Waitrose Otley won on service & availability this week by a strong margin. The store scored 88 points, racking up full marks on shop floor service, car park and store layout.
Store standards were “extremely high” with well-stocked aisles, while our shopper found the layout logical and “easy to work out”.
The bakery counter was well presented, and the meat and deli counters were “attractive and well stocked”.
Staff were easy to locate and helpful. Only one minor downside came from a staff member who told our shopper where to find a product, but did not take them to the item.
There was no queue at the checkout, and our shopper was served by “a lovely friendly, chatty member of staff ”who was “pleasant and took care” with the products. Availability was also fairly strong: only two items were out of stock.
Second place went to Asda Wrexham with 76 points. Store standards were good and several counters were available.
The fresh fish counter was well stocked and attractive. However, the bakery was very low on stock, while the pizza and cooked chicken counters were almost empty.
Staff were “plentiful and helpful” and found someone else when they did not have an answer to a question.
There were only two checkouts open, so our shopper had to wait two to three minutes to be served, but a new checkout opened as our shopper waited.
Availability was generally good, with the fruit & vegetable section well stocked. Three items were not stocked.
Next up was Morrisons Walton in Peterborough with a score of 61 points.
Store standards were poor: a large spillage was marked out but did not look like it was being dealt with.
Several aisles had trolleys and boxes on the floor, which would have caused an obstruction to anyone trying to access the shelves behind them.
The store layout seemed to have been recently changed as the signage did not match up, and some parts of the layout did not feel logical.
Staff were considerate and plenty were available to help. Checkout queues were short, and service was good.
Two items were out of stock and four not stocked.
Fourth-placed Sainsbury’s Basildon scored 42 points. The store had a good range of items but felt “a little old and in need of refurbishment”.
The fruit & vegetable section was large enough but bare in places. There was a food to go counter, but it was empty.
The layout was not particularly easy to navigate, and many staff were unhelpful: our shopper noted many seemed to not be working very hard.
At the checkout, our shopper had to wait two or three minutes to be served. The checkout assistant mistakenly charged the strawberries twice but noticed and rectified the error.
Four items were out of stock and one not stocked.
Tesco Acton came last with just 35 points. The store was visibly low on stock, particularly in the fruit & vegetable areas.
The store layout was fairly poor, and there were no counters available. Staff were busy restocking but were not very helpful when approached, with one saying “I don’t know” three times and telling our shopper to look around the store herself.
Till service was good, but our shopper had to wait six to seven minutes to be served.
Availability was very poor: five items were out of stock and six items not stocked.
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