Deciding the winner of the Top Store award has been a tough call this week with all the retailers except Somerfield providing full baskets - but staff at Sainsbury's branch in Winchester, Hampshire, clinched it with an excellent display of customer care in demanding circumstances. The store is currently undergoing a major expansion and reconfiguration and staff were moving products from one location to another when our shopper visited. Despite the disruption, staff politely asked whether she wanted assistance locating products and helped her find all 33 items. The store is only three weeks into the 36-week refit, but manager Richard Morris - who was first employed at the branch as a trolley collector 20 years ago - is adamant customer service will not suffer because of the ongoing work. "Adding 14,000 sq ft to our 46,000 sq ft store is a massive task," Morris said. "Construction work can only occur between 8am and 6pm because of our pledge to neighbouring residents, but we are determined not to lose customers to our local Tesco. "We have a greeter outside the store to answer customer queries and have two floor walkers to guide shoppers to the new locations of products." This week's CACI data will encourage Morris as it suggests Sainsbury's is more suited to Winchester's affluent residents than Tesco.



Q&A with Richard Morris Store manager of the week


Why is the store being reconfigured? The store layout is currently too bitty, with too many corners blocking aisles. But the conversion will make the store a rectangle in shape with logically arranged fixtures. We will offer a full complement of adult and children's clothing, and an electrical and homeware range. We are also set to trial a bureau de change desk which is part of a new initiative by Sainsbury's to provide everything a shopper might need for their holiday under one roof. We will begin operating an online shopping facility to challenge Tesco, our biggest rival on the other side of town. It has had the run of the roost with its online delivery service but we hope to change that. We also have planning permission to build a five-metre high neon store sign. The store is at the bottom of a dip in the land beside a main road so many passers by don't know we exist. Is a big staff recruitment drive on the cards? Yes. We first need to find specialist staff for the electrical area and get them trained in other branches. The online service means we will need to recruit pickers, which I believe will also act as an availability check system. If they spot gaps on the shelves as they pick up items for delivery they can immedietly flag it up to the section manager. I believe in bringing fresh blood into the store as I originally started here as a trolley boy when I was 15. I have worked as store manager in other stores but was asked to return here three years ago to turn things around. After a management reshuffle, business is booming with sales currently up 8% on last year. Last year we were the joint number one Sainsbury's for sales in the whole country. What do you do for the local community? At Christmas we supplied the Salvation Army with food and drink that was approaching its use-by date to distribute to the local homeless population. We want to make this a permanent fixture. We also donated out-of-date food to the local zoo for the animals to eat


 


Availability


Asda Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

0 - There was a cheerful atmosphere at this Asda and our Geordie shopper was impressed to see the store manager helping restock the shelves. The shop entrance was welcoming and the store boasted an attractive mix of displays and all 33 items were available. However, only 14 of the 26 checkouts were open and queues were fairly long. We visited on 25 January at 9.08am. Our shop lasted one hour and 20 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was eight minutes.



morrisons Rotherham, South Yorkshire

0 - This Morrisons, located in Park Gate retail park, was a strong contender for store of the week, providing a full basket, friendly customer service, strong availability and tidy aisles. There were plenty of promotional offers and 17 of the 26 tills were open, which was sufficient for the time of day. We visited on 25 January at 8.53am. Our shop lasted 52 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was five minutes.



sainsbury's Winchester, Hampshire

0 - Our winning store provided an excellent level of customer service, which was impressive considering the staff were busy reorganising fixtures and fittings. Floor assistants were polite and guided our shopper to the location of various products. All 33 items were available and the shelves were well-stocked. We visited on 25 January at 2.35pm. Our shop lasted 45 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was seven minutes.



somerfield Bookham, Surrey

0 - Staff were similarly helpful at this small Somerfield, which was well presented with clean and well-lit aisles. The store was quite small and only stocked a limited range of sizes, and six of the products on our list were not stocked. However, staff were working hard to keep shelves gap-free and three of the five tills were open. We visited on 25 January at 2.15pm. Our shop lasted 35 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was eight minutes.



tesco Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

0 - While pushing her trolley along the ambient grocery aisle our shopper was amused to hear new-age music coming from the tannoy and she was even more chilled out when she discovered all 33 products were available. Other pluses were pleasant staff and minimal queues. We visited on 25 January at 2.36pm. Our shop lasted 44 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was three minutes.



waitrose Northampton, Northamptonshire

0 - This stylish Waitrose finished off a great week for availability with another full basket of goods. It was also clean and tidy with spacious, clear aisles. Staff were generally efficient, although the checkout operator neglected to say hello or goodbye to our shopper. We visited on 25 January at 12.20pm. Our shop lasted 45 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was four minutes.

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