Customer Assistant - Cafe - Handforth

Join our team in the M&S Café – the heart of our store and a place where customers come to recharge. This is a hands‑on, high‑pressure role for those who can handle pace, stay calm under pressure, and still deliver warm, five‑star service. You’ll be a brand ambassador, making great food and drink recommendations while ensuring the café operates smoothly, even during the busiest periods. Being digitally confident is essential. You’ll use our tools to take and fulfil orders fast, keeping customers moving and satisfied. Efficiency and effectiveness are key aspects of your role. You’ll maintain impeccable food safety standards while juggling orders and queues. At M&S, our customers don’t wait. You’ll be fast and relentlessly focused on delivering quality under pressure while focusing on delivering five‑star service.

Teamwork matters. You’ll support colleagues and contribute to a high‑performance culture that meets customer needs – no matter how hectic it gets. Flexibility is also vital. You’ll adapt quickly, working where needed with pace. It’s intense but, for the right person, incredibly rewarding. Are you ready for it? Take Your Marks and apply today.

Purpose

• To deliver a great shopping experience for customers, putting customers before task every time.
• Champion new ways of working within stores through an open mindset and positive attitude.
• Complete tasks and processes that deliver ‘best in town’ standards.
• Serve and sell across all channels brilliantly well.
• Be the voice of our customer to help us continually improve.

Key Accountabilities

• Serve our customers efficiently and brilliantly well – on the shop floor and at service points.
• Deliver ‘best in town’ standards through presentation standards, availability and keeping the store clean and tidy.
• Skilled to utilise all digital tools and communication channels to do the job.
• Share customer and colleague feedback to help us do things better.
• Share knowledge and experience with colleagues to support others in building skill and confidence.
• Own their own learning & development and proactively access digital learning solutions.
• Know the daily sales targets, priorities, promotions & selling opportunities.
• Have great product knowledge to sell and recommend our products and services.
• Proactively engage with customers to understand their needs and make recommendations.
• Understand the store priorities and their part to play.
• Complete tasks with pace and in line with SOPs.
• Minimise cost and waste through good process practice.
• Follow safe and legal working practices.

Key Capabilities

• Understands how M&S operates, its strategy, future and the role they play.
• Committed to delivering excellent work fast with great attention to detail.
• Open to and acts on feedback, asking for this regularly.
• Sets performance objectives for self in conjunction with line manager and in line with business plans.
• Takes accountability for planning and managing own work efficiently to ensure objectives are met.
• Is curious and asks questions to challenge the status quo.
• Effective at communicating their intentions to others; ensures communication is clear and simple.
• In control of their own reactions and considers how to share their perspective to create better reaction for team.
• Copes well with change and work challenges and recovers quickly from its impact.
• Builds positive relationships by being a good listener and getting to know people by establishing a connection.

Technical Skills/Experience

• Contributing to store sales and cost control.
• Work across the store to get things done right first time within timescales.
• Comprehensive knowledge of customer shopping channels.
• Good level of product knowledge and services across the store.
• Up to date knowledge of the commercial operation and brilliant basics.
• Good level of digital capability and use of digital tools and applications.
• Understand customer needs and spot selling opportunities.
• Adapting to change.
• Good Knowledge of VM principles.

Key Relationships and Stakeholders

• Customers.
• Colleagues.
• Store Leadership.

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.

About Us: M&S is ready to push boundaries to lead the 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 smart/flexible working.

About the Team: Retail: The sweeping innovations we’re rolling out at M&S will define a new era of retail. And we want you to help us introduce them to our customers. There’s never been a more exciting time to join M&S! We’ve embarked on a business transformation and are looking for people who are thrilled by the challenge of introducing innovative, new experiences to the retail world – and surprising every single customer with reasons to shop in our stores and online - day in, day out. By embracing our digital tools to enhance the customer experience and remaining adaptable – both to the needs of our customers and our retail business – you’ll live and breathe our approach to sales and service and will ensure every time is just as special as the next.