Store manager Patricia Webb on running Ipswich’s best supermarket

How does it feel to be the best shop in Ipswich? It’s an honour. I’ve only been here a year, and we’ve had plenty of challenges to work through, as there is when any new manager joins a team. This is the icing on the cake for everyone’s hard work. We’ve got 220 colleagues, and 10 managers, so we’re quite a substantial operation. We’ve got a seven-van home shop, as well as Just Eat and Deliveroo. At the end of the day we are just here to serve Ipswich, in as many ways as we can.

Tell us more about shoppers in Ipswich. How does the store reflect the community close to you? Ipswich is a very diverse area, and there are lots of elderly shoppers, so you have to have a bit of everything. Our community champion Julia does lots for charities in Ipswich, including the Ipswich food bank, which we look after. We had a big refit of our world food range, which has proved really popular. We’re noticing that people are cooking from home a lot more now, as it’s becoming so expensive to eat out, so it’s landed very well.

How often do you check in on the competition? What is your point of difference? There is a massive Tesco and a massive Asda about five minutes away, as well as an Aldi very close. We’re all different, but Morrisons has the point of difference through Market Street. We’ve still got a fishmongers and butchers. We make our own cream cakes and rolls from scratch, and our café is also a draw. As a store, we’ve also focused on ease of shop as a way to stand out. When our colleagues pick here they have to stay with their cage and not leave it on the shop floor. Ultimately, if you make your customer’s experience an enjoyable one, they will come back.

Availability is also crucial, and you scored 100%. Why is it so good? It helps that we have a big online operation, and we are doing our scans daily. However, I believe you can almost add to availability through customer service. For example, if we don’t have an item available, we will always look to give the shopper information about when it is next due in, rather than simply telling them we don’t have it. They can then pop back when it’s delivered.

What do you make of the proposed changes to Market Street, under the ‘Magic’ plan? To be fair, it’s nice for customers to have the choice. We have a butcher here, and it gets really busy, so now if they want to be out quickly there is more prepacked for them. This week we’ve launched a new deal for our pizza counter. It’s about choice and convenience, which is a good thing.

How will you ensure you keep your crown as the best in town? First, I want us to celebrate this win as a team, so we will have a big event in our staff canteen. How will we stay on top? Just carry on with exactly what we are doing now. If it’s not broken, as they say.