View Full Version : Aldi & Lidl
Just been reading this thread on pfm, shaking my head in disbelief at the some of the snobbish and ill-informed comments, not to mention sheer ignorance (especially about wine), spouted about the produce and products sold by Aldi & Lidl: http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=184471
:doh: :doh: :rolleyes:
I shall comment more later, and outline exactly what I'm referring to!
Marco.
http://youtu.be/cL7jyXCQ2Zc
Some mixed opinions as is usual; cant please everyone or we'd all be in aldi/lidl and the other shops would close. I shop around tbh, but get a lot of stuff from Aldi especially, but lidl too. Food is good, and their good wines are terrific, and silly cheap for the quality. Beer is also decent although as I drink Smiths smooth or equ, they dont do one, so have to get it elsewhere.
I get home deliveries often from Sainsburys, who are as cheap as the other main stores and quality is probably better/certainly as good.
Some mixed opinions as is usual; cant please everyone or we'd all be in aldi/lidl and the other shops would close. I shop around tbh, but get a lot of stuff from Aldi especially, but lidl too. Food is good, and their good wines are terrific, and silly cheap for the quality. Beer is also decent although as I drink Smiths smooth or equ, they dont do one, so have to get it elsewhere.
I get home deliveries often from Sainsburys, who are as cheap as the other main stores and quality is probably better/certainly as good.
I don't believe in all this supermarket loyalty stuff, I go to the places near where I live. That happens to be Aldi.
I don't believe in all this supermarket loyalty stuff, I go to the places near where I live. That happens to be Aldi.
I'm spoiled for choice tbh and within 2 miles or so I have tesco, morrisons, aldi, lidl and asda. go out 5/6 miles and can add various more of the same plus 2 Sainsurys and a M&S. My son, who I shop for(thats a laugh as I'm crippled) likes tesco stuff so I have to go there regularly. their ready meals are first class mind, and a case of 18 J Smiths is £13, so not to bad. You get clubcard points too which is a nice bonus... I just got £30 for this quarter...;)
I used to be a Waitrose shopper until a Lidl and Aldi opened very near. I do not miss Waitrose at all and I recon I save about £1000 per annum on shopping.
Lots more dosh to spend on the most important thing in life - MUSIC!:lol:
Here's a wee clue, folks.... Both Aldi and Lidl are GERMAN supermarkets, selling mainly GERMAN and EUROPEAN products and produce, augmented by sales of fresh produce (meat, veg and fish) from quality local British suppliers.
It's **NOT** the place to go for your Heinz baked beans, Cadbury's hot chocolate, HP sauce, Andrex bog roll, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon or Kellogg's Corn Flakes, mainly because GERMANS and other EUROPEANS don't use, or eat or drink that stuff!! ;)
On the other hand, were you to sample the superb Bratwurst sausages, muesli, croissants and pain au chocolat (much cheaper and as good as or if not better than those found in Tesco, Sainsbury's, etc), huge and superb variety of cold meats and salads in general, olives and pickles, especially the Italian Parma Ham and Salami, Parmesan cheese, the AMAZING European-sourced chocolate, such as that from Ritter Sport and Milka, which knocks Cadbury's chocolate into a cocked hat, and the superb ANYTHING in Lidl's Deluxe range, the best of which is, quite frankly, is as good as anything found in Waitrose, not to mention the STUNNING French and Italian, rather keenly priced wines (particularly Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, Chianti, Barolo, Barbera, Amarone, Spätlese, Sauternes and Tokaji dessert wine - I could go on), or the superb German Pils lagers, at fractions of the price of 'known brands', you might get a rather different impression!!!
More later....
Marco.
P.S You can also sometimes pay more for the best DOCG Prosecco (from specialist producers), than some Champagne. Prosecco is not just 'Prosecco' - and it's certainly a very different thing from Asti Spumante! :doh:
Audio Advent
26-02-2016, 22:02
Thing I can't stand about Aldi (I think.. maybe Lidl, maybe both!) are the lack of check-out staff! Annoying queues for ages just to buy a single chocolate bar..
jandl100
26-02-2016, 22:14
Thing I can't stand about Aldi (I think.. maybe Lidl, maybe both!) are the lack of check-out staff! Annoying queues for ages just to buy a single chocolate bar..
Prices are nice and cheap, though. ;)
And the small numbers of staff is one of the reasons why.
They pay quite well, apparently, but they expect their employees to work hard.
In my experience the checkouts go very quickly, due to their no nonsense fire it back in the trolley system and you pack over on the counter. I reckon the aldi staff are 3 times quicker than others, and 10 times faster than morrisons :lol: for the money saved its well worth the inconvenience, if thats how you view it. ...but tbh the are not really tooled up for single item buyers. the staff have to double up on tills and shelve packing so its a hard shift for them; decent money though
The queue can be a bit much but only when people don't practice Aldi etiquette. It is the unspoken rule that if you've got a load of stuff and the guy behind only has hus cans of lager then you let him jump your place while you load the conveyer.
