Sainsbury’s took the win on service and availability this week with its “well presented” store.
The Blackwood store in South Wales scored 80 points thanks to its standout service.
Staff members checked for stock and were informative about missing items: our shopper was helped by an assistant in ambient foods who “let me know that there may be some coming in on the delivery later”. Meanwhile, employees at the till were “very efficient”.
Availability was adequate, with just two items out of stock.
Joint second place went to Morrisons and Tesco, which scooped 69 points each. Morrisons in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, scored better on its car park, whereas Tesco in Lincoln excelled on checkout and availability.
Morrisons’ car park was clearly marked with plenty of spaces and no queues. Store standards were good but the store lights were not on in some aisles, “making it very dark”.
The counters in the store were “attractive”, and the bakery in particular had lots of items.
Staff were not easy to find, but were helpful when approached.
While there was a small queue at the checkout, the till assistant was “polite, friendly and took good care”.
No items were out of stock and five were not stocked.
Tesco’s car park was less impressive, with a queue of two to three minutes on both entrance and exit.
However, the store entrance had a gardening display and an attractive flower display. Most of the aisles were “well stocked with a good range of choice”, bar a few gaps and untidy areas. Availability was also good, with only two items not stocked.
Service was more mixed. While there were plenty of staff on the shop floor and every encounter was “perfectly pleasant”, our shopper felt no one went the extra mile to help them find items.
The checkout assistant was also “polite but not particularly friendly”. On the plus side, there were enough tills open to keep queues moving.
Third place went to Asda Chesterfield. The small store scored 63 points, buoyed by good service and store standards. However, it was let down by a zero score for availability. Two items were out of stock and 10 were not stocked, meaning our shopper left the store with just 21 items.
The store was “modern, clean and fresh with attractive shelving and fixtures, and generally high standards throughout”.
Staff were working hard and taking care to help customers. When asked for help locating items, staff were polite and helpful “though only one of them went to the stockroom to locate an item”.
The checkouts were busy but well managed by staff, and one team member offered to scan shopping for a customer through a self-service till.
Last place went to Waitrose Kenilworth, Warwickshire, which was “untidy and littered”. Our shopper’s first impression was of an entrance littered with paper and debris. “There was a general feel of a dishevelled store,” they said.
The store did not “scream offers” and the food-to-go counter was “very lightly stocked”. The fruit & veg aisle seemed bare, with some items available but of very poor quality, including red peppers that were “damaged and crinkly”.
Availability was very poor: seven items were out of stock, resulting in a score of zero.
Staff were not easy to recognise as many were not wearing name tags, though they were friendly and polite.
No comments yet