Morrisons Cwmbran took the crown on service and availability this week, thanks to excellent store standards on the Friday evening before the coronation bank holiday weekend.
The “good feel” of the store resulted in a score of 76 points. The entrance was welcoming and full of relevant products including spring plants. The layout was also excellent: our shopper found it logical and intuitive, with helpful signage.
There were “impressive” food counters, including a seasonal offer at the butcher counter to “prepare your coronation cuts”.
The food-to-go section was also described as “pretty full” given the time of day.
Store staff were very helpful, confirming out-of-stock items and checking the stockroom for extra stock. The only issue was that some staff were in different uniform to others, which caused “a little confusion”.
There were ample checkouts open, so our shopper did not have to queue. The checkout assistant was “really pleasant”, though there was a mistake on the receipt: our shopper was charged for two cabbages instead of one.
The overall high score came despite relatively low availability, with four items out of stock.
Second place went to Tesco Sale with 72 points. It the only store with 100% availability this week, with no items out of stock (but five items not stocked).
The helpfulness of the staff was another plus point of the store. All three assistants approached by our shopper were helpful, with one in particular walking some distance to locate an item and taking time to identify the correct product via their handheld device. Our shopper was “really impressed” overall.
Finally, there was only a minute wait at the checkout and the assistant was “exceptionally friendly and helpful”, wishing our shopper a pleasant evening and bank holiday weekend.
Next up was Sainsbury’s Harrogate with 68 points. The store scored full marks on shop floor service, thanks to staff being easy to find, well presented and helpful.
Checkout service was also excellent, due to a supervisor managing the queue and opening another checkout. The checkout assistant was “extremely polite” and careful with our shopper’s goods.
Availability was poor, though. Five items were out of stock, and our shopper was particularly disappointed to miss out on the Tunnock’s teacakes, Victoria sponge and strawberries.
Asda Hull came fourth with 54 points. The store layout was “rather challenging” and unusual, our shopper found.
Staff were mainly helpful but some did not know the location of items – and none looked up the items or checked in the stockroom. Five items were out of stock and four not stocked, leading to a score of zero on availability.
Typically high-scoring Waitrose came last this week. The St Katharine Docks store in London scored just 36 points.
Ten items were out of stock and eight not stocked, reflecting the generally untidy and empty shelves around the store.
One staff member was helpful when asked for assistance finding a product, while others told our shopper items were not stocked or available at that time. Staff were not easy to find, and had put restocking trolleys in the middle of the aisle.
Checkout service was poor. Our shopper had to wait for eight to nine minutes and received no acknowledgement from the assistant, who simply informed them of the total.
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