The Grocer's shoppers were sent in search of ethical products this week and Waitrose in Brighton proved itself the best place for Fairtrade, organic and free-range items.
Although three other retailers also boasted strong availability, Waitrose offered the best service and the shortest checkout time. The store was busy but immaculate, with the aisles free of stacking trolleys. An assistant recommended several varieties of organic wine and the checkout worker was friendly and offered a bag for life.
At Sainsbury's in Bridgend a member of floor staff was happy to help our shopper locate the Cauldron tofu and the polite checkout assistant offered our shopper a bag for life.
There were no out-of-stocks at Tesco in Hexham but our shopper struggled to find the items on his list. There was a long queue at the checkout, but the assistant was friendly and our shopper had to ask to use carriers.
While Asda's Aberdeen branch was immaculate, it was also let down by a long queue. However, aisle staff escorted our shopper to several items and the chatty checkout assistant offered carriers and a bag for life.
Our shopper was impressed with how polite the checkout assistant at Morrisons in Peckham was, but there was a long queue and several abandoned packing trolleys cluttered the aisles.
Winner: Andy Seggie, department manager, Waitrose, Brighton
Describe some of your store's green features. We have an electric bicycle that we use to transport goods to houses nearby. It has even made it to Shoreham-by-Sea and back, which is nearly six miles each way. Shoppers can also borrow our cycle trailers to transport their shopping home we have four available at the moment and they have proved particularly popular over the summer. At the checkouts we always encourage our customers to buy 10p bags for life and they can replace them for free if they get broken.
What are you doing about waste? We recycle all card and plastic and our food waste is collected by a waste management operator to be incinerated. Our general household waste is compacted and either incinerated or sent to landfill.
What steps are you taking to make the store energy efficient? Each branch has an energy manager who monitors how much gas and electricity is used. The energy consumption of our refrigerators is monitored by head office so they can address any faults if they reach a peak. Our lighting is timed to come on five minutes before the shop opens and switch off five minutes after it closes. The stores are dimly lit overnight for the night teams.
How are Fairtrade and organic products faring in your store? Both areas have done really well in this store, despite the recession. Our organic vegetables, breads and meat are the most popular lines, and our top three Fairtrade products are coffee, tea and chocolate.
How are online sales performing? Our online business is doing really well and we are exceeding forecasts as a branch. The delivery vans run on the most environmentally friendly refrigerants possible. We currently have three delivery vans but are planning to add another one before the build-up to Christmas.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? I would like a larger car park and I think there is the demand here for a bigger non-food range. We are launching a brochure telling customers what is available online it will include the John Lewis non-food range and our Waitrose Entertaining offer.
Although three other retailers also boasted strong availability, Waitrose offered the best service and the shortest checkout time. The store was busy but immaculate, with the aisles free of stacking trolleys. An assistant recommended several varieties of organic wine and the checkout worker was friendly and offered a bag for life.
At Sainsbury's in Bridgend a member of floor staff was happy to help our shopper locate the Cauldron tofu and the polite checkout assistant offered our shopper a bag for life.
There were no out-of-stocks at Tesco in Hexham but our shopper struggled to find the items on his list. There was a long queue at the checkout, but the assistant was friendly and our shopper had to ask to use carriers.
While Asda's Aberdeen branch was immaculate, it was also let down by a long queue. However, aisle staff escorted our shopper to several items and the chatty checkout assistant offered carriers and a bag for life.
Our shopper was impressed with how polite the checkout assistant at Morrisons in Peckham was, but there was a long queue and several abandoned packing trolleys cluttered the aisles.
Winner: Andy Seggie, department manager, Waitrose, Brighton
Describe some of your store's green features. We have an electric bicycle that we use to transport goods to houses nearby. It has even made it to Shoreham-by-Sea and back, which is nearly six miles each way. Shoppers can also borrow our cycle trailers to transport their shopping home we have four available at the moment and they have proved particularly popular over the summer. At the checkouts we always encourage our customers to buy 10p bags for life and they can replace them for free if they get broken.
What are you doing about waste? We recycle all card and plastic and our food waste is collected by a waste management operator to be incinerated. Our general household waste is compacted and either incinerated or sent to landfill.
What steps are you taking to make the store energy efficient? Each branch has an energy manager who monitors how much gas and electricity is used. The energy consumption of our refrigerators is monitored by head office so they can address any faults if they reach a peak. Our lighting is timed to come on five minutes before the shop opens and switch off five minutes after it closes. The stores are dimly lit overnight for the night teams.
How are Fairtrade and organic products faring in your store? Both areas have done really well in this store, despite the recession. Our organic vegetables, breads and meat are the most popular lines, and our top three Fairtrade products are coffee, tea and chocolate.
How are online sales performing? Our online business is doing really well and we are exceeding forecasts as a branch. The delivery vans run on the most environmentally friendly refrigerants possible. We currently have three delivery vans but are planning to add another one before the build-up to Christmas.
If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? I would like a larger car park and I think there is the demand here for a bigger non-food range. We are launching a brochure telling customers what is available online it will include the John Lewis non-food range and our Waitrose Entertaining offer.
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