A small shop for your immediate needs if you're driving through Gossamer drive to connect with…read moreeither Pakuranga Road & Ti Rakau Drive. I popped in here to grab some Eclipse mints (can't go anywhere without those) and found the shop attendants to be very aloof. When I walked up to the counter, I got no smile or greeting. Just '$3.20', the price of the mints. That was all he said to me the entire time. Didn't get a 'hello' or 'thank you', despite the fact I could've gone to a stack of other places, as mints aren't exactly a speciality item. If you're looking for a lotto ticket or some food item urgently, this place is fine. Just don't expect amazing customer service, because you will be disappointed.

Slightly bigger than your average convenience store, Four Square could almost be a proper…read moresupermarket, boasting much of your grocery needs. In this particular one, I experienced the most outstanding customer service. Not only were they keen to help, and knew their products well, but apologized for being in the way while they were stocking shelves. I have never had a proper apology for that in any supermarket ever! They moved and offered to take down anything I might need from a shelf I couldn't reach. (also a first!) It really made we want to return, but unfortunately I moved quite far away, so had to change convenience stores. So if you happen to be living in the area or passing through, pop in!

Farm Cove Superette gets four stars for the way they've turned their customer service around. The…read moreservice here used to be awful, really some of the worst I've come across, to the point where I avoided it altogether. But a massive change has happened, and good on them, because now the service is professional and always friendly. I don't think I've been in once lately and not been greeted by a big smile. There's everything you'd expect at your local dairy here, plus Lotto and lots of postage stuff, like prepay bags and stamps and things. And most importantly, there's a good selection of those little $1 and $2 prepacked paper bags of lollies at the counter. Hurrah! Get one for your glovebox.

This is actually quite a big dairy. They have all the usual supplies, like milk and junk food and…read morebread and things like that, but they also do Lotto, and have a massive fresh flower selection, and even have quite a decent grocery selection. And sewing and craft emergency supplies. Friendly staff as well who are keen for a chat. They have eftpos, and until recently have been the eftpos cash out service for the takeaway next door...

I didn't know this place existed - just happened to stumble upon it in the heavily South African…read morepopulated capital of Highland Park. The owner, Isak, was especially nice, offering to describe each of the delicious meats that were on offer - everything from boerewors (cheese, garlic, etc) to spare ribs. He handed us a sample of their shop made snack sausages, which were delicious and clearly fresh as you can get. My eyes landed on their rusks (also shop made - basically these guys must have a small carbon footprint! haha) and a few imported snacks, such as fizzers and ghost pops. Truly a good selection of the best South African goodies. There's another branch out in North Shore if you can't make it out East, and really if you appreciate this sort of ethnic food, you will appreciate them.

A good place to stop by and grab an ice cream or that milk you just ran out of. Like most…read moreconvenience stores (or dairies, as Kiwis like to call them), it has most of the essentials of everyday life that you're likely to need between weekly grocery shopping. The service is fine, but nothing personal. Still, they go out of their way to please you and ask how the weather is, which is all you really want when you're in a hurry. The location is good, as it's just en-route to most places if you live around the Highland Park area. It also has a seat outside where you can enjoy your ice cream or cold coke before heading back on the road. A great addition for a hot summer's day.

A great Korean grocery store with a small food stall inside. The store is very well maintained by…read moretheir friendly staff and the food they serve at the stall is reasonably priced. I came for the first time about ten years ago and the store hasn't changed since then (in a good way, of course.) Every staff member I encountered at the store was friendly and made me want to come back. I ordered Kimbap (Korean sushi) with ham and dried pollock soup at the stall. Kimbap was very flavorful with a perfect amount of rice and it was absolutely delicious! The dried pollock soup really hit the spot as I wasn't feeling 100% and needed some comfort food. It's got some rehydrated dried fish (pollock), vegetables, eggs and tofu and drizzled with sesame oil. I'll definitely come back to have some more delicious food!