The top team at Lidl HQ in Surbiton could well be contemplating a visit to their nearby store in east Twickenham, as the recipient of the discounter’s first ever Grocer 33 store of the week award.
The store scored a robust 81 points, with excellent shop floor service and store standards, as well as strong availability.
Our shopper would have taken home a full basket were it not for two not-stocked items. The availability score reflected a generally well stocked store. There was some restocking going on, but staff were careful to keep trolleys out of the way.
Not only was the store “super clean and well organised”, staff were “very diligent and quite happy” – either taking our shopper to the items she was looking for or confirming that an item was not stocked. The checkout experience was also a highlight with a “super chatty and friendly” assistant, leaving our shopper keen to return.
Our runner-up this week was Morrisons in Totnes with 74 points. Our shopper bagged 30 items, with one out of stock and two not stocked.
While the store was busy on our Saturday morning visit, “it didn’t feel overwhelming and the shop was enjoyable”. A number of staff were restocking shelves but were showing plenty of consideration to shoppers and not causing any issues.
The store felt clean except for the free-from fridge and some water on the floor with no warning sign. However, the spillage had been mopped up and a sign put in place when our shopper passed the area again.
Our shopper struggled to find staff to help at times, but when she did, they were excellent. She gave a special shout out to one member of the management team who went to check in the warehouse for a missing item.
Just a point further back was Tesco in Dunton Road, London. The store was large, spacious and fully stocked. It did not stock the beef mince in the pack size on our list – but there were plenty of other sizes and if not for that, our shopper would have completed a full basket.
Both members of staff our shopper spoke to were happy to help and search on their device for any items she couldn’t find.
The only real complaint from our shopper was that there were not enough manned checkouts open to cope with the volume of customers.
Another solid performer this week was Sainsbury’s in Wakefield with a score of 72. It would have fared even better but for two out-of-stock items.
Staff were generally excellent, apart from one encounter with a member of the team who went to the stockroom to look for a missing item. Our shopper waited for some time before finding the employee stocking shelves in another aisle.
Asda’s Oadby Frith store in Leicester notched up 68 points. There was one out-of-stock and one not-stocked item. However, there were notable gaps in the fruit & veg area, and the scales were out of order.
Staff were mainly very helpful and our shopper said she would be happy to return.
Waitrose’s store in Victoria, London was let down by poor availability, managing just 59 points. Our shopper bagged just 20 items with five out-of-stocks and eight not-stocked items. Staff, however, were “pleasant and helpful”.
Last place this week was Aldi in Fleet on 53 points. There were three out-of-stocks and four not-stocked items. The store was clean and modern and staff were helpful. However, our shopper was stressed out at the till as she struggled to keep up with the checkout operator when it came to packing.
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