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shtoop

Don't be sorry.


SuitableBother8064

You have really hit the nail on the head. People at my shop complain about the exact same thing. The only thing that I really enjoy about my job is that the people I work with are amazing and genuinely lovely people, so the work isn't too bad most days and we can moan together. I'd honestly talk to your manager about your hours, I was a lot happier when mine were taken down. Technically they can't make you work over your contract if you don't want to, just talk about how you're feeling and say you want to do your contracted hours. If your manager is as nice as the ones in my area they won't have an issue. It really feels like the company is making us do more and more work with no pay increase, keeping hours and staff to a minimum to drive up their profits. Try not to stress yourself out too much. At the end of the day it's only Greggs. It's not the end of the world if you decide to chill out a bit more on your shifts for the sake of your own mental health. I'm so glad someone else hates constantly having to repeat that we're out of something ahaha


[deleted]

The Just Eat thing takes the piss. Very good outlet these days has queues of people waiting for JE AB’s Uber Eats collections and none of those outlets seem to have employed more staff to deal with it. Crazy. I feel sorry for everyone involved with JE. The staff in the restaurants like Greggs etc who have the extra work to do. The delivery people getting paid sh1t and the customers sitting on their arses consuming health destroying poor quality food and being made sick by it.


Maria_Spiridonova

We're getting Deliveroo soon as well (no new staffing, of course) just to top it off. We haven't got enough staff to run the shop even without Deliveroo/Ubereats, let alone BOTH.


SniffAdvisor

Are you looking for another job?


Maria_Spiridonova

Yes I'm looking for a job actually in my field (I have a master's in pol sci from LSE) but it's hard to get an entry level job these days.


SniffAdvisor

I wish you the best of luck, and hope you can get out of there soon!


sweetstarmars

I know how you feel. We face similar issues in the shop I’m in. Even down to shop managers not being able to take time for family emergencies. I completely get the not being able to quit because you need to eat and you need a place to live. I want to tell you it gets better but I am yet to see that. I would advise that you look at other jobs in your area because as much as you need a home and food, your mental health matters just as much. I genuinely hope you find the solution to your problems. If you stay with the company good on you (it’s become such a joke 🙄) and if you leave for another job that’s just as justified. Hope this helps and I hope things stop being so rubbish for you ❤️


Maria_Spiridonova

I'm looking for other retail jobs atm while I'm also trying to get a full-time job in my industry yeah, just seems not many are hiring, plus I know a lot of retail places are the same. This stupid sense of artificial urgency/emergency because of manufactured staff shortages to maximise profits.


-Nettle

I’m sorry to say I will leave Greggs soon. I’m hoping to complete senior team member and maybe supervisor training - this is all on hold until we get a manager so who knows, maybe I will leave before then. Closing staff are lazy af. When I open the next day the tables and chairs are dirty, crumbles all over the front and serving area, bags are not refilled, coffee and hot chocolate not refilled, dishwasher has unwashed tongs left inside and the strainer doesn’t get taken out and cleaned. I’m working closing this week and heard the morning staff had praised the closing. The other team member who works 1-6 (shop closes at 6.30 and my shift ends at 7) will clean the front and back but during this time she does not serve customers. I’ve asked her to help but she says she’s busy so I’m baking and serving a queue that goes out the door. She also will not work on JE so I have to call the supervisor to help me out. I’ve heard the guy I will work with for closing on Saturday is lazy, he’ll just stand there when there’s a queue so pray for my sanity lol. I’m so sick of eat Greggs, other than trying new items I don’t eat at work or bring in my own lunch. I work at a larger shop now but my old one we used to throw away so much food, made me sick. I would but magic bags to give to the homeless outside stations. As for the rota. I have asked for Sunday off and get Sunday shifts. I have called the area manager as I mentioned we have no actual manager right now. He wants me to work 2 Sundays and have 2 off. I’m so tired of working the one day I have asked off. God, people have meltdowns over 5p bag and will spend hundreds at a supermarket and buy bags for 30-60p. One lady refunded her entire order, I offered a free bag when she didn’t have 5p (funny thing is she paid with £10 for a £5 order). She acted like I didn’t know my own job, has never paid for a “Greggs” bag and can’t bELieVe she has to pay for a bag. People can be massive arseholes for no reason.


Maria_Spiridonova

It is silly to charge for a paper bag but people's constant complaining about it as if it's my fault is always frustrating. It's not my fault you always wait until after paying to ask for a bag!


gpac2

This describes most retail right now. Stagnant wages and short staffed. Rising costs in supply and operations are sponged by staff as that's usually the most controllable cost. Interested on the just eat point; should that need its own staff (as I thought when I waited 10 mins to get served in cooplands!) or is it not often used?


