Aldi and Lidl - is it just me...

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macs

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Rich
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Yes
...or does anyone find it wierd that they don't do what every other supermarket does and have a conveyor belt/packing area after the tills?

If you do a decent sized shop at these stores you have to take everything out of the trolley, get it all scanned then put it back in the trolley whilst you pay then pack the bags at a bench at the side of the shop.

I generally only buy a handful of things at a time but if I ever get more I tend to just stand at the tills packing my bags, and if the assistant can't get anymore on the tiny space available I just pack the bags slower!

Anyone else find it odd that they do this or is it just me?
 
I think they do it so the throughflow through the tills is faster. You're not standing in the queue waiting while some numpty carefully packs away everything in size order into their myriad of bags. In effect the packing time is offloaded into the individual shoppers time and not everyones in the queues as well. Pretty good system I reckon. I find generally these days the queues in the aldi/lidl are longer than in sainsburys etc but because of this you still get through quicker.
 
It's not so much that issue that bugs me, it's the fact they can't get you out of their shop quick enough once they start scanning your goods...... probably part of the reason they don't have the scanned goods area any larger than a postage stamp. God forbid you should spend any longer than 5 seconds between the last item being scanned and you handing over your cash. 5 seconds after handing over the cash they expect you to be out the front door!!
 
Why do you think they are cheaper than the big 4? They have taken out every bit of cost, conveyors and the floor space they need cost money and need maintenance.
 
DorsetDude said:
I think they do it so the throughflow through the tills is faster. You're not standing in the queue waiting while some numpty carefully packs away everything in size order into their myriad of bags. In effect the packing time is offloaded into the individual shoppers time and not everyones in the queues as well. Pretty good system I reckon. I find generally these days the queues in the aldi/lidl are longer than in sainsburys etc but because of this you still get through quicker.
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Having just one extra person on the tills would get people through quicker. They never seem to have more than one or two tills open at any one time, even at lunchtimes which are the busiest period for my local Lidl.
 
macs said:
Having just one extra person on the tills would get people through quicker. They never seem to have more than one or two tills open at any one time, even at lunchtimes which are the busiest period for my local Lidl.
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Another of the reasons they are cheaper. Less staff.
 
macs said:
Having just one extra person on the tills would get people through quicker. They never seem to have more than one or two tills open at any one time, even at lunchtimes which are the busiest period for my local Lidl.
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Strange, theres regularly four or five on when I go in. And they do seem to call in staff to man more tills as queues build up and close tills again as it quietens.
 
DekHog said:
It's not so much that issue that bugs me, it's the fact they can't get you out of their shop quick enough once they start scanning your goods...... probably part of the reason they don't have the scanned goods area any larger than a postage stamp. God forbid you should spend any longer than 5 seconds between the last item being scanned and you handing over your cash. 5 seconds after handing over the cash they expect you to be out the front door!!
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I found my local Lidl a bit more forgiving but an Aldi I stopped over on the way home from work I had the death stare from the cashier and the people behind me. I just quickly put the stuff in the trolley and packed in my own time as made my way to the car. Not ideal but the prices suit me fine :)
 
OldCarlos said:
Another of the reasons they are cheaper. Less staff.
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Yep, they have a points system for stores which must be strictly followed, one of the components is a man-hours target, so they can't employ more than x amount of people per shift in order to meet it. The more work they get done with fewer staff the better the shop will be deemed to have performed.

I applied to run a new store, but as soon I was told how I was expected to do so I made my escape. It's ruthless German efficiency for your shopping basically.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Yep, they have a points system for stores which must be strictly followed, one of the components is a man-hours target, so they can't employ more than x amount of people per shift in order to meet it. The more work they get done with fewer staff the better the shop will be deemed to have performed.

I applied to run a new store, but as soon I was told how I was expected to do so I made my escape. It's ruthless German efficiency for your shopping basically.
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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.
 
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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And that's exactly why I didn't pursue it any further. They even made you sit a small exam BEFORE getting to the application form. That made it pretty clear what was expected from you.
 
Not sure that the working practices there are too strenuous - they seem to have plenty of long serving staff, both natives and European. I think the reloading the trolley system works better than the separating into different bags at the checkout.
 
macs said:
Having just one extra person on the tills would get people through quicker. They never seem to have more than one or two tills open at any one time, even at lunchtimes which are the busiest period for my local Lidl.
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OldCarlos said:
Another of the reasons they are cheaper. Less staff.
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Its a budget supermarket :facepalm:. If you want personal service I suggest you stick to M&S, Sainsburys or Waitrose. Personally I like their price and the fresh goods are very good quality by and large.

Besides, I never have a problem at my local Aldi, there always seems to be enough staff when the queuing at the tills starts and other tills are quickly manned.
 
Nod said:
Not sure that the working practices there are too strenuous - they seem to have plenty of long serving staff, both natives and European. I think the reloading the trolley system works better than the separating into different bags at the checkout.
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Lidl have agreed to pay the living wage to all their staff too. Not the con 'Living Wage' that Gideon will introduce which is simply a little bit more on the minimum wage, but the real living wage.
 
I've tried Aldi/Lidl twice in my life.

The first time was when they first started up in this country, maybe 12 years ago? The queue at the till was enormous. I discovered they didn't do carrier bags and I had to pack everything into cardboard boxes, which I didn't know and had to trot off to find, thus getting evils from the cashier and the others queueing. Then I was told they didn't take cards, strictly cash only. Luckily I had enough cash on me.

Tried a Lidl again recently and though a lot has changed with the shopping experience, I wasn't terribly impressed with the products. Their beef mince was very fatty, some of their packs contain less product than you'd expect and the fresh vegetables just weren't very good. I'll stick to Sainsburys thanks.
 
boogie man said:
I've tried Aldi/Lidl twice in my life.

