General manager Review

Cash handling, dealing with customer service and handling complaints, stock control and stock ordering, wastage. Leadership and management and being in charge of a team of people! Day to day I would open and close my business, serve customers and cook meals in the kitchen. I would chat to customers about their day and make sure they were all ok with the products I had to offer. It was my job to make sure the tills and safe matched up and any cash loss was sorted before signing off the day. I had to recruit and train new team members including a new assistant manager. I held weekly team meetings and regular fire drills with and without customers in the building. I was responsible for the Health and safety of the business and monthly reviewed all risk assessments.

I learnt how to deal with different situations and how each scenario has a few outcomes and which outcome would work better. I learnt how to manage my time and my work life balance. I also learnt how to recruit the right people for the job and how different learning techniques will vary with each person. Some like watching, some like listening and some like doing.

I loved learning new ideas and being able to adapt different styles of learning to my day to day running of the business. I also loved being able to learn about management skills and how different situations vary the way you can deal with them. It was great to then see my hard work pay off when targets were being met and costs kept down

Very structured. But also very flexible. It should taken 1-2 years to complete the level 3 higher, however it took me just shy of a year due to being able to do a lot of it at hone via 4 different workbook and then used my session times to do the speech tests, ICT tests and communication!

100% had backing and support from my line manager which in this case was the Area Manager and the ops director. They both encouraged me to do well and would often test me on my knowledge. They would also phone weekly to congratulate me on the results and my hard work and the hard work of my team who also were doing apprenticeships wth lifetime

At the beginning, the trainer wasn’t very helpful or supportive. He would forget our appointments, lose my coursework that I emailed him, spelt my name wrong so booking ICT course was impossible. However once I complained and said I was leaving the course, they changed my trainer. And Again I had 100% backing and support from my trainer. She would regularly check in on me, got my name changed to the correct spelling, she would coach me rather than train me as she could see I had the ability to gain my learning rather than her telling me the answers. If I was really stuck on a question she would change the wording so that I understood the answer better

I feel having the qualification helps me perform better in my role as I have learnt how to handle situations differently, how to run a business with better time management. How to delegate jobs so that I’m not doing it all myself. Without this training I feel I would’ve found the job harder.

Not as such however as a company we do a lot of charity events that I get involved in and also get my team on board with. Again through Lifetime training, I learnt how to keep the costs down whilst making a great opportunity to bring business in and make money for the charity! It’s was great fun

Yes

Great company to work for. Great benefits. Great progression throughout the company from Team member to management and roles in head office. Training is awesome whether it’s through inductions or through courses online and in person. They have a buddy scheme where you are out with someone to help you. They have regular reviews one to one to set up a training plan that’s tailored to you.

Be honest and upfront. Be yourself and don’t try too hard. Make sure you listen to what they have to say and answer the questions as best as you can. Make sure if you don’t understand the question you ask them to explain it. The interviewer doesn’t bite and most are really understanding and lovely