Morrisons, Rubery - 11th, 12th and 13th February 2014

I decided to head to Morrisons three times during the school week and thought it's about time that I write a supermarket review about the supermarket next to where I work.

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

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - they are generally friendly. They kindly offered to pack but I decided that I wanted to pack.
3. Aisle width - wide and you can fit at least two trolleys in each aisle. As I shop at just after 5pm, it was less busy and you can bag quite a few bargains.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Yes. I am really impressed with the wide range of food items that are in stock. I bought ingredients for a Mexican food themed lifegroup which proved to be popular with everyone. I also bagged a lot of bargains and bought lots of fish for only 25p per meal - bargain! There's also clothes and electrical items as well. It also has clotted cream at £1.95 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 - There is a petrol station with unleaded at 127.9p per litre, so it's not the cheapest.. It also has a cafe which is not too bad. There's also some good specialist food items available including Chinese items so I am happy. It also has a pharmacy which means you can get your medical items there too. Finally, you can get some clothes and electrical items there.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes. And with items that are on the reduced aisle, they are generally still in fresh condition, and you can bag a real bargain with discounts of up to 75% off!
7. Opening Hours - 7am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and 10am to 4pm Sundays. Opening hours are reasonable though it's not 24 hours.
8. Speed of till-processing - lots of manned tills available. Quite fast, efficient and friendly.
9. Self-service tills available - yes, though as the manned tills were not busy, it's better to head there.
10. Parking facilities - yes and plenty available at 5pm. And no parking restrictions!
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 - cash machines are available but signs are not that clear though.  Morrisons also offers cash back when you shop.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and are step free.

  Overall, I am more impressed with the Morrisons in Rubery than the one in Edgbaston for many reasons. It's close to my workplace and I can bag a lot of bargains which means my money goes further but also knowing the fact that I am buying good food. A win win situation for me!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Asda, Oldbury - 5th February 2014

Whilst having dinner with the legendary Skillz in Oldbury, I decided to have a late trip to Asda in Oldbury.
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 that I wanted to pack.
3. Aisle width - wide and you can fit at least two trolleys in each aisle. However, as I was shopping at around 9pm, the aisles can be quite narrow when you have all the loading trolleys in place.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Pretty much. The staff were restocking items so what looked empty became full in no time. As I was there at 9pm, the hot food and fishmongers were not open. However, I'm sure they've got a good range during the daytime. There's also clothes and electrical items as well. It also has clotted cream at £1.98 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 - There is a petrol station with unleaded at 126.7p per litre. It also boast a cafe but obviously that's closed. There's some specialist food available but could do better. A pharmacy is also available.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes
7. Opening Hours - 8am Monday to 10pm Saturday meaning that it does open 24 hours. On Sundays, it opens from 10am to 4pm.
8. Speed of till-processing - only one or two manned tills available. Nevertheless, I still went there and till processing was of a good speed.
9. Self-service tills available - yes, though as the manned tills were not busy, it's better to head there.
10. Parking facilities - yes and plenty available at 9pm.
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 Asda than in other supermarkets so you need to shop around!
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back - Barclays cash machines are available and they do offer cash back.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and are step free.

  Overall, this Asda is better than the one in Barnes Hill though not my favourite. It's also situated near the M5 motorway and can be used as a short cut on your way to work - that's if your name is called Skillz.

Rating: 6 out of 10 (though probably more if I reviewed it during the daytime)

Sainsbury's, Longbridge, Birmingham - 3rd February 2014

A new supermarket that has been opened since September 2013, I decided to pay another visit to Sainsbury's in Longbridge. It's in direct competition with Morrisons in Rubery which is close to where I work.

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 that I wanted to pack.
3. Aisle width - very wide and you can fit at least 3 trolleys side by side per aisle.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Almost! Large range of fresh fruit/veg/meat but the variety of fish is lacking. You can also buy hot food and there's a pizza counter. There's also clothes and electrical items as well. It also has clotted cream at £1.95 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 cafe, and learning facilities for primary school aged children to revise on their English and maths but at a fee.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes. It also has quite a lot of reduced items (nearly out of date). I managed to buy two coley fillets for £1.50 from the original price of £3.49.
7. Opening Hours - 7am to 10pm Mon to Sat. 11am to 5pm Sun. Okay opening hours but Sainsbury's does not operate 24 hours. The later opening hours on Sunday will be welcome to some people.
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, with 452 parking spaces (according to the website), half of which is sheltered. 3 hours of free parking is allowed. Although there are parking restrictions, it is far less strict than when it was first open.
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 Sainsbury's than in other supermarkets so you need to shop around!
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back - 2 Sainsbury's Bank cash machines are available and they do offer cash back.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and step-free from opposite Bournville College. The other entrance is from the car park and going up on the travelator.

  Overall, the supermarket is quite good. It's nice, clean and it definitely has a better atmosphere than when it first opened. It's still quiet but I went there on a Monday evening. It'll be different in the weekends. My housemate also works there and this is probably one of the better Sainsbury's in Birmingham.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Iceland, Northfield, Birmingham - 1st February 2014

I decided to head over to the local shopping centre in Northfield. Whilst at the shopping centre, I saw an Iceland store so thought I give a review on it.

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

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - yes, in general. There were two members of staff at the tills. One was scanning and the other was packing bags.
3. Aisle width - too narrow - struggle to fit in two trolleys. Lots of "Excuse me".
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 - Too small to have any extras.
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 6pm Mon to Sat. 10am to 4pm Sun. Sadly, opening hours are more restricted due to being inside a shopping centre.
8. Speed of till-processing - quite 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. Alternatively, you can park at the local shopping centre but at a fee.
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 an okay supermarket for its size. Quite a lot of locals go there to shop. The strange thing about it though is the extremely long poles to the side of the trolleys. This is probably to prevent trolleys being stolen. Another bad thing is that the security guard can be very intimidating.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10