Category: Work

Career Pivot Success!

It’s been a somewhat turbulent 10 months for me. Back in July of 2021 I found out that I would very likely be made redundant after 20 years of Supermarket management with Waitrose. I’d decided I should try and make the best of a bad situation and look to change career paths. I’d always said I would only work for Waitrose in Supermarkets, not any of the others, based off stories you hear about how hard they work you. Mind you, looking at the new structures it looked like Waitrose was heading that same way, another reason I thought it a good time to leave retail.

Continue reading Career Pivot Success!
Categories:Work

End of an Era

On February 4th, 2002 I started work at Waitrose on Marylebone High Street. Funnily enough I was 15 minutes late, as this was back before Google Maps and I got lost… well, I say lost… I went to Marylebone Road and had to run to Marylebone High Street when they told me my error over the phone. This is after I’d got to my interview in Northwood 45 minutes late due to crazy traffic and somehow I last 20 years with Waitrose!

Anyway, yesterday, exactly 9 years (to the day!) since I started at Whetstone (and again, I was late for that first shift as I’d misread the rota and strolled in for a late shift when I should have been in for an early) I completed my last shift with Waitrose.

Continue reading End of an Era
Categories:Work

Seconded…

I think it was September of 2010 when I first took on an Acting DM Role, when one of the Department Managers in my store was going in for knee surgery.  It went well, I was kept in an acting role on her return.

Then in April of 2011 I went to, and passed, my Department Manager Assessment Centre. At the same time though, Waitrose was going through a management restructure called FBS and I was to head up the new Operations section at Marylebone.

Continue reading Seconded…

Categories:Work

Opportunity For Progression

I’ve been working for Waitrose and the John Lewis Partnership for over nine years now.  Over the past 3 or 4 years things seem to have gone better and better for me as I grow and develop as a manager.

The majority of my development has taken place over the past 9 months.  The start of this came last summer when I suggested I could fill in for Ellie, our DM Merchandise, while she was off for a knee operation.  The boss seemed to like this idea and for 8 weeks I was Acting DM, looking after Fresh Foods, Fruit and Veg and Dry Goods.  I fealt this went well and on Ellie’s return, rather than stepping back down to SM Checkouts, I continued on as Acting DM Fresh Foods, helping take them through the Christmas period.

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Categories:Work

JLP Bonus

One of the many reasons I’m glad to be a ‘Partner’ (I work for the John Lewis Partnership) is the bonus that is given every year in March.  As all employees are partners, we get to share in the company profits each year.

2010 Bonus Announcement in JL Oxford Street

This year operating profits are up 20% despite the credit crunch which means 70,000 partners get to share £151m between them.  This is worked out as a percentage figure of each partners wage for the year.  Last year it had dropped to 13% but this year it rose back up to 15% (which I predicted some months ago!)  So, 15% of every partners earned wage of last year, overtime and all, is paid to them in March.

For me, for the forth year I’ve put another £3,000 into Bonus save.  This is an incentive that allows me to buy ‘shares’ at a fixed rate of £1 each, which after 5 years can be taken back out, tax free. I also get dividends on these each year, making it a great investment, returning around 60% over 5 years. With the bonus being 15%, I should have a fair bit to pay of some credit cards too!

Categories:Work

Changes At Work

I’ve been Fresh Foods manager for 7 years now at Marylebone High Street.  I’ve enjoyed pretty much all 7 of thoese, but it was getting time to move on.  I was asked to have an interview to be Fresh Foods manager at the new Islington store, so I went along a couple of weeks ago.  It went well, they offered me the position, as they did our Checkouts manager.  He accepted, I decided the better option was to stay at 236 and replace him on Checkouts. Continue reading Changes At Work

Categories:Work

So Close

For around a year, we’d been looking forward to the next Waitrose 5-a-side football tournament.  Last year, with 90 teams entered we made it to the last 8, to be knocked out cruelly on penalties after giving away a cheap goal to allow the eventual winners to knock us out.  We joined a league and have been playing once a week since then.

This year, John Lewis were included too, meaning around 140 teams were entered. Our team had changed slightly, but the core was the same still. Armed with a better striker and goalie, we felt confident going in.

Continue reading So Close
Categories:Sporting, Work

Work AGM

Thursday night was our Waitrose AGM, once again at The Oval.  It starts of with a presentation about how we’ve done this year and what we’ll be doing in the future before heading upstairs for a meal of rather small proportions.  It was some kind of meat hanging on the end of the bone followed by a strange Creme Brule with seeds and green bits in!?!

Once the excuse for a meal was done with, the music started and the drinking began!  Feeling rather tired myself, it was a dissappointment that they didn’t have RedBull to go with my Vodka, so I had it straight instead.  After 4 or 5 doubles I definitly started to feel them.

Unlike me though, some people didn’t know when they should slow down…  Some of the stories going round on Friday.  Bottle’s of Vodka being downed, minesweeping tables at the end of the AGM, vomit on tube station platforms, phoneboxes as toilets, thrown out of clubs, not allowed into others, collapsing on floors…  it was a good night!

Categories:Social, Work

Bonus Party

2008 saw the John Lewis Partnership achieve another great set of figures leading to all of us being given a bonus of 20% of our years earnings in one lump sum. That’s over 2 months pay paid in our March pay slip, woo hoo! Unfortunately, most of mine is gone, half into bonus save (again) for the future and the other half paying of my credit card…

Anyway, such a great bonus called for celebrations, so off to the Gunmakers pub we went!

A pretty good turn out for a Sunday with 20 -30 people bearing the cold conditions in the name of consuming much alcohol. It wasn’t long before someone called for the Tequila and Vodka shots (who on earth was that…) and things started to get a little messy.

Still, it was a fun evening, with minimal casualties I believe… here’s to 22% next year!

Categories:Social, Work