Next PLC
Next PLC Employee Reviews
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Tough
Great team, management tough, nothing ever good enough, no advancement, very slow days, not enough staff to cover all areas, needed to be in more than one place at any time
Productive workplace
At Next, I had stocked up sale items to ensure that the products were available for customers to buy. I worked very quickly, and I helped customers who had questions regarding items.
A micro-managed catastrophe.
Working at Next began somewhat wonderfully and one settled in pretty quickly to the routine and working with other members of staff. The fellow staff members, all wonderful. And that included lower management. On a higher level, it was much different.
However, a change in management quickly turned things upside down. Micro-management seemed to be the order of the day as the store manager no longer took the reigns and left the entire workload to sales managers and staff. It was soon pretty obvious by the number of those leaving the job, something was amiss. It is difficult to work in an environment when the manager ignores the staff's call for change in bonuses (or a lack thereof), in favour of defending the company "who work hard to keep us in a job in the first place" and already pay us enough. It is easy to understand why a manager who was earning in excess of €10+ an hour more than the staff, who are on minimum wage, to defend such actions of the higher authorities in the company.
The company uses poor excuses constantly to cut bonuses. A "tech refresh" to the entire company system was meant to improve how bonuses were allocated. However, one could only see the system cut bonuses left, right and centre. When management were approached, staff were told the system never lies, despite staff adhering to instructions given by the company themselves on how to achieve such figures. No matter how hard one worked, it was never enough. When it was enough, the company investigated how such high figures were hit and threatened to cut bonuses accordingly. There was no leeway. more... The whole delivery process system was a shambles and staff were expected to work for up to nine hours in a stockroom which had no windows for natural light, no ventilation to keep fresh air running through and on many occasions, a lack of amenities to carry out the process with the most efficiency. When printers failed, the staff, without any education on the machines, were expected to sort the issue.
The company recently introduced changes to a system known as "priority returns", which consisted at one time of sending returns made in store back to the depot in Belfast. However, the changes insisted that staff take quite a considerable amount of time to re-fold and re-package the items individually. One argued that this was a considerable amount of extra work and should be supplemented by improvements to wages to compliment such work. The request was quickly shot down with a feeble defence of the company and a claim that we're already being paid enough to do the work. Considering we were already on minimum wage and some members were already working there some five years without as much as an offer of a pay rise, one felt this was a small request in order to feel more appreciated by the company.
It also must be noted that one handed in their notice a week after a particular month's wage packet was handed out. However, four weeks later, the following months wage slip was administered with the grand sum of €0.00 at the bottom, essentially leaving me working the last three weeks of my contract with the company for free. Albeit, one worked two days a week to accommodate university studies, it was still a sum of money owed but never handed over. The company insisted this was due to how holidays were calculated however, the excuse was vague and consisted of no true concrete evidence as to why they refused to pay. It was simply an action to be accepted and to move on from. Goodness knows how much the company owe other staff who left over the years. less
However, a change in management quickly turned things upside down. Micro-management seemed to be the order of the day as the store manager no longer took the reigns and left the entire workload to sales managers and staff. It was soon pretty obvious by the number of those leaving the job, something was amiss. It is difficult to work in an environment when the manager ignores the staff's call for change in bonuses (or a lack thereof), in favour of defending the company "who work hard to keep us in a job in the first place" and already pay us enough. It is easy to understand why a manager who was earning in excess of €10+ an hour more than the staff, who are on minimum wage, to defend such actions of the higher authorities in the company.
The company uses poor excuses constantly to cut bonuses. A "tech refresh" to the entire company system was meant to improve how bonuses were allocated. However, one could only see the system cut bonuses left, right and centre. When management were approached, staff were told the system never lies, despite staff adhering to instructions given by the company themselves on how to achieve such figures. No matter how hard one worked, it was never enough. When it was enough, the company investigated how such high figures were hit and threatened to cut bonuses accordingly. There was no leeway. more... The whole delivery process system was a shambles and staff were expected to work for up to nine hours in a stockroom which had no windows for natural light, no ventilation to keep fresh air running through and on many occasions, a lack of amenities to carry out the process with the most efficiency. When printers failed, the staff, without any education on the machines, were expected to sort the issue.
The company recently introduced changes to a system known as "priority returns", which consisted at one time of sending returns made in store back to the depot in Belfast. However, the changes insisted that staff take quite a considerable amount of time to re-fold and re-package the items individually. One argued that this was a considerable amount of extra work and should be supplemented by improvements to wages to compliment such work. The request was quickly shot down with a feeble defence of the company and a claim that we're already being paid enough to do the work. Considering we were already on minimum wage and some members were already working there some five years without as much as an offer of a pay rise, one felt this was a small request in order to feel more appreciated by the company.
It also must be noted that one handed in their notice a week after a particular month's wage packet was handed out. However, four weeks later, the following months wage slip was administered with the grand sum of €0.00 at the bottom, essentially leaving me working the last three weeks of my contract with the company for free. Albeit, one worked two days a week to accommodate university studies, it was still a sum of money owed but never handed over. The company insisted this was due to how holidays were calculated however, the excuse was vague and consisted of no true concrete evidence as to why they refused to pay. It was simply an action to be accepted and to move on from. Goodness knows how much the company owe other staff who left over the years. less
Pros
Friendly staff
Cons
Poor management, poor wages, lack of good structured (paying) bonuses
Poor management
Next was my first retail job and I’ve learn a lot about the fashion industry and customers service. Salary is good and the paid holidays. Store and floor managers were very rude and they were never on floor to help! Nepotism was a big thing in the shop, too many family and friends were favourites. Managers were gossiping about other staff. It was a toxic environment.
