Morrisons in Whitefield beat off tough competition from Waitrose and landed our top store award by a whisker. Both provided strong availability, but Morrisons clinched it thanks to a shorter time at the till and its great service.
There was just one stacking trolley in the aisle, which did not get in our shopper's way, and staff helped him find several items, though most were easy to find and the shelves were full and neat.
Waitrose's Newcastle upon Tyne branch, where our shopper had to pay to park nearby, had strong availability but did not stock several items. The store was tidy, aisle staff were helpful and the polite checkout assistant packed our shopper's bags.
There was one out-of-stock at Asda in Bearsden but the staff impressed. The store was immaculate and free of packing trolleys, plenty of tills were open and the friendly checkout assistant offered to pack.
Tesco Extra in Sutton was also let down by one out-of-stock item and shoppers had to queue to enter some aisles as cages got in the way. Staff swiftly dealt with a spillage and plenty of tills were open. Although the checkout assistant greeted our shopper, she carried on chatting to the previous customers before scanning the items.
Availability disappointed at Sainsbury's in Pulborough. However, a helpful assistant directed our shopper to the peach slices and the queue was short.
Winner: Ian Thorpe, store manager, Morrisons, Whitefield, Manchester
Our shopper was impressed with your store. What pulls the customers in? Our Market Street offer brings the shoppers in and really drives footfall in the store. It is doing well across the board and we are always introducing new lines. I think it really makes us different to other supermarkets because customers can watch us prepare fresh products such as pizzas and sandwiches right in front of them. Our customers really remember the service here.
Why do you think your branch landed our top store award? It's all down to the staff's hard work and enthusiasm. It's important for me to inspect everything they do and to make sure that they work to the best of their capabilities and look after the customers. I motivate staff through praise and making sure I spend time talking to every person to ensure they know exactly what is happening in the business.
What else has been selling well? We stock a lot of kosher food because a lot of Jewish people live in the area and it does really well. We have all kinds of kosher products, from fresh food to grocery and frozen lines. They come from our regional distribution centre in Scotland and have gone down really well.
Tell me about your non-food offer. We currently stock 9% to 10% non-food and have a new techno centre, which includes laptops, iPods and cameras. Not all stores have them as they are gradually being rolled out. The centre has proved really successful. We have some one-off special deals that go down really well we have sold TVs and laptops for just £250. The offers are meant to last four weeks but sometimes they only last a week because we sell so much.
Who is your nearest competitor? Tesco in Prestwich. The store is of a similar size to ours. We only opened in September last year and I have noticed that we have a lot of customers who used to shop at Tesco. This is because of our great fresh offering and strong focus on service and availability.
How do you and your staff socialise outside of work? We like to go out we are hiring a venue for our first-year anniversary with drinks and a disco. We have also been bowling and to the dog races.
There was just one stacking trolley in the aisle, which did not get in our shopper's way, and staff helped him find several items, though most were easy to find and the shelves were full and neat.
Waitrose's Newcastle upon Tyne branch, where our shopper had to pay to park nearby, had strong availability but did not stock several items. The store was tidy, aisle staff were helpful and the polite checkout assistant packed our shopper's bags.
There was one out-of-stock at Asda in Bearsden but the staff impressed. The store was immaculate and free of packing trolleys, plenty of tills were open and the friendly checkout assistant offered to pack.
Tesco Extra in Sutton was also let down by one out-of-stock item and shoppers had to queue to enter some aisles as cages got in the way. Staff swiftly dealt with a spillage and plenty of tills were open. Although the checkout assistant greeted our shopper, she carried on chatting to the previous customers before scanning the items.
Availability disappointed at Sainsbury's in Pulborough. However, a helpful assistant directed our shopper to the peach slices and the queue was short.
Winner: Ian Thorpe, store manager, Morrisons, Whitefield, Manchester
Our shopper was impressed with your store. What pulls the customers in? Our Market Street offer brings the shoppers in and really drives footfall in the store. It is doing well across the board and we are always introducing new lines. I think it really makes us different to other supermarkets because customers can watch us prepare fresh products such as pizzas and sandwiches right in front of them. Our customers really remember the service here.
Why do you think your branch landed our top store award? It's all down to the staff's hard work and enthusiasm. It's important for me to inspect everything they do and to make sure that they work to the best of their capabilities and look after the customers. I motivate staff through praise and making sure I spend time talking to every person to ensure they know exactly what is happening in the business.
What else has been selling well? We stock a lot of kosher food because a lot of Jewish people live in the area and it does really well. We have all kinds of kosher products, from fresh food to grocery and frozen lines. They come from our regional distribution centre in Scotland and have gone down really well.
Tell me about your non-food offer. We currently stock 9% to 10% non-food and have a new techno centre, which includes laptops, iPods and cameras. Not all stores have them as they are gradually being rolled out. The centre has proved really successful. We have some one-off special deals that go down really well we have sold TVs and laptops for just £250. The offers are meant to last four weeks but sometimes they only last a week because we sell so much.
Who is your nearest competitor? Tesco in Prestwich. The store is of a similar size to ours. We only opened in September last year and I have noticed that we have a lot of customers who used to shop at Tesco. This is because of our great fresh offering and strong focus on service and availability.
How do you and your staff socialise outside of work? We like to go out we are hiring a venue for our first-year anniversary with drinks and a disco. We have also been bowling and to the dog races.
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