Waitrose Locks Heath (2)

Our shopper appreciated the good signposting in Waitrose Locks Heath

In a low-scoring week, Waitrose’s Locks Heath store in Southampton was a lone bright spot. The store scored 73 points – 18 more than its nearest challenger.

The lacklustre scores across the board were largely down to availability, as none of our mystery shoppers managed to bag more than 28 items.

Even Waitrose – the strongest in this area – had two out-of-stocks and three not-stocked items. Our shopper did suggest, however, the majority of shelves were well-stocked.

One downside was the layout, which she didn’t find particularly intuitive. However, the store was well-signposted and staff were all well-presented, well-spoken and happy to help, offering clear instructions on where to find products. The checkout operator was described as “a star”.

Asda was second, an improvement on its lower-placed finishes of the past few months. However, it might think twice before celebrating – its Hamilton store only managed 55 points. There were six out-of-stocks, and our shopper noticed a lot of gaps and empty boxes throughout the store.

Our shopper also found the “mess on some of the shelves really quite poor. It didn’t seem like many areas had been worked on to pull stock forward or restock the shelves.”

Only a couple of staff were restocking shelves and they managed to keep out of the way of customers. Finding someone to approach for help, however, proved tricky. When our shopper did track someone down, the staff were friendly and helpful, and made reasonable efforts to look for products – but did not try the storeroom.

Tesco’s Great Harwood store in Lancashire came third with 51 points. Our shopper had the impression it not been fully replenished before opening.

A trolley with lots of boxes of stock was abandoned in the drinks aisle, along with a cage in the bakery area. There was also still evidence of Halloween merchandising, even though our visit was three days after the event.

In terms of our list, three items were out of stock and two were not stocked. Staff were helpful and the checkout assistant, who seemed new to the role, was also pleasant.

Sainsbury’s in the Woolton area of Liverpool was a further point back. Our shopper’s trip started badly with a dodgy trolley that she needed to replace. Inside, a number of freezers were not working and had been totally cleared of stock. She spotted a number of abandoned stocking trolleys, which obstructed the flow of customers.

Meanwhile, our shopper had mixed experiences with staff. When searching for one particular item, she was given incorrect information by two members of the team who seemed “uninterested”. But another cheerfully took her to the location of a different item.

In terms of availability, there were four out-of-stocks and two not-stocked items.

Morrisons’ Wymondham store came last this week with just 35 points. It was a disappointing trip from start to finish for our shopper. The car park was chaos, due to “cars going in different directions and very limited space”.

The store was equally chaotic, with unmanned trolleys in nearly every aisle plus at least four restocking trolleys, one of which she caught her leg on. Lots of staff were on the shop floor, most of whom were working but a few were “standing about”. Finally, there were long queues at the checkout and five out-of-stock items.