Waitrose Frimley took the top slot with 72 points this week thanks to its strong store layout and “pleasant shopping experience”.
The store scored full marks for layout, which was logical and intuitive with helpful store signage and wide-enough aisles. The store also featured deli and meat counters and offered a Click & Collect service.
Service was good across the shop floor. An assistant helped our shopper find the lamb’s liver, taking them to the fridges and checking with another staff member on the meat counter. Another assistant was friendly and informed our shopper if the product was not on the shelf, there would be none in the stockroom.
The shop ended with a speedy and friendly service at checkout. Though initially there was a queue of shoppers, a staff member quickly opened another lane, and came across as “very friendly and chatty”.
Three items were out of stock and two not stocked.
Tesco Driffield came second with 69 points, scoring full marks on shop floor service and highly on checkout experience.
Our shopper had “no problem finding a member of staff to ask about items” and “all staff were dressed in uniform with name badges clearly visible”.
There was a two- to three-minute wait at the checkouts, and most of the tills were open. The checkout operator, Sue, was “very pleasant”.
Our shopper noted there was no click & collect and a limited food to go section. The counters had been reduced or removed.
Third place went to Morrisons Strood with 60 points. The store had average standards and acceptable service.
Our shopper’s first impressions were good, thanks to appealing promotional displays. However, there was one spillage, accompanied by a wet floor sign.
Uniforms were smart but “the customer service varied”. On two occasions staff took our shopper to the wrong aisle, and on a third an assistant simply said he did not know where an item was.
Second to last place went to Asda with 59 points. The Basildon store avoided the bottom slot thanks to better availability than Sainsbury’s.
The seasonal displays at the entrance were let down by a “sparse” section of plants and untidy piles of baskets containing old receipts.
Just one item was out of stock at the store, while five items were not stocked.
Sainsbury’s Morden brought up the rear with just 38 points. The store was “rather uninspiring”, with a littered entrance and untidy trolley area.
There was a flower display but it had “many gaps”.
Restocking trolleys were left around the store, several of which were “unmanned and empty” and causing obstructions.
The store “did not have a logical layout” and our shopper spent a long time searching the aisles for items – especially as the overhead signage was not always accurate.
Availability was also poor. The “compact” store did not stock eight of the items and two were out of stock, though there were “decent alternatives available”. Our shopper also noted the fruit & veg section was reasonably well stocked, with only a few gaps.
Checkout service was slow, with our shopper waiting eight minutes to be served. While the assistant was efficient, they “did not greet me or ask if I needed help”.
Elsewhere in store, staff were helpful when asked, but difficult to find.
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