Dunnes Trainee Manager

L unknown · 19-09-2011 12:21AM #1

Hey guys,

A friend of mine has an upcoming interview for a trainee manager role in Dunnes Stores. Has anyone any idea what the interview is like and what the job itself is about? What are they like to work for? What are the hours like?
Any feedback would be great!!

Thanks

alanhiggyno1 · 19-09-2011 12:29AM

Ya I have it's basically a glorified shelf stocker with a suit.so that's it really

L unknown · 19-09-2011 12:31AM

Ooookay!!

Did you hold that position yourself?

Delancey · 19-09-2011 12:54AM

Tough job with long lousy hours - initially it is little more than a shelf stacker in a suit.
Having said that I know people who toughed it out and have done very well as store managers.

Starting out is the toughest time I understand but apparently it does get better if you last.

L unknown · 19-09-2011 12:57AM

Thanks for the posts.....
Anyone else with feedback??

19-09-2011 01:18AM

I heard they keep increasing the pay year by year

its a job- your friend should defo take it if offered it

Corruptedmorals · 19-09-2011 06:02PM

Dunnes Managers work 50-60 hours a week. 10 hour shifts, sometimes 12 hours+ if someone has rang in sick. Normal managers promoted to deputy store manager are not getting a payrise anymore, there are loads of store managers an deputy store managers on serious money, but it's not happening anymore. Stores are understaffed, in busy stores managers have to be staff as well- do deliveries, be on tills etc. They can be moved around Dublin at will with barely any notice- I have seen this notice be as little as two days, they don't take into account your home address and if you will have a horrible commute. Having worked in Dunnes for 3+ years, I would never be a manager in the place. Staff have far more rights, far less hours, far less pressure and job satisfaction, can't be moved around stores. All managers will be in Cornelscourt Dunnes at some stage- it's like an unofficial training ground.

L unknown · 19-09-2011 06:38PM

Ok hours do seem a bit severe.....
At the same time perhaps the hard work will pay off....you have to start somewhere I suppose and in todays climate there isnt many opportunities.

Has anyone got anything positive to say about the role???!!!

Thanks again for posts I shall pass them along!!

Corruptedmorals · 20-09-2011 02:54PM

In most stores it can be fine, still the long hours though. In some it can be a miserable job- busy stores where there's a LOT of pressure. But they get moved around a good but so you wouldn't be languishing in a horrible one for too long. Not short of hours and I'm pretty sure the pay is good.

leggo · 20-09-2011 03:36PM

The one thing that irked me from pushing for a manager's job there was the fact they can completely uproot you and move you to another store with little to no notice. The rest of the above is also accurate.

The good news? It's a job when little else is available. And it's management on the CV if they don't already have that.

kermitpwee · 20-09-2011 03:44PM

L unknown wrote: »

Ok hours do seem a bit severe.....
At the same time perhaps the hard work will pay off....you have to start somewhere I suppose and in todays climate there isnt many opportunities.

Has anyone got anything positive to say about the role???!!!

Thanks again for posts I shall pass them along!!

You will start off packing the shelves for maybe two days and then a few days on the tills, deli onto out the back checking in deliveries. This way you learn the store, the first 2 years are hard and the hours long and as a trainee you will be in a top 35 store. As a result you will be under a hardcore manager who will take no **** and push you to the last. Most problems in the store will become your problem, has your friend ever worked in retail?
I hated it for the first 6 months as I got constant abuse, then I decided I was going to out work my manger and fix the problems before he found them. I then started to enjoy the role. You will be working every saturday for the first two years.

tenchi-fan · 20-09-2011 05:32PM

They also get moved around from store to store. The conditions sound awful. However, pay is good and it looks great on your cv.

evosteo · 20-09-2011 05:55PM

i worked one time doin maintenance on all the dunnes stores neon signs throughout ireland,

honestly have to say 90+% of the store managers are horrible people to deal with,

serious power buzz they do be on,

trying to get dockets signed = nightmare

they think they are up on some high horse talking down to you,

i just laughed at some of them,

worst one if i recall correctly was in longford,

absolute b*t*h,

all in all dunnes management are very hard people to deal with, they would get blood out of a stone

Staplor · 20-09-2011 06:00PM

I know of a few people all did very well after starting out there.

