All the retailers boasted strong availability this week, but Morrisons in Aylesbury beat the competition thanks to a friendly checkout assistant and helpful staff.
Our shopper easily found a mother and child parking space and although staff were busy shelf-stacking, an assistant escorted her to the honeydew melon. The queues were short, and the checkout assistant made polite conversation with our shopper’s child about the school holidays coming to an end, and offered to pack.
Waitrose in Chiswick also had no out-of-stock items, but the checkout aisle was narrow, which made it difficult for a customer to pass our shopper’s trolley. There was no car park and our shopper was not offered the deliver-to-home service, so a supervisor met her at the back door with her shopping.
Tesco in Broadbridge Heath had strong availability and friendly staff. However a few more tills needed to be open and the car park exit was congested.
Although Sainsbury's in Drumchapel provided a full basket, only one pack of Birds Eye Omega-3 fish fingers was left. They were on bogof but our shopper received a token to get another pack next time. The store was immaculate, with plenty of tills open. One out-of-stock item and a long queue let Asda in West Bridgford down. Plenty of staff were around and our shopper was escorted to the items, however.
Winner: Gary Hunt, store manager, Morrisons, Aylesbury
Our shopper was very impressed with her experience - how do you compete with rivals? We have two large Tescos fairly nearby. I think we compete really well. The senior management team and I are always on the shop floor and talking to customers. Many say they have migrated from Tesco because we offer great quality, strong availability and value. Lots of customers come here for meat and fish because it is just like shopping at a butchers or fishmongers. It's all freshly prepared to how customers want it in-store.
Tell me about the new gardening offer. We have 700 lines of the seasonal gardening range and there are some great deals, such as half-price glazed ports and compost. Last week we sold 50 garden gnomes and cat and dog sculptures in two days. Our ceramic boots and welly plant pots are also great sellers. Some of our products are aimed at younger people, too, so a wide range of shoppers are buying the products.
How is the Market Street offer faring? Really well, it makes us unique compared with our competitors, as we aim to be the food specialist for everyone. We have 1,555 freshly prepared lines in the store and make 3,000 sandwiches a week by hand. We have added some new limited-edition sandwiches, such as chicken and mango. We have also launched freshly made bagels and are selling more than 500 packs a week, as well as Greek bread. The offer is expanding all the time.
What construction work is going on in your car park? A third of our car park has been taken over by the council for the past 18 months, because a bridge is being built linking the train station to the town centre. It will be finished in the next couple of weeks. The staff have had to battle even harder to increase sales as some customers have been put off, but they have done so well.
When was your store last in the local papers? We were in the papers three weeks ago because we helped the local RAF cadets with their fundraising. They came to the store one Saturday to help pack our customers' bags, and they raised £680.
Our shopper easily found a mother and child parking space and although staff were busy shelf-stacking, an assistant escorted her to the honeydew melon. The queues were short, and the checkout assistant made polite conversation with our shopper’s child about the school holidays coming to an end, and offered to pack.
Waitrose in Chiswick also had no out-of-stock items, but the checkout aisle was narrow, which made it difficult for a customer to pass our shopper’s trolley. There was no car park and our shopper was not offered the deliver-to-home service, so a supervisor met her at the back door with her shopping.
Tesco in Broadbridge Heath had strong availability and friendly staff. However a few more tills needed to be open and the car park exit was congested.
Although Sainsbury's in Drumchapel provided a full basket, only one pack of Birds Eye Omega-3 fish fingers was left. They were on bogof but our shopper received a token to get another pack next time. The store was immaculate, with plenty of tills open. One out-of-stock item and a long queue let Asda in West Bridgford down. Plenty of staff were around and our shopper was escorted to the items, however.
Winner: Gary Hunt, store manager, Morrisons, Aylesbury
Our shopper was very impressed with her experience - how do you compete with rivals? We have two large Tescos fairly nearby. I think we compete really well. The senior management team and I are always on the shop floor and talking to customers. Many say they have migrated from Tesco because we offer great quality, strong availability and value. Lots of customers come here for meat and fish because it is just like shopping at a butchers or fishmongers. It's all freshly prepared to how customers want it in-store.
Tell me about the new gardening offer. We have 700 lines of the seasonal gardening range and there are some great deals, such as half-price glazed ports and compost. Last week we sold 50 garden gnomes and cat and dog sculptures in two days. Our ceramic boots and welly plant pots are also great sellers. Some of our products are aimed at younger people, too, so a wide range of shoppers are buying the products.
How is the Market Street offer faring? Really well, it makes us unique compared with our competitors, as we aim to be the food specialist for everyone. We have 1,555 freshly prepared lines in the store and make 3,000 sandwiches a week by hand. We have added some new limited-edition sandwiches, such as chicken and mango. We have also launched freshly made bagels and are selling more than 500 packs a week, as well as Greek bread. The offer is expanding all the time.
What construction work is going on in your car park? A third of our car park has been taken over by the council for the past 18 months, because a bridge is being built linking the train station to the town centre. It will be finished in the next couple of weeks. The staff have had to battle even harder to increase sales as some customers have been put off, but they have done so well.
When was your store last in the local papers? We were in the papers three weeks ago because we helped the local RAF cadets with their fundraising. They came to the store one Saturday to help pack our customers' bags, and they raised £680.
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