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