The Student Room Group

Save yourself and DO NOT work at Sports Direct!

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the one near me is closing down yaaaay :tongue:
Reply 21
i thought id sign up and share my ideas with you lot ( i know this post is way over its expired date but what the hell) so i too have been working at sports direct for about a year now and yes they play the same crappy music, 12 songs on loop from start till finish. and yes, they sometimes do give you a 3 hour shift a week: im not sure what the rules were back then but where i work, the amount of strong bags you sell to customers corresponds to the amount of shifts you do, you don't do well, you get no shifts unless someone else calls in sick, despite the maximum effort you put into it. but even when you still do good with the bags, you maximum you'll get is 5 hours a week and once again, unless someone calls in sick.

so yeah, for now ill have to survive on my £50 a month lol.
Reply 22
Original post by Skiilol
i thought id sign up and share my ideas with you lot ( i know this post is way over its expired date but what the hell) so i too have been working at sports direct for about a year now and yes they play the same crappy music, 12 songs on loop from start till finish. and yes, they sometimes do give you a 3 hour shift a week: im not sure what the rules were back then but where i work, the amount of strong bags you sell to customers corresponds to the amount of shifts you do, you don't do well, you get no shifts unless someone else calls in sick, despite the maximum effort you put into it. but even when you still do good with the bags, you maximum you'll get is 5 hours a week and once again, unless someone calls in sick.

so yeah, for now ill have to survive on my £50 a month lol.

And yet the government can't understand why young people don't want to work at these places?
Reply 23
Summary of my worst job experience - working for sports direct:


Negatives and what I personally found weird:

:mad:0 hours contract ( bye bye application for mortgage, bye bye pension ), minimum wage, no premiums extras or bonuses
:mad:Induction is not paid
:confused:They take your fingerprint for clocking purposes
:mad:You need to attend for staff meeting every so often ( usually Sunday eve ) and its not paid!
:frown:Unprofessional management attitude
:confused:Apart from a radio other things you need to wear and it is classed as a part of your uniform is a duster
:s-smilie:: You have to clean toilets
:confused:You are not allowed to shop in your store if you have a day off and if you want a 15% staff discount you are allowed to do it only on Thursdays after 4, it can be only for yourself ( so it cant be accessories as you might give it to someone else...) and you have to buy a special bag for 69p
:confused:When you finish your shift you almost have to get naked so they can see you dont steal from them ...
:frown:Your rota change every weak, no set hours, you cant plan much
:mad:Shifts 2 hours long...
:mad:Unpaid and unwanted overtime when you do closing shifts as you have to clean the shop ( sweeping, moping, dusting, hoovering )
:confused:no training at all

every day was very stressful especially when you are on tills because of the stupid bags you MUST sell otherwise you will not get hours the following week and customers dont want those bags
so basically you are being bullied to sell them, I felt like begging customers to buy those bags so I can get more hours , ridiculous, sometimes I also found myself almost being rude to those who dont want to buy a bag
one of my manager was very rude, always moaning, treating people with ridicule and always reminding you through the radio how bad you do at bags selling and that nothing is an excuse...
I decided to quit after a while cause it simply wasn’t me anymore, the only thing I cared was just selling bags in any way possible and also I realised that no one cares about customer service there which was honestly quite shocking!
Only positives that I can mention were my colleagues - lovely people and they work there only because they don’t have any other option... and
the second good thing: as you are on 0 hours contract you don’t have to apply for holiday/days off ( you just need to write it in a request book )
I still think about my experience sometimes and I am very happy I am not there anymore.
So really if you can save yourself DO NOT work at sports direct!!!:smile:
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 24
I worked there in 2003, when it was called Sports Soccer and I'm just amazed by how little things have changed. My experiences back then don't differ greatly from some of the recent ones posted here;

0 hour contracts- The least I got was 0 and the most 6 hours.

Unpaid overtime, at least a half hour after the shop closing clearing up and dusting down.

Having to buy your own uniform, including trainers they have on display- it would take 3 weeks at the rate they paid and the hours they gave to make your money back.

