Sainsbury's in Maidenhead won this week with no items out-of-stock. Our shopper asked for help finding two items and both times was accompanied by staff to the shelf and asked if she needed any further help.
Jarred Peppadew and Innocent fruit tubes were being sampled in-store. Our shopper's only negative experience was that the air conditioning made the store too cold for summer clothing.
Asda in Feltham had no items out-of-stock but was let down by poor presentation. Our shopper said the George clothing area felt "shabby" with lots of large overhead sale signs, while banners in the rest of the store made the ceilings feel very low. The staff were friendly but not very well presented either.
The Carlsberg was out-of-stock at Tesco in Sale, Manchester. The checkout assistant was friendly and offered to help pack.
Waitrose in Sudbury offered faultless customer service and the store was immaculate. Own-label brie and currants were out-of-stock, however.
Diced stewing steak was out-of-stock at Morrisons in Aberdeen.Cadbury Mini Rolls were labelled at £1.25 on the shelf but charged at £1.30 at the checkout.
The staff were young and keen to help, although not many could find the products our shopper asked for or give information about whether they were out-of-stock or not stocked at all.
Winner: Jan Moore, deputy store manager, Sainsbury’s, Maidenhead
How do you maintain high levels of customer service? Colleagues receive foundation training when they join and the department managers do monthly observations. The store also has its own training to focus on the shop floor side of things.
It's about suggesting alternative products, taking the customer to the product when they ask for it, treating customers how you'd like to be treated. The big thing is that Waitrose is the local competition if we want to maintain our performance this year we need to be better than them.
Why is Sainsbury's a good company to work for? The benefits package is very good and so is the training and investment they put in you. If you look at me, I joined in 1997 after university as a trainee manager. I've worked in every department and worked my way up to be deputy store manager and now I'm running the store in the absence of the manager. Those opportunities exist for everyone in the company.
What have you learnt from filling in for the manager over the past couple of weeks? It's interesting to see a much wider part of the business and take responsibility for the store's results. It broadens your understanding of the business too.
What products have sold well recently? The past two months have seen strong sales in beers and wine. We had good offers from head office and they've also really done well at managing seasonal stock, particularly fresh meat and barbecue lines. We're grateful they've gone in hard after the good weather forecasts and been bold where the competition hasn't.
What charity fundraising is the store involved with? Last year we raised £5,500, mainly for Sport Relief and our local charity, the Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust. We did car washing, cycling around the world on an exercise bike, and male colleagues raised £250 by having their legs waxed.
What would improve the store? One frustration is the physical constraints, which mean we can't increase the size of the online operation. It's very popular and we have four vans, but can't get any more into the building.
Read more
Grocer 33: Plum tomatoes and Mini Rolls put Asda on top (17 July 2010)
Jarred Peppadew and Innocent fruit tubes were being sampled in-store. Our shopper's only negative experience was that the air conditioning made the store too cold for summer clothing.
Asda in Feltham had no items out-of-stock but was let down by poor presentation. Our shopper said the George clothing area felt "shabby" with lots of large overhead sale signs, while banners in the rest of the store made the ceilings feel very low. The staff were friendly but not very well presented either.
The Carlsberg was out-of-stock at Tesco in Sale, Manchester. The checkout assistant was friendly and offered to help pack.
Waitrose in Sudbury offered faultless customer service and the store was immaculate. Own-label brie and currants were out-of-stock, however.
Diced stewing steak was out-of-stock at Morrisons in Aberdeen.Cadbury Mini Rolls were labelled at £1.25 on the shelf but charged at £1.30 at the checkout.
The staff were young and keen to help, although not many could find the products our shopper asked for or give information about whether they were out-of-stock or not stocked at all.
Winner: Jan Moore, deputy store manager, Sainsbury’s, Maidenhead
How do you maintain high levels of customer service? Colleagues receive foundation training when they join and the department managers do monthly observations. The store also has its own training to focus on the shop floor side of things.
It's about suggesting alternative products, taking the customer to the product when they ask for it, treating customers how you'd like to be treated. The big thing is that Waitrose is the local competition if we want to maintain our performance this year we need to be better than them.
Why is Sainsbury's a good company to work for? The benefits package is very good and so is the training and investment they put in you. If you look at me, I joined in 1997 after university as a trainee manager. I've worked in every department and worked my way up to be deputy store manager and now I'm running the store in the absence of the manager. Those opportunities exist for everyone in the company.
What have you learnt from filling in for the manager over the past couple of weeks? It's interesting to see a much wider part of the business and take responsibility for the store's results. It broadens your understanding of the business too.
What products have sold well recently? The past two months have seen strong sales in beers and wine. We had good offers from head office and they've also really done well at managing seasonal stock, particularly fresh meat and barbecue lines. We're grateful they've gone in hard after the good weather forecasts and been bold where the competition hasn't.
What charity fundraising is the store involved with? Last year we raised £5,500, mainly for Sport Relief and our local charity, the Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust. We did car washing, cycling around the world on an exercise bike, and male colleagues raised £250 by having their legs waxed.
What would improve the store? One frustration is the physical constraints, which mean we can't increase the size of the online operation. It's very popular and we have four vans, but can't get any more into the building.
Read more
Grocer 33: Plum tomatoes and Mini Rolls put Asda on top (17 July 2010)
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