Tesco mystery shop wins battle of 30,000 sq ft supermarkets

To make our weekly mystery shops compete on a level playing field, we’ve been testing supermarkets in the same location each week. But it’s not possible to get a match in every town so this week for the first time we’ve used the size of the store as the leveller.

This week’s stores were all as close as possible to a mid-size 30,000 sq ft and the winner hails from the market town of Dorchester, Dorset with a winning score of 85.

Read more:

• Lead manager Kealan Randall on Dorchester’s unique, seasonal Tesco store

• Tesco basket falls 11% as it meets Asda pricing fire with fire

• What is The Grocer 33 and how does it work?

Located in a small retail park and with architecture influenced by its proximity to King Charles’ Poundbury development, the Tesco store has recently been refurbished and looks “modern and well-presented”. Our shopper praised a “fantastic” fruit & vegetable selection and clear signage. “A lot of the products are displayed at waist height, making it quicker and easier to shop,” they said.

Toilets were “clean” and “smelt fresh”. Every member of staff knew immediately where to find the products our shopper asked for and “for the most part, they all smiled and made eye contact”. Staff were “working hard” to replenish stock and online pickers “always gave priority” to shoppers before moving their trolleys on.

Five hundred miles away, Asda in Dunfermline came a close second with an impressive score of 82. The store packed in a pizza takeaway and bakery counter and staff were “very friendly” and “helpful”, while a “great conversation” with the checkout operator at the tills was one of the visit’s highlights. Our shopper noted the store had an “older design and layout” but within that limitation presentation was “excellent” and this gave it a “value for money feel”. The only let-down was on range, with four items from this week’s shop not stocked.

In third place, Waitrose in Kingston-upon-Thames greeted our shopper with a “cheerful and colourful display of flowers” and included a sushi counter. Staff were readily available throughout the store and “friendly and helpful” when our shopper asked for help finding items. However points were lost for availability. The crisps and bubble bath were out of stock and a further four items were not stocked. Our shopper opted to scan their own shopping as three out of six manned tills were closed and the queues were “fairly long”.

Heading west to Hereford, the Morrisons opposite the railway station suffered from a plumbing problem. All customer toilets were closed, and the café where our shopper left her family while completing her shop was forced to close early with customers informed “legally they were not allowed to have the cafe open without working toilets”. Facilities aside, the store layout was “logical” and signage clear. Staff were “polite” and “helpful” when approached. One pointed out multibuy promotions on ready meals while helping our shopper to find the macaroni cheese. “I appreciated that he made eye contact and also told me extra useful and relevant information,” our shopper said.

Sainsbury’s came last. Its Kettering store “could have done with a clean”. Bags had been put underneath a leaky fridge to stop the water reaching the aisles, which were cluttered with obstructed trolleys and a few empty bottles and boxes. Our shopper was also disappointed by a lack of theatre with “no promotional displays” at the entrance. “Efficient” and “polite” staff, who opened tills at a busy checkout area, redeemed the situation somewhat.