Oranage2 · 20-09-2011 06:12PM

evosteo wrote: »

i worked one time doin maintenance on all the dunnes stores neon signs throughout ireland,

honestly have to say 90+% of the store managers are horrible people to deal with,

serious power buzz they do be on,

trying to get dockets signed = nightmare

they think they are up on some high horse talking down to you,

i just laughed at some of them,

worst one if i recall correctly was in longford,

absolute b*t*h,

all in all dunnes management are very hard people to deal with, they would get blood out of a stone

I've worked in Dunnes and the avove is very ture -

The managers with avarage to above IQ hate it cause of the stress and constant pressure they're under -

Also I've seen managers constantly been shifted out to anywhere in Leinster when they live in Dublin -

The managers that have been promoted off the floor do be on some serious power buzz -

A jobs a job in the end but a Dunnes manager is a seriously hard job - 50-60 hour weeks, shift work that could be an over night and constantly changing and you have to put up with a more than likely power tripping head manager -

The pay is decent I heard but not really for the hours worked - also its good manager experience

Bannasidhe · 20-09-2011 06:17PM

First cousin was a manager in Dunnes for years, she left to go to Heatons as she was fed up of being moved from store to store at short notice and being called in to cover. Now - she wishes she had stayed as she finds Heatons much tougher to work for.

20-09-2011 06:50PM

A guy I know got a job as a manager, as soon as he started he was asked to cover the night pack shift for three months. Four years later he's still doing it, starting at 5pm and not out until 2 or 3am. He hasn't had a weekend off in that time except for holidays.
It's a tough job and can be really miserable depending on your store manager and the regional manager. Some are sound, some are complete muppets.

mikehunts · 20-09-2011 07:03PM

Sound managers are hard to come by, and i have dealt with quiet a few, they think they can treat people like **** just because they hate their jobs. The power completely changes their personality.

unklerosco · 20-09-2011 07:11PM

evosteo wrote: »

i worked one time doin maintenance on all the dunnes stores neon signs throughout ireland,

honestly have to say 90+% of the store managers are horrible people to deal with,

serious power buzz they do be on,

trying to get dockets signed = nightmare

they think they are up on some high horse talking down to you,

i just laughed at some of them,

worst one if i recall correctly was in longford,

absolute b*t*h,

all in all dunnes management are very hard people to deal with, they would get blood out of a stone

I'd say the exact same myslef, used to do deliveries to dunnes for 2 yrs. 90% of the managers where morons, one in particular was so bad they kept shifting him from store to store when he should have been fired (he gave abuse to everyone, drivers, merchandisers etc. male and female) he got a dig off one of the drivers one day, shut him up for a while..

Being moved around would be a killer, a few of the managers I got on with got moved. One lived in Kimmage, got a job in the Dunnes there but was then moved to Donaghmeade. 5hr commute each day. 2 buses and an hour of walking. One was moved from Clondalkin to Cornelscourt, another from Blanchardstown to Drogheda. They make no consideration as to where you live, they just shift you around... Would do my head in

Delancey · 20-09-2011 07:16PM

An experienced Dunnes worker once told me that the managers who last are the horrible ones - the nice guys get the boot !

mikemac · 20-09-2011 07:32PM

Put some people in a suit and hand them a bit of power and they can't deal with it. Happens in Dunnes, happens in hotels too.
And the best staff and the ones who know better leave or get promoted and the ones who are happy to spend their days roaring at staff and cannot understand motivation and morale stay

OP, if your friend is successful then put the head down and stick it for two years. Two years in the position will be great for the CV and they can stay or leave after that.

Best of luck

evosteo · 20-09-2011 11:03PM

unklerosco wrote: »

I'd say the exact same myslef, used to do deliveries to dunnes for 2 yrs. 90% of the managers where morons, one in particular was so bad they kept shifting him from store to store when he should have been fired (he gave abuse to everyone, drivers, merchandisers etc. male and female) he got a dig off one of the drivers one day, shut him up for a while..

Being moved around would be a killer, a few of the managers I got on with got moved. One lived in Kimmage, got a job in the Dunnes there but was then moved to Donaghmeade. 5hr commute each day. 2 buses and an hour of walking. One was moved from Clondalkin to Cornelscourt, another from Blanchardstown to Drogheda. They make no consideration as to where you live, they just shift you around... Would do my head in

delighted he got a dig, may have knocked him off his horse and brought him down to earth:D

Columbia · 20-09-2011 11:21PM

I've worked in three different Dunnes Stores in 7 or 8 different jobs.

