Trespass Reviews

I worked for this company for four years, initially joining as a Supervisor before eventually becoming a Store Manager of the Portsmouth and Woking stores. Looking back, my experience was one of the most rewarding and frustrating periods of my career. When I first joined the Portsmouth store, I genuinely enjoyed my job and worked with some fantastic people. However, everything changed when the Store Manager left after creating a toxic environment that resulted in a large number of staff leaving. I found myself working through the entire month of December without a single day off to keep the store running. I eventually took over as Store Manager and quickly discovered the true extent of the problems that had been left behind. The store had been neglected for years. There was mould throughout the stockrooms and office, old food hidden behind clothing fixtures, over 30 boxes of faulty stock dating back to 2018 concealed in the stockrooms, and three stockrooms so full of disorganised stock that in many areas you could not even see the floor. The condition of the store was unacceptable, and there was little support available to fix it. I spent countless hours working nights after the store closed to clear stockrooms, reorganise inventory, clean neglected areas, and restore basic standards. At the same time, I had to recruit and train an almost entirely new team while ensuring the store remained operational. The workload was immense, and eventually the stress and pressure affected my health to the point where I had to leave the company for a few months. When I returned, I found myself in a familiar situation. Another manager had left after causing significant disruption, and once again I was asked to take over and repair the damage. I rebuilt the team, improved morale, implemented standards, and worked hard to create a positive and supportive culture. I genuinely cared about my staff and wanted people to enjoy coming to work. By the end, we had a strong team and a store that everyone could be proud of. Unfortunately, the Portsmouth store was later closed. Following the closure, I was approached about transferring to the Woking store. I was told the store needed an experienced manager and was encouraged to take on the challenge. I accepted because I was promised a higher salary and was assured that my travel expenses would be covered. This was not a small commute. On a good day, I was travelling around three hours per day. If trains were delayed or cancelled, that journey could easily become five or six hours. Despite this, I committed myself fully because I believed the company valued my experience and wanted me to succeed. Shortly after transferring, I was informed that the promised pay rise would not be happening and that it had been “communicated incorrectly.” This was extremely disappointing as it had been one of the key reasons I accepted the move. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the Woking store, I discovered another site that had been severely neglected. The stockrooms were once again in complete disarray and so full that you could barely see the floor. There was paperwork over four years old sitting in the office covered in dust, old food hidden in work areas, and the overall condition of the store was poor. The shop floor across both levels was chaotic, dirty, and badly organised. Large amounts of stock had no pricing, standards were inconsistent, and there were even rats on the shop floor. The biggest challenge, however, was not the building itself. It was rebuilding trust. The team had experienced multiple management changes and had been let down repeatedly. Morale was low and many employees had lost faith in the company. For seven months I worked to turn things around. I reorganised the stockrooms, improved standards, developed the team, addressed performance issues, removed ongoing sources of conflict, and created a much more positive environment. Slowly, the atmosphere changed. Staff became happier and more motivated. Gossip and drama largely disappeared. Customer service improved significantly. Sales began increasing. The store became cleaner, more organised, and far more professional. Team members regularly told me how much better things had become, and I received positive feedback about the improvements being made. Just as the store was finally in a strong position, I was informed that the company no longer wanted to continue paying my travel costs. I was told they wanted to move me to Southampton as a Supervisor and replace me with a cheaper Store Manager now that the hard work had been done. At that moment, I felt completely used. I had spent years stepping into failing stores, cleaning up problems created by previous management teams, rebuilding staff morale, recruiting and training employees, improving standards, and delivering results. Yet once the store was stable and successful, it felt as though my value to the company had disappeared. What made the situation even more upsetting was that my team actively argued for me to stay. They recognised the progress that had been made and wanted continuity. Despite this, I never received any meaningful answers or reassurance from senior management. I ultimately had no choice but to begin looking elsewhere for employment. What disappointed me most was that there was no real attempt to retain me. After four years of commitment, long hours, personal sacrifice, and repeatedly taking on stores that others had walked away from, I felt entirely disposable. My final experience with the company summed up how I felt. On my last day, the Area Manager did not come to see me in person. My exit interview consisted of a phone call that lasted only a couple of minutes. I did not want to leave. I was proud of what I had achieved and still had plans for the store and team. Leaving was genuinely upsetting because I cared deeply about the people I worked with. However, I left feeling that loyalty, commitment, and proven results mattered less than reducing costs.

Run down stores, lack of communication from H.O, unrealistic store target's, annual leave banned in December