often phrased used will be 'get so and so to do it they are young and have more energy'.
There is an extreme lack of teaching and training and all staff are thrown in and expect
Worked for B&Q for six years. It used to be a fun job... Until about a year before the poo hit the fan with the pandemic.
Job used to be entirely about helping the customers with their DIY project needs. But around 18 months/2 years ago, B&Q decided to do away with their in-store Night Crew. This meant that day staff were then responsible for putting deliveries away. This MASSIVELY impacted our normal day. Night Crew had 9 uninterrupted hours to put deliveries away overnight, but with deliveries now coming in at 8am and throughout the day, day staff would be expected to put deliveries away whilst also serving customers. B&Q says on it's new career adverts that "you're not just stacking shelves" but that is a lie. You spend 90% of your day putting deliveries away and helping customers has become a secondary part of the job. Our badges say "Customer Advisor" but more often than not, you are running around putting stock away and customers seem reluctant to ask anything because we are all clearly physically and mentally tired.
Management have their own little mini-groups and if you are not a brown-nose, you won't get anywhere in the Company. If you show even the remotest interest in a management/team leader role, you are made to jump thru so many hoops and "encouraged" onto an apprenticeship scheme. Hard work, experience and dedication ARE NOT rewarded.
As I say, the job used to be enjoyable, but when B&Q decided they were "an essential retailer" during the pandemic, B&Q became
Pros20% Discount Card, free tap water (woo i know!), free parking at store car park.
Conssubtle bullying by management waived off as "banter", no progression if you don't click (brown nose) with management, no fun allowed at all, inconsistency of shifts, shifts changed without enough notice, no work-life balance, primarily stock replenishment job not customer advisor job.
I would not wish this employment on my worst enemy.
I'd like to start this review by stating that I am not just another disgruntled sore ex-employee who was fired, or has walked out of the store in Hailstorm of curse words directed at management. I left on good terms because although I had every right to, I would not sink to that hypothetical level which management find joy being on (just so you understand that this is an entirely fair and truthful review based purely on experience.)
The main problem without a doubt is by far the management's;
*Arrogance,
*Ignorance,
*Incompetency,
*Complete disregard for any Employees' well-being, personal property, emotional stress and duress (caused by working at this store in particular, mainly regarding the rotas, sickness and in some extreme cases emotional break downs.)
If it wasn't for working under the constant threat of having disciplinary after disciplinary handed to you these working conditions would be made public knowledge, however employees who need the income to support their family or pay their mortgage are essentially trapped within this never ending labyrinth of tyranny (no exaggeration.)
The very notion of stability when holding any 'position' at B&Q is beyond a joke, If your knowledge consists of painting and decorating then you are automatically branded an expert at plumbing and expected to advise customers on those isles, or if your experience is more horticultural based you are suddenly bestowed the rank of master Joiner, as the isles are ne
ProsNone whatsoever.
ConsDemonic Management (I wish I was joking, believe me.)
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Nottingham | Sep 16, 2014
You make the judgement
During my time at B&Q, for me, there have been some ups and downs.
I started off as one from the job centre doing a work experience scheme the store did.
I found a majority of the staff to be ignorant and pretty much did not want to know or be helpful, although a small handful of staff were the complete opposite.
But as I went on during my two months, I actually enjoyed working there and helped out the replenishment team putting out stock. I was given a 8hour temp 3 month contract and was given the job to look after the trolleys in the car park, this was also enjoyable, especially during the summer in the sunshine (whenever we got it). As my contract was coming to an end, there was no communication from the managers or HR if I was being kept on or not, at this point, the checkout supervisor (who was basically my boss) sorted out the problem and told me to just keep coming in as normal, which is what I did.
As the year entered the wintery period, I was given a 8hour perm contract and did overtime with the Seasonal department, as well as working with trolleys. This helped me with my confidence and improve my customer service, also was worth it on pay day too. Seasonal department were a great bunch and I have a lot of respect for those guys, including the department's manager at this point.
As we approached Christmas, there was an in-store advertisement for the Replenishment team, with an offer of 15hours. I jumped at this opportunity, applied and sealed my position, leavi
Pros20% staff discount
ConsManagement and Rotas
Questions And Answers about B&Q
What is the interview process like at B&Q?
Asked Nov 14, 2021
No problems
Answered Nov 14, 2021
What benefits does B&Q offer?
Asked Jan 29, 2021
Discount and pension
Answered Jan 29, 2021
How are the working hours at B&Q?
Asked Oct 17, 2020
Very flexible
Answered Oct 17, 2020
What is the most stressful part about working at B&Q?
Asked Oct 8, 2019
Customers can be rude sometimes but youll get the hang of serving them quick enough
Answered Oct 8, 2019
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at B&Q?
