The Student Room Group

Working at Boots

I work in Boots the Chemist and thought a thread devoted to fellow employees would be useful to chat about our thoughts on work. I enjoy working at Boots in general its good fun and the people are nice. :smile:

The only thing i realy dislike about Boots is the uniform! :frown: I find that the old-fashioned looking tunic with the buttons down the front in that horrible polyester material is too hot in summer and cold in winter. It's too long and hard to move around in and being plain white its too hard to keep clean and mine has lots of pulled threads where it catches on things.

I suppose the uniform does probably look quite good and professionsal when it is new but it just isn't practical...

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Reply 1
Bitbob
I work in Boots the Chemist and thought a thread devoted to fellow employees would be useful to chat about our thoughts on work. I enjoy working at Boots in general its good fun and the people are nice. :smile:

The only thing i realy dislike about Boots is the uniform! :frown: I find that the old-fashioned looking tunic with the buttons down the front in that horrible polyester material is too hot in summer and cold in winter. It's too long and hard to move around in and being plain white its too hard to keep clean and mine has lots of pulled threads where it catches on things.

I suppose the uniform does probably look quite good and professionsal when it is new but it just isn't practical...
Hiya i work at boots too but only as a temp and i finish on christams eve :mad: Iv only been there about 6 weeks bu have really enjoyed it and it is the best place i have worked so far :p:
Reply 2
i work in boots! i dont like the uniform though its pretty horrible to wear, i had to work 5 till 8 2day don't know why they're open then because it was deserted 6 till 8 :rolleyes:
Reply 3
Bitbob
I work in Boots the Chemist and thought a thread devoted to fellow employees would be useful to chat about our thoughts on work. I enjoy working at Boots in general its good fun and the people are nice. :smile:

The only thing i realy dislike about Boots is the uniform! :frown: I find that the old-fashioned looking tunic with the buttons down the front in that horrible polyester material is too hot in summer and cold in winter. It's too long and hard to move around in and being plain white its too hard to keep clean and mine has lots of pulled threads where it catches on things.

I suppose the uniform does probably look quite good and professionsal when it is new but it just isn't practical...


Is that not what "Tabards" were invented for. We all wear tabards at my branch including when we are on the shop floor therefore are tunics are clean.
Reply 4
I work at boots in newcastle, it has got to be the most unorginised place EVER! i've been there 11 months- i have no uniform (apart from an oversized 'ops' top which i was given on my first day >.<), no discount card, my pay has only recently been sorted out (loads of ppl have missed weeks of not being payed) grr!!! is anyone elses store this bad?!
Reply 5
I work at boots, i have done since our store first opened about a year and a half ago, our store is a mess and really disorganized too, nothing ever gets done. nevertheless i still enjoy it, (most of the time) .They allways forget to pay me the right amount when i work bank holidays aswell.

Yestarday we were told that they are going to close down our store,:eek: :eek: it is up for sale. They told us that it will either be sold to another pharmacy company, or it will just be completly closed down!!!! It only opened 18 months ago, and never made as much money as they wanted, so i don't think any other pharmacy company would be interested in buying it. They are not going to give any staff store transfers, we will have to fill in application forms and go for interviews if we want to work for boots again!!!! It will close in late july, they said there will be no new product lines sent to us, and the store will be gradually "wound down" untill then. We are all quite annoyed because it feels like the company doesn't really give a damm about us!!:mad: Has anyone else experienced or heard of anything like this?? apparntely its to do with the merger with Alliance-Unichem, and there are more stores on "the black list".:frown:
can anyone tell me how much they pay? im looking for a new job and want to find out what one would be best.
Reply 7
At my branch they pay £4.12 to under 18's and time and a half on a sunday. Not too sure about over 18's though. The perks are pretty decent though, 22.5% off boots stuff and 12.5% off other brands. In my store we can have all the testers too some aint even been used. I got 10 urban decay eyeshadows on sat woth £100 for free:biggrin:
Reply 8
I worked in Boots 3 years ago. It was a new store too, still going strong and I saw my old manager the week before last. I got paid £3.92 when I left [I was 17 then] and only worked 7 hours a week. It's an out of town Boots, which I was told was the main reason I was paid less than my best friend, who worked at the one in town, doing exactly the same hours as me and was 3 months younger.

