Customer Assistant - Service & Safety Assistant - Cheltenham

Contract type
Permanent
Position type
Part Time
Salary
£12.60 p/h
Closing date: 10th February 2026

Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.

Work Pattern
Week 1
Sunday 10:00–16:30
Monday 08:00–16:00
Wednesday 08:00–16:00
Thursday 08:00–16:00
Friday 08:00–16:00

Week 2
Monday 08:00–16:00
Tuesday 08:00–16:00
Wednesday 08:00–16:00
Friday 08:00–16:00
Saturday 08:00–16:00

Under 18 disclaimer
To comply with health and safety legislation and keep our colleagues safe in the workplace, colleagues in this role must be 18 years of age or older.

Key Accountabilities and Measures

Clearly identified to provide customers with a visible presence at the beginning of their shopping journey

Confidently welcome customers to the store with a smile and by making eye contact, and use a range of greeting techniques known to deter theft from the store

Flexible and trained to support other areas within the store i.e. Foods, C&H, Operations

Be knowledgeable of the store, support key marketing messages, latest products and top questions (e.g. what time do you close?)

Assist customers in navigating the store, recognising when a customer needs help and provide the right level of support

Thank our customers for shopping with us when they exit

Deal calmly and empathetically with people in a variety of retail circumstances, including confrontational situations

Respond to door alarms in a sincere and apologetic manner, resolving any issues the customer may have

Be a visible deterrent against violence, anti-social behaviour, targeted theft, till snatches and criminal activity to support a safe shopping environment.

Identify and monitor suspicious persons, activity or theft and take appropriate customer engaging actions as required to deter

Ensure all incidents are reported through the M&S Incident reporting process either through the Hicom app (on the Honey well) or into the Security Operations Centre, and to the police where necessary

Ensure that persons served with a trespass notice do not re-enter the site

Responsible for carrying store radio and engaging with police and other security personnel to improve service to M&S, this may include crime partnership meetings, agreed police meetings, shop watch schemes

Apprehend external thieves (only if necessary) in line with business policy and only if all components of theft are seen

Report any incidents of known or suspected internal theft or malpractice

Key Skills

Being confident with an easily felt presence and friendly and natural personality is essential

Strong communication skills with the ability to engage customers with ease

Ability to remain focused at greeting customers and deterring suspicious activity

To have a natural empathy with our M&S brand and values, including service behaviours

To be self-motivated, willing to improvise and suggest or try new approaches

Able to maintain high standards of appearance and uniform standards

No requirement to be licensed, but good observation skills would be a benefit

Key Relationships and Stakeholders

Store Management team

Store Colleagues

Operational Security Manager

Regional teams (RLPMs/RCOMs)

Store Detectives

SOC

Police

Local Networks

Everyone’s Welcome

M&S is ready to push boundaries to lead the retail industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring digital era. That’s why we’re revolutionising how we work and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. There’s never been a better time to be part of our team. Marks & Spencer aims to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make an immediate impact.

We are committed to an active Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Policy, which starts with our recruitment and selection process, and we are happy to talk flexible working.

If you consider yourself to require reasonable adjustments to any part of our recruitment process, we invite you to share those requirements with us when completing your application. We will make every effort to ensure your needs are met to provide a fair and transparent process of assessment.

To apply, please click on button below. You may need to 'Search and Apply' using relevant search criteria and the correct branch location. We do our best to keep our website as up to date as possible but if the advertiser is no longer advertising the role, you will not be able to apply. Please do not hesitate to let us know if this is the case. Please state you saw this advert on GlosJobs when applying.