Sainsbury's Savacentre in Washington provided this week's only full basket with the multiple continuing its offer on Stella and Hardys to keep the bill down to £38.59. It took our shopper a while to get round the "very large store" before whizzing through the checkout with some packing help from the operator. An out of stock of McCain's chips stymied Tesco's challenge for top spot at its recently opened store in Congleton. A mistake on the receipt showed that only one of the two Müller's in our basket had been scanned and paid for. Staff at Braeside Sainsbury in Glasgow were helpful but waiting for a delivery of own label pasta shells while our shopper was held up at the checkout by a query from the customer in front. Sainsbury in Nottingham has been refurbished and includes a photo centre and drycleaners plus a Mr Minit shoe repair outlet. The store had a large organic section but many areas were difficult to navigate due to shelf stackers. Hardys had been out of stock since Tuesday. Asda's Farnborough store was "busy and untidy", with aisles clogged by stacking trolleys. There was no offer of help to pack at the checkouts which made the 11 minute wait even worse. The fruit and veg area at Morrisons in Newport was well merchandised and plentiful. Shelf stackers added to time in store but this week the checkout operator began packing without being asked. Waitrose in Norwich offers a self-checkout system. It was out of Nescafé although it had a deal on the larger 200g size with 50% extra free. Somerfield in Plymstock seemed to be suffering from new competition in Lidl and Safeway as the store was quiet with lots of gaps on the shelves. Staff were friendly and checkout operators "always pack the groceries". {{GROCER 33 }}

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