Pros
Most of the staff I worked with were genuinely kind, hardworking and supportive. My coworkers themselves made the shifts more manageable and were often far more helpful than management when learning tasks.
Cons
My experience with management was disappointing and at times quite stressful. Training on tills was extremely limited (roughly a few minutes alongside an app that did not properly prepare new starters for real situations at the checkout), yet mistakes were frequently criticised as though staff were expected to already know the systems confidently. I often felt anxious coming into shifts because there was a strong focus on mistakes despite a lack of proper practical training. For example, when processing returns I was expected to know the system immediately, and when issues occurred and I called for help, I was often made to feel silly or incompetent rather than supported and guided through the process professionally. There also seemed to be inconsistent management behaviour where communication could feel overly critical or condescending one day, then completely different the next, which created an uncomfortable environment. Several other staff members also appeared to share frustrations regarding management style and workplace communication. I was dealing with kidney stone pain during my employment and struggled with standing for long periods at times, but I did not feel particularly supported regarding this, though after 2 meetings i was finally given some extra help regarding this. One manager was extremely understanding and kind to my situation whereas the general manager was extremely rude. Comments questioning why I could not stand as long as other staff members felt dismissive considering the circumstances. I would like the general manager to experience the pain of having a 3cm+ stone inside of him and question him on why he is not able to stand for 4+ hours especially when he has the privilege of sitting in his office a majority of the time. I also experienced situations involving scams/issues at the tills where I was blamed despite never receiving proper training on how to identify or handle these situations beforehand. It felt contradictory to be criticised for mistakes while simultaneously being told to call managers for support with nearly every issue. Additionally, I was asked personal questions unrelated to work, including questions regarding my student finance income, which I found inappropriate and uncomfortable in a workplace setting especially when this was made by the general manager which was already a power imbalance and extremely inappropriate and irrelevant to the job at hand.