Sainsbury's, Blackheath - Saturday 27th February

This weekend, I decided to head to a supermarket in the Black Country and see what it's like there. I chose Sainsbury's, Blackheath as I haven't been there in around 4 years and that was when I started training as a teacher. So what is it like now?

The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - seems okay. Can't really judge this as I had to go through self service tills as not enough manned tills were on duty!
3. Aisle width - wide enough to fit three trolleys on most aisles. Some only around two - this is in particular towards the milk aisle as there was a huge pillar in the middle.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Yes. My friend was looking for Ricola Liquorice Sweets and was excited to find this as they weren't available in the Northfield supermarket of Sainsbury's. There could have been more fruit and vegetables in stock but this was on a Saturday afternoon so it might not have been replenished. Wonky vegetables - there are some in the "Basics" range!
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - A pharmacy is available with a good range of medical items. Specialist food is available but somehow lacking in diversification of goods - just the normal specialist foods you get from any supermarket. A cafe is also available that is situated at the ground floor past the tills. It has a limited clothing section. It does boast a good hot foods, deli, bakery, butcher and fishmongers. The fish in particular had a good variety. You can also exchange money in the travel money section. Finally, it does have a petrol station, with unleaded offering at 99.9p per litre and diesel at 98.9p which is reasonable.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes, with not too many reduced items.
7. Opening Hours - 8am to 10pm Mon to Sat. 10am to 4pm Sun. This requires improvement - not as good as Northfield or Longbridge.
8. Speed of till-processing - Wasn't at a manned till but queues seem long!
9. Self-service tills available - yes, loads available. It was good and reliable.
10. Parking facilities - Yes, open air car park with good amounts of space. 2 hours of parking restriction in place which is adequate enough.
11. Value for money - part of the big four supermarkets, they do have quite a lot of special offers. Brand Match is on offer which compares prices to Asda. There are also some good personalised offers from the Nectar app but didn't get to use them today as I wasn't at a Sainsbury's Local nor was I filling up my car with petrol.
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. Don't forget to bring a £1 coin for a trolley!

Sainsbury's Blackheath seems to lack a bit of atmosphere but does what it says on the tin by offering a good range of stock. It's good to shop there for a weekly shop.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (-1 for not enough manned tills, -0.5 for lack of diversification of specialist foods, -0.5 for limited clothing)

Courtesy of www.webbgray.co.uk

Asda, Barnes Hill - Saturday 30th January 2016

Having moved to Bartley Green, it's time to visit the supermarket that is closest to me and give a review! I've been to Asda, Barnes Hill before and previously gave it a 4 out of 10. Will it fare better this time?

The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - could be better! The checkout lady didn't give me a welcome greeting but did mention "Have a good day" at the end.
3. Aisle width - wide enough to fit three trolleys. Though some aisles are congested with lots of customers - it was a Saturday morning after all!
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - A good variety of items are in stock and I got the vast majority of items that I wanted. All the essentials were well stocked (Fruit and veg, meat, milk, fish, etc.) Aisles were well signposted so I didn't have to keep hunting for a particular item. The only thing I didn't get was the massively bargain pens at 30p for ten as that was sold out.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - Opticians are available if you want to get your eyes tested. No pharmacy but there is a good range of medical items. There is a specialist food aisle which features a limited selection of goods from abroad. It also has vegan and vegetarian items too. It also has a petrol station which offers at 99.7p per litre for unleaded, and 97.7p per litre for diesel, the cheapest that I've found in Birmingham so far. The downside is that you can only pay by card only. It also has a cafe should you want lunch. There is also a good clothing section and electricals section. You can also access the "Click and Collect" facilities if you order items from the Asda website.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes in general but the reliability of it is questionable. There is also a reduced items section, but normally they are in a horrible state, especially with the runner beans.
7. Opening Hours - 6am to Midnight Mon to Sat. 10am to 4pm Sun. That sounds good enough to me.
8. Speed of till-processing - Goes at a good pace, but the service is not quite so welcoming.
9. Self-service tills available - yes, loads available.
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 seems to be in place. It is also electric car friendly as you can charge it while you shop!
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 mostly only 30% off - that could be better, but again it's the time of day!
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.