The first time was when they first started up in this country, maybe 12 years ago? The queue at the till was enormous. I discovered they didn't do carrier bags and I had to pack everything into cardboard boxes, which I didn't know and had to trot off to find, thus getting evils from the cashier and the others queueing. Then I was told they didn't take cards, strictly cash only. Luckily I had enough cash on me.

Tried a Lidl again recently and though a lot has changed with the shopping experience, I wasn't terribly impressed with the products. Their beef mince was very fatty, some of their packs contain less product than you'd expect and the fresh vegetables just weren't very good. I'll stick to Sainsburys thanks.
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Cant say for Lidl but the Beef mince I buy from Aldi is 5% fat content, and about 25% cheaper than the Morrisons equivalent. Theres a reason why their market share is growing and the big fours is shrinking.
 
I shop in Aldi, you can't beat them, staff are very helpful and always polite and there's a packing area behind the tills (always has been), never had any trouble with them in over 15 years, the quality of their food is excellent just like all the other goods they sell, brilliant store to shop, I've tried the bigger stores in the past but Aldi is better than all of them.
 
Our local Lidl and Aldi are pretty slick, often have four tills open at the busy times. The instore bakery isn't bad (not as good as the ones in Germany though), and the fresh fruit and veg is generally good.
Lidl in France and Germany is streets ahead of ours though, particularly for good, cheap wine and ready packed deli meats.
 
jakeblu said:
Cant say for Lidl but the Beef mince I buy from Aldi is 5% fat content, and about 25% cheaper than the Morrisons equivalent. Theres a reason why their market share is growing and the big fours is shrinking.
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Yes but there is a reason it is cheaper, in part that might be because of lower overheads but 25% can't all come from there. What is the origin, what are the animal welfare standards, did the pay the farmer a fair price?

I'd sooner not eat beef (or any meat) than eat intensively farmed stuff full of antibiotics, mechanically recovered meat, water and filler.
 
I use Aldi and Lidl occasionally if I have spare time, generally to buy non-food items like sports clothing or specific tools. They are always slow at the checkout (it *feels* much slower than an equivalent Tesco) with long queues and just one or 2 tills open, even on a Saturday morning. Foodwise they are unimpressive with a very few exceptions*, and when I've bought in quantity to cater for seasonal events (like putting on a Christmas dinner for a community) Tesco have been cheaper too, often for higher quality items.

Overall neither are places I would wish to do normal shopping at.

*Aldi Stollen is great, and really good value.
 
I prefer the SA system. Each till has a cashier and a packer, so you just let them get on with it!
 
MartynK said:
I prefer the SA system. Each till has a cashier and a packer, so you just let them get on with it!
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SA system?

We do our weekly shopping online with Tesco, takes about 10mins one lunchtime and arrives when the kids are in bed the next evening (another 10mins to put away). We've been doing it for about 7 years even before kids as there are more fun things I'd like to be doing with my time. It costs £6 a quarter to have it all delivered to our door. The Lidl over the road from work gets my custom sometimes when we forget the odd thing or run out unexpectedly, but normally I'd rather go to the sainsburys which is a little further away but the quality is better IMHO.
 
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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DekHog said:
It's not so much that issue that bugs me, it's the fact they can't get you out of their shop quick enough once they start scanning your goods...... probably part of the reason they don't have the scanned goods area any larger than a postage stamp. God forbid you should spend any longer than 5 seconds between the last item being scanned and you handing over your cash. 5 seconds after handing over the cash they expect you to be out the front door!!
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They don't though, all they want is you through the till as fast as possible, you can take as long as you want at the packing area after the till.

macs said:
SA system?
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@MartynK is in South Africa, so I would presume that's what he means by SA system. Cheap labour and a strong Union makes for lots of "non-jobs".
 
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. It's never even occurred to me that this is something anyone would find troubling.
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Me too. I find it so frustrating when your in a supermarket and the person in front of you is still packing their bags 5 minutes after the last item has been scanned :)
 
jakeblu said:
Me too. I find it so frustrating when your in a supermarket and the person in front of you is still packing their bags 5 minutes after the last item has been scanned :)
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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 so it's not surprising that people are still bagging after the last item is scanned.
 
ghoti said:
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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Yes I'd rather bag the stuff where it's already out of the trolley or basket than pack it back into the trolley or basket and then pack the stuff all over again in a different place 2 foot away! Not sure that's all that peculiar is it?

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.
 
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
 
macs said:
Yes I'd rather bag the stuff where it's already out of the trolley or basket than pack it back into the trolley or basket and then pack the stuff all over again in a different place 2 foot away! Not sure that's all that peculiar is it?

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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About two minutes quicker. It is a peculiar and self centred way to behave in my opinion. But admittedly it's more amusing than annoying to discover somebody has an attitude like this over something so massively trivial.
Also you say you deliberately go slow. Inconveniencing yourself (because your desire is apparently to save yourself the insignificant amount of time it would take you just to go to the side) as well as others! It's just silly and childish.

Absolutely hilarious behaviour.
 
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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 so it's not surprising that people are still bagging after the last item is scanned.
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Around 25 years ago I worked briefly in Safeway's occasionally on the still. How quickly you scanned items was monitored and you were expected to average a certain amount every minute. I wouldn't be surprised if some supermarkets still have that policy
 
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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Exactly. Keep folk moving, the faster the better.

Also, I think it would be a great idea if they had a screen up between the till operator & the customer, to stop any unnecessary chit chat. ;)
 
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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Similar to this. I bag it as it's going back into the trolley.
If they're scanning like it's a race, they get told to slow down.
 
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
 
Dave1 said:
I didn't know Safeway used to produce moonshine :p.
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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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