Christmas shoppers have hit the stores in earnest over the past week - but the grocers have struggled to keep up with demand. None could boast 100% availability of The Grocer's special Christmas 33 list and some were disappointing on customer service.

The Waitrose and Morrisons stores each had one out of stock, but the former outperformed its rival on customer service.

Staff provided exemplary service at the Horley Waitrose. An assistant took our shopper to the items she wanted and asked whether she required further help, plenty of tills were open and the checkout assistant, who was being trained, scanned the items efficiently.

Conversely, the Morrisons in Cheadle Heath was so congested it took our shopper one hour and 45 minutes to do the shop. Staff were helpful, however, and he was impressed with his free bag for life.

Availability let Asda in Watford down and not enough tills were open. The checkout assistant was "a bit miserable" but did offer to pack our shopper's bags and other staff directed her to the right aisles.

Availability was also poor at Sainsbury's in Belfast. Staff tried their best to help our shopper, but some lacked product knowledge.

Tesco in Portsmouth had the worst availability, with four items out of stock. However, the store was tidy, the queues were short and staff helped our shopper find the right aisles.


Winner: Paul Placitelli, deputy store manager, Waitrose, Horley

Do you have any new year resolutions for the store? 2008 has been a challenging year given the economic climate. We will stay positive for next year, carry on our excellent work and maintain our close relationship with the community. We want to remain the place to come to for good value food and good quality. We are in an excellent location close to local amenities such as the railway station.

How is your new online service doing? We only launched it 10 weeks ago and so far it is going down really well with customers. We deliver to an extensive area and have two vans. Online sales average £3,500 to £4,000 a week but it is only early days and we are looking to grow it further. It has been particularly busy recently with Christmas shoppers.

How have you prepared for the influx of Christmas shoppers? Luckily it's repeated every year so we can build on our experiences from the past. We had a refit earlier this year, which has enabled us to have bigger and bolder festive displays in the store.

What products are selling particularly well at the moment? The forgotten cuts on our meat counter have generated lots of interest. Customers are really taking to the cheaper cuts of meat, including pork belly, feathered steak and shoulder shanks, and they have done for about six months now.

How do you and your staff socialise outside work? We have a fantastic team ethic and have held many events, including theatre trips, Christmas parties, and a supermarket sweep team-bonding session. Our team-bonding days are really motivational as the team shares and passes on information about how we can make Horley Waitrose an even greater success.

Any problems with theft? Like any other retailer you always have to be aware and vigilant. Staff are very eagle-eyed and astute, and how we deal with theft depends on the individual case.

How green is your store? We have invested lots of money to reduce refrigerator pollution and we encourage cycling to work and job sharing. Our seats by the till are also made out of old carrier bags.

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