 Apart from the service from checkout staff, Asda seems to have improved on its availability of its product, and this reflects on the business of the store.

Rating: (-1 for not getting everything I wanted, -1 for the state of reduced items, -1 for service from staff)
 

Courtesy of Anthony Harte

Morrisons, Edgbaston - Saturday 9 January 2016

Manmhk's supermarket reviews are back after a six month break!

I decided to visit Morrisons in Edgbaston to see how it performs following the closure of it's neighbouring rival Tesco, which was situated across the Five Ways roundabout.

The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - Yes, clean in general.
2. Friendly staff - Okay. The checkout lady scanned through items, gave me a basic "Hello" greeting and also asked about the loyalty card.
3. Aisle width - Most aisles wide enough for three trolleys. It was busy (being a Saturday afternoon) at the fruit and vegetables, and the meat and fresh fish section.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Fruit and vegetables section is well stocked but the layout is slightly confusing. There should be better signposts stating where the basic types of fruit and vegetables are. The meat and fish section is clear, with signposts! Other aisles were clear. I got everything that I was looking for, but had to spend more time at the fruit and vegetables section than I wanted to due to the confusing sections.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - Small clothing section, small world foods aisle with a hint of specialist stock from across the world. Good fishmongers, butchers, deli, hot food, salad and a bakery section boasting with an award winning baker. You can also buy Lottery tickets too. Cafe is situated upstairs, but it doesn't have any extra perks such as electricals, and neither a petrol station. Oddly enough, it does have a separate florist, dry cleaners, and a "Rug Carpet" shop.. Vegetarian / vegan stock also available should you want it. There's also a "Halal" section too.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes! All the goods I bought have long sell-by dates for the week. There is also a reduced foods section with not too many goods which shows that stock control is reasonable. Reduced foods going up to one third off.
7. Opening Hours - Requires improvement. 7am to 11pm Mondays to Saturdays, 10am to 4pm Sunday.
8. Speed of till-processing - Self-service tills available, as well as non self-service tills. I went to the "10 items or less" section - poor grammar - and the service is at a good, steady pace.
9. Self-service tills available - Yes, though I didn't use this facility.
10. Parking facilities - 2 hour parking limit at a multi-storey car park. This is okay for a good shop, but then if you fancied having lunch, then the parking limit is bordering on inadequate. However, you can get a long term parking permit - at a cost - for those wanting to work close to Five Ways. Parking spaces are quite plentiful - I found one with no problems at the ground floor, with parking spaces also available upstairs. Travelators and lifts get you down to the supermarket.
11. Value for money - Generally competitive (though slightly more expensive than the other "Big Four" supermarkets). Their improved loyalty card now offers 5 points per £1, with 5000 points equating to a £5 voucher. Oh, that's £5 off per minimum £1000 spend.
12. Organic produce - available if you want them.
13. Cash machine or cash back - Barclays cash machines available outside the superstore and cash back is available should you need it.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and step free.
15. Space ultilisation - Generally good with not too much wastage of space. The fruit and vegetables layout is okay, just needs signposts. Compared to the Tesco in Edgbaston, the layout is better but the supermarket is slightly on the small side.

In my opinion, Morrisons Edgbaston is good, but lacks features on it being great. The lack of a petrol station gives it a slight disadvantage.

 

Photo courtesy of wikirecent.in

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 - (-1 for no petrol station, -1 for unclear posts from fruit and vegetables section, -0.5 for parking limit time, -1 for lack of non-food item features)

Link to supermarket: http://your.morrisons.com/Store-finder/Store-Details/?recordid=545