The list is endless. You work an average of 55-70 hours per week with no thanks or gratitude. Your staff are expected to work extra hours for free and if they don't, the area manager and divisonal managers tell you to get rid of them. Stocktake are mandatory and you can be doing them every two or three weeks. If staff are off sick or on holiday, you have to stay until its complete which can be till 1am when you have been working since 7am. Breaks ? What breaks !! They expect you to work 14 hours with a 30 minute break. Holidays are constantly denied if another manager is off in the same area. If your store is messy and you are on holiday, the area manager will call you to come in.
You are expected to work 6 or 7 full pallets of frozen delivery in under 2 hours with no staff so the stock defrosts daily. If a customer calls up and lies about any member of staff or any product, they are treated as gods and the staff are treated like criminals and have to prove their innocence. Let's get one thing straight here, George Herd is trying to be Aldi and failing badly. As ruthless as he is stupid. He is getting rid of all the older managers and bringing in graduates and younger managers who will work like slaves and are too timid to fight back or to question the hierarchy. Good managers have been forced out with bullying and believe me, Farmfoods Area Managers and Divisonal Managers are liars and bullies. Staff and management turnover in this company are huge as people join and then realise they have made a massive mistake. Shoplifters are another joke. They can take what they want and walk out and you are told not to challenge them. Lots of stores don't have CCTV, so you have no protection at all from the shoplifters. And the Area Managers couldn't care less and never will.
They expect the stores to be immaculate and we'll stocked with no hours and no staff and just constantly give you never ending grief. Their is no praise, no thanks and I only had 1 appraisal in 5 years.
Deliveries turn up when they want and if they are like 4 hours late, you are expected to send your staff home and bring them back when It arrives. Can't blame the staff for saying no.
All I can say is Avoid this company if you want a family life, friends and a social life. This company is not for people with families as you need to be more flexible than an Olympic gymnast.
Don't do it to yourself and keep your sanity and your family and friends, otherwise you will end up another burnt out statistic.
Career opportunities !!! Store manager is as far as you can go. Area manager is only for graduates now, so a career past manager is non existent.