David Charlton, store manager at Morrisons Beverley: G33 store of the week

Our shopper received great service from “polite and friendly” staff. How do you maintain those standards?

Morrisons has a feedback mechanism for customers and at one point we were not faring particularly well. But for the last year we have averaged five stars. We have spent a lot of time on customer service including talking to staff and putting their suggestions into practice. There is a noticeboard so all staff are encouraged to put nominations up when they see good service. It isn’t just about what I see or what the senior management sees, it is about everyone having an input. There is also an element to the new Morrisons bonus scheme linked to service.

What is life like under new CEO David Potts?

There has been an awful lot of change in the business and a lot of it is being driven by David Potts. He seems to be listening at every level of the business and is being seen to react to that. There were things the staff found frustrating, including performance measures such as scan rates. These are now not measured and it is just about providing great service on the checkouts and the shop floor.

What are your top sellers at the moment?

Over the last few weeks, the strongest departments have been seasonal including the delicatessen, the salad bar, the butchery, the florist, fruit & veg and also outside items such as garden furniture. But beers, wines and spirits are going really well with wine sales up 11% up like-for- like on last year.

How are you chasing sales in-store?

A year ago we were struggling with like-for-likes but there is a bit of a buzz and momentum now. We have introduced a competitive element with staff across departments. Each department chooses a line to chase sales for every week, sets their own targets and we have a sales board. It is about changing culture and we have had some great success with that.

Have you got availability champions in store and how has that changed things?

We have an availability team and that has improved things. In the morning they go around the store and investigate all the gaps. Then it’s about getting it back on sale as quickly as possible.

Are you doing anything new in store?

We have extended the opening of our garden centre section, which traditionally would have closed on 12 July. It offers horticulture, flowers and we have extended it to include fire pits, chimineas and garden furniture.