Morrisons in Reddish was the only retailer to boast no out-of-stock items this week, which along with its helpful staff and short queues, helped it land our top store award. The store was tidy and the shelves were brimming with stock. Several assistants helped our shopper locate items he couldn’t find and the checkout assistant greeted him and packed two of his bags.

Sainsbury's in Bradford on Avon was let down by one out-of-stock item, but others were easy to find, and the aisles were free of shelf-stacking trolleys. There were also plenty of tills open and a polite checkout assistant offered to pack.

Asda’s Hemel Hempstead branch also had one out-of-stock item and our shopper had to queue for a whopping 12 minutes. However several members of staff directed our shopper to the correct aisle for a number of items, and a polite checkout assistant greeted our shopper and offered to pack.

One out-of-stock item also let Waitrose in Portsmouth down. Although the store was clean, and staff escorted our shopper to several items, shelf-stacking trolleys cluttered the aisles, which made it difficult to get around the store.

Tesco in Burton upon Trent had one out-of-stock item and was let down by a 1 hour, 15 minute wait for the hot counter chicken. An assistant mistook the pork joints for chicken before realising they were out of stock. Our shopper was not charged for the grapes either.


Winner: Gareth Riley, deputy store manager, Morrisons, Reddish

How do you compete against other supermarkets in your area? I think we compete well; the big three are all nearby. Our fresh offer is particularly strong compared with our rivals - customers can order what they want and how they like it at our counters, even if their specific requirements are not on display.

What products are selling particularly well at the moment? Our Market Street offer is going down really well, such as meat, fish, salads sandwiches, cream cakes and fresh pasta. We aim to be the food specialists for everyone.

What's been the best initiative introduced to your store? The Give Me Five programme, where all colleagues take five minutes to inform each other where we are at and what is working. It provides both a big and small picture and really motivates staff by focusing our aims.

The queues were nice and short on our visit. How effective is the new queue management system? It's working really well. We recently had it installed in the store and it predicts how many tills need to be open in the next 15 and 30 minutes. We have 20 tills in total and it ensures we have the optimum number open.

If you could change one thing about your store, what would it be? Although the store serves the people here well considering its current size, I would like a bigger branch and to sell more non-food, which accounts for 10% of stock. A techno bar - a fixture selling electronics products - would be nice. We have no current plans to expand, however, as the site is fairly restricted.

What are your everyday management challenges? To ensure we offer the best level of customer service and full availability. The management team sets the standards and our colleagues work really hard to achieve them. It is important to lead from the front and show staff that if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well. We spend a lot of time on the shop floor to offer the best level of customer service.

How do you and your staff socialise outside work? We regularly hold events. We had a big get-together at Christmas and have organised fun days out, such as paintballing and go-carting, so everyone can enjoy themselves and let off steam.

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