Who we visited

Budgens, Sycamore Road, Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Midlands Co-operative society, Shelton Lock, Derbyshire

Costcutter, Gloucester Avenue, Northampton

Spar Hazel Grove, Stockport, Greater Manchester

Tesco Express, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

How they performed

The Budgens store in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, was extremely clean and well-merchandised when our mystery shopper visited. The store had all the items on our shopping list in stock and the staff were very helpful.

Our mystery shopper at the Midlands Co-operative Society store in Shelton Lock, Derbyshire, was pleased with his shopping experience at the store, at least until he was ready to pay. Only one staff member was assigned to a cash register and he had to wait on line for five minutes before he could ring up his goods. However, the cashier did pack his shopping bag for him.

The Costcutter on Gloucester Road in Northampton was clean and well-organised when our mystery shopper visited near closing time one evening. The store had all the items he needed and the staff were nice enough to reopen the security shutters so he could buy his four pack of Stella beer. Unfortunately, the store did not stock the 250g pack of Tetley's tea bags.

The Spar store in Hazel Grove, Stockport did not stock six packs of unsmoked bacon. It also stocked Stella Artois beer in 4x500 ml packs, rather than the 4x440ml size our shopper was looking for. Otherwise, he was happy with the visit, as the store was very clean and was presented very attractively.

The Tesco Express store at a petrol station on Kenton Lane in Newcastle-upon-Tyne was "well stocked, compact and easy to shop in" according to our mystery shopper. The store had all the items he was looking for and was very clean. He was able to pay for his goods quickly and the shopping bags were packed for him. However, he received an unexpected gift, as he was not charged for the Mars bar in his bag.