13th September 2019
The Christmas Spirit at M&S is Infectious
Adam didn’t know what to expect when he started as a Christmas temp at M&S, except that he was in line to earn some extra cash for Christmas. But then he arrived for his first day…
“I walked in and remember being quite shocked at how big and fast paced the shop was. Everywhere I looked there was something going on; it was almost like something out of a film,” he says. “It also struck me how everyone worked together to deliver the best possible Christmas to customers. And, it was a lot of fun – not a word I had traditionally associated with work!”
Adam loves the buzz of Christmas at M&S, the festive smiles on customers’ faces, the infectious enthusiasm of his colleagues. ‘Crazy’ is a word Adam uses to describe the festive season at M&S, but he believes that we go out of our way to look after our colleagues as we all have a hand in making Christmas for our customers. And the longer he’s worked here, the more he’s got involved. “I feel proud to be part of such a credible and respectable business. It really is a privilege to be part of the ‘peak’ team.”
He’s been given responsibility, too. As Store Operations Section Manager in Guildford, Adam deals with deliveries coming into his store and also cost management. “As you can imagine, there’s a huge turnover of stock at Christmas. I make sure that products are taken from lorries and onto the shop floor as quickly as possible, and generally help my colleagues look after our customers and analyse things like how we can reduce our energy bills.”
Christmas is a time for thinking of others and Adam remembers a time when he and a colleague helped an elderly lady who was a regular M&S shopper but on this occasion was visibly struggling to get round the Food Hall. “I went upstairs and found her a wheelchair. Then my colleague and I took her around the store and helped her complete her weekly shop. We took her to the till so she could pay, called a taxi for her and then waited until it arrived so we could help her in.”
We can all be forgiven for piling on a few pounds at Christmas, but Adam has a way of staying in shape: “I use my 20% staff discount to buy our massive salad pots – chicken and bacon is the best!”
Find out more about our Christmas roles here.
