The Waitrose store in Evington was heaving this week, thanks to the launch of the Delia and Heston campaign, and it took the top spot this week, despite two out-of-stocks, thanks to the super-speedy checkout and the friendly, proactive staff, who impressed our mystery shopper, as she was invited to a wine tasting, offered leaflets on health advice and handed a copy of the new Waitrose Weekend magazine launch issue.
Staff at Morrisons' Bishopbriggs store also displayed an "excellent attitude", though availability was also an issue here. Sainsbury's in Gloucester was clean and tidy, and staff cheerfully helped our shopper find the Frijj Classic Shakes but there were no chocolate ones left. The special-offer £1 veg section was also empty, apart from a few packs of mushrooms, and the fresh cream eclairs were out of stock.
Service at Tesco was poor, however, with staff "too busy" to help our shopper move abandoned trolleys that were blocking shelves. The fruit and veg section was also sparse, with no loose oranges or tomatoes although plenty were available in punnets.
Similar disarray was reported at Asda in Thurmaston. Apart from a smiley checkout assistant called Jinisha, our shopper was unimpressed, noting a littered car park, cages of new stock blocking the juice aisle, bored-looking staff and a muddled wine display where rosé and white were mixed together.
Winner: Peter Gibbs, branch manager, Waitrose, Evington
You've got a lot of competition nearby that is better suited to the area. How do you make it work? Lots of our customers have been with us since we opened 40 years ago. We're a community store and most of the shoppers are families.
What's been the response to Delia and Heston? It's been superb. The store has been really busy. There have been lots of questions to staff about their involvement, and interest in the recipes, magazine and products.
What was the biggest thing to happen to this store, pre-Delia and Heston? We had a full refit four years ago. I've been here for two years, and tweaked all there is to tweak. We upgraded our till systems about 18 months ago.
What have been your bestsellers in the past six months? Since we expanded our range of premium bottled ales by 30% to a total of 40, sales have almost doubled. The increasing popularity of speciality beers has helped to make Duchy Originals Organic Winter Ale and Fuller's 1845 Celebration Ale clear frontrunners in the category. Pre-packed fish is also doing exceptionally well and we have recently doubled the amount of space we allocate it from one bay to two.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? Space. Customers always ask for a café and for fresh fish and meat counters, but we just haven't got the room. Otherwise, I'd say the store is pretty much spot on.
What do you do for your local community? The staff put together a parcel for a homeless charity at Christmas and are thinking of introducing another one at Easter. Local Scouts and Guides groups sometimes come in to pack shoppers' bags in exchange for charity donations. Then there's the Waitrose Community Matters scheme, which distributes £1,000 to three local causes each month.
How do you and your staff socialise outside work? In three weeks' time I'll be performing karaoke at the agm with all the staff. Our singing is not as good as our sales, but getting everyone to work well together involves having some fun. We also compete in sporting activities against other branches.
Staff at Morrisons' Bishopbriggs store also displayed an "excellent attitude", though availability was also an issue here. Sainsbury's in Gloucester was clean and tidy, and staff cheerfully helped our shopper find the Frijj Classic Shakes but there were no chocolate ones left. The special-offer £1 veg section was also empty, apart from a few packs of mushrooms, and the fresh cream eclairs were out of stock.
Service at Tesco was poor, however, with staff "too busy" to help our shopper move abandoned trolleys that were blocking shelves. The fruit and veg section was also sparse, with no loose oranges or tomatoes although plenty were available in punnets.
Similar disarray was reported at Asda in Thurmaston. Apart from a smiley checkout assistant called Jinisha, our shopper was unimpressed, noting a littered car park, cages of new stock blocking the juice aisle, bored-looking staff and a muddled wine display where rosé and white were mixed together.
Winner: Peter Gibbs, branch manager, Waitrose, Evington
You've got a lot of competition nearby that is better suited to the area. How do you make it work? Lots of our customers have been with us since we opened 40 years ago. We're a community store and most of the shoppers are families.
What's been the response to Delia and Heston? It's been superb. The store has been really busy. There have been lots of questions to staff about their involvement, and interest in the recipes, magazine and products.
What was the biggest thing to happen to this store, pre-Delia and Heston? We had a full refit four years ago. I've been here for two years, and tweaked all there is to tweak. We upgraded our till systems about 18 months ago.
What have been your bestsellers in the past six months? Since we expanded our range of premium bottled ales by 30% to a total of 40, sales have almost doubled. The increasing popularity of speciality beers has helped to make Duchy Originals Organic Winter Ale and Fuller's 1845 Celebration Ale clear frontrunners in the category. Pre-packed fish is also doing exceptionally well and we have recently doubled the amount of space we allocate it from one bay to two.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? Space. Customers always ask for a café and for fresh fish and meat counters, but we just haven't got the room. Otherwise, I'd say the store is pretty much spot on.
What do you do for your local community? The staff put together a parcel for a homeless charity at Christmas and are thinking of introducing another one at Easter. Local Scouts and Guides groups sometimes come in to pack shoppers' bags in exchange for charity donations. Then there's the Waitrose Community Matters scheme, which distributes £1,000 to three local causes each month.
How do you and your staff socialise outside work? In three weeks' time I'll be performing karaoke at the agm with all the staff. Our singing is not as good as our sales, but getting everyone to work well together involves having some fun. We also compete in sporting activities against other branches.
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