The only positives were the colleagues, most of the managers were friendly except for one complete bellend.
I worked there for a year and left to work for Nike. Mainly because I worked with the AM most of the time who was absolutely clueless. Many of the manager's manners were awful and they would often burp, fart and swear around the customers. There just wasn't a structure in place at all, which is mainly the reason many of the people left there when I left. However, not all SD stores are dysfunctional. A job is a job at the end of the day.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 26
Well, I've shopped there before to buy some spare trainers and tennis balls and thought they were quite good. Perhaps it's changed a lot since + I haven't actually worked there. My advice is to get a job at Nike or M&S as others are suggesting.
Original post by geditor
Well, I've shopped there before to buy some spare trainers and tennis balls and thought they were quite good. Perhaps it's changed a lot since + I haven't actually worked there. My advice is to get a job at Nike or M&S as others are suggesting.


It's not as bad as people are making out. Every member of staff (other than manager, assistant manager, footwear manager and supervisor) are on a 0 hours contract.

Yes they make you push bags for life, but theyre not that hard to sell if you know basic customer service and have half a brain. Ive heard some of the people in the store be completely silent, not make eye contact and then very reluctanly say, 'want a bag for life?' and then wonder why they cant sell them. The common theme with the people at my store that regularly get >20% sales is holding genuine conversations an using info gathered to sell the bag eg if they say theyre going camping offer it as a great storage bag to put clothes etc.

You'll also notice the people that aren't getting hours are the ones that do anything to avoid work, moan when theyre given a task and take ages to do a half-hearted job of it. If extra shifts are on offer they moan theyve got plans and dont try to work around them. They refuse to accept that cleaning the shop is part of the job, otherwise the store would be filthy for customers

They also tend to only be trained in one area because they dont show an interest, basic common sense says if you get trained in more areas there are more shifts available.

Im enjoying my job there, I get on with the staff and get a good variety of jobs to do. Hours wise, at the minute Im getting 30-45 hour weeks, all because I do my job properly and dont moan.
Reply 28
My son has worked with them since 2010 as a casual assistant, get a few shifts a week but as much as he would have liked, last year he got a full time position with then and thats when the probs started. As he was salaried he didnt get overtime pay so when you add up the hours he has been doing then it equates to getting paid 3.50 an hour, manager is so lazy and when the shop closes he sometimes doesnt get out for somwtimes 1.5 hours, all unpaid! If they finish shift whilst shop is open they are then subjected to a search in the shop in front of customers before they leave! Its legalised slave labour, avoid if you want to keep your self respect and sanity.
Reply 29
Alright.
I've been working at Sports Direct since Mid November 2012, so my opinion may have very little validity with the short experience I've had. However, it's not particularly bad. I do only get paid £4p/h, but the work isn't particularly hard - unless you're on shoes!

I haven't had any work since my first month on 14th October, and I've been offered a job paying £6.56 an hour in a local super market as a supervisor.

Problem is, I'm incredibly shy.
I have no idea how I'll quit or what I'll say to my manager - she is absolutely terrifying! Any advice?!
Original post by Careli
Summary of my worst job experience - working for sports direct:


Negatives and what I personally found weird:

:mad:0 hours contract ( bye bye application for mortgage, bye bye pension ), minimum wage, no premiums extras or bonuses
:mad:Induction is not paid
:confused:They take your fingerprint for clocking purposes
:mad:You need to attend for staff meeting every so often ( usually Sunday eve ) and its not paid!
:frown:Unprofessional management attitude
:confused:Apart from a radio other things you need to wear and it is classed as a part of your uniform is a duster
:s-smilie:: You have to clean toilets
:confused:You are not allowed to shop in your store if you have a day off and if you want a 15% staff discount you are allowed to do it only on Thursdays after 4, it can be only for yourself ( so it cant be accessories as you might give it to someone else...) and you have to buy a special bag for 69p
:confused:When you finish your shift you almost have to get naked so they can see you dont steal from them ...
:frown:Your rota change every weak, no set hours, you cant plan much
:mad:Shifts 2 hours long...
:mad:Unpaid and unwanted overtime when you do closing shifts as you have to clean the shop ( sweeping, moping, dusting, hoovering )
:confused:no training at all

every day was very stressful especially when you are on tills because of the stupid bags you MUST sell otherwise you will not get hours the following week and customers dont want those bags
so basically you are being bullied to sell them, I felt like begging customers to buy those bags so I can get more hours , ridiculous, sometimes I also found myself almost being rude to those who dont want to buy a bag
one of my manager was very rude, always moaning, treating people with ridicule and always reminding you through the radio how bad you do at bags selling and that nothing is an excuse...
I decided to quit after a while cause it simply wasn’t me anymore, the only thing I cared was just selling bags in any way possible and also I realised that no one cares about customer service there which was honestly quite shocking!
Only positives that I can mention were my colleagues - lovely people and they work there only because they don’t have any other option... and
the second good thing: as you are on 0 hours contract you don’t have to apply for holiday/days off ( you just need to write it in a request book )
I still think about my experience sometimes and I am very happy I am not there anymore.
So really if you can save yourself DO NOT work at sports direct!!!:smile:



