Sainsbury’s Bradford stood out from the crowd in a low-scoring week with 73 points.
The store made a good impression from the off. It scored full marks on its car park, which had no queue to enter or exit, and was well managed and signposted.
Sainsbury’s also boasted the best store standards of the week, with plenty of brightly coloured promotions and distinctive offers.
The store was “mainly clean and tidy” except for a “smattering of green beans” in various places, and an overflowing plastic bag unit.
The fruit & veg section was noted for being mostly attractive and abundantly stocked, though there were a few gaps.
On the service front, staff were generally easy to find and helpful. The checkout assistant was “super friendly and welcoming” and “efficient” while making conversation.
Sainsbury’s was also one of the better stores on availability. Two items were out of stock and two were not stocked.
Tesco and Waitrose took joint second place. They were some way behind Sainsbury’s, though, both scoring 58 points.
Tesco Hednesford offered the best shop floor service of the week. Staff were very easy to find and generally helpful.
Store standards, however, were pretty poor. The fruit & vegetable section was average, with some gaps on shelves.
Our shopper also noted several restocking trolleys dotted around the store, which caused obstructions.
Three items were out of stock and one was not stocked.
Waitrose Bracknell stood out on store layout. The branch was “well laid out, and the aisles were wide enough”.
The only area that felt too cramped was the single freezer aisle, in which items were stacked behind each other, making it hard to find products.
The store had cheese, Meat, fish and deli counters, as well as a small but well stocked food-to-go section.
The downfall for Waitrose was very poor availability: five items were out of stock and one was not stocked.
Our shopper was also disappointed by an assistant at customer services who “seemed to almost laugh” when informed about an item our shopper had lost in store.
Our shopper found this “very rude”. This was the exception, however, and most staff were friendly and polite.
Third-placed Morrisons Exeter scored 57 points.
The store was one of the strongest on availability this week, with only two items out of stock and two not stocked.
Checkout service was also good, and our shopper only waited a few minutes to be served. “The staff member was very polite and kept calling me ‘love’,” said our shopper. “She carried out the transaction in an accurate and efficient manner.”
By contrast, shop floor service was poor. Staff were difficult to find, and nobody was wearing a name badge. Our shopper asked four different staff members for a single product and none of them escorted our shopper to the item.
Last place was Asda Beverley with 52 points. The trip started poorly with a confusing car park notice, and things weren’t much better inside. There were empty shelves in most sections and the store layout was muddled, with incorrect signage.
On the plus side, the checkout experience was very good. A staff member offered to open a manned till for our shopper. She was “extremely polite and friendly” and made conversation about the weekend.
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