Waitrose counter

Waitrose in Aylesbury impressed with its cleanliness and counters

Waitrose has picked up its first Grocer 33 store of the week award since mid-July.

Its Aylesbury branch scored 77 points on this Friday early evening shop. Our mystery shopper described the shop as neat and clean, and she was welcomed by a display of plants, flowers and seasonal items at the entrance, as well as gardening and cleaning products on offer at the front of store. The Back to School section also caught her eye, particularly the stationery and lunchboxes.

Amid widespread labour shortages, availability was limited, with three out of stocks and three not-stocked items. But our shopper said there was good availability and alternatives for most lines. In addition, neat and attentive staff always looked at their handheld devices for information on specific products when she asked for help. She pointed out even the manager was helping put out stock as the whole team worked towards refilling shelves.

Second-place Asda fared better in terms of availability but store standards were not as high. At 65 points, Asda Farnborough provided an “OK shopping trip”.

The store entrance was not “very attractive” as there was rubbish near the sanitiser station, which was crowded with baskets and bags of compost.

Still, signage around the store made it easy for her to find all her groceries, and staff were helpful when advising her. In total, she bought 31 items as two were out of stock.

Morrisons came third with 53 points. Our mystery shopper said its Croydon branch looked good on entering, and all offers and displays at the front of the store were neat, tidy and well stocked.

The fruit and vegetable section also had good availability. Some aisles were not as impressive as they had more gaps in shelves as well as misplaced items.

Staff were busy restocking but our shopper noticed they paid “no attention” to customers moving around them and did not bother moving the restocking trolleys aside.

The store layout was also problematic and illogical, according to our shopper. Signage was not properly placed, which forced her to backtrack a few times. There were three out of stocks and five not-stocked items.

Sainsbury’s in Walsall scored 47 points. The Back to School display at the front of the store was well stocked, our visitor pointed out.

Shopfloor staff were busy restocking shelves but they did not cause any obstructions. There was a big oil spillage in one of the aisles, but a staff member was attending to it and warning customers to be careful. In general, staff were friendly and happy to assist.

Our mystery shopper also struggled with the store layout – for instance, the small prosecco was not near the other sparkling wines. In the end, she managed to get 30 out of her 33 items with three out of stocks.

She did not have a great checkout experience as the till assistant did not greet her or say goodbye.

Last-place Tesco mustered just 42 points. Its Basildon branch struggled with availability and messiness, and our shopper noticed there were lots of unmanned trollies waiting to be unloaded, which made it “impossible” to get to some shelves.

Staff were hard to find, freezers were empty, and our shopper only managed to buy 25 items with five out of stocks and three not stocked.