I hate getting searched after I've finished my shift, especially if I've finished my shift whilst the store is still open and the customers walk by :|! The worst part of getting searched is when you pull your trackies and your top up :/! The first time I went behind the tills was a couple of weeks ago (I've been working there since October) and my manager said to talk to the customers and you'll most like sell a bag for life and I'm just like I bloody don't know what to say to the customer :/!
Reply 31
Original post by ohhello92x
I hate getting searched after I've finished my shift, especially if I've finished my shift whilst the store is still open and the customers walk by :|! The worst part of getting searched is when you pull your trackies and your top up :/! The first time I went behind the tills was a couple of weeks ago (I've been working there since October) and my manager said to talk to the customers and you'll most like sell a bag for life and I'm just like I bloody don't know what to say to the customer :/!



I never had trouble with that, well, never did. Just be really vibrant and outgoing ask them how their days been..sounds stereotypical I know, but it does work. :smile: managed to sell to 70% of my customers over 8 hours! :smile:
Original post by Grenglish
I never had trouble with that, well, never did. Just be really vibrant and outgoing ask them how their days been..sounds stereotypical I know, but it does work. :smile: managed to sell to 70% of my customers over 8 hours! :smile:

Yeah tbf it was my first time on the tills and I prefer the tills to working on the shop floor. Oh well done :smile:!
You do know what the national minimum wage is right?


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Reply 34
I've worked three days there so far as a 'casual' assistant and I think it's absolutely ridiculous. The managers treat you poorly and disrespect me just because i'm 17. Everyone in the store was paid on Friday and I still haven't been paid. I need to get out now! I just don't know how to quit out of this hell hole! SOMEONE HELP!?
The manager sent me in on induction and didn't explain anything we were only there for half an hour so I'm not an expert at the job yet. She also never explained that I was to find out my hours for myself and I assumed she would get in contact with me about them seen as that is what I saw her doing before yet she rang me and asked why I missed work and said I would be put under investigation. I also told her I can't work saturday and she has put me down as working on saturday. I have full availability 24/7 and yet she puts me down for the days I CANT work.

DO NOT WORK AT SPORTS DIRECT
Reply 35
Original post by Grenglish
Alright.
I've been working at Sports Direct since Mid November 2012, so my opinion may have very little validity with the short experience I've had. However, it's not particularly bad. I do only get paid £4p/h, but the work isn't particularly hard - unless you're on shoes!

I haven't had any work since my first month on 14th October, and I've been offered a job paying £6.56 an hour in a local super market as a supervisor.

Problem is, I'm incredibly shy.
I have no idea how I'll quit or what I'll say to my manager - she is absolutely terrifying! Any advice?!


I have the same problem, I suffer from social anxiety which is probably why I can't sell those stupud BAGS! but I need to quit, I can't work there it's bringing me down and I have no idea what to say to my manager she's horrible!
I've just had my first shift and I really hate it! how do you quit? what do you say? i'm going to do a few more shifts before I leave but I cant wait to get out of there
Original post by emilydavies123
I've just had my first shift and I really hate it! how do you quit? what do you say? i'm going to do a few more shifts before I leave but I cant wait to get out of there


Check to see if there's anything in your contract, but I think you need to give a week's notice but I'm not sure


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I started a few weeks ago and it's ok. The people I work with are nice including management but for me the problems are that I'm getting given shifts on the one day a week I told them I can't work, the five hour shifts with no breaks are killers and the days and hours I do each week keeps changing. I'm doing alright with selling bags and I've sold a couple of mags but management keeps pushing me to sell more and it's making me really grumpy when I can't sell any :frown:
Original post by cheese0110
I started a few weeks ago and it's ok. The people I work with are nice including management but for me the problems are that I'm getting given shifts on the one day a week I told them I can't work, the five hour shifts with no breaks are killers and the days and hours I do each week keeps changing. I'm doing alright with selling bags and I've sold a couple of mags but management keeps pushing me to sell more and it's making me really grumpy when I can't sell any :frown:


If you're over 18 you wouldn't get a break from a 5 hour shift, it'll be if you're doing 6 or more hours

And I know what you mean with the b4l and magazines


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