Asda claimed its third service & availability win of the year with a “positive shopping experience” at its Clydebank store.
The store scored 70 points and stood out on shop floor service. The “well presented and professional” staff were helpful and our shopper did not have to go far to find someone.
Checkout service was also excellent. Our shopper did not have to queue and the assistant was “helpful and polite”.
Meanwhile, the car park had plenty of spaces with no trolleys out of place. Inside, aisles were well stocked and staff were restocking fresh food.
Second-placed Waitrose Cheadle Hulme, in Manchester, came a close second with 69 points. The store was generally “tidy and well organised”, though the fruit & veg section had a few gaps.
The store offered appealing promotions, including on coronation-themed items.
Staff were helpful but not all of them offered to check the stockroom for missing items.
At the checkout, our shopper had to wait two or three minutes to be served. The assistant was “reasonably helpful and efficient”, but did begin scanning without offering a greeting first.
Overall, our shopper felt staff could have been “a little more friendly and engaging. This would have made me feel more valued as a customer.”
Availability was fairly good, with two items out of stock.
Morrisons Maldon in Essex came third with 60 points. The store gave an excellent first impression with an intuitive layout. The food counters, fruit and deli areas were all attractively presented.
Staff were hard to find, and our shopper needed to go out of their way to get assistance. When found, though, staff were kind and presentable.
The lowest points were checkout and availability. Although the checkout assistant was friendly, our shopper had to wait four or five minutes to be served. This was made worse by poor queue management: a new till was opened but shoppers who had been waiting longest did not get served first.
Meanwhile, three items were out of stock and seven not stocked. Our shopper noted quite a few empty shelves, fridges and freezers.
Fourth-placed Tesco scored 58 points. The Henley-on-Thames store offered some of the best availability this week, with just two items out of stock. That reflected the well-stocked shelves overall, in a store described as well presented.
Staff were of limited help, however, and two assistants immediately claimed items were not stocked without checking. One staff member was singled out as very helpful, directing our shopper to a product.
The checkout was also very busy. Our shopper had to wait six or seven minutes to be served and queues were not particularly well managed. When our shopper got home, she realised an item had been missed from the receipt.
Last place went to Sainsbury’s East Prescot Road, Liverpool, with 34 points. Store standards were poor: milk was dripping onto the floor and “no staff were around to tell”.
That was a running theme of the shop, during which our shopper “had to go up and down the aisles” to find assistance. When found, staff were fairly helpful in locating products and advising on stock.
On checkout, our shopper had to queue for four or five minutes. The assistant was “very chatty, nice and friendly”. Availability was poor, though, with five items out of stock.
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