Asda in Bridgwater was one of two retailers to provide a full basket this week but pipped Morrisons' Coalville branch to the post thanks to helpful staff and a short queue. It was clean and tidy and packing trolleys did not block aisles.
Staff around the aisles appeared "happy, friendly and approachable" and an assistant offered to escort our shopper to the Actimel. The checkout assistant greeted our shopper, efficiently scanned the items and offered to pack.
Morrisons in Coalville was full of shoppers but the store was tidy. Several assistants were busy unpacking boxes in the aisles and one pointed our shopper to an item she couldn't find. The checkout assistant was polite and chatty.
Two out-of-stock items let Sainsbury's Swansea branch down. However the items were easy to find and a helpful assistant escorted our shopper to an item. The queue was small and the checkout assistant made polite conversation and offered to pack.
Waitrose in Marlow also had two out-of-stock items and packing trolleys cluttered the fresh produce aisles. An assistant was "helpful and knowledgeable" and escorted our shopper to the fish fingers.
Availability disappointed at Tesco in Brackley. The produce aisles were low in stock and a blunt assistant would not check out the back for more fruit and veg. But plenty of tills were open and the checkout assistant was polite.
Winner: Nick Davis , deputy manager, Asda, Bridgwater
How do you maintain high service levels? We hold daily huddles where we get the colleagues together in the morning and talk about what is going on. We also gather and hand out feedback. Staff have the opportunity by nominating a colleague for something they have done beyond the call of duty and we reward them with a lunch every month. We also carry out mystery shops and closely evaluate each colleague on service. We scored 100% on two mystery shops last month and are number two for customer service in the south.
You have a Sainsbury's and a Lidl within walking distance. How do you keep customers loyal? The nearby Sainsbury's and Lidl are extremely close and when I joined the store last year it was a bit of an eye-opener because it's so easy for people to walk from shop to shop and check out the best deals. We have really low prices and some great deals, though our pound strategy really works. We make sure we get the offers right the first time and that they are always available. If we see something on promotion at another retailer and we think we could benefit from doing something similar, we can tell Asda House, which will then make a decision.
How has your focus on availability changed recently? Availability is very high on the agenda for us. During the past couple of months we have started monitoring availability in the evenings as well as during the day so the shelves are as full as in the mornings. This involves gap chasing and replenishing any items that are not on the shelf, providing we have them out the back.
Tell me about your new security system. We have just installed a new security podium so we can now operate the CCTV cameras from the front of the store as well as out the back.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? I would like the store to be bigger by another 20,000 sq ft so we could stock more ranges there is great potential for non-food. We currently stock the full range of gardening equipment, which is selling particularly well now the weather has been sunny. Our strawberries, cream and other fresh produce lines are also benefiting from the weather.
Staff around the aisles appeared "happy, friendly and approachable" and an assistant offered to escort our shopper to the Actimel. The checkout assistant greeted our shopper, efficiently scanned the items and offered to pack.
Morrisons in Coalville was full of shoppers but the store was tidy. Several assistants were busy unpacking boxes in the aisles and one pointed our shopper to an item she couldn't find. The checkout assistant was polite and chatty.
Two out-of-stock items let Sainsbury's Swansea branch down. However the items were easy to find and a helpful assistant escorted our shopper to an item. The queue was small and the checkout assistant made polite conversation and offered to pack.
Waitrose in Marlow also had two out-of-stock items and packing trolleys cluttered the fresh produce aisles. An assistant was "helpful and knowledgeable" and escorted our shopper to the fish fingers.
Availability disappointed at Tesco in Brackley. The produce aisles were low in stock and a blunt assistant would not check out the back for more fruit and veg. But plenty of tills were open and the checkout assistant was polite.
Winner: Nick Davis , deputy manager, Asda, Bridgwater
How do you maintain high service levels? We hold daily huddles where we get the colleagues together in the morning and talk about what is going on. We also gather and hand out feedback. Staff have the opportunity by nominating a colleague for something they have done beyond the call of duty and we reward them with a lunch every month. We also carry out mystery shops and closely evaluate each colleague on service. We scored 100% on two mystery shops last month and are number two for customer service in the south.
You have a Sainsbury's and a Lidl within walking distance. How do you keep customers loyal? The nearby Sainsbury's and Lidl are extremely close and when I joined the store last year it was a bit of an eye-opener because it's so easy for people to walk from shop to shop and check out the best deals. We have really low prices and some great deals, though our pound strategy really works. We make sure we get the offers right the first time and that they are always available. If we see something on promotion at another retailer and we think we could benefit from doing something similar, we can tell Asda House, which will then make a decision.
How has your focus on availability changed recently? Availability is very high on the agenda for us. During the past couple of months we have started monitoring availability in the evenings as well as during the day so the shelves are as full as in the mornings. This involves gap chasing and replenishing any items that are not on the shelf, providing we have them out the back.
Tell me about your new security system. We have just installed a new security podium so we can now operate the CCTV cameras from the front of the store as well as out the back.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? I would like the store to be bigger by another 20,000 sq ft so we could stock more ranges there is great potential for non-food. We currently stock the full range of gardening equipment, which is selling particularly well now the weather has been sunny. Our strawberries, cream and other fresh produce lines are also benefiting from the weather.
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