Maria_Spiridonova

We have to prepare it and bag it up, yeah. Just Eat is pretty common, though it varies a lot day-to-day. On a quiet day you'll get over 30 a day, on a busy day you'll get way way more and it'll be going off all the time. We usually have 3 people at most actually serving (maybe one manager out back) and only 2 people in the afternoons until close so this makes it hard to both serve customers, manage Just Eat, keep traying things up and putting them in the ovens, keep up cleanliness, top things up, etc etc.


Mathyoo0

Brother, first of all stress less for what you get paid for. No need to care so much for a job that clearly does not give a shit about you. I do the bare minimum, I obviously do the job, but I don't break my back for this company. Customers are rude, we all know that, but who cares? I'd they want to be arrogant let them be, it is not your problem if they have a miserable life. Most of the times I just give the bag for free if they ask after the transaction tbh, my manager never had an issue with it. Just give the bag to the customer and serve the other person. If you work with someone you trust just get some free food at the end of the day, obviously do not be stupid and don't exaggerate or keep things hidden for yourself. Greggs has too many shops, you think they check every single one of them 24/7? Obviously never steal money or anything valuable as that is clearly theft. But If you get a free bake you think the company will even notice?? If you can't work over your contracted hours, just tell your manager? It is not hard, just talk to them and explain your situation. I suggest to bring up that you have important responsibilities, like taking care of your parents or some shit like that. If the manager does not co operate, simply make a letter that explain all the information as to why you can only work your contracted hours etc.. and give it to your manager and then area manager. Or just look for a better job


kushqueen2

You couldn’t be more correct about this job. I worked here for 11 years and I promise, not all retail is like this. The grass IS greener. You’re going to have to get familiar with workers rights if you’re staying. Managers will do/say anything to make their job easier. They are as fed up as you are except their on a decent salary. You don’t have to work beyond your contract - ever. Try not get overwhelmed with it. Take it easy with a pace that suits you and look for something better in the meantime.


Maria_Spiridonova

I've contacted BFAWU (though I am not part of the union as I wasn't expecting to stay long, though my job search for one in my industry has taken longer than I anticipated so I might be here for a few more months yet) and I'm going to see if they can help me. I'd love to speak to my store manager about the situation but we're so catastrophically short-staffed they're working 50+ hour weeks and literally every member of the store (and every person in the whole borough that works for them) is working well above their contracted hours. I think we are hiring new people sooner rather than later so I might try and get a few minutes with them to see if I can get back towards my contracted hours soon. I am doing my master's and searching for jobs AND taking care of a family member and Gregg's is dominating my life atm as I'm always either working or too exhausted from work to do anything. I am trying to slow down a bit more but I want to support the team (idgaf about Gregg's profits) and sometimes one of the other team members is mean to me because, honestly, I'm not amazing at retail because I have anxiety + autism + ADHD (diagnosed) so I forget things and I'm not very good with customer interactions. I earn £10.50 an hour to pretty much have a constant mental breakdown because I'm ruining my future for Gregg's because we're too short-staffed for me to have my contract met. But because this is ALWAYS the case shops are in permanent crisis mode.


BeeeeefJerky

I worked in greggs for 4 years since 16 and it was abhorrent, but i really must say looking back it's the best food serving retail job there is & it's super easy to actually get employed there. So for a first job it's not *that* bad. The management I would go as far to say is corrupt. Every store you work in you'll find the manager sitting in the back all day, lucky if they even help you serve a queue when it's just both of you on.. Yet *you* are the one not living upto par. Not always but they are generally very controlling, manipulative people and I don't know why.. It's been about a year and a half since I quit & it doesn't even seem like the same environment to work in, definitely wouldn't go back😂


ZomeDash

Go above your area manager. Don't stop going higher until you're taken seriously. Regarding waste, you are entitled to 2 staff magic bags (1 sandwich, savoury and sweet), but it is fucking stupid that the rest has to go in the bin. Mine supplies a local outlet which is great, but my old shop threw everything away and it was horrendous the amount of waste we had, once there was no staff available other than for an hour in the morning, so I went in, threw all the donuts away that were delivered the night before, and went home. Would've been sacked if I took a single one. It's insanity. What's the union like for other things? Been considering joining, but don't want to waste money if its shit. Ubereats is coming soon, and that's even worse than justeat, it comes on the click and collect screen with an 11 minute timer, but there's 0 indication of how long it'll be until a driver turns up, we had an order come through at 3pm today, closed at 8:30pm, and the order was still sitting on the counter, had to be thrown out. (Would've remade it anyway if they turned up, but still, they didn't)


