Sainsburys Savacentre

I live in Tyne and Wear, where there are numerous shops and supermarkets.

The only place I will shop is in Savacentre in Washington. The layout is fab! They have wide aisles, plenty of space at check outs etc plus friendly, helpful staff. The product range is fab - excellent choice and own brand food is of a very high standard. Don't mean to sound snobby, but definitely a better class of shopper in this store!

I remember the first (?) Sainsburys Savacentre opening at Merton SW London. I thought it was wonderful - lots of space, a delicatessen straight from Carrefour and complementary small shops.

I was one of the few who welcomed the last SavaCentre when it was built here in Sydenham SE London. But was I wrong! The staff are taken from the bottom of the barrel unlike the local Safeway or Waitrose. The delicatessen is a joke and overall if you are looking for interesting food & drink you will do better at the Beckenham Waitrose - which is a tiny fraction of the size. It is being refurbished even more untastefully and the previous discreet CCTV cameras hace been replaced by larger more obvious ones. Well at least it complements the surly security guards. They may have a security problem - but do they want every shopper to feel a criminal? Waitrose/Safeway don't need to do this.

This is not an isolated view. The vast expanse of empty floorspace shows many shoppers have voted with their feet. They must be losing a fortune.