Asda, Barnes Hill, Birmingham - 30th January 2014

After finishing work and getting prepared for lifegroup, it's time for another supermarket visit. This time, it's a visit to Asda in Barnes Hill with Ian Johnson providing company.
So, what is it like? The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - yes they are okay although we didn't interact with them.
3. Aisle width - wide enough to fit three trolleys.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - No, there was a lack of fruit and veg in stock. Carrots were lacking and Granny Smith apples and cheap hot chocolate mix (which Ian wanted to buy) wasn't available. It does however have clotted cream at £1.98 which is not the cheapest available. Nevertheless, if you want to buy something for Churchcentral Forward, clotted cream is available! However, there is only very limited stock for these.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - You can get your eyes tested at the opticians though I would probably go for a specialist opticians instead. There is a fishmonger, butcher, deli, and stock looks good. There is specialist food but not as much as Morrisons. There is a petrol station available though you can only pay by card. It's the cheapest out of the ones I've visited so far (at 126.7p per litre) but as I had enough fuel, I didn't need to fill up. A cafe is also available and Ian's friend, Rebekah, works there which meant we had a good chat. Clothes and quite a few electrical goods are available for all the family too.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes. And also not many reduced items. And if it's reduced, it's in a horrible state.
7. Opening Hours - 7am to 10pm Mon to Sat 10am to 4pm Sun. Impressive.
8. Speed of till-processing - we didn't go through the staffed tills though it looks like it goes at a reasonable pace.
9. Self-service tills available - yes, loads available. However, the self-service tills are temperamental.
10. Parking facilities - yes, two floors of parking - one floor sheltered and one floor not sheltered. We went for the sheltered one and you can go through a travelator. No parking restrictions which was nice.
11. Value for money - part of the big four supermarkets, they do have quite a lot of special offers. Although quite a lot of items are cheap (especially milk), not everything is cheap. You can get a reasonable price for the majority of items. Just don't buy reduced items - it's in a horrible state. And if it is, it's only 30% off - could be better!
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back -Yes, and cash back is offered.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and step-free.

 Overall, Ian and I were not impressed with the supermarket. Stock (especially fresh food) was lacking at 6pm in the evening! This supermarket really does require improvement - and it's open for less than a year. It will take a lot of convincing for me to go back there again.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Photo: Courtesy of Anthony Harte from birminghamupdates.com

Morrisons, Edgbaston, Birmingham - 18th January 2014

Following on from my trip to Harborne, I wanted to go to another supermarket so that I can complete my week's shopping. I decided to head towards Morrisons in Edgbaston which is situated near the Birmingham Marriott Hotel and the Five Ways roundabout. It's also very close to the Tesco supermarket which is its main rival.
So, what is it like? The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - they are okay. They kindly offered to pack but I decided I want to pack for a change! They also offered saving stamps which I declined.
3. Aisle width - very wide especially with the fresh fruit/veg area. They need it to be wide as it can be very congested there.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Almost! Large range of fresh fruit/veg/meat/fish available. If you want to buy clothes, give this a miss as there are other Morrisons in Birmingham which offer this. It does however have clotted cream at £1.97 which is quite expensive. Nevertheless, if you want to buy something for Churchcentral Forward, clotted cream is available!
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - No petrol station, but it does boast a flower shop, dry cleaning facilities outside the supermarket and a cafe on the first floor.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes.
7. Opening Hours - 8am to 9pm Mon to Sat. 10am to 4pm Sun. Disappointing really considering that the opening hours in Tesco Edgbaston are far superior,
8. Speed of till-processing - fast and efficient.
9. Self-service tills available - yes, though as the manned tills were not busy, it's better to head there.
10. Parking facilities - yes, three floors of parking, which is sheltered. The downside is that you are only allowed 2 hours free parking. If you want to eat a meal at the Morrisons cafe and then go shopping, it might be a bit of a time squeeze!
11. Value for money - part of the big four supermarkets, they do have quite a lot of special offers. Obviously, some items are more expensive in Morrisons than in other supermarkets so you need to shop around!
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back - two Barclays cash machines and they do offer cash back.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and step-free.

 Overall, I am actually quite disappointed with this supermarket. Although it does have a large variety of items in stock, it feels a lot smaller compared to the Morrisons in Rubery. As a new supermarket, I would expect it to be quite big but there's not enough land to build it on. Unless... they build another floor.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Iceland, Harborne, Birmingham - 18th January 2014

Today, I decided to head over to Harborne and to head to a supermarket. I thought I would do my first review on Iceland


So, what is it like? The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - yes! They packed bags for me without asking, and it was something I appreciated as the bags weren't too heavy!
3. Aisle width - three trolleys can be fitted in (just) so it's okay.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - generally okay, there was a good range of fresh fruit, veg, meat, bread and milk. Sadly no clotted cream so it's not Churchcentral Forward friendly.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - No, it's too small.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes! And it's got frozen food with even longer sell-by dates.
7. Opening Hours - 8am to 7pm Mon to Sat. 10am to 4pm Sun. Not bad for a supermarket situated in a town centre.
8. Speed of till-processing - fast and efficient since they pack bags for you.
9. Self-service tills available - no
10. Parking facilities - no car park available so I parked in a different street.
11. Value for money - yes, many discounts and things are generally cheap here. However, you do need to be aware that some products can be more expensive than the big four supermarkets.
12. Organic produce - don't think so!
13. Cash machine or cash back - no, and probably yes - I paid by cash though!
14. Pedestrian access - yes and step-free.

Overall, it's a good supermarket for its size. Quite a lot of locals and international students go there to shop.

Rating? 6 out of 10

Aldi, Banbury - 2nd January 2014

 For my first supermarket review of 2014, I decided to head over to Aldi in Banbury to check out and see what it's like. The criteria is as follows:

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - hmmmmm... can't really say. They're focused on making sure stock's out and till processing is quick.
3. Aisle width - three trolleys can be fitted in (just) so it's okay.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - very disappointed at that time as many fresh fruit and vegetables were out of stock. Normally, it's not too bad.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - it's a no-frills supermarket so it won't have many extras. It does however boast a middle aisle of non-food items which can be specialist stock if you ask me.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Aldi get round that by not stating sell by dates for fruit and veg. Other fresh produce does and it's generally pretty good.
7. Opening Hours - 8am to 9pm Mon to Sat. 11am to 5pm Sun. Pretty good, I'd say.
8. Speed of till-processing - fast, super fast. But this is at a cost of customer service, which can be shocking.
9. Self-service tills available - who needs them when the sales assistants from the tills scan your items so quickly that you run out of breath putting things back to your trolley?
10. Parking facilities - plenty of car parking spaces available, with no parking restrictions.
11. Value for money - yes, many discounts and things are generally cheap here. However, you do need to be aware that some products can be more expensive than the big four supermarkets.
12. Organic produce - no specific organic produce I'm afraid!
13. Cash machine or cash back - no, and yes!
14. Pedestrian access - yes, you can get in through a pavement though you need to go up the stairs. There is an alternative entrance but this does mean you need to be careful of cars!

And finally.... I'm pleased to say that clotted cream is now available at Aldi at a discounted price of 99p per carton. This does make it a Churchcentral Forward event friendly.

Rating? 6.5 out of 10