Not the worst place I've worked at but has major flaws. (New Temp Christmas worker review) - Anonymous employee Argos Employee Review

Now for the cons... I must say that there are more cons then pro's which is why I was debating on whether to vote a three star rating instead of a two star. Cons: -Management did not directly train me. When I had my induction, they piled me off onto a colleague who doesn't get paid extra to train people. Which I think is unfair and I would have liked if management put in more effort. -Management can come off as rude and unhelpful on a regular shift. There are a lot of managers at my store so I do get confused about who to go to for what. As usual in most work places, there are some managers that come off fairly friendly and others that come off rude and expect you to be like a robot! As a stockroom assistant, I speed walk for most of my shift and walk as quickly as possible BUT one manager still tells me I need to go faster. I even told him that I am going as quick as physically possible. I felt angry because he said this, as I put in 100% on my shift and I feel manager do not appreciate the effort and even make you feel inadequate. Of course, when managers and colleagues make you feel this way, it can ruin self esteem and feel unappreciated by the company. Which leads me to the second con... -Favouritism. In nearly every work place I have been in, big companies and small...there's favouritism between managers and the 'star' colleagues. At Argos, this is also a problem. I have noticed as a temp Christmas stock assistant that I get treated worse than the permanent staff. I might be a Christmas worker but I am a human just like the permanent staff. While permanent staff get to stand around not doing any work, I feel judged if I catch a breath for a second. -While I said SOME colleagues are helpful when I ask for help, some colleagues come across rude and come across like they don't want to help me. 'Team work' only seems to apply for the permanent workers and if you are a temp, you are suppose to be seen but not heard. A few times when I have asked for help, I have received full on sarcasm to hint that I am either stupid or blind which I am neither. -They can change your hours at a drop of a hat. While I can be flexible, companies should give you notice if they want you in when you are not contracted. The hours are updated at the end of the week so you don't know when you will work next, which makes it very hard to plan around work. -Lack of trust for the few Christmas temps that have started at my store. I have noticed that I am expected to be searched before I leave at the end of my shift but permanent workers don't need to be searched. Maybe they are suppose to be searched too but of course, favouritism once again. -HEADSETS are useless! Really this should have been my first con as its one of the most distracting thugs about working here. I did actually did work experience years ago in another store before the headsets got brought in and back then, we had to rely on tickets to pick items. Now I know that Argos are trying to move with the times BUT the headsets just don't work properly! You spend 20 minutes just trying to find a headsets and battery that work/are charged. The headsets most of the time do not understand what you are saying which slows down the picks and affects customer service. Headsets are a core problem at my store. Personally I would prefer the ticket system, I know there would be less problems. -Management need to delegate staff better. As a picker in the stockroom, you are under pressure to get the item to collection point as quickly as possible BUT once you get there and put the item there, 80% of the time there is no one on collection point to give the item to the customer. It's quick funny the management expect you to do three different jobs at once. If you stop picking to give customers their items, you will fall behind on picking so more customers have to wait longer for their items. If really does not make any sense in the slightest. I have also found that staff on collection point try to place the blame on you if items are not there quick enough. But yet, they wonder off and leave items sitting there for ages while customers are standing around waiting. Don't expect me to pick, check conveyer all the time for picks, do other stock jobs such as Barton, delivery and returns AND still have time too serve people on collection point which should be someone else's job. -Colleagues were more friendly in the first week or so but now, I feel there's colleagues who are not welcoming and make you feel not good enough no matter what you do. -Christmas temp jobs in general are not reliable and I don't know if I will still have a job after Christmas. They have told me that I may be kept on after Christmas but they could just tell me to get lost once my contract is over. -OPEN door is just terrible! Not great training and you get a lack of hands on training. No real health and safety training.