A supermarket has left shoppers baffled after is stopped letting them in through the front door. Rather than being able to enter and leave the Sainsbury's store directly into the town centre in Stoke on Trent they are having to go via the car park.
The changes happened during the Covid-19 pandemic but remain in place today. Now customers are asking them to reopen the old entrance which is closer to the town centre.
The store is currently undergoing renovation works at its Stoke branch. It has promised shoppers a 'fantastic new look' once the work is completed.
But many are finding the closed doors annoying as they say they have to walk further. And they are concerned whether it will ever reopen the old entrance, reports StokeonTrentLive.
Now customers are calling for the entrance and exit at the junction of London Road and Fleming Road to be reopened. Customers have labelled the closure as "a pain".
Janet Williams said: "Hope they open the other set of doors again, it's a pain especially for the elderly to walk all the way to the car park and back again when shopping in town."
Susan Fletcher agreed. She said: "They told me, when I asked months ago, they wouldn't be opening that exit again. It is a pain having to walk all the way around."
When StokeonTrentLive asked Sainsbury's about the town centre exit earlier this year, the supermarket said it had 'decided to keep the entrance closed for the time being'. A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "We closed the high street entrance of our London Road superstore during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic to support the safety measures we had in place and after feedback we have decided to keep the entrance closed for the time being.
"Customers can still enter through the car park entrance. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused."
Speaking about the current upgrades to the Stoke branch, a Sainsbury's spokesman said: "We are upgrading our Stoke-on-Trent superstore by enhancing many areas of the store, including the refrigeration, ventilation and heating systems.
"Colleagues and customers will be able to enjoy a fantastic new look and feel throughout the store as a result and it will also be more energy efficient, helping us to become net-zero in our own operations by 2035. We will be working hard to complete the upgrades as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the works."
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