It was okay...But the pay could've been better, even for an out of town store. The only bit I really miss is the discount.
znicz
At my branch they pay £4.12 to under 18's and time and a half on a sunday. Not too sure about over 18's though. The perks are pretty decent though, 22.5% off boots stuff and 12.5% off other brands. In my store we can have all the testers too some aint even been used. I got 10 urban decay eyeshadows on sat woth £100 for free:biggrin:

Thanks! will keep that in mind while looking for my new job! :biggrin:
Reply 10
i think the minimum pay rate is a fiver an hour for over 18's...
Reply 11
What is the going rate at Boots and do you get Sunday rate? For 18+ that is
Reply 12
Claire8424
What is the going rate at Boots and do you get Sunday rate? For 18+ that is


I used to work in Boots - when I turned 18 my pay was £5.65/hour (with a promised raise after 6months)... when I left i was on around £5.80/hour.

I think you get time and a half on Sundays.
Reply 13
I'm applying for a job at Boots and was wondering how long do they take to reply to applications?

I know they are desperate as the windows are plastered with vacancy posters. Also are the interviews hard?

Is the company a good company the way they treat their employees etc. Don't want to join a bad company that's all. :smile:
Claire8424
I'm applying for a job at Boots and was wondering how long do they take to reply to applications?

I know they are desperate as the windows are plastered with vacancy posters. Also are the interviews hard?

Is the company a good company the way they treat their employees etc. Don't want to join a bad company that's all. :smile:


They were fairly efficient with paying me on time and stuff when I was there, though i never got my expenses when I left which pissed me off cos they said they'd sorted it. The discount is alright too, though they are fairly pricey to begin with on most stuff.

I's run in military like fashion - split into 15 min time-blocks. I got frustrated that it was so inflexible and if I missed my break slot cos i was helping a customer or something i got told it was my fault.

I wasn't overly keen on being searched either, but thats company policy to not trust employees i guess.

I'm 21, was working in NW non-city store on the pharmacy counter - got paid £5.57/hr (worked out ~£208/week whihc was pretty good)
uk6458
I work at boots, i have done since our store first opened about a year and a half ago, our store is a mess and really disorganized too, nothing ever gets done. nevertheless i still enjoy it, (most of the time) .They allways forget to pay me the right amount when i work bank holidays aswell.

Yestarday we were told that they are going to close down our store,:eek: :eek: it is up for sale. They told us that it will either be sold to another pharmacy company, or it will just be completly closed down!!!! It only opened 18 months ago, and never made as much money as they wanted, so i don't think any other pharmacy company would be interested in buying it. They are not going to give any staff store transfers, we will have to fill in application forms and go for interviews if we want to work for boots again!!!! It will close in late july, they said there will be no new product lines sent to us, and the store will be gradually "wound down" untill then. We are all quite annoyed because it feels like the company doesn't really give a damm about us!!:mad: Has anyone else experienced or heard of anything like this?? apparntely its to do with the merger with Alliance-Unichem, and there are more stores on "the black list".:frown:


Ouch. I would guess that they will sell at any price, rather than just close down the store, lose out on the goodwill and pay off the lease. I don't think they will have a problem selling up, but it really depends on the location of the store and the position relative to other pharmacies and doctor's/dentist's surgerys.

The Alliance Unichem merger isn't even confirmed yet - from what I've heard there is a German company prepared to start fighting to have Alliance Unichem for themselves so it's not a foregone conclusion. IMHO, unless the store is running at a loss, then they are making a big mistake by winding it down now.

