Store of the week: Waitrose Goldsworth Park, Woking

Your wine expert Chris really stood out for our mystery shopper. What sort of training are your staff given? When they join, our partners learn how their contribution to the store works to make the store successful. We had a refresh in the store about four months ago and the partners were really revved up and keen to improve the customer experience. There are so many training opportunities for partners. Some training leads to national accreditation like the one Chris took: he has a City & Guilds-accredited Level 2 Diploma in BWS.

Now that summer is nearly over, what’s the store’s main focus? Despite the stormy weather, we’re still in the throes of holiday season. Barbecues and summer food remain our main focus as people get back from summer holidays. The bank holiday is nearly upon us so we’re also stocking for that too. It’s back to school relatively soon, so our attention will be on providing for that in late August and early September.

You scored highly for availability. How do you ensure your shelves are full? Our availability is good because our partners take ownership for their own sections in-store. We’re situated slap-bang in the middle of a residential area, which means some of our customers come in daily and so are a familiar face in the store. They catch up with partners who they see daily and provide feedback - this also helps to keep availability topped up.

Are you a fan of the free coffees Waitrose offers? We have a coffee machine in the bakery. I like the initiative because it encourages footfall and also offers the customers what they really want. At one end of the spectrum you have families rushing in with kids and they have a coffee, and at the other end there are people with more time on their hands who linger over a drink during the day.