Customer Assistant | Bundoran, County Donegal | 15 Aug 2020
Do not work here!!
Worst place to work. Place is understaffed with a high staff turnover. Management are not organised. A female deputy store manager is rude and arrogant and has no self respect or manners towards staff at all. It is surprising she still has a job in the store.
This job has made me ill, I have lost a lot of weight due to stress and have been ill regularly due to working here. Your health is more important than this job!
The way myself and others were treated in there is beyond a joke. To have money thrown at you, to be spoken to rudely and looked down upon. The standard for any Lidl store. There is a serious problem with lack of communication in this store. The shifts are very long and they do not appreciate favours or you covering shifts. The stuff you put up with in that place isn't worth the money you are paid.
Breaks are a joke there is no structure! You could go hours and hours without a break and management DO NOT care. Myself and another temporary colleague were badly treated by staff here and bullied physically and mentally. I was working one day 9.30-4pm and did not get a break until 2.10pm and to be told ' when we get the bakery sorted you can get your break'. How is running the bakery more important than an employee who is starving and has very little energy to serve customers?
If you're lucky enough you'll be trained in the bakery. You will be used for the shifts that people don't want to do. Bakery is very pressurising and tbh I don't see the point in learning
Extremely hard physical & mentally draining work with little support and little or no thanks
Prepare to work long crazy hours, accept liability for unrealistic targets not being met, KPIs not being reached due to stock you didn’t order being forced on you & your poor team calling sick from stress & physical injuries due to poor workplace compliance - falls in bakery freezers & warehouses are common due to over crowding due to too much stock allocated and pressure to rush due to unrealistic times given for workloads . Pregnant girls being forced to pack non food and work in bakery freezer by uncaring managers and area managers bullying managers to the point of stress & depression. Of course I was lucky to have plenty who were honest & had respect for me but there is one or two known for there consistent ill treatment but because they reach targets & win prizes nothing is done.
If you want great salary with little to no private life this is the job for you. You lose your spirit and your soul - a little piece every day. If I wasn’t lucky enough to have such great staff I’d have left long ago. The workers are the pride of that place & work so hard. The higher up the food chain you get the nastier you get. Once you reach your sell by date or question anything they force you out by any means.
Managers clock for 48 hours but work 60+. Company ignores this until they want rid of manager then they threaten manager with documentation of the excess hours being worked until they leave. Funnily the area managers also do this as do all managers in the company when it suits th
ProsGreat salary, met some fabulous people, managed some great teams
ConsNo life
4.0
Store Anchor | Dublin | 25 Mar 2014
Hard work but paid well.
I was promoted after nine months - there was always an opportunity for promotion, advancement or transfer to another store etc. internal opportunities with the company are very good.
Management culture is better than other places as lots of managers have worked up the chain and therefore know what they are asking of their staff - obviously some people are always going to be unfair, or let a promotion go to their heads. But there was always support for staff from other aspects of management and problems could be resolved quickly and efficiently.
Working here is hard, long hours, very stressful environment - its like being in a gym, doing a total workout for the length of your shift and you are being bombarded by questions from customers who did not care how much you are sweating unless you are sweating for them. Found working in smaller town stores much better than working in the city - city stores carry the same amount of staff despite the fact that there is a much larger footfall through the doors. There is also not much attention paid to whether or not he staff on duty can physically do the job at hand - as some staff members prove themselves better than others they will find more pressure being placed on them to carry others. For example, recent changes to till speed records - In previous years each member of staff was required to scan thirty-five items per minute through the checkout, this is achievable with practice, I averaged forty itemsper minute without trying a
ProsVery good wages.
ConsLong hours, exploitation of hard workers.
3.0
Customer Assistant | County Cork | 16 Dec 2017
Good way of thinking bad implementation
Pays very good per hour but only managerial positions are on full time contract. Staff usually get a 10-30 hours contract. Starters on lower hours contract. Hours could vary from very short days to very long days. There could be very low hours one week and very high another. Gets unsocial able at times also no job security as most people can't make a living on 10-20 hours a weeks.
As much as it looks like they have a good system for training out of a few day not much training provided. New staff almost immediately expected to hit same targets as staff who are there for years. Staff are expected to follow strict guidelines but none is trained enough to know what they are exactly.
The targets are reachable but in an ideal world's ideal scenarios but as we don't live in an ideal world it makes them borderline unrealistic therefore most days things fall behind or done quantity over quality way.
