Asda - Cape Hill - 5th April 2014

I was asked by a few people to review the Asda in Cape Hill in Smethwick. So I decided to head over there and do my Saturday morning shopping there.

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

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - Generally okay.
3. Aisle width - wide enough for two big trolleys to pass through.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Generally well stocked though I was disappointed that I didn't get a load of wholemeal bread that I wanted as they were probably sold out. Other items were well stocked.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - There is a fishmonger with a good variety of different fish, a hot food counter, a deli and a halal butcher. No normal butcher though which was surprising. There was an aisle of world foods which looked good but not as impressive as the Tesco in Yardley. A pharmacy is also available, along with a photo counter. A good selection of clothes and some electrical items are in stock too. Clotted cream is also available at £1.98 each so it is Churchcentral Forward friendly. Also, no petrol station - not impressed!
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes, in general. However, as I wanted to buy some cooked ham, there was one packet which had a use by date of 2nd April. Not impressed by that at all. Luckily, there was one which expired on the 13th April so that's okay. A good selection of reduced items were in stock, which mostly consists of a third off. None to my liking though.
7. Opening Hours - 8am to 11pm Monday, 7am to 11pm Tuesday to Friday, 7am to 10pm Saturday, 11am to 5pm Sunday. Could be better in my opinion and it surprised me that it wasn't a 24 hour store but I guess it's because it was situated near the centre of Cape Hill.
8. Speed of till-processing - Lots of manned tills, but there was just too many customers so the queue would have been long. I decided to go for self service tills instead.
9. Self-service tills available - Good selection - a good mixture of ones with baskets, and ones with the conveyor belt. No issues with the machines so it was generally good.
10. Parking facilities - yes and not a massive amount of spaces which meant that it took me quite a while to find a parking spot. There was a shopping centre next to it, but other superstores such as the Tesco in Yardley coped with it better. A restriction of 3 hours was imposed which was fair as you can go to every bit of Asda including the cafe, along with other stores, and you have more than enough time to do your shopping.
11. Value for money - Part of the big four supermarkets, Asda's prices are quite good. Some items were more expensive though so watch out.
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back - Cash machines are available outside Asda and they do offer cashback.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and are step free.

Overall, this Asda is better than the one in Barnes Hill but I am still to be convinced that Asda is good as it claims to be. I'll probably need to go to a few more Asdas to be convinced whether it is good as it sounds.

Rating: 7 out of 10