Winner: Tesco, Manston Road, Ramsgate
Store deputy manager: Andrew Roberts
Opened: April 1998
Size: 40,000 sq ft
Market share: 13.5%
Nearest rivals: Sainsbury’s - 1.3 miles, Asda - 1.9 miles, Morrisons - 3.3 miles
Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

Our mystery shopper praised the helpfulness of your staff. What’s the secret? We have sat down with every one of our staff and had extra training on how to interact more with customers. It’s part of the Making Moments Matter training programme Tesco has brought in and it’s made a massive difference to us.

Have you had any extra staffing hours allocated as well as training? No. We’ve had no extra hours. It’s all down to better training and staff approaching things in a better way.

Has the store had any physical improvements? Yes. Our whole store has turned on its head in the past two years, with changes including a new fish counter and a pharmacy. It’s really popular with a lot of our elderly shoppers as they don’t like the big Tesco Extra up the road because they feel it’s too busy.

You have a lot of elderly shoppers - what problems does this present? There are a couple of regulars who come in and they need help with their shop. It takes a bit of time and resources but we like to give them the help they need. The £1 offer and half-price deals are popular. They don’t want bogofs as they won’t use them. Also, we stock a high proportion of mid-range own label products - these are the most popular with elderly customers, rather than Finest or Everyday value.

A large Aldi recently opened close by. What impact did this have? It had a big impact. We saw a drop-off in shoppers when it first opened, but people have started coming back.

You have a large council estate nearby. Do you have problems with crime? Yes, we’ve been having a lot of problems and we’ve been working with the local police. We always make sure there is security at the front door to try to tackle shoplifters but it’s a growing problem.

Have customers reacted to the horsemeat scandal? I haven’t heard it mentioned once.

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