Staff are good even management only few exceptions can't really complain about them but it seems like due to targets set on the edge of possibility you can get told off anytime for something. It seems that Management as it goes down from top to bottom everyone tells off everyone and no appraisals given which seems to be Lidl's culture in Ireland.
I think its great that you work harder and in faster pace while you have to watch quality and customer service as well but due to the above culture it gets out of hand and causes to much stress.
Advise for top management don't forge
ProsSalary, people are nice
ConsLack of training, stress, lack of appraisal
4.0
Cajero/a | Kenmare, County Kerry | 21 Apr 2014
Positiva en general
Mi experiencia en Lidl Irlanda fue gratificante en muchos aspectos. En primer lugar fue sorprendentemente fácil conseguir el trabajo pese a que no poseía experiencia previa en el sector de la alimentación y a que el inglés no es mi lengua materna aunque lo manejo con soltura.
Desde el principio se preocuparon en enseñarme todos los aspectos de cada uno de los departamentos en tienda, desde la reposición, a la panadería, cartelería, marketing del supermercado, etc... hasta el manejo de caja donde finalmente fue donde más tiempo pasé. La relación con los jefes/encargados fue muy fluida, siempre con voluntad de cooperación y nunca sentí que fueran distantes ni que me trataran con superioridad.
Con el resto del equipo también había buen ambiente ya que eso era lo que hacía que el trabajo saliera bien en el tiempo estipulado, ya que está cadena alemana trabaja bajo objetivos de eficiencia. Quizás lo más díficil al principio fue adaptarme al sistema de trabajo europeo que me resultó bastante diferente al español pero eso a la misma vez lo encontré realmente positivo y enriquecedor.
Lo que más me gustó fue trabajar en un ambiente internacional, aprender otra profesión y la cultura del derecho y el deber del trabajador que se respetaba y convivían perfectamente.
ProsHoras extras pagadas, seguro médico, promoción interna, estabilidad laboral, formación
Conspresión por cumplir los objetivos de tiempo y eficiencia
3.0
Deputy Manager | Carrick-On-Shannon, County Leitrim | 29 Jan 2013
High Paced and high stress Job
If every thing goes well, you can have a good day at work and every one can be in good spirits, but that is a rare thing. Every day is differant and every job has to be completed as quickly as you can. The faster you work, the more time you have to do other jobs.One advantage is that there is a procedure for every job to be done on a daly basis. Saying this, it also means nothing can be missed as every item that has to be done, has a sign off sheet and if it is not done, there is no excuses. You either get the job done or you leave. The people you work with vary as with every company and can make the differance to having an easy life or a difficult one. The reason for this is, every one deals with the stress differantly and some have a laugh, while others will moan all day long. It all depends on the manager and district manager, as if they are good and organised and communicate well and work well, This reflects in the store and staff. But 1 or 2 i worked with were lazy, disorganised and a bully and life got hard. Saying all this, the pay is good, ranging from 38k up to 44k. I was on 42k when i left and misss the money now, but i left because i have a daughter and wanted to spend more time with her.
Prosgood pay and benefits, including pension, health insurance
Conslong hours, stressfull and very high paced environment.
1.0
Customer Assistant | Dublin | 30 Oct 2018
A toxic work culture.
There is a reason why the rate of pay is relatively high, so beware of that on embarking on work here.
I found not all, but some of the staff to be stifling aloof,
Peassimistic and stand-offish. The staff there were rather cliquey. There was little emphasis on team work or bonding. Many People don't greet each other or ever speak.
I couldn't ever see myself integrating to be apart of a 'team', as there was no team there. There was no shop morale. I found one of the deputy managers in particular to be bitter, sharp and impatient, well just simply unhappy, but perhaps that's because of the pressure there put under in Lidl.
I found I wasnt valued as a worker there by certain members of staff, either you fit perfectly into the tightly run institution of Lidl, or you can get lost. There's no even reasonable accommodations to be made for Lidl employees. It's not uncommon to go very long periods with not only not having a break (6 hours) but then on one case, being ordered that your break was shortened.
I was miserable there, with co-workers often always complaining, if not about the store, their own lives. Many of my co-workers seemed unhappy.
I would never work in Lidl again.
ProsA relatively high rate of pay, and that's it.
ConsUnhappy work culture and a peassimistic atmosphere.
