CENTRAL ENGLAND CO-OP
Happiness score is 65 out of 100
3.8 out of 5 stars.
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CENTRAL ENGLAND CO-OP Employee Reviews for Customer Service Representative

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Job Title
Customer Service Representative13 reviews
Location
United Kingdom13 reviews

Ratings by category

3.1Work-life balance
3.2Pay & benefits
3.2Job security & advancement
3.1Management
3.3Culture

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Decent place to work

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Your shift pattern will be a bit of a roulette. Overtime often pops up on timetables without warning and there's no app or portal for colleges to check unless your on the stores PC. Bringing shift management to 21st century by letting everyone see shifts and ask for overtime, or even shifts from other stores would have huge impact. I've found the time to fly by at busier stores and quieter stores often have a lethargic atmosphere. The stores are also seen as a bit of an easy target by robbers. I've heard of burglars who dragged out a cashpoint with a car and stole a forklift to drop the cashpoint into a van with a sawn off roof. The stories are pretty impressive. The pay is fair. There is room for progression but you need to show a huge amount of initiative and be willing to move around different stores in region to progress to manager roles. It can appear a bit like a bit of a popularity contest with friends and family members often being promoted up the chain. That said it's generally a friendly place to work.
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One big family

As a CSA I found the job easy, relaxed, fun and had a great team to be a part off, fair pay, however as a team leader I feel that the pay doesn’t match the amount of work pressure you have to deal with on a day to day basis, however that said overall it’s a great job plenty of opportunities to move up, and the team is what makes the place great is your peers you get the chance to work with, you become a close net of people that support one another through the lows and highs of the job. Team work makes a dream work. (Couldn’t be truer in this case)
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Insights into CENTRAL ENGLAND CO-OP

Based on 15 survey responses
What people like
  • Inclusive work environment
Areas for improvement
  • Fair pay for job
  • Sense of belonging
  • Trust in colleagues

Easy going and interesting

It’s a good job. I feel part of a strong group of people. My manager does her best to make sure I am working hours I am capable of doing due to my mental health and family problems. I feel safe and that my mental health is still valid

Pros

Discounts

Cons

Bank holidays no pay rise
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Good for starters or people who want a more laid back job

It's good for people to get a understanding into the retail work style at a nice and easy pace without much to worry about however if you're stuck on weekends you usually can't do much to get them off

Pros

Great work team

Cons

Weekends are hard to cover
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just an average job

It all depends on what area and staff. However, I have found that once you are comfortable it becomes a second home. Each day is different, sometimes it's hard and stressful, other times it is easy and relaxed. it is just like any other job. unpredictable but you make it fun no matter what the circumstances.

Pros

become a family, support by staff and team leaders (not store manager)

Cons

management, not paid well compared to other places, no chance of progression quickly
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Highly inconsistent if you want a decent work-life balance

This job is ideal for genuine part timers or uni students. Not so much of a workplace issue, but, my main gripe is the lack of a decent wage every month. I am not even asking for much. 8 hours a week is your basic amount as a CSA but ideally, I think it should be 16 hours a week. Even then, your store manager has no power to make it happen unless you are a veteran (5+ years). Generally speaking for retail food as a whole, your manager's managers are constantly piling new policies that make no sense every year. It feels as thick as the bible, which you'll need to pray with from time to time.

Pros

Discount, double discount on Co-op items

Cons

Inconsistent hours
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productive

good place to work, fair wages, friendly staff. good opportunity for progression on to management if you stick around long enough. Can be stressful with a lot of work to take on
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Keeps you busy!

A decent job where time goes fairly quickly, but in my experience I got rang a LOT being asked to come in. There were also many rows between staff behind the scenes.

Pros

Salary, holiday pay, discount

Cons

Staff culture
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Ok retail job

The role of customer service assistant is a standard retail one, you will be serving on the till, unloading deliveries, stocking shelves, and maybe in the bakery if the store has one. There is some heavy lifting involved and you need to be comfortable chatting to customers.There are decent discounts and bonuses throughout the year.How much you enjoy the job will depend on how you get along with your colleagues and how well the store is managed. Progression is available if you are prepared to keep on at management about it and do a bit of brown nosing.Unfortunately a change of management at my store caused a significant change in the working atmosphere which led to me leaving.

Pros

Decent discounts and bonuses

Cons

Poor management at my store
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Varied day-to-day work

I worked in a very small co-op branch and the working environment was very pleasant. The job involved both fast and slow-paced work which was nice as it didn't get too boring, and I had good working relationships with my colleagues. i worked both on the tills and on the shop floor which also helped keep me occupied. I would reccommend the role as it offers a competative wage, especially to those under 21 as, unlike a lot of other companies they do not pay different wages for different ages. Also this was my first job and i was trained up very well and it was overall a very good experience for a first job.
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unsociable hours

treated like a number, asked at very short notice (1 hour) to work. pressure put on to work all hours. Management stand around all day talking and chatting with their favourites employees leaving the other few to do all of the work. best part of the job is the customers just about make it bearable
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Not bad but not good.

The place I worked at was staffed by nice people and the regulars were great but I was promised to be "duty trained" which meant that I could progress to Assistant Manager (or Team Leader as they like to call it) and then eventually to Manager. Unfortunately they didn't get around to training me in time for when the Manager position popped up so I missed out on that and then I subsequently missed out on a Team Leader role because the new Manager decided to appoint his drinking buddy as the new Team Leader instead, even though she was there for less than half the time I was.

Pros

Generally staffed by nice people.

Cons

Nepotism.
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Friendly, Happy Work place

Central England Co-op is a Friendly, Happy work place where the Customer Always came first. The company looks after their workforce well. Management were always approachable and always Thanked their colleagues for their hard work.

Pros

Discount card, Share of profit

Cons

None
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Overall rating

Based on 20 reviews

Ratings by category

3.1 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
3.2 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
3.2 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
3.1 out of 5 stars for Management
3.3 out of 5 stars for Culture

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