First place this week went to “top notch” Tesco North Shields, which our shopper considered revisiting for a Christmas shop.
The store scored 89, with particularly high marks for shop floor service.
Till service was excellent, and the friendly assistant was helpful when our shopper realised she had picked up the wrong kind of potatoes. There were plenty of manned checkouts open and no queue on this Saturday morning shop.
There was also a great range of goods and the store was “well kept, tidy and well stocked”.
One item was out of stock – the ham – and one not stocked, the Young’s Admiral’s Pie.
Asda Newcastle came second place with 82 points. The store had an excellent layout, and our shopper could find her way around easily.
Availability was also strong, with a full basket of 33 items. All the shelves were well stocked, and our shopper said she would “definitely consider” shopping there in future.
The store only fell down slightly on service – our shopper was pointed in the direction of an item rather than being taken to its location.
There were also only two manned tills open despite a number of people waiting to use them. Our shopper had to wait four to five minutes to be served, but the assistant was quick and efficient.
Next up was Morrisons Leicester with 80 points.
The store was clean and tidy, with a good selection of well-presented counters.
Our shopper also reported good stock levels and plenty of offers. One item was out of stock – the Maryland cookies – while the Chicago Town cheese pizza was not stocked.
All staff were reasonably helpful. The checkout assistant was “delightful” and very efficient. However, there was a short wait of two to three minutes at the till.
Fourth-placed Sainsbury’s South Woodham Ferrers scored 69 points.
Service was generally strong, including at the checkouts. Our shopper queued less than a minute and the assistant was very friendly. However, she was being distracted by another member of staff talking about something not work-related.
The store fell down on availability. Three items were out of stock, including the Alpro Vanilla yoghurt, and the sweet potatoes were not stocked.
In fifth place was Waitrose Glasgow, whose score was dragged down to 58 by lacklustre store standards. A display sign had fallen off in an aisle, while every aisle had at least one restocking trolley in the way, “which made the shop feel really busy and cramped”.
The counter displays were strong, however, and there was a sampling plate for cheese and deli meats that looked appealing. The floor staff were also very helpful in trying to find missing items.
Two items were out of stock, including the Cravendale semi-skimmed milk, while four were not stocked.
This week’s guest retailer Iceland came last place with 55 points. There was a lack of staff at the Yardley store, and our shopper had to go out of his way to find someone to help. Most of the staff were busy packing home delivery – however, a manager helped our shopper find some items.
It also suffered on availability. Two items were out of stock: the Alpro vanilla yogurt and Mr Kipling Battenberg cakes. Four were not stocked in this branch.
However, the store was easy to get around with visible signage and good presentation.
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