H.Samuel Reviews

3.5

64% would recommend to a friend

(402 total reviews)

J.K. Symancyk

60% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

H.Samuel has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 402 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The H.Samuel employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail and wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

402 reviews
1.0
9 Feb 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good holiday allowance available, training scheme - at manager level you can gain qualifications , discount is good .

Cons

Bully culture is present and ignored. Upper management only know how to micro manage with demands, rather than support and listen. Quick to judge and blame, and very quick to sanction without cause. Targets are overly stretching, with unrealistic growth factored in while the industry is aware of downward trends in spending. Buying team out of touch with the consumer, reacting to current trends too slowly to be relevant , the fashion and everyday jewellery can be rather dated even when it is new. In management you are expected to work all hours with no additional pay, which is common in retail - however here, if you didn't do 6 days, 7 days, 12 hours a day ... It was seen as simply not dedicated. Above and beyond is the expectation . The stores are skeleton staffed, reducing all the time, however the work load is increasing leaving very little time to truly manage and support the team, meaning disengagement is common. Promo changes are so vast, with no allowance in budgets to prep , that it's not uncommon for management to take this prep work home and do it outside of work. All of this extra working is strictly prohibited in the companies code of conduct, however when challenged the code of conduct is not upheld in regards to the store workers, in fact of the colleagues and managers did not do all of this additional unpaid working, then the jobs simply would not get done - such is the staffing model.

1.0
22 Sept 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company offers good staff discount (10% on sale items and 30% on full price).

Cons

This is by far the worst company I have ever worked for. I have worked in several branches and only some allow you your full break allocation. You are expected to turn up and begin work 15 minutes before each shift without pay and if the issue of breaks is raised then you are told off for creating an atmosphere. A 16 hour contract receives a £30 uniform allowance per year. However this is received in September so they can conveniently avoid paying Christmas temps for an expensive and strict uniform. Rotas were supposed to be given four weeks in advance yet I regularly received mine one week at a time. I was also allowed little choice on when I could take my holidays. Head-office are impersonal and do not treat staff with respect. Most stores do not hit commission and there are strict and overly high sales targets you are pressured to hit. You are also expected to memorise the same script and use it with every customer. Alongside jewellery sales you are expected to sell insurance and can get in trouble for not hitting targets. I have seen this high pressure environment create a nasty atmosphere in many stores which is not worth it for such a low wage and no commission. Despite hitting personal targets every month I never received commission as the store did not hit its overall targets. Employees are also expected to work both boxing day and Christmas with no extra rate of pay and no choice in the matter.

2.0
13 Sept 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Meeting every type of person on a day to day basis Lots of footfall in the stores so always busy

Cons

Constantly changing prices up and down Too many restrictions on the staff discounts in some cases the public can get items cheaper than staff can Goalposts keep moving on the commission structure and only the larger stores are part of the commission scheme No reward for loyalty

Viewing 1 - 3 of 402 Reviews

Glassdoor has 452 H.Samuel reviews submitted anonymously by H.Samuel employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if H.Samuel is right for you.