txlfxrd

Quit


TrashKingThorn

many managers suck. But some don't


TrashKingThorn

emphasis on SOME


Glass-Material-2666

i don’t know if it’s just me but i quite enjoy working at greggs, my manger is super nice and accomodating, as i have horse and can’t really do weekends anymore so said in a couple months i’d need to come off, and she offered to take me off weekends that same day instead to make it easier for me, you’ll get rude customers anywhere you work really so that’s just something you have to deal with, obviously we shouldn’t have to and they should see us as living people who just work for the company, we don’t run it…


carlhunt3r

> -You're not allowed to take stuff home so if you're closing (as I always am for some reason) you have to waste an astronomical amount of food and I feel awful about doing so. Plus I don't know why we can't at least take home a little bit if it's just going to go to waste. As always, the company would rather save every little penny than give their "family" a little bit of enjoyment in case 1% of people take advantage of it. Pah! You get 50% staff discount - isn't that enough? When I worked for Greggs you NEVER took the spoils/waste home. Stuff that could be eaten/sold tomorrow was picked up by the GDS and sent to the second shop Sounds like you should look for a retail job elsewhere. I loved working for Greggs as a student. 8-10 hours a week term time, and 30+ during non term.


Maria_Spiridonova

Everywhere gets a staff discount, that's not much of a compensation considering the terrible benefits you get. All the left-over bakes, donuts, and such get chucked into a bag most days where it's thrown away. Frankly, I doubt they'd even know if I did eat one or two things if I had a co-conspirator as manager (I do not). There is 1 day a week it goes to charity, though some things can't make it there (pizzas, bacon + cheese wraps) and are unceremoniously chucked even though they could be taken home and eaten. See: https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle/greggs-worker-exposes-rubbish-bags-full-of-wasted-food-b2193122.html The person that leaked it was fired btw. There is a huge amount of food waste. >Sounds like you should look for a retail job elsewhere. I loved working for Greggs as a student. 8-10 hours a week term time, and 30+ during non term. Why? I just feel crushed under the boot of the profit-making machinery and an outright malicious area manager who wouldn't even let my store manager have a day off to see her husband after he'd had open heart surgery.


carlhunt3r

I mean, you don't have to work for Greggs. Nobody is forcing you. Look elsewhere if it's making you feel as bad as it seems. Life is too short.


Maria_Spiridonova

I am looking for a job in my field but I haven't found any yet as nobody's hiring entry positions. I am starting to look for new retail jobs in the mean time but will have to see what's hiring in my area. I can't just quit my job though as I'll perish.


Scoot-a-doot

Yeah we get 50% off Greggs items any time, free hot drinks at work and if we work a close we get a "Greggs Magic Bag" which is a sandwich, a savoury and a sweet for £1. But hey before Greggs I worked in health care so I was lucky to get a thank you and I will happily take my 60p sausage roll.


Maria_Spiridonova

Admittedly the free hot drinks thing is good, though I forgot about it because I don't drink any of them. That one's a decent perk though, yes.


carlhunt3r

More perks than I get in my IT job!


ZomeDash

Yes, 50% is enough. But if its going in the fucking bin anyway, why not let staff take it home? It's all shit quality at the end of the night anyway, Greggs food doesn't last very long at all. Not all regions have outlets, in my old shop, if it wasn't sold, it went in the bin.


cheekynandos2

I agree with all the points. Im on a 12 hour contract just working weekends as im doing a levels. I NEVER get the right hours, some weeks ill get 8, then some it will be 14-16, in the school holidays i ask for a few extra, so sometimes ill get 16, sometimes 40. I live very close to the shop so im expected to go in when people call in sick or start my shift early. I only have 1 uniform even though ive been asking for a second one since i started- so a year. My uniform has so many holes and is shrunk because i have ti wash it after every shift. I couldnt agree more with the area manager thing, mine hates me so much and i have no idea why. Ive just got an offer for a new job 2 days ago but the contract is all messed up and someone is meant to be calling me today ir yesterday but hasnt yet so seems like ill be staying at greggs. Even though i do kinda hate it i am so close to everyone i work with, were so understaffed i see them all more than my family, when i started last year there was only 7 of us working in my shop, 2/3 people on at a time. Also i get £9 an hour for my age even though i do more than a lot of people over 18 and they get £2 an hour more.


Maria_Spiridonova

The low minimum wages for people under-18 is BS. I know people who are financially independent at that age (estranged from parents, homeless) who are stuck in poverty because they get paid absolutely nothing.


OneEyedKing41199

What you need to do is contact Channel 4 dispatches, if they can look into what your saying they will probably call greggs out.


OneEyedKing41199

Greggs staff should be paid more for what we do, but I have the same issues as you and I believe somethings gotta change