Sainsbury’s Liverpool took the win in this week’s Japanese-inspired shop with 78 points.
Store standards and service were particularly strong in this branch. Our shopper was struck by the “sparkling clean” floors and attractive display of pumpkins, toys and beer by the entrance. “Everything was very tidy,” said our shopper.
Every staff member encountered by our shopper provided excellent service. When asked for help finding an item, each staff member walked our shopper to the correct aisle and helped her locate it.
When staff did not know where an item was, they found another assistant who did. One item was not stocked in the branch, and an assistant used his phone device to locate the nearest store with the product in stock.
On the checkout, service was excellent thanks to a friendly and fast assistant. However, our shopper had to wait two to three minutes as only two manned checkouts were open – plus one that was manned by a Halloween skeleton.
Three items were out of stock, including the salmon fillets, while two were not stocked: the Amoy noodles and Baxters kimchi.
Next up was Tesco Acton with 56 points. Service was again very good. Staff were “extremely friendly, helpful and willing to assist when asked”.
The checkout was also a positive experience. The assistant engaged in friendly conversation while serving and wished our shopper a good day. The queue was four to five minutes long, however.
Five items were out of stock including the aubergine and soya beans, and nine were not stocked, including the rice vinegar.
Third place went to Morrisons Dereham, which scored only 50 points due to poor store standards. There were wet areas in the frozen food area with sandbags, the entrance was littered and staff members were washing floors without any hazard signs. Our shopper also gained a small injury from sharp areas on the freezer doors.
Morrisons had the best availability this week but still had two items out of stock, including the soy sauce. The Amoy noodles were not stocked.
Fourth-placed Waitrose Wimbledon scored 46 points.
Service was up to Waitrose’s normally excellent standards, with “lovely, very helpful and pleasant” staff.
However the store fell short on availability. Ten items were out of stock, and our shopper noted stock levels were very low throughout the store – they were told the store had some issues with availability.
Last-placed Asda Wembley scored 38 points. Service was extremely poor. Our shopper asked staff for assistance on at least six occasions, but not once was she taken to the location of the product, and twice she was told by staff that they did not know the aisle.
One staff member “shrugged her shoulders” when asked for a product and walked off.
Our shopper had to wait six to seven minutes to be served at the checkout. Three tills were open, all with long queues, and a fourth opened soon after.
Our shopper dropped a product down the side of the till, and mentioned this to a manager who had just walked past. However, the manager did not offer any help, simply saying our shopper could go and get a new one – and the checkout assistant ended up helping her.
Five items were out of stock, including the Baxters kimchi, while the Regina Blitz kitchen roll was not stocked.
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