BEST GREGGS IN WALES
SAY hello to the Greggs branch which has been named the best in Wales and the West! Sheltered in a shopping precinct in the Valleys, one of Merthyr Tydfil’s Greggs shops has beaten more than 400 branches of the bakery chain’s stores to be crowned “Best in the West”.
Under cover in St Tydfil Shopping Centre – the town’s shopping precinct in the town centre – customers who were after a warm bite to eat, a sweet treat, or a cup of something hot to take the edge off the chilly temperatures yesterday were almost queuing out of the door just hours before Wales took on England in the Six Nations.
With around a dozen happy customers sitting inside and having a natter and a catch-up, there was certainly plenty of noise in the cosy shop, with the sound of chitchatting and coins tinkering, as customers paid for their goods and the sound of the team working to get hot food out as fast as possible.
Talking, stirring, crunching, sipping – it was all going on as men, women, children, friends and family popped in to pick up something to keep them going, or something to save for later.
Certainly reminiscent of scenes at countless Greggs shops up and down Wales, no doubt – this one has claimed bragging rights for being at the top of their game, being crowned by the food-on-the-go retailer, beating 435 other shops in the region.
Staff at the shop at New Market Walk received the accolade based on their excellent all-round performance during the past year, including outstanding customer service, excellent shop sales and profit controls, as well as great teamwork.
Now in its seventh year, the competition saw 1,700 Greggs shops across the country compete for the title of Best in the UK.
Shops were awarded points on a weekly basis across a number of categories, and those entering the final rounds of the competition received up to six unannounced visits by managers to assess their standards.
Paula Wooldridge, manager of Greggs in St Tydfil Shopping Centre, has worked for the chain for 12 years. Starting in Abergavenny, she moved to one of Merthyr’s branches around 10 years ago.
Paula credits teamwork and happy customers for their success.
She said: “I think we work really, really well as a team. We do try our hardest to get 100% for our mystery shopper visits.
“It’s really, really hard and I just think they want to be the best.
“I’m absolutely delighted we’ve won! This is a great accomplishment for our team and we’ll continue to do our best in providing an excellent service for our customers.”
On the people they serve, she said: “They are so nice and so friendly. I love chatting to our customers.”
The team is made up of 12 members of staff – ranging from parttime to full-time and Saturday staff.
On why Greggs appeals to so many people in the area, she said: “The value for money, the food, the freshness. We make it on our premises – you can’t get much fresher!”
Caroline Binks, who’s worked for Greggs for around 17 years, added: “They’ve got really good benefits, good rewards. We can have a laugh and joke with our customers, they’re marvellous.”
After the team were honoured on Monday, January 23, at a ceremony in Newcastle, they’ve since received praise from local customers and various Greggs managers.