Aldi and Lidl - is it just me...

ChasG said:
All I do is put a big bag in the trolley when I have put it on the belt then put it straight into the bag. Job done
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It really is that simple isn't it:)
Heavy stuff on the conveyor first, goes in bottom of bag. Special cool bag (have a couple from Carrefour) for chilled/frozen stuff. Then I put bottles in my rucksack.
 
border_all said:
So in Aldi you get passed through checkpoints quickly, great more time for photography :snaphappy:

Cashier tell you the bill you pocket what it would have cost elsewhere and buy a new FF camera or lens with your savings :D

Win win
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I like your ideas, i shop at Aldi and Lidl more than anywhere else, usually just pack bags at the back of my car, saves loads of my time, rather do that than wait in Tesco queues:)
 
macs said:
Is that not what I do but my bag is on the counter not a trolley?
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I dunno...probably.
I wasn't referring to your post :lol:
 
German/Dutch efficiency for me. My boxes are already in be back of the car and remain there. I go through the shop and drive the trolley to my car where I pop it in the boxes to stop it rolling about. Super quick exit and efficient handling.

Can see what the complaint is about other than it just being different.
 
macs said:
Fair enough.

Looks like we've all gone off topic slightly. It would appear I'm the only one who finds it odd that these shops don't have a packing area at the tills.
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Ooooh no...I do find it odd!
I just make a point of still packing at the checkout rather than bunging it all back in the trolley again and packing elsewhere :-)
 
macs said:
Fair enough.

Looks like we've all gone off topic slightly. It would appear I'm the only one who finds it odd that these shops don't have a packing area at the tills.
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It is a wee bit odd but it does get us through the checkouts quicker......

......or it should, if you aren't in the front:rolleyes:
 
ghoti said:
You put your shopping back in the trolley as they scan it. Take it to the side and then bag it there. Easy.
It's barely an effort. Takes two minutes. It's never even occurred to me that this is something anyone would find troubling.

You'd rather stand and inconvenience other customers (and yourself) than take three steps to the side and pack elsewhere? Very peculiar behaviour if you ask me.
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When I was little this was the norm in EVERY big store. They all had a worktop area usually stocked up with old boxes for your convenience too.
 
It's impossible to stall the Aldi machine. If you look carefully, you'll see a trap door in the floor by each checkout.

Dilly-dally at the till and you're a gonner. What do you think they make their compost out of?
 
love it no more waiting for a idjit to pack there stuff ,or decide after they had paid that they wanted something else .aldi and lidl also tick all my boxes with there special offers ,made a tidy sum of money a few years ago when lidl were selling coin collectors boxes dirt cheap ,i bought a load and sold them on e/bay for around twice the price . last week the wife sent me down to aldi in the evening to get milk and bread ,while also having my usual mooch i saw a 60x spotting scope in the display case reduced to £9.99 ,got it and its a cracker complete with bag and mini tripod to .(y)
 
There are several reasons why they don't have a packing space after the till. I live in the south of Germany where most supermarkets are smaller than those in the UK. And people 'tend' to do lots of small shops rather than a big weekly one. You often see people waiting, with purse in hand for all of their groceries to be put through first. They then pay, usually in cash, including all the little coins, and then, finally they begin packing. This must have a strong bearing on the cheap supermarkets decision to 'push' people along.
 
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Lidl have one thing that makes then my favourite store to shop in. No bloody 'background' music interrupted by moronic announcements telling me about the bargain of the week.
 
dejongj said:
German/Dutch efficiency for me. My boxes are already in be back of the car and remain there. I go through the shop and drive the trolley to my car where I pop it in the boxes to stop it rolling about. Super quick exit and efficient handling.

Can see what the complaint is about other than it just being different.
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That's exactly what I do too. Three collapsible boxes that just fit three across the boot, shopping trolley to the car, separate the shopping to each box by fridge/freezer, lightweight or crushable items and then heavy items and that's it.
And the supermarket is irrelevant, I do the same whether it's Aldi, Sainsburys or whoever.
 
Earley Man said:
Lidl have one thing that makes then my favourite store to shop in. No bloody 'background' music interrupted by moronic announcements telling me about the bargain of the week.
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:thumbs: This will become even more important after halloween and the dreaded season approaches
 
Sod packing bags as you pay, I use those scanners and pack as I shop, far quicker and simpler (y)
If I on;ly want a few bits, use the self scan bit
 
I can't get on with the place lidl is our local we do not have a Aldi so can not comment. I find there own product hit and miss, while the big ones generally fine. Some Lidl own brand stuff is awful. Then you can never find everything you need and end up in one of the big four anyway, so i've lost patience with them. Life is too short to be shopping in 2 supermarkets to save a couple of quid. I do not buy brand name anything so i do not find them that much cheaper to be honest. There are a few things we like there that we stock up on when we go there. The deep fried Camembert, the four cheese masterpiece pizza's and the high fruit jams.
 
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Have to admit that we rarely make a special trip to Lidl to shop but do drop in whenever we're passing. Aldi is pretty much opposite the Sainsbury's we use but we rarely go there either - easier to do a single shop. If we could get everything from Aldi, we'd probably go there instead of Sainsbury's.
 
macs said:
and if the assistant can't get anymore on the tiny space available I just pack the bags slower!
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How nice of you to consider those behind you.

macs said:
I don't want German efficiency when I go shopping, I want customer service! That's why I like John Lewis so much
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Then. Use Waitrose instead of choosing the cheapest option then moaning it lacks the service?

macs said:
Sometimes it feels like the till staff are having a competition to see who can have the smallest time between items being scanned, they send them down the conveyor quicker than anyone can ever pack them
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That would be because, as you originally pointed out yourself, they do not expect you to do so, they have other places for you to do it and you choosing to "buck the system" to suit yourself then complain they scan too quickly for you is a bit odd really imho. Frankly their job is to scan as fast as they can, part of the business model you enjoy the savings of.


macs said:
The way I see it, the shop is there for the benefit of me and so are the staff at the time when they are serving me so it's quicker for me to pack the items at the til than move them and pack them somewhere else. Because its quicker for me, I do it this way.
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Think that sums up the real issue tbh.
If there were not the sense of self attribution there would not be the sense that it was odd to be expected to put other shoppers needs alongside your own perhaps? ;)

I do wonder how you would feel if all those in front of you were to adopt your slowdown policy ?

