Customer Assistant (Christmas)

John Lewis plc; Reading; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 19,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Night premium

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership in Reading is seeking a Customer Assistant to deliver outstanding customer service and maintain high shop standards. You will assist across till, stock, and display tasks while ensuring a welcoming store environment.

You will work varied hours, including weekends and evenings, with a night premium for shifts between 22:00 and 06:00. Great communication and team spirit are essential to thrive here.

Qualifications

• Basic IT literacy required.
• Strong communication skills essential.

Responsibilities

• Deliver engaging and inspirational customer service at every stage of the customer journey.
• Use product knowledge and training to drive sales and increase profits.
• Put the customer at the heart of everything, understand needs and resolve queries.
• Work flexibly across the shop to support the team, including till, stock, price tickets and shop-keeping.
• Identify areas for improvement and implement solutions.
• Help protect profits with accurate stock counting.

Skills

Basic IT literacy

Strong communication

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE As a Customer Assistant in one of our John Lewis shops, you'll make sure our difference is felt through the delivery of outstanding customer service and highlighting our first class in store experiences, that our competitors just can not compete with. Alongside the great service you provide to our customers, you'll deliver exceptional shop standards through displays, stock availability and general cleanliness. Knowing your customers will enable you to provide the best service we're known for and build their loyalty with our brand for a lifetime. In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £3.75 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Key Responsibilities

• Delivering engaging and inspirational customer service at every stage of the customer journey.
• Using your product knowledge and sales training to drive sales and increase profits for the Partnership.
• Putting the customer at the heart of everything you do, proactively acknowledging and taking the time to understand what they are looking for / resolve any queries they may have.
• Working flexibly across the shop to support the wider team as required, including till support, stock replenishment, price ticketing and general shop-keeping tasks.
• Identifying areas of improvement and implementing solutions.
• Helping to protect our profits by supporting with accurate stock counts.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Basic IT literacy.
• Strong communication skills.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Experience of working in a customer facing role is welcomed but not essential. We'll train you in all you need to know so that you can perform at your best, everyday.
• Merchandising and product displays experience.

Closing Date: September 24, 2026 Pay: £13.00 (£13.25 After 90 days) Contract Type: Temporary Hours of Work: Varied hours of full and/or part time work across seven days to include early starts, late finishes, evenings and weekends. Job Level: Partnership Level 10 Where You'll Be Working: Reading (John Lewis & Partners), Broad Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2BB

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We're the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We're not just employees, we're Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there's never been a more exciting time to join us. We're ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we're free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it. It's this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.

Important points to note

It's important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you'll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles. We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

At the John Lewis Partnership we're not just employees; we're co-owners, and that's why we're called Partners. Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK's largest employee-owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes. It's this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.