Something is very, very wrong here.
Pros
Most colleagues are genuinely high-quality, hardworking people who take pride in customer service. One free doughnut and one regular hot drink per shift, plus 50% off doughnuts and 30% off drinks for staff. Access to an employee rewards portal offering small discounts at various retailers through a third-party provider.
Cons
The ongoing restructuring has negatively affected culture and operations. What was once promoted as “A Sweet Place to Work” no longer reflects the day-to-day reality. My store suffered from chronic underfunding in both labour and maintenance. Opening hours felt mismatched to demand, and some KPIs were applied uniformly across stores in ways that didn’t make operational sense. Training standards are inconsistent. Some staff receive little to no proper training, while disciplinary processes are not applied consistently. This creates confusion, uneven workloads, and low morale. Promotional offers are frequently introduced at short notice, often with unclear terms that staff struggle to explain to customers. Communication between Shift Leaders and Multi-Site/Area Managers is poor. Information flows upward, but often not back down due to managers being responsible for too many sites. With store managers removed nationwide, the progression path from Shift Leader to higher management is effectively gone, leaving ambitious staff with nowhere to grow.