So keeping on topic, no it doesn't look like you are on your own but certainly in the minority :)
 
rjbell said:
I find there own product hit and miss, while the big ones generally fine. Some Lidl own brand stuff is awful. Then you can never find everything you need and end up in one of the big four anyway, so i've lost patience with them. Life is too short to be shopping in 2 supermarkets to save a couple of quid..
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Which is a reflection of what I wrote earlier about typical German shoppers doing small shops several times a week in smaller supermarkets. Where you can't get everything you need.
 
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macs said:
I don't want German efficiency when I go shopping, I want customer service! That's why I like John Lewis so much, they've got the right attitude in there.
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But you pay for that 'customer service', the Aldi and Lidl workflow is designed to make the most of their staff time, which is what reduces their costs, if you want customer service go to Waitrose.
 
If you have enough space and bag up quickly, you don't hold up the cashier and people behind you. But not everybody cares about other people. And some old people can't manage to keep up.
 
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I've been shopping at both Lidl and Aldi for years, first time was a bit strange but you quickly get used to the way it works.
 
jakeblu said:
Honestly the new autocorrector on Safari is a pain, and Im always getting caught out, yesterday it was skin for sky :) one of my email addresses is stevic and safari always corrects that to stevia!!!
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If this is mobile safari, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts. Add a new shortcut with your email as the phrase, and (for example) use @@. So whenever you need to type your email, just type @@ instead.
 
ianp5a said:
If you have enough space and bag up quickly, you don't hold up the cashier and people behind you. But not everybody cares about other people. And some old people can't manage to keep up.
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As we are discussing Aldi and Lidl, does anyone remember Netto:)
It had to be vying for the supermarket award for the most chaotic shopping experience ever, yet when we went in there, I used to get this weird buzz, from not quite knowing what little treasure we would find.:D
On one visit, we picked up half a dozen bottles of Beaune 1er cru from a decent year for a fiver each, and they were the real thing.
 
andy700 said:
As we are discussing Aldi and Lidl, does anyone remember Netto:)
It had to be vying for the supermarket award for the most chaotic shopping experience ever, yet when we went in there, I used to get this weird buzz, from not quite knowing what little treasure we would find.:D
On one visit, we picked up half a dozen bottles of Beaune 1er cru from a decent year for a fiver each, and they were the real thing.
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Asda took over their stores in the Uk but I had heard recently that they were making a comeback.
 
New netto just opened in Ellesmere Port ,the wife used to work for them super employers ,she hated working for asda and left .i think there now in with sainsburys in a joint venture in the u.k
 
I'm a big fan of Aldi, have never frequented a Lidl, and in the fortunate position of having an Asda next door to local Aldi, I write 2 lists, essentially get everything I can in Aldi, then nip into Asda for the odd brand item or more specialised things. Over the years, I've saved £100s, though would also advice buying some fresh goods ( milk in particular) in one of the big 4.

I know that feeling of pressure to pack and get out the way, but it's a small price to pay, for the small price you pay :D

My main checkout bug bear is the people to whom it comes as a complete shock that they have to pay for their shopping. Seriously, you know the bit where you hand over cash/card is coming, why havent you prepared for it? Instead you stand there for aeons ( up to a minute) fumbling about for some way of paying. ( rant over )

Finally, BOOZE ! Can;t speak for the beer or spirits particularly, but the wines in Aldi are great. There is the £3 battery acid stuff, best avoided, but their £5-£7 stuff is really decent, in particular the Sparking Chardonnay / Prosecco is streets ahead of anything comparable elsewhere.

I'm not sure what point I'm making. ( plus ca change...) :confused:
 
andy700 said:
As we are discussing Aldi and Lidl, does anyone remember Netto:)
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The one on our High Street was awful, dirty, messy and badly laid out. It was the only shop I know that would open with dirty floors, boxes and plastic packaging on the floor and stock missing from display which would only be filled halfway through the day. I presume they wouldn't employ staff or cleaners to stay after closing or come in before opening time to clean up and fill the shelves.

No one was surprised when it closed down.
 
ST4 said:
Waitrose is for you. Buy cheap, get cheap service and maybe good goods. Buy expensive, you should get quality service and should get quality goods.
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Key word there is "should".
 
No complaints regarding quality nor service in our local waitrose. Lovely well spoken and helpful people.
 
dejongj said:
No complaints regarding quality nor service in our local waitrose. Lovely well spoken and helpful people.
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Actually I have no complaints regarding quality (of what I buy there) or service in my local LIDL ;).
 
The fruit and veg in Lidl/Aldi isn't usually as beautiful as Marks and Waitescainsbury's but generally has a much better flavour. Personally, I'd rather have a delicious apple with a slightly odd shape than a perfect but tasteless one.
 
Dave1 said:
Actually I have no complaints regarding quality (of what I buy there) or service in my local LIDL ;).
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Neither have I in Aldi, I've been shopping there for decades :) but someone else has on this thread.
 
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