5.0
Retail Sales Associate | Tullamore, County Offaly | 21 Feb 2015
Lidl
My most important responsibility is to achieve sales. I spend most of my day on the shop floor, talking directly to potential customers and trying to establish their needs. I have a very thorough knowledge of our product range so, if they’re unsure of their decision, I can give them appropriate advice. I can also steer them towards other – perhaps more expensive – product lines that they haven’t already considered. By building rapport with the customer – and addressing any concerns they may have – I have a good chance of closing the sale. I also aim to up-sell on the till where possible, so as to maximise the value of each new customer. Among other responsibilities I help to control stock levels and liaise with head office accordingly so as to make sure we are neither over-stocked nor under-stocked. I am also involved in the financial management of the branch, working alongside the Branch Manager to put together monthly reports, etc. Given my level of experience, I am also tasked with helping to bring on board new members of staff, training them in our systems and helping them to maximise their sales potential.
5.0
Sales Assistant | Dublin | 22 Jan 2016
fun place to work and amazing opportunities to grow
I worked full time with lidl based on contracted hours ,everyday would be different we all played key roles throughout the day given different duties working with a great team made the job a much happier place to work in and enjoy your work,getting to know customers and hearing good feedback on what difference or impact you had made on their day was always rewarding , I was very blessed to have really friendly loyal customers that i had gotten to know ,the hardest part of the job would be trying do deal with an irate customer if they did not understand or agree with the store policies ,usually in circumstances where a customer would be upset i would try myself to calm the situation and offer a solution nine times out of ten they would calm down and the manager would not need to be called .Overall i really enjoyed working here i learned a lot and grew a lot to where i was in a position to till train new employees or train employees on the bakery.
Prosgetting trained in various positions in store
Consbeing on contract hours sometimes your shift could be cut
4.0
Management Trainee | Newbridge, County Kildare | 12 Jun 2013
Honest and hard-working culture. High commitment with high reward.
Upon completing my Masters in Business Management I began the graduate program with Lidl Ireland. The first 6 months of the program was designated to sales training where I began on the shop floor as an assistant and progressed to running my own store and controlling all of the variables that go along with that role (staff/customers/inventory). As Store Manager, the Blakestown, Ireland store improved its regional and national position on the WIP’s league (write-off’s/inventory/productivity). As well as exceeding the targets I also solved some vital personnel issues within the store, which I feel enabled the team to work more efficiently and going forward they will be in a better position to achieve the targets again.
After the sales training I joined the accounts and finance team within head office. After a brief training of all the functions of the department I settled into my own role and was responsible for the cash management of all 170 stores within Lidl Ireland and Lidl Northern Ireland.
Questions and answers about Lidl
Why did you leave your job at Lidl?
Asked 22 Mar 2017
A lot of things were building up towards me leaving but the last of it was when an incident in work regarding a customer leaving with two 75cent cans unpaid for had served this man and because I didn't see the two cans I was brought up for meetings which contributed to stress related problems. As staff this shouldn't of happened as there are security in store to deal with the problems related to stock been robbed and so on. After having me up for months with investigation meetings all the done was give me a verbal warning I have sought legal advice with this matter and I have brought a case on with lidls. Shamble of a company to work for staff don't have any rights its all about meeting targets
Answered 17 Feb 2020
There is a terrible culture within the company. Staff are expected to work themselves to the bone. Upper management are very much of the opinion that an autocratic, abusive style of management is the only way to achieve success. Health and safety practices aren't adhered to, especially heavy lifting. If you work a salary you will regularly be expected to work many extra hours that will never be lieud back to you meaning when hours worked are divided by the salary, the pay isn't actually as impressive as it initially seems.
Answered 4 Dec 2019
What would you suggest Lidl management do to prevent others from leaving?
Asked 26 Mar 2017
Area managers have to remember they not own company, and they get pay becouse of us who working in the shops and wherehouses .
Answered 1 Jul 2020
Respect their staff they have to realise they wouldn't have a company making millions or even billions a year on turnover if staff didn't put there time and energy into making this happen
Answered 17 Feb 2020
What is the most stressful part about working at Lidl?
Asked 19 Mar 2019
Putting you down in front of other staff and customers.
Answered 17 Feb 2020
Bullying tactics. Speaking to you like a little child.
Answered 17 Feb 2020
What is the interview process like at Lidl?
Asked 10 Apr 2017
Applied and got interview in ballina co mayo Lidl everything seemed to go well until 2 minutes before end of interview when manager finally made an appearance took one quick look at my cv and said I was no good as I had done more than 5 jobs in the last 12 years of my working life and not to bother applying again as she would make sure I would not get another interview (stupidly high turnover of staff completely different staff in ballina branch every 2 weeks.
Answered 12 Sep 2018
It was ok, detailed, and asked scenario questions.
