rachel thompson sainsbury's cardiff

Winner : Sainsbury’s Cardiff

Store manager : Rachel Thompson

Opened : 1984

Size : 57,000 sq ft

Market share : 9.3%

Nearest rivals : Lidl - 0.5 miles Morrisons - 1.3 miles Tesco - 2.5 miles

Store data source : Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

You gained a perfect score for shop floor service - how have you achieved this? Customer service is absolutely my focus and it is the same for my colleagues. They know the area, the customers and understand that delivering great service reaps benefits in terms of sales and return custom.

How do you ensure good availability? We work really hard on our range and our availability and we’ve recently undertaken a few moves of certain products across the store.

How do you reward staff for doing a good job? We do ‘celebration lunches’ for staff who have done exceptionally well in their customer service roles by laying on a big buffet for them and colleagues. This will typically come from positive customer letters or other staff noticing their colleagues going above and beyond.

What are some of the ways you are achieving a rapport with local customers? Most recently we procured a ‘triplet trolley’ - we have a customer who comes in with three young triplet boys who was struggling to get his shop done, so we spoke to head office, who spoke to our trolley supplier, and we brought in a ‘triplet trolley’ so he can shop with his children all in one place. Making people feel welcomed is what we’re all about.

Ahead of the surcharge in England next month, how has your store dealt with the 5p ‘bag tax’ in Wales? Initially there was a big change in behaviour in terms of customers remembering to bring their bags to the store. We had absolutely no complaints and they have all been very happy to re-use. In our store if you do buy a 5p bag from us they are more durable, we will replace them if they are damaged, and the money from that goes to our local charity of the year Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale. People have always been happy to pay the 5p.

What’s new in-store? This week we launched our click & collect service. We feel really excited and very prepared. It has meant a big collaboration with Colchester Avenue Sainsbury’s [its nearest Sainsbury’s store] as our van is based on their premises. This builds on a successful online ordering service we already have.