In a very high scoring week Morrisons has landed its first win in almost two months thanks to full marks for its store standards and a positive experience at the tills.
On this Friday morning visit our shopper found interaction at the checkout “very pleasant”, with the till operator maintaining social distancing while serving her. Our mystery shopper gave full marks for staff politeness overall as well.
She also called the branch, in Gyles, Edinburgh, “clean and tidy” and noted products were well-stocked.
Its coronavirus safety protocols were followed by both employees and customers, which came in tandem with complementary masks for customers. Our shopper also found security guards managed shoppers coming into the store “very well”, while store staff wore a combination of gloves and face coverings.
It dropped a few points, however, due to three items being out of stock. These were the Belhaven Best beer, own-label chocolate eclairs and a 12-pack of Coke, which was swapped for the 24-pack on offer.
Runner-up Sainsbury’s in Maypole, Birmingham, achieved the best availability this week. It was only lacking cooking apples.
Sainsbury’s also scooped full marks for its checkouts thanks to there being no queues and enough tills open to serve customers. Although our shopper noted her overall experience at the store was “very quick and pleasant,” she felt the Covid preventative measures made it “subdued” and “not as vibrant” in comparison to her previous visits.
Protocols in place at the Sainsbury’s superstore included signs prompting shoppers to wear face masks, a member of staff monitoring numbers entering and leaving the store, and ground markers reminding customers to socially distance. Our shopper found there was “good awareness of the need to distance from customers”.
The in-store atmosphere was also not helped by its fishmonger, butcher, hot food, pizza, cheese and deli counters all being closed.
Asda in Milton of Craigie, Dundee, had a solid performance for store standards and service but suffered due to having the most missing lines, with four items from our shopping list unavailable.
Asda’s score was boosted by its cleanliness and “a very pleasant and relaxed experience”. Our shopper found there were several posters and floor markings to remind customers about social distancing, hand sanitiser available, and all employees wore face masks.
Store staff made a strong impression with our shopper, who found “nothing was too much trouble”.
Asda struggled when it came to checkouts, however, as our shopper found no one was managing the queues.
Marks were lost early on for Waitrose in Walton-le-Dale, Preston, as our shopper did not feel the entrance and flow of shoppers in and out of the store was well managed.
This was followed by “untidy” displays of nuts and dried fruit, while at the checkouts the partner serving our shopper was “not particularly friendly”.
Tesco in Batley, West Yorkshire, scored poorly for availability and replenishment due to a few shelves being empty, as well as lack of management when it came to checkout queues. The car park was the highlight of the shop, with a short queue, clear signage and plenty of helpful staff.
This week’s results:
| WEEK 9: Friday 07/08/2020 (9.00am - 12.00pm) | WINNER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asda | Morrisons | Sainsbury’s | Tesco | Waitrose | |
| Location | Dundee | Edinburgh | Birmingham | Batley | Preston |
| Date | 25/07/2020 | 25/07/2020 | 25/07/2020 | 25/07/2020 | 25/07/2020 |
| Time slot | 1-4pm | 1-4pm | 1-4pm | 1-4pm | 1-4pm |
| Shop starts | 09:00am | 10:25 | 09:00am | 09:07am | 10:20am |
| Visit Duration | 01:36 | 00:36 | 00:50 | 01:00 | 00:55 |
| Shop Duration | 01:24 | 00:31 | 00:45 | 00:53 | 00:45 |
| Car Park (10) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Signposting (up to 1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Queueing time to park (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Trolleys (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Queueing time from parking the car to enter the store (up to 3) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Feedback (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| The car park was not busy and there were no queues either to enter the car park or to enter the store. I had arrived early for my 9am shop, so sat in the car for a bit then took a few photos before entering the store. There were lots of posters about social distancing as you entered the store, also displays of hand sanitising products and face coverings (see separate photos. On leaving the store there is a time gap between leaving the store and leaving the car park because I returned to make a personal purchase at the in-store optician. | Well signed | There was a member of staff monitoring how many people were entering and leaving the store. Markers on ground for 2 metres distancing. Signs asking people to wear masks | Security guard on duty to make sure one way system was adhered to. Lots of signage | Waitrose has closed it’s 2nd door, which is by the checkouts. Customers are required to enter and leave by the door. There is a security guard, in a plexi glass visor, who indicates when people should enter. The exit is via the same door but you are signposted to turn left and exit via the slope to the right of the entrance. There is the potential for overlap between people entering and exiting, plus some people ignore the signs and exit using the entrance. Signs advise about social distancing and there are markers on the floor to show the 2m distance. | |
| Store standards (20) | 19 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