I would guess there is another Alliance pharmacy closeby and (if and when it rebrands to 'Boots') they don't want duplication...
Reply 16
The only thing i realy dislike about Boots is the uniform! :frown: I find that the old-fashioned looking tunic with the buttons down the front in that horrible polyester material is too hot in summer and cold in winter. It's too long and hard to move around in and being plain white its too hard to keep clean and mine has lots of pulled threads where it catches on things.


We have finally been given our new uniforms which we were promised ages ago and they are so much better than the old ones!!! :smile: We have got new trousers and new white tunics. The tops are in the same white material as the old ones but they zip up the back instead of having buttons on the front and the blue edging is thicker and they also have handy pockets on the front. There is a pocket for pens on the trousers rather than on the white top which stops ink stains showing up (i had this problem with my old uniform!) Even though the tunics will be hard to keep clean like the old ones the best thing is we have all been issued with new navy tabards to protect them which makes such a difference. Most people don't like them but I wear mine all the time and already it has done its job a few times stopping my tunic getting stained. The new uniforms look so much better than the old ones, even with the tabard on top and it is much more practical and comfy. We even have new gold coloured name badges to go with it.:smile:

Anyone else got the new uniform yet? Do you prefer it? Customers have even commented on how much better we look!:biggrin:
Reply 17
Bitbob
The only thing i realy dislike about Boots is the uniform! :frown: I find that the old-fashioned looking tunic with the buttons down the front in that horrible polyester material is too hot in summer and cold in winter. It's too long and hard to move around in and being plain white its too hard to keep clean and mine has lots of pulled threads where it catches on things.


We have finally been given our new uniforms which we were promised ages ago and they are so much better than the old ones!!! :smile: We have got new trousers and new white tunics. The tops are in the same white material as the old ones but they zip up the back instead of having buttons on the front and the blue edging is thicker and they also have handy pockets on the front. There is a pocket for pens on the trousers rather than on the white top which stops ink stains showing up (i had this problem with my old uniform!) Even though the tunics will be hard to keep clean like the old ones the best thing is we have all been issued with new navy tabards to protect them which makes such a difference. Most people don't like them but I wear mine all the time and already it has done its job a few times stopping my tunic getting stained. The new uniforms look so much better than the old ones, even with the tabard on top and it is much more practical and comfy. We even have new gold coloured name badges to go with it.:smile:

Anyone else got the new uniform yet? Do you prefer it? Customers have even commented on how much better we look!:biggrin:


Hi Bitbob, We have just started last week to wear are new uniforms, they do seem to be much more comfy and more professional, the tabards certantly help to keep the uniform cleaner and smarter. It's just a shame a lot of the younger member of staff don't wear them im 24 and I do!


One youngester the other day spilt a load of shower cream down her tunic and she said in the staff room **** if only I was wearing a tabard! Needless to say she now wears one!
Reply 18
lucy spell
Hi Bitbob, We have just started last week to wear are new uniforms, they do seem to be much more comfy and more professional, the tabards certantly help to keep the uniform cleaner and smarter. It's just a shame a lot of the younger member of staff don't wear them im 24 and I do!


One youngester the other day spilt a load of shower cream down her tunic and she said in the staff room **** if only I was wearing a tabard! Needless to say she now wears one!



Ye, the new uniform is a big improvement all round. A lot of people dont like wearing the tabards but i dont mind and it is worth it in the long run. I wear mine prety much all the time except sometimes on checkouts i dont bother but even then it can be gd.

At least shower cream will wash out she could have ruined her new uniform if it had been something like hair dye or nail varnish - been there, done that:redface:
Reply 19
ive worked since oct 2005 straight after my work experience with school. I do 7.5 hours half 7 til quater past 4 on 5.75 usually on sales plan. I hate the trousers they go past my belly button. Getting up that early is a drag and has made me reconsider going out on the town on a friday night which i miss :frown:
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