Trade Counter Overview
Screwfix currently operates a network of over 145 Trade Counters across England, Scotland and Wales, with more new store openings and new store formats planned throughout 2010 and beyond. It’s an exciting time to join us in our Trade Counter operation, with plenty of career opportunities on offer as we continue to grow and expand.
Our Trade Counters are mainly situated on industrial estates or in areas with a high concentration of other businesses that service contractors in the building, refurbishment and maintenance trades. Our stores attract a high volume of trade customers of all types, from major national contractors to small owner-run independents. We also have a surprisingly high number of non-trade customers, mainly those involved in DIY projects who know what great products and prices are on offer at Screwfix.
Our Trade Counters operate an order-and-collect system. After selecting your products from a catalogue displayed in store, you fill in a slip and hand it to a member of staff who processes your payment, while another person collects your goods from the large warehouse attached to each store. This makes for a very quick and easy shopping experience, with none of the searching high and low for products that you sometimes experience in a DIY superstore.
A typical Screwfix Trade Counter employs between 10 full time and 20 people part time staff. As well as the Branch Manager, each Trade Counter has 1 or 2 Assistant Managers, 1 or 2 Customer Service Supervisors, with the remainder of the staff being Service Assistants. While all positions are customer-facing and are concerned with maximising sales and the delivery of excellent service, each role has its own distinct responsibilities and tasks.
The Trade Counter Culture
Screwfix Trade Counters have a very positive and straight talking culture. We’re quite informal, use straightforward language and we’re big on communication and getting our people involved by listening to ideas and taking suggestions on board. We believe in giving people responsibility and the opportunity to make a real difference to the success of their store, and we listen to people’s ideas and take suggestions on board. Screwfix is an honest company, managed by real people, where everyone works hard, gets their sleeves rolled up and gets stuck in. For example it isn’t unusual to see an Area Manager serving behind the tills or helping customers during a busy period – there’s no airs and graces here.
It can sometimes be a demanding environment in which to work – because of the nature of our customers, we need to open early and close late, and open at the weekend, so shifts aren’t always at the most sociable times of day. It can be physically tough, and can involve some heavy lifting and carrying. It also involves dealing with some quite demanding and challenging customers, and when it’s busy and customers are queuing impatiently, it takes individuals with a customer-focused attitude to successfully ‘serve with a smile’. Quite often though, the customers can be the best part of the job – you’ll have a real opportunity to build up relationships and enjoy a bit of banter with the regulars!
Screwfix are also big on giving people opportunities to shine and to progress their careers. Our Area Managers always know who is performing well, and the chance to advance through the company is always there for committed employees who wish to achieve more and advance further in their career. We operate fast-track schemes to help our best performers quickly learn the skills and gain the knowledge necessary to make the next move up the ladder, and many of our Branch Managers have risen through the ranks into their current positions.
The rest of this section provides you with more information about the main responsibilities for each of these positions, details of the salary and benefits packages available, along with testimonials from people who currently work in these roles. There’s plenty of information to allow you to build up a detailed picture of what it’s like to work in a Screwfix Trade Counter, and decide if you would like to apply for a position.
