Gateway Express

Completely pointless. Says it sells newspapers outside then you go in and they don’t. You rock up on a Sunday afternoon at 2pm and walk in and they shout at you they are closed. If your door is open you’re not closed. Beer is severely overpriced. Take a walk to Sainsburys at Brewery Wharf, or Co Op opposite the bus station instead. They also charge 50p for card transactions.

If you live around the Gateway set of buildings or more famously known etap (the now iBis budget hotel) hotel, this shop is a stone’s throw away. They sell quite a few things like any supermarket just a bit pricier which is fine for the convenience. The staff who are also the owners are friendly and welcoming. They sell a wide variety of things from newspapers to your general grocery and cleaning products to food items. The shelves are neatly stacked and arranged properly so it is easier to walk around even with the adjoining rows being quite close. I agree with the previous review that I have also found them guilty of being on the phone for long intervals of time but you cant really blame them as it is very rare that 5 – 6 customers queue up though they ensure that they apologise if customers have to wait. So I guess all is forgiven

If you either live or work in the Gateway North, having a shop on your doorstep can not really ever be a bad thing for the vital staple necessities– milk, tea, coffee, bread, butter etc. The Gateway Express is a rather large shop space. For such a large space, it would have been nice to see more in the way of variety. They sell quite a lot nevertheless, almost in the same way a local Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s would, without quite as much stock. They sell magazines, the staples you need as mentioned before, fruit and vegetables, a small selection of frozen goods, bread, cleaning products for body and house, and alcohol. Price wise, it is slightly more than you’d expect to pay in a well established supermarket equivalent, but it’s hardly surprising! A bottle of wine, for example is fixed between £6 and £15 for a finer bottle.
My one drawback was one of the members of staff’s attitude. When I was there, I was in a queue and the lady behind the counter was on the phone, jabbering away, whilst half-​distracted serving customers. The queue began to mount up, and customers were getting irritable, as everything was taken twice what it should. Despite the fact she apologised to each customer, it begged me to wonder why she was on the phone at all. With an empty shop, it is alright to take personal calls, I think, but when you have 5 or 6 customers in front of you, it only seems right that she answers, says she’ll ring them back (AT LEAST!) and then continue with the job she’s being paid to do. It is just common courtesy!