The majority of managers [although I wouldn't go as high as 90%, maybe just my personal experience - I'd say two-thirds] are indeed on a serious power trip. I had a store manager refuse to shake my hand after I was hired in my last job there, and I also once waited to hold a security door open for a manager, and instead of 'thank you' she started whinging at me for wearing the wrong type of black pants.

There are good eggs in there too though, and I find that these are usually quite frustrated with the poor managers they see around them.

My mother has been a manager in Dunnes for a long, long time also, and she seems perfectly satisfied in her job. It wouldn't appeal to me, but it seems to be a good fit for some. She works 40-hour weeks most of the year, but in the run-up to Christmas can be doing 60 or 70.

gerrycollins · 21-09-2011 01:14PM

I was a Dunnes manager for 4 years. best time of my life but only if you are single and have a car.

its the best training in the business and Dunnes managers are very sought after in other areas of retail.

Yes we were little feckers but we had a job to do and it was expected of us to do above and beyond the call of the role to susceed. a little motto was to "do what thad to be done to achieve the target,no matter what"

Barnsleyfc · 21-09-2011 10:19PM

The problem with Dunnes managers is that they're all wound up over minor matters,like a position of a price-tag,missing name badge,while people get away with doing much worse which goes over their head.Also you can bend over backwards for them,but expect nothing back as a previous poster said about a Manager giving out to him for the wrong colour pants.Moreover if you have any hobbies with a set time eg GAA,soccer team,forget it! as hours are totally unpredictable and even if you get someone to swap with you with no hassle to them,you're the devil.
On the plus side they do pay well,the social life is good with staff but be prepared not to be able to plan your life and they think they'e the FBI,one of my managers got asked to leave or stop immediately simply for getting with a staff member on nights out a few times.At the end of the day it's a well-paying job in tough times so it's not all bad.

Ardennes1944 · 21-09-2011 10:24PM

Deleted User wrote: »

A guy I know got a job as a manager, as soon as he started he was asked to cover the night pack shift for three months. Four years later he's still doing it, starting at 5pm and not out until 2 or 3am. He hasn't had a weekend off in that time except for holidays.
It's a tough job and can be really miserable depending on your store manager and the regional manager. Some are sound, some are complete muppets.

franky?

Corruptedmorals · 22-09-2011 01:10PM

Barnsleyfc wrote: »

The problem with Dunnes managers is that they're all wound up over minor matters,like a position of a price-tag,missing name badge,while people get away with doing much worse which goes over their head.Also you can bend over backwards for them,but expect nothing back as a previous poster said about a Manager giving out to him for the wrong colour pants.Moreover if you have any hobbies with a set time eg GAA,soccer team,forget it! as hours are totally unpredictable and even if you get someone to swap with you with no hassle to them,you're the devil.
On the plus side they do pay well,the social life is good with staff but be prepared not to be able to plan your life and they think they'e the FBI,one of my managers got asked to leave or stop immediately simply for getting with a staff member on nights out a few times.At the end of the day it's a well-paying job in tough times so it's not all bad.

On that last point...it's not allowed. I've seen 3 or 4 managers moved for this sort of thing. In general, being too close to staff is discouraged.

ALBUR182 · 02-10-2011 10:54PM

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

On that last point...it's not allowed. I've seen 3 or 4 managers moved for this sort of thing. In general, being too close to staff is discouraged.

I'm marrying a girl I met in Dunne's who I moonlighted with while I was a manager with them. Never had an issue with the store or other managers, while it was happening. They just turned their back and said nothing

tsoparno · 02-10-2011 11:06PM

hope the there's dunnes managers reading this. just remember you can get your job done without being a complete c##t

evosteo · 03-10-2011 03:58PM

tsoparno wrote: »

hope the there's dunnes managers reading this. just remember you can get your job done without being a complete c##t

here here:)

Craigels · 03-10-2011 05:51PM

Go To Penneys Honestly There Ten Times Better To Work For. Trainee Management is 35000 a year and the career progression is endless if your up for it....

Dunnes Trainee Manager

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