| First impression (up to 5) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Feedback | My first impression was that the store was uncluttered and not full of fantastic displays, but clean and spacious and ideal for social distancing. There was hand sanitising available and plenty of posters and floor markings advising about social distancing. The staff were pretty much leaving customers to themselves but very cheerful and willing to help if approached. All were wearing face coverings. | Very well managed security guards checking numbers entering store. Disposable face masks free beside the sanitisers | The store was not at all busy | Quiet and calm | Staff are calm, there is no stress or disorganisation. There is a foot operated hand sanitiser by the entrance, this had no gel in so a bottle was placed on the top for people to use. There are no wipes, there is a member of staff outside who cleans the trolleys after they have been returned to “Bay 1”. They then return the trolleys to by the main entrance. |
| Displays (up to 3) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Availability and replenishment (up to 5) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Feedback | There were a few areas in the various sections that were empty but I got the feeling that staff were constantly replenishing them as they could. I never felt that trolleys got in the way. I had trouble finding a single garlic clove and a very helpful assistant went and replenished the tray for me to pick one up after the rest of my shop. | Very well stocked in all departments | Due to restrictions and customer demand, the fishmonger, butcher, hot food, pizza, cheese and delicatessan counters were all closed, with a sign giving the reason why. A couple of chillers were empty with no signage to say why. | A few areas were empty but there were a LOT of staff with trolleys replenishing stock | Most of the displays were tidy and well-stocked, the earlier shortages no longer apply. I have sent photos of the nuts and dried fruit section as this was untidy. There were no obvious shortages and staff were working in the bakery, chilled goods and spice section carrying out replenishment. Another photo shows the quiet aisle where one member of staff had a small trolley to top up the spices. |
| Obstructions (up to 3) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Spillages (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Condition of the store in terms of cleanliness (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Feedback | The store was very clean and the aisled seemed wide. No clutter. It was also easy to pass other shoppers and everyone was making an effort to be at a safe distance. The shop was really clean. | Very clean and tidy, well stocked store with everyone following guidance on safety procedures. | The store feels different from pre covid times, more subdued perhaps. Definitely not as vibrant. | Wide aisles, good signage | Waitrose is a clean store overall. They have carried out a reorganisation and reshuffled some of the sections. The lighting for Fine Wines has been improved. |
| Store layout (10) | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Did the store layout seem logical and intuitive? (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Was it easy to navigate the store while also feeling safe? (up to 6) | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Did the store offered any Click & Collect services? (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shop Floor Service (20) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 16 |
| Product location (up to 5) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Staff politness/responsiveness (up to 5) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Feedback | Everyone I asked was extremely helpful. I mentioned the lad who got me a loose garlic clove. I also had trouble finding a 6-pack of Warburtons crumpets and the assistant told me the delivery van hadn’t come in yet, so I took a 9-pack instead. Other assistants pointed me to the correct aisle when I couldn’t find something (eg pate) and offered to accompany me there. | N/A | A lady called Harbinder gave me added information on the availability of the item that wasn’t available. | Asked Sayed for yoghurt. He asked another nearby colleague who said they didn’t stock it. Asked Neil for tortilla.. He found it but handed me the wrong one. All friendly and helpful. | I spoke to Jessica to help me to locate the Twirl bars. She checked on a hand held mobile device and could confirm that they were out of stock but were expecting a new delivery on the 10 August. Jessica said that there would be the option of purchasing individual bars at the confectionery section near the tills. I spoke to Beth about the pine nuts. She said that they were out of stock but showed me the Toasted Pine Nuts which were adjacent to the spice section she was restocking. |
| Was it easy to find a member of staff (up to 3) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Were staff easy to identify through their uniform or name badges (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Staff presentation (up to 5) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Feedback | Staff definitely all had masks. I was impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff and the way they managed to help while not coming too close. | N/A | There seemed to be good awareness of the need to distance from customers. | N/A | The staff wore a uniform and a name badge. They did not wear PPE. They did maintain a social distance when assisting with my inquiries. |
| Tills and checkouts (20) | 15 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 15 |
