A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing- Avoid - Shop Manager Harris + Hoole Employee Review

Harris + Hoole was once a business one could be really proud to work for - this is no longer the case. Despite what they’ll tell you this is now simply Caffè Nero in a slightly better package. The coffee isn’t speciality (it’s roasted by Nero at a fraction of the cost it used to be) the food is identical to that served by Caffè Nero ( all made off site and mostly frozen) and all the head office support and training is organised by Caffè Nero. Working conditions are poor and rapidly getting worse. You’ll often find yourself understaffed and unable to cover shifts and double shifts will quickly become the norm. These poor conditions lead to a problem with recruiting new staff which intensified the problem. Cover and cooperation from over shops is almost nonexistent as each manager looks after themselves. All breaks are unpaid. If you’re on a 40 hour salary you’ll be expected to work a minimum of 42.5 hours (it all adds up). The quality of the food is genuinely shocking. You’ll need to be comfortable ripping people off every day to work here. It’s only got worse over the last two years and there’s no signs of improvement yet. For London based roles pay rates are around 15-20% lower then comparable roles in other companies and the ‘benefits’ they’ll tell you about either don’t exist or don’t come close to making up the difference. There’s recently been a mass exodus of experienced and long serving employees abandoning this business in droves - take that as a warning and don’t get on the sinking ship. Further to the above this Glassdoor needs to be updated - Nick Tolley was an incredible CEO but he left three years ago.