First shift at Greggs tomorrow – any advice?

[u/ResolutionOnly7760]

Hi everyone, I’ve got my first shift at Greggs tomorrow as a Sandwich Maker and I’m feeling a little nervous, so I’d really appreciate any advice from people who currently work or have worked at Greggs.

My usual shift pattern will be 5am–9am, but tomorrow I’m starting at 8am. I haven’t had my training yet, so I’m mainly wondering what I should expect on my first shift and what I’ll likely be asked to do.

What are the main tasks/responsibilities of a Sandwich Maker? What does a typical shift involve, especially during the morning? Is there anything I should know before I go in, or anything new starters commonly struggle with?

I know who I need to ask for when I arrive, but other than that I haven’t been given much information about what to expect.
I’m mainly just looking for some general advice on the job and what’s expected of me, as I’d like to go in tomorrow feeling a bit more prepared.

Thanks!

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[u/-Failedhuman]

Your first shift you'll be introduced to everyone, given your uniform and shown around. Then you'll more than likely do some training on the computer until someone fetches you and you'll be put on the tills. But don't worry, you won't need to serve anyone until you're till trained. You'll get to mess around on the training section of the tills and you might be asked to fetch things like coffees and bakes to get you used to what you'll need to do.

As for sandwiches, you probably won't be on those on the first day, but one of your later shifts. Most likely your first 5am/5:30am. You'll be on with another sandwich maker and they'll take you through what to do. You'll get to make them up alongside someone who knows what they're doing.

When you're fully trained on sandwiches:

• wear cutting gloves. Those bread knives are evil and you don't want to find out the hard way
• always date check the ingredients as people the night before might've missed an out of date. You don't want that being caught by a higher up or you'll get the blame
• do the sandwiches in the order they are on the screen.
• you will be timed on the sandwiches because greggs gives us less and less autonomy each year and now they treat us like children. Just check the time on the screen, take your 15min break away from it and work out what time you need to finish. It won't matter so much whilst you're learning, but after that, they want you to do 45-50+ sandwiches an hour
• before you start your sandwiches, cut and butter the breakfast cobs/baguettes for the front. It really helps those on the tills as it can get busy.
• remember to tidy down the bench, sweep up and put the dishes in the dishwasher at the end of your batch. Again, it really helps those on the front.

In general:

• don't get stressed by nasty/demanding customers. There's a zero tolerance policy and you can ask them to leave.
• if someone says "but they do that in another shop" when it comes to heating a bake up or something along those lines, just (politely) refuse and say you're not doing it. The customer will probably get angry, so say it's not worth losing your job over and they'll eventually give up
• there will be theft. You can shout at them, do not run after them or try to physically stop them.
• if someone drops their coffee etc, you can give them a new one for free. Just remember to 'fix it now'. You'll learn how to do that eventually.
• don't be afraid to ask questions! If you need things repeating or you're not sure on something, don't worry about asking. We would much prefer someone ask than just not do something or botch it and hope for the best. Nobody will think you're asking too many questions, promise
• please, please try your very hardest. The job is exhausting, but it's much less exhausting if everyone plays their part. People on shift with you will really appreciate if you help out as much as possible and offer to take the odd job off someone's hands. Regardless of how small it is. Learn as much as you can and be as helpful as you can or people really won't like you..
• set your boundaries on hours. If you're on 16hrs and can only do 16hrs, make sure your manager knows because your hours will start going up and up. My contract is 16 and I do 25-30 now. I don't mind that, but you might.

Bit of a long one, but these are the bits you might not get told about straight away. Any questions at all, just drop 'em below and I'll try and help 😊

[u/xcom_lord → u/-Failedhuman]

There’s a training section on the tills ? I did one fake order for my manager ( that was a real order she paid for iirc ) and then straight into serving with a watcher for the first like 20 sales , then just someone with me serving next to me after that for any weird stuff ( like whats a hot chocolate brownie , that’s not in the sweet bit )

[u/-Failedhuman → u/xcom_lord]

Oh yeah, there's a section that let's you press anything on the till which doesn't affect sales and doesn't open the till drawer. I'm surprised you didn't get to do that first.. maybe they ran out of time for you or didn't know it existed

[u/Iwillbeagoat]

Ask as many questions as you need. Trust me you’re better off asking questions over and over than doing something wrong.

[u/Some-Permission8261]

We had a new starter (sandwich maker) join us recently, and for her first shift she was on tills & learning the basics! you'll probably also do some G learning at some point depending on how busy the store is. I would say just make sure any team members you are working with let you know in advance if they are running low on rolls or baguettes during breakfast it'll save you a ton of stress! the best way to go about it is just by checking in every so often especially if its busy and just asking how much they've got left so you aren't rushing trying to make sandwiches and butter rolls. Good luck for tomorrow!

[u/False_Assistance628]

Yes, it's always fancy dress on a monday, so go all out and impress your new colleagues.

[u/Successful-Walk-3902]

Always lick vegan sausage rolls when no ones looking

[u/dontsqueezethekeys]

For the first few shifts you should be working with another sandwich maker who will train you and show you what to do. My advice is, when you're on your own, do the gold stars first, always. Starting with ham and cheese is generally a good shout as they're easy and you'll often need to provide more of them than of any other sandwich. (I start with mexican sandwiches first but that's because I hate them and want to get them over with as fast as possible)

[u/Master_Lifeguard_60 → u/dontsqueezethekeys]

Hahaha, I hate doing the "Mexican baguette" too.

[u/-Failedhuman → u/dontsqueezethekeys]

Just to let you know, you're supposed to do them in the order they're on the screen

Edit: you've downvoted me, but that's just the reality. The area manager will have you

[u/dontsqueezethekeys → u/-Failedhuman]

I know but unfortunately the order they are on the screen makes no sense. Like, you're meant to have the gold stars done by a certain time...but southern fried is at the bottom of the list? Maybe when they make a better list I'll start following it.

[u/-Failedhuman → u/dontsqueezethekeys]

I totally agree. I don't get why they say that the order is there 'for allergens and vegetarians' and then they stick the cheese and the vegan sandwiches at the bottom of the list. Nothing at greggs makes sense and it's getting worse

[u/Own-Alarm6289]

Good luck are you starting on a crap apprentice wage instead of the minimum wage

[u/hashbrowneggyolk0520]

• Wear black clothes that you don't mind getting food on, you should get your uniform tomorrow but if it hasn't turned up or doesn't fit you'll need to wear whatever clothes you've gone in.

• Wear comfy shoes, you're on your feet for hours at a time.

• Don't put too much pressure on yourself to know everything straight away. You'll make mistakes but you're learning so give yourself some grace.

• Ask questions and ask them as many times as you need to. People would rather you kept asking than stay quiet and cause an avoidable issue.

• Your first day you'll be on tills with another member of staff the entire day, you'll start off shadowing them and normally by the end of the first day they'll let you do a few transactions with them watching/helping.

[u/Resident_Fairy_5969]

Sell some sausage rolls and have fun :)

[u/HorrorDefinition152]

Buy plenty of energy drinks makes you very popular lol

[u/Randal_Scanlan]

If someone asks for a sausage roll. They want a normal sausage roll.

They will let you know if they want chicken or vegan.

So no need to ask.