The Chianti is particularly good though.
Buy my meat from my local butcher. Buy my fruit and veg from my local greengrocer (not the local farm shop) and nearly everything else from the Co-op. Boring stuff like household cleaners are often bought from Wilkinson or Poundland; though you have to be careful, even though it may say 'Fairy' on the label, it is 'watered down' to sell at a lower price - it simply doesn't last as long.
I would shop at Aldi, but mine is a fair distance from me, so unless Marco or someone tells me there are some bargains to had there wine wise, I don't bother. When it come to shopping, I lie to shop local: I know the people there, who are friendly and will always pass the time of day with you. I'm prepared to pay for expediency.
walpurgis
26-02-2016, 22:25
LIDL checkout service is diabolical in London. There are usually big queues and very slow service, due to the absolute minimum of staff being used.
I recall waiting in line for about 15 minutes and then there was more delay, due to an item not having a barcode and the checkout girl disappearing to find it. I got fed up and walked out leaving a whole conveyor of groceries for them to clear. On the way out I told the supervisor where he could stick it!! :steam:
LIDL checkout service is diabolical in London. There are usually big queues and very slow service, due to the absolute minimum of staff being used.
I recall waiting in line for about 15 minutes and then there was more delay, due to an item not having a barcode and the checkout girl disappearing to find it. I got fed up and walked out leaving a whole conveyor of groceries for them to clear. On the way out I told the supervisor where he could stick it!! :steam:
Ive found the older lidls to be very slow here too. we have 2 of the localish ones being rebuilt into very big stores with dingdong speech service to attract you to a till which annoys but they seem to have a bigger staff
their deluxe scottish oatcakes are the berries lol. currently scoffing one...need to refresh stocks soon
In my experience the checkouts go very quickly, due to their no nonsense fire it back in the trolley system and you pack over on the counter. I reckon the aldi staff are 3 times quicker than others, and 10 times faster than morrisons :lol:
Hear, hear - exactly my experience, too! In other supermarkets, they scan stuff through at a snails pace (often as if they have all the time in the world) and then stop to chat to some old gran about the cakes she's bought, and how lovely they are because they've tried them too, or some other banal nonsense, instead of trying to get the queue down and serve the customers waiting behind her as quickly as possible! :doh:
Aldi and Lidl checkout staff, in my experience, scan stuff through, rapid-fire (whilst still remaining unfailingly polite), and consequently I rarely have to wait long to get my shopping through the checkouts - then again I shop when most other folks are working and avoid busy times like the plague! ;)
I also use the quieter stores, out with of town centres, located in nearby villages, which ironically often have more stock of the stuff I'm looking for (especially during their Italian and French weeks, etc) because it's not selling out as quickly as in the town centre stores, and the car parks are nice and empty, too!
It's essentially about applying a bit of common sense...
Also, in terms of this 'lack of choice', mentioned on pfm, you have to realise that supermarkets in the UK are amongst the few in the world where you can buy foodstuffs and brand names from all over the world, all under the one roof. And that's not necessarily a good thing, as the quality of any particular 'cuisine' is therefore diluted, in comparison with a supermarket specialising, say, only in French food, which is generally what French people want, or Italians or Germans, for that matter, in supermarkets in Italy or Germany.
Because in the likes of Germany, Italy and France, 90% of the products and produce sold in supermarkets is either German, French or Italian - and that's why there is a perceived 'lack of choice' in Aldi and Lidl UK stores, simply because they're reflecting their German roots, and thus stock mainly German and European produce, whilst simply throwing in a few token (albeit often inferior) brand name replacements, to keep the Brits happy!
However, if you get to know the product ranges properly of Lidl and Aldi, cherry pick the best of what they're got, and most importantly understand what they're about, then you can both eat and drink extremely well, for considerably less outlay than when buying similar items from the so-called 'posher' supermarkets - and if you're referring here to the likes of Asda or Tesco, that's simply a joke, as you'll see far more tracksuit'd chavs there than you will in Lidl or Aldi...! :D
However, I shouldn't be telling you all this... Just keep thinking that in Aldi and Lidl the selection is crap, the wine is "shite" and the cornflakes are pish, and that'll mean there's more of the good stuff left for the rest of us (and room in the car parks, too), who aren't hopeless brand-name snobs/creatures of habit, and value something that's a little bit different from the norm! ;)
Marco.
Sounds you would be better off with the creepingly de-humanising 'self service' checkouts; something I eschew with assiduousness.
Sounds you would be better off with the creepingly de-humanising 'self service' checkouts; something I eschew with assiduousness.
speak Scottish man ;) avoid like the plague :D
Arkless Electronics
26-02-2016, 23:07
Sounds you would be better off with the creepingly de-humanising 'self service' checkouts; something I eschew with