For the first time since May, Asda has taken the top spot on service and availability.
The Newport store scored 70 points this week, thanks to helpful staff and a wide range.
Staff members impressed our shopper with their helpfulness, and they were happy to check the stockroom for items.
Another highlight was the click & collect section, which had its own area and clear signage. The large Halloween section was also impressive and well stocked.
The layout was generally logical, and our shopper only struggled to find the pumpkins.
The store was let down by the very long queues at the tills. Our shopper waited 11 minutes to be served but the service was speedy and friendly.
One item was out of stock this week, with two not stocked.
Sainsbury’s Truro followed closely behind with 66 points. It was the best on availability this week with no items out of stock, and three items not stocked.
Our shopper had good first impressions. There was a bright and colourful Halloween display on entrance, plus “immaculate” flower buckets.
The checkout service also was very smooth, and our shopper waited less than a minute.
There were plenty of staff on the shop floor – however, our shopper did not find them particularly welcoming.
The navigation of the store was also not very intuitive. Luckily, the store was quiet with wide aisles so our shopper didn’t find it too stressful to locate items.
Next up with 61 points was Morrisons Buxton, which looked “a bit tired and shabby”.
The front door was broken, which was causing some crowding in the entrance lobby, and a second bottleneck at further entrance gates. The fruit & veg section was adequately stocked but not abundant.
The store’s best features were the food counters, which were excellent for the size of the store. The layout was good and our shopper found most products easily.
Staff were polite and happy to help, but none checked the store system or the stockroom for items. On a couple of occasions, our shopper had to go out of her way to find a staff member.
Fourth place went to Tesco Axminster with 52 points.
Staff were very helpful and friendly, and were happy to go to the stockroom to locate items.
However, the experience was let down by store standards, which were not particularly strong. Our shopper struggled to locate some items and found it difficult to reach the top of the shelf in the fridge section.
Finally, availability in store was poor: four items were out of stock and six not stocked.
Waitrose was last this week, with an unusually low score of 28. The Poynton store suffered poor marks across the board.
The badly signposted car park got the shop off to a bad start. This was followed by a very poorly stocked fruit & vegetable section. The empty shelves made the area look a little untidy and not very inviting.
The frozen food section was almost completely empty and one large section was being cleaned out due to a spillage. The counters were also fairly depleted of stock.
What’s more, our shopper found the layout confusing, and not very logical. Very few members of staff were available on the shop floor, and those present were of limited help.
Only two manned checkouts were open, and our shopper had to wait four to five minutes but the assistant was friendly.
On the availability front, four items were out of stock.
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