Three retailers provided strong availability this week but Asda in High Wycombe landed our top store award after providing the best shopping experience.
There were plenty of parent and child parking spaces, the store was neat and tidy and items were easy to find. The staff were helpful and the checkout assistant greeted our shopper, asked if she needed help packing and said goodbye.
Waitrose in Towcester provided strong availability even though some freezers were empty as the result of a technical fault. The store was clean and a helpful assistant helped escort our shopper to several items. The checkout assistant was polite but did not offer to pack.
An "uncommunicative and distant" checkout assistant let Morrisons in Ipswich down. However it provided a full basket and staff were helpful in the aisles.
Tesco in Craigmarloch had three out-of-stock items and some aisles were blocked by packing trolleys. The store was tidy, though, and the staff appeared happy to help. There was no queue either, and the friendly checkout assistant carefully packed our shopper's bags.
Sainsbury's in Aberdeen provided the worst availability. However our shopper had no trouble finding items and the staff were willing to help her. Plenty of tills were open but although the checkout assistant was polite, our shopper had to ask for help with packing her shopping.
Winner: Arrash Mahdavi, store manager, Asda, High Wycombe
You provided an impressive shopping experience despite being part way through a refit. Tell me about it. It is a 12-week programme and we have four weeks left until it is complete. We have opened a new fish, deli, pizza, rotisserie and a pharmacy counter only today. We are also getting more George lines and are extending our teen range, G21, in response to customer demand.
Our CDs and DVDs are now merchandised with clearer messages and branding, and we have introduced more ethnic food ranges such as Polish, Asian and Afro-Caribbean lines. We have had to really focus on customer service and availability to make sure our customers stay loyal to us throughout the refit.
How will the new Sainsbury's in High Wycombe affect your store? It only opened last week and is slightly bigger than my store. It's early days yet but I feel we will do very well against them because our point of difference is our pricing and warm and friendly staff. Customers will go there to have a look but will realise they can save more money by shopping with us.
So what offers are going down well at the moment? Customers have really taken to our three-for-£10 deals on both wine and meat. Our pound deals are proving popular, too, especially on health & beauty lines. In terms of summer-related lines, we have had some great offers on tents, gardening equipment and patio furniture.
How is your online service faring? It accounts for 2.5% to 3% sales at the moment and we plan to move into more areas. There is certainly the customer demand for it. We have four vans but plan to add two to three more in the autumn.
How do you motivate staff? By leading from the front and being a role model to them. I am often on the shop floor coaching and supporting the staff. Communication is a big piece of the business. We have daily huddles that are usually presented by me or a team leader. We talk to them when they start their shifts during different times of the day about what is going on within the branch and the company, as well as what is expected of them.
There were plenty of parent and child parking spaces, the store was neat and tidy and items were easy to find. The staff were helpful and the checkout assistant greeted our shopper, asked if she needed help packing and said goodbye.
Waitrose in Towcester provided strong availability even though some freezers were empty as the result of a technical fault. The store was clean and a helpful assistant helped escort our shopper to several items. The checkout assistant was polite but did not offer to pack.
An "uncommunicative and distant" checkout assistant let Morrisons in Ipswich down. However it provided a full basket and staff were helpful in the aisles.
Tesco in Craigmarloch had three out-of-stock items and some aisles were blocked by packing trolleys. The store was tidy, though, and the staff appeared happy to help. There was no queue either, and the friendly checkout assistant carefully packed our shopper's bags.
Sainsbury's in Aberdeen provided the worst availability. However our shopper had no trouble finding items and the staff were willing to help her. Plenty of tills were open but although the checkout assistant was polite, our shopper had to ask for help with packing her shopping.
Winner: Arrash Mahdavi, store manager, Asda, High Wycombe
You provided an impressive shopping experience despite being part way through a refit. Tell me about it. It is a 12-week programme and we have four weeks left until it is complete. We have opened a new fish, deli, pizza, rotisserie and a pharmacy counter only today. We are also getting more George lines and are extending our teen range, G21, in response to customer demand.
Our CDs and DVDs are now merchandised with clearer messages and branding, and we have introduced more ethnic food ranges such as Polish, Asian and Afro-Caribbean lines. We have had to really focus on customer service and availability to make sure our customers stay loyal to us throughout the refit.
How will the new Sainsbury's in High Wycombe affect your store? It only opened last week and is slightly bigger than my store. It's early days yet but I feel we will do very well against them because our point of difference is our pricing and warm and friendly staff. Customers will go there to have a look but will realise they can save more money by shopping with us.
So what offers are going down well at the moment? Customers have really taken to our three-for-£10 deals on both wine and meat. Our pound deals are proving popular, too, especially on health & beauty lines. In terms of summer-related lines, we have had some great offers on tents, gardening equipment and patio furniture.
How is your online service faring? It accounts for 2.5% to 3% sales at the moment and we plan to move into more areas. There is certainly the customer demand for it. We have four vans but plan to add two to three more in the autumn.
How do you motivate staff? By leading from the front and being a role model to them. I am often on the shop floor coaching and supporting the staff. Communication is a big piece of the business. We have daily huddles that are usually presented by me or a team leader. We talk to them when they start their shifts during different times of the day about what is going on within the branch and the company, as well as what is expected of them.
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