Sold my Soul
My contract was 15 hours per week but every week I'm constantly being told to work 30+ hours while only on a part-time contract. Management is extremely tough on you from the first day, what you do will never be good enough and no staff takes the time to train you, you are just thrown in on your own. 4 weeks notice when leaving, 4 weeks to book holidays which most likely get rejected when requested and there is no sick pay.
Good team 👍
Great place to work good team friendly atmosphere enjoyable work 😊 good company fine fine good working perks ie uniform Realy enjoyed working there aaa
good place to work
A good place to work. Great team!!
Friendly managers.
A typical day would be greeting customers, keeping things tidy, check and fill the shop floor with missing clothes and sizes, make sure the customers are given a variety of choices and exceptional customer service.
Friendly managers.
A typical day would be greeting customers, keeping things tidy, check and fill the shop floor with missing clothes and sizes, make sure the customers are given a variety of choices and exceptional customer service.
0/10. Would not recommend.
Managers never praise for anything done well, and give out the second you slip up. No consideration for life outside of work, especially if you have kids. So if you like being over worked and physically drained for minimum wage then this is the place for you.
Pros
Staff are all lovely, and 25% discount in stores
Not great to work for.
Next give you great customer service training. Unfortunately length of service or experience is not reflected in their hourly rate .
Christmas hours are Hard
Christmas hours are Hard
Worst employer of 2018
I don't know about other stores but donegal place belfast 363 as they call it, used to be an amazing place to work ,I've worked there for 9 yrs and I am due to go back soon. The management years ago were great the store was very laid back and your discount is good. From 2018 I think it has gone downhill the senior management had changed and due to this next seen a huge amount of staff leave , strange why they havent realised it's all to do with one person who cant do her job. So with having no staff , we were so busy managers were ignorant cos they were being moaned at by the Mds , and now consultations are back where everyone has to reapply for their jobs which they already have. They need to look at themselves as managers and ask themselves why is so many people leaving and why is it that it's the people that have been here the longest , the need to retrain managers on how to speak and treat staff . Used to be a brilliant place to work but if you want a happy life stay away from next donegal place.
Pros
Discount
Cons
Assistant store management
Cliquey and Unprofessional
Whilst I enjoyed some elements of my time in Next (bonus most months, shift market workplace makes swapping shifts easy and efficient, fellow sales team members mostly friendly) the attitude of the managers, in particular one manager made it a very unprofessional workplace that reminded me to a point of being in school.
She would choose one of the younger girls each month, favour us give us the best shifts and allow us the best areas on the floor until the next month she would change her mind and choose someone else. However, her opinion dictated the opinion of other managers also. Despite reporting it several times, nothing was done.
She would choose one of the younger girls each month, favour us give us the best shifts and allow us the best areas on the floor until the next month she would change her mind and choose someone else. However, her opinion dictated the opinion of other managers also. Despite reporting it several times, nothing was done.
Pros
Good bonus
Cons
No hours, cliquey management
Very Bad Management
Worked as a part time sales assistant on a temporary basis. My training was very hurried. The people are lovely but the management just want the job done, are not empathetic towards the employee. Always told you weren't doing the job right,never praised for how you dealt with a situation, or general attitude in store. We're expected to get a lot done in a short shift. Days can be very boring at times, but very short shifts. Would not recommend working here
Pros
Staff
Cons
Short hours, management
Customer-oriented work environment
I occupied a sales assistant role with ‘Next’, in which I learned a valuable set of customer related skills. Over the course of my contract, I provided outstanding customer service and consistently exceeded sales objectives.
Lovely atmosphere to work
I really enjoyed my time here. Have a small child and was always accomadated if i had childcare issues etc. They were such a nice helpful bunch of people. Only reason i moved on was i got full time hours elsewhere
Bad Structure
Work for this company if you really are not family orientated, they do not consider people with families at all, it's all about the needs of the business, even to book holidays off you have to wait until store management book theirs first before they can approve yours to make sure you don't clash on weeks.
Next dundrum
Am working as a stockroom assistant for 8 months now. Very nice to work for. Tons of in store benefits. Managers are sound. Very flexible hours for me and great bunch I work with 👌
Pros
Lots of extra hours if u need $$$
Cons
No bonus from working all over Xmas :(
great
great place to work great staff and fiendlt rewarding work and great for meeting new friendys
always busy and something to do great for learning and meeting new people
always busy and something to do great for learning and meeting new people
Great team spirit
The team work really well together. The day is busy and you have to work fast. The management are accommodating. Being friendly is very important part of the job. If you want to you can get trained on lots of areas. I love having flexibility with my hours, if I choose I can work 37 hours or stick to my contract hours. Pay is minimum rate but your can earn bonus which can add another euro per hour.
Pros
Flexible hours, great holidays, bonus
Cons
Minimum pay if you don't earn bonus
productive
There is always training and learning available to develop yourself in the business. you can develop yourself in all areas of the business. this is how i knew i would enjoy my accountancy course.
A company who does not care about its staff
Always felt out of touch with the management and even more so with those who were in control of the whole company. The worst part, though, was that I let myself be bullied by those who were meant to have my best interests, and I found that a lot of people on the team felt the same way.
Pros
Nice co-workers
Cons
30 min breaks for 8 hour shifts, bad management, unrealistically high expectations for low pay
good
Sale was hectic and mental, good if you want to be busy, but not great any other time of year. Rather quiet and hard to find anything to do. Grand for retail experience