| How well managed were the queues leading up to the till-operated checkouts in terms of maintaining order and social distancing? (up to 2) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| How well managed were the queues leading up to the self-service checkouts in terms of maintaining order and social distancing? (Please observe after you’ve completed your shop, and include observations around attentiveness to customers requiring help due to flashing lights/unattended items in bagging area) (up to 2) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| How long did it take to queue (prior to scanning) (up to 4) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Please rate checkout staff on their customer service and safety (up to 7) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Time for G33 items to be scanned (including payment) (up to 3) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Was the till receipt free of mistakes? (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Feedback - please provide any further details/feedback on the tills and checkout: | It is hard to comment on the management of tills and checkouts because there was no-one in evidence managing queues at the normal check-outs and the few in operation all had a queue - I went to the shortest one. When I left the store I did see assistants helping people using the self-checkouts. There were 16 traditional tills but only 5 in use, 6 scan and go checkouts and 9 + 4 self checkouts, so I suppose there was plenty of opportunity to go through while self-distancing even with small queues at the traditional checkouts. | Very pleasant lady chatted while maintaining social distance. | There were no queues for checkouts, 7 were open and the self checkouts were working well. | Margaret was very friendly, nice and smiley. I just joined a till. Couldn’t see that a queue was bring managed in any way. Not many tills were opened but it was quite quiet so not needed | Lisa served me, she was fanning herself with a piece of card. I commented that she seemed hot and asked when she was due to finish work. She said at 4pm and I said that she would be able to enjoy the sunshine when she finished. She said she wouldn’t as she had “lots of things to do”. The checkouts were really quiet, there was no queue at all, and Lisa was not particularly friendly, she seemed more concerned about her own temperature than making small talk. |
| Availability score (20) | 11 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 16 |
| Of the 33 items on your shopping list how many were: | |||||
| Available (up to 20) | 28 | 30 | 32 | 28 | 31 |
| Out of stock (-2 per item) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Not stocked (-1 per item) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Availability % | 87.5 | 90.9 | 97.0 | 93.3 | 93.9 |
| Please note down the items on your shopping list that were out of stock (please highlight the products that have managed to get a satisfactory substitutions) | I got satisfactory substitutions for all of them. The loose bananas were simply not the Asda brand so I bought the bagged bananas intead. I got a packet of Asda granola with similar ingredients and a larger size packet of Warburtons crumpets. The thinly-sliced ham came in slightly different sizes from what I wanted but I took 250g instead of 200g. | Belhaven Best Beer. No substitute bought. Coke 12 pack. Got 24 pack which was on offer. Chi olate Eclairs 4 pack. No substitute. | Cooking apples were out of stock, they haven’t had any in a while. There was nothing I could substitute it for | All subs: 1kg penne pasta Own brand free range eggs |
Twirl Bars x 4 Own Label Pine Nuts (Toasted Pine nuts substituted) |
| Please note down the items on your shopping list that were not stocked (please highlight the products that have managed to get a satisfactory substitutions) | Fever Tree Mexican Lime Soda was not stocked, but I took Ginger Ale instead. | N/A | N/A | All subs. Finest 0% Greek yogurt. Pride Creamed coconut and finest brioche buns | N/A |
| Please give any other details or info about your shopping trip, good or bad | There was no one-way system but the aisles were wide enough to accommodate shoppers and trolleys easily. There were less open counters than there used to be, eg fish, deli etc, but one take-away area with make-your-own pizzas which at 9am was not getting any customers. The click and collect area is in the car park. It was a very pleasant and relaxed experience. I felt completely safe and nothing was too much trouble for the assistants. Perhaps later in the day when the shop would be busier it might have been more fraught but I always try to go early at the present time to avoid crowds. Asda Milton had a good range of products and I was also impressed that they seemed to have their usual excellent selection of ‘George’ clothing and the photobooth, optician, Claire’s Accessories etc and other usual services (eg autobank) while continuing to be safe. |
Good trip. Very quick and easy as Morrisons stores have the same layout in each store so easy to find products you care looking for. | The whole shopping experience was smooth, very quick and a pleasant experience. | Quick, effective, pleasant. Nice big store with wide aisles and loads of staff available | The store was relatively quiet, all customers wore masks. There were queues at the Fish counter as Waitrose gives a 20% discount on fish on Fridays. Some people were shopping in pairs although a solo shopper policy is encouraged. As the bakery section was being restocked this was an area where closer contact with others had to be managed with care. My car showed that the temperature was 26 degrees, no wonder Lisa was hot! I was given a voucher for £4 off a £40 shop. |
| TOTAL SCORE (100) | 82 | 93 | 90 | 75 | 81 |
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