This week's winning Somerfield store, in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, is extraordinary for three reasons. For one, most of the shoppers at the branch fall into the 'hard-pressed' category, according to CACI, making it the first such store this year to pick up the award. It is also the first Somerfield outlet to provide a full basket since 10 February - 29 weeks ago. Most importantly, the store maintains strong availability and top customer service despite being the target of local shoplifting gangs. The small 7,600 sq ft outlet is on the main road from Leeds to the Chapel Town housing estate. While it attracts regular custom from the estate's residents, who rely on the store for their weekly shop, lately, the gangs have been visiting rather too often as well. In fact, as store manager Trevor Kay was speaking to The Grocer on the telephone, police offers interrupted the interview to investigate a shoplifting incident, which had occurred earlier in the day. Though staff are doing their best to contain the problem, it's not always possible, said Kay. "Only this afternoon, three lads came into the store. One of them was wearing a luminous workman's vest and looked respectable enough," he said. "He was asking an assistant about something and was taken to the customer services desk. Meanwhile his pals managed to pinch two bottles of champagne, worth £23.99. That's £48 down the drain." 

 

Q&A with Trevor Kay Store manager of the week

How bad is the shoplifting situation? We have had 50 shoplifting incidents in the past few weeks. Obviously we have a security guard, who does his best, and the police are quick off the mark. The guard is a big, tough-looking guy and knows some of the faces to look out for, but there's only so much you can do. I've been in this business for 25 years and I don't let it get to me. There are worse things happening in other places and I have never thought to myself that this is just a means to pay the mortgage. I enjoy my work and no two days are the same. Saying that, it is hard to plan my day as something always happens to interrupt it. How do you manage to provide such strong availability? We have a rumble but that doesn't mean "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" comes on over the tannoy! It's how we compensate for not having a night crew. Three times during the day a team will find gaps on the shelves using new handheld Gap 2 machines. Staff scan the empty shelf and it tells them whether the product is in the stockroom or the depot. If it's in the building, they replenish the stock. But if it's not then we know we have a stock issue to resolve. What is your competition like? There is another Somerfield store up the road but it serves the wealthier Chapel Allerton area. Our shoppers are mainly young families and elderly people, and they are generally not as affluent. Their average shop will come to only £10. Which products are selling well? Our frozen food promotions have been popular, but pies are selling faster than salads because of the poor weather. How do you keep high staff morale? The staff here are close-knit and I love them. They help each other and know most of the shoppers. Half of the time the shoplifters recognise a member of staff and leave the store! In time this store will turn the corner and we are looking forward to a refit in October.


 


Asda Luton, Bedfordshire


2 - Our shopper had to wait for 30 minutes outside this store while a fire alarm was deactivated, but once inside he found that there weren't enough signs and nearly all of the veg were sold out. When he asked an assistant why, he was told "we don't have any". The freezers were iced up and the carrots and HP Sauce were sold out. We visited on 31 August at 6.30pm. Our shop lasted one hour. Time spent at the checkout was four minutes.


morrisons Anniesland, Glasgow


0 - The entrance of this store was decorated with colourful flower displays and the inside was just as attractive. Availability was strong and the aisles were clear. The store provided a full basket and it would have been a strong contender for the Top Store award had the checkout assistant not been so grumpy. We visited on 31 August at 10.25am. Our shop lasted one hour and four minutes. Time spent at the checkout was four minutes.


sainsbury's Crawley, West Sussex


0 - This busy Sainsbury's had excellent availability and provided all 33 items. The staff were friendly and smartly dressed, although the floor could have been cleaner and there were a few too many packing trolleys. With only 20 of a possible 31 checkouts open, queues were starting to build up. We visited on 31 August at 12.36pm. Our shop lasted 45 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was seven minutes.


somerfield Chapel Allerton, Leeds


0 - This small but thriving store in Leeds has provided Somerfield with its first full basket since February. The aisles were spotlessly clean and free of obstructions and the staff were chatty and informative. Availability was strong and a number of signs pointed out the store's prices compared with Tesco's prices. We visited on 31 August at 9.40am. Our shop lasted 40 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was four minutes.


tesco Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire


1 - A large number of staff internet shoppers and shelf-stackers were blocking the aises at this Tesco store, which meant our shopper took longer than normal to move around. Fifteen of the 16 checkouts were open and the checkout operator helped pack our shopper's bags. However, the fresh turkey steak was out of stock. We visited on 31 August at 10.05am. Our shop lasted 59 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was four minutes.


waitrose Blaby, Leicester


3 - The only trolley with a baby car seat had been stolen from this Waitrose store but the staff did their best to find our shopper an alternative and carried her bags to the car. The Nestlé Shreddies, turkey steak and Anchor Spreadable were out of stock. We visited on 31 August at 3.15pm. Our shop lasted 46 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was five minutes.

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