Vantaggi
They provide employment through lockdown; if you like some autonomy then the delivery driver role is good for that - though they only pay 8p above national minimum wage and are still on the case with unresolved pay disparities for near-identical roles within the Sainsbury's group - Sainsbury's bought Argos 5yrs ago. You will meet and work with some very decent likable people :-) . . . you may also encounter managers who can leave you feeling you're the bottom of the food chain (which in their organisational structure you are). Argos are quite flexible if you want to work 3 or 4 days in these roles, it doesn't have to be full time. Customer are generally really happy to see you with their stuff! ( - but don't expect a tip, they've already paid £3.95 for the delivery). You get to work outdoors and I found time never dragged. To their credit, Argos are realistic about how much can be delivered in a given period, and the algorithm that predicts the drop times is generally about right overall. You get paid for the time you work - so you are still being paid if you happen to have a light manifest (job list of drops) that day, or if it overuns (traffic, accidents, access issues, breakdowns, parking) you are still being paid for the work you do. That's a pretty fair way of doing it. During lockdown a lot of people from other professions/sectors are displaced to this type of work, and you may have a really interesting array of backgrounds/experience in your colleagues (electricians, hoteliers, flight crew, publicans, driving instructors, people from the arts . . . it's testament to the economic times we're in). Driver-camaraderie was truly excellent at my depot, and the reason for sticking with the job - depends entirely on the people though. Quite a few staff are long-serving, though not especially within the driver role which seems to have a pretty high turnover.
Svantaggi
The tech and systems need some TLC and really hamper the job sometimes, which can be frustrating. e.g. when route planning has you doubling-back to somewhere you made a drop earlier; and the tech is woeful at helping ensure multi-part items are all loaded for delivery. The former may be a Google gripe, but the latter happens daily, wastes time & money and has been Argos' to sort out for some time. Get your coat if you scratch/dent the van - it's a disciplinary offence, 3 strikes (over 2yrs) and you're out. You will sign numerous forms that seek to absolve Argos of responsibility by declaring you have been trained on x/y/z - the 'training' involves hour after computer hour with outdated unimaginative modules on the 'My Sainsburys Learning' platform. Some of the flat-pack furniture is awkward and heavy . . . there's quite a few things at the 25kgs limit (the max H&S limit for working solo I think), and bear in mind these items could be for a 4th floor flat without a lift - it is hard physical work (I lost 2 stone! copy/paste that into the Pros). Career Opps I've scored down because I applied for an internal post while I was there and didn't even receive an acknowledgement, which is poor for an internal application.