Pros
- The people I worked with on the shop floor were almost universally lovely. My fellow customer advisors were happy to help me and there was a good feeling among the team members that were there for a long time. - It seemed as though the company encouraged the idea that Argos is a family. - Sometimes had in-store staff nights with snacks and games, which was nice. Staff were encourage to socialise together outside of work and we often went for a few drinks post shift.
Cons
- The management seem to be under a lot of pressure to hit steep targets, and can take this out on the staff. - I was hired to work Oct-Jan, as many Christmas temps are taken on in that time period. Despite being very clear this was my first ever job and thus I had no experience, my training consisted entirely of doing an online quiz about health and safety, then being given a handful of leaflets from behind the counter about store cards and item insurance. - The other staff on my level were expected to train me on the job (including th till training, which was quite complicated as Argos uses/used a unique system), which I thought to be unfair to both them and myself especially considering how hectic Christmas is in Argos. The few times I asked the floor supervisor for help with things we didn't have authorisation/knowledge to do, I was belittled and spoken to like a child even in front of customers. - Even as an untrained Christmas temp who worked at most 15 hours per week, I was expected to hit the same sale targets as full time advisors who had been working at the store for 20 years. If you missed the target, you would be called into the manager's office and be given a dressing down. During these so called performance discussions, I was called 'disappointing', 'useless', and generally made to feel like a waste of space. - Often had to work through breaks and lunches if there was a rush at those times, and would then be scolded for not taking them. - Roughly about two months into my 4 months stint, we were told the store location was being shut down and moved somewhere smaller. All temps and most long term part-time staff were going to lose their jobs, which was understandable. However, a couple of weeks before we were to shut shop, I was called into the manager's office and sacked. She took the time to remind me again how much of a disappointment I had been, told me my team members didn't like me, and didn't stop berating me until I was actually in tears.