Tesco has picked up its second store of the week victory of the past three outings thanks to its Riverside store in Dundee.
The store racked up 77 points – a score that would have been even higher if not for gaps in availability. Levels of some items were running low on our Friday evening visit and three of the items on our list were out of stock.
Overall, though, the store was clean and tidy, and plenty of staff were available – either stocking shelves or mopping floors. They did not cause any obstructions and one explained some of the visible gaps were down to the fact “Friday night was delivery night”.
The interaction reflected an excellent team of staff, including one assistant who sourced a stool to stand on and pass down a packet of scotch eggs. Another used her handheld device to locate the tins of tuna salad, which had just run out. Finally, in the search for another missing item, staff were able to find out the next delivery was expected later that evening.
Our shopper lives around a 30-minute drive away but would come back despite the distance.
Beyond Tesco, this week’s scores were not particularly high. Waitrose in Leigh-on-Sea took the runner-up spot with just 61 points. The entrance was tricky and not well signposted on its busy road location.
In store, there were a number of trolleys full of marked-down produce. Some of the items included pre-packed sandwiches, which concerned our shopper as it would have been hard to tell how long they had spent outside the chillers.
There were three out-of-stocks and one not-stocked item.
Our shopper’s interactions with staff were all very positive. One team member called Jake helped her spot the runner beans, and Luca, who was new to the store, was particularly helpful in finding products. When he saw our shopper leaving, he said he hoped she found everything she needed and wished her a good evening.
Sainsbury’s in Beaconsfield had the best availability this week with just two out-of-stocks, reflecting a well-stocked store with no obvious gaps.
However, it still only mustered 55 points. Some empty restocking trolleys appeared to have been abandoned, and staff were hard to find: our shopper only spotted three team members in the aisles.
Overall she found the service levels “very average”. One member of staff told our shopper where to find a missing item but did not show her. Our shopper then went to the aisle in question and spent several more minutes searching before finally spotting it.
Morrisons in Castleford scored 49 points. Our shopper found the store hard to navigate due to the “higgledy-piggledy” layout. While there was just one out-of-stock item, a limited range meant there were 10 not-stocked items.
With so many missing items, our shopper felt she approached every member of staff for help. Only once did someone go the extra mile to look for a product – she was mostly just told where to look. The checkout operator was not particularly friendly.
Asda’s Andover store came in last place with just 39 points. There were no out-of-stocks but, as with Morrisons, 10 items were not stocked. Staff interaction was mixed, with two team members taking our shopper to the location of products, others giving good instructions and one fobbing her off.
The biggest issue was the sheer volume of restocking trolleys, which left the store resembling “an obstacle course”.
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