Tesco is Maidstone’s finest supermarket in mystery shop

Maidstone’s status as Kent’s county town means it’s built a reputation as a busy administrative hub that’s practical rather than glamorous, more functional than charming. However, pockets of character exist thanks to the River Medway, which runs through the town, strong historical roots and easy access to the nearby North Downs, vineyards and villages such as affluent and picturesque Bearsted.

Maidstone’s excellent connectivity shapes its status as a key commuting town. With three main railway stations and journeys to central London taking less than an hour, not to mention proximity to the M2 and M20, it attracts those looking for a balance of green space, decent amenities and access to the capital.

Maidstone is a less ‘showy’ area than other parts of west Kent, popular with middle-income families rather than hugely wealthy or deprived demographics. According to CACI, it over-indexes slightly on the thriving neighbourhoods demographic (30% vs a national average of 23.1%) and under-indexes on low-income living (4.2% vs 13.3%) but comes in close to the national average on the two demographics in between.

The family suburb of Weavering, about two miles east of central Maidstone, was home to our winner this week, as Tesco on Grovewood Drive triumphed with 86 points. Our shopper found the 32,317 sq ft store “clean and well stocked” with an “excellent range of more unusual brands”. She noted “very few obvious gaps” on shelves thanks to “a lot of staff restocking and cleaning”, which gave “a good first impression” but did result in cages “causing some obstruction around a very busy store”.

Our shopper “struggled” to find “a lot” of items because the store “did not flow especially well” and products were located in surprising places. However, service was quick at a checkout area that “was being managed very well” by a member of staff who was new to the role but was “very confident”. Our shopper is “sure she will go far with the company”.

Two stores tied on 81 points in second this week, the first being Sainsbury’s in Maidstone town centre. The 27,783 sq ft store gave this week’s only perfect performance on availability, and our shopper praised staff who were “polite, friendly and willing to stop what they were doing to help customers”. Overall, she praised an “easy, quick and pleasant shop” but said “black marks and stains” on the shop floor made the store feel “scruffy” and “did not give a good impression”.

A 10-minute drive out over the River Medway and to the north west of the town centre, Waitrose in Mid-Kent Shopping Centre also picked up 81 points. Despite coming in at only 13,187 sq ft, the store had just one item out of stock. Our shopper also found the layout “very easy to follow”, enjoyed the “attractively presented” deli counter and praised the “extremely helpful and very friendly” staff. Although she had not shopped here before, she now feels “encouraged to shop here more regularly for special occasions because of the selection of products”.

Fourth place this week went to Morrisons on Sutton Road, about 2.5 miles south of the centre. The store excelled on customer service, with our shopper finding staff “very friendly and invested in helping customers”. She also liked the “fresh and appealing” food on the counters and “would return to shop at the fish and butchers”. However, that would be dependent on more checkouts being opened, as the disappointing queue time and “lack of any attempt at queue management” would “put me off returning”.

Our guest retailer this week took fifth place on just 61 points. Iceland’s Food Warehouse tiny 8,500 sq ft store on London Road was hamstrung on availability and features & services due to its size, but it performed well on customer service. Our shopper found the experience enjoyably “stress free” with “lots of good bargains” and found the staff “had time to be helpful” because the store wasn’t busy. However, there were products “a bit out of reach” and some staff trolleys “in the way of shelves”.

One point back in last place was Asda on Alexander Grove in Kingshill, a full six miles west of Maidstone town centre. The 37,987 sq ft store posted the joint-worst availability performance this week, with our shopper bemoaning “the amount of gaps of the shelves” and noting that despite “aisle blocking” by restocking staff, “the rate at which they [shelves] are replenished seems poor”. She also described staff interactions as “curt and brief”, leaving her feeling “like an inconvenience”, though she did praise “the helpful cashier” and noted that “it’s rare to have to queue for more than a couple of minutes” at the store.