Waitrose Sandbach narrowly won on service and availability this week, as competitors struggled on store standards, checkout service and availability.
Large trolleys of festive decorations greeted our Waitrose shopper, alongside “neat and attractive” outdoor pre-decorated trees.
The store was clean and spacious, and the shelves were well stocked and mostly tidy.
Waitrose also scored highly on checkout service, with no queue. The checkout assistant “was very good, friendly, polite”, and asked our shopper if she would like any help.
Availability was high this week compared with the other stores. Just two items were out of stock and one not stocked.
Close behind came Tesco Dundee. The store scored full marks on shop floor service and car park, but fell behind on store standards and checkout experience.
Staff were easy to find and well presented, while the car park was described as “well lit” and well managed.
However, store standards were wanting: one of the doors to the store was closed, “presumably due to the bad weather”. The fruit & vegetable section was “disappointing” and the display for bananas was completely empty. Meanwhile, the bakery was “very sparse”, with a sign informing customers the store had been unable to make rolls on the day.
Our shopper had to wait two or three minutes for a checkout, but the checkout assistant handled items “efficiently”.
Third place went to Sainsbury’s Gosforth, which stood out for excellent service.
Staff were “all presentable” and helpful, though none offered to check the stockroom. There was no queue at the checkouts and the assistant was “very friendly”.
The store was very clean and tidy. However, our shopper did not get any strong first impressions or notice any appealing promotional display. There were also no special counters or a food-to-go section.
The rooftop car park felt “dark and a little unsafe” and our shopper “would avoid going there after dark”.
Up next was Asda Poole. Store standards were very poor and service was wanting.
Parts of the shop looked like “a team of looters had been in” with empty boxes in the fruit & veg section and the bakery.
The store was noticeably “cold” and although generally clean, the milk section was “a bit worse for wear”.
Staff were “tidy and helpful” but there were very few of them – staffing levels were “non-existent” by the end of the shop –and they did not take our shopper to the aisles.
Our shopper had to wait for six or seven minutes at the checkout as only three tills were open, but the checkout assistant was “pleasant”.
Morrisons Basingstoke came last with a “grim experience”.
Our shopper noted “masses of empty shelves” including entire sections without any products, such as the butter section. Store signage was unhelpful, with aisle numbers but no labels, making the shop “laborious”.
The store scored incredibly poorly on shop floor service due to “underwhelming, verging on rude, staff members”. It was very difficult to find a member of staff, and staff members seemed distracted.
The checkout assistant seemed “very unmotivated”. He carefully placed shopping on the packing area, but was slow.
The store scored zero marks on availability, with a shocking eight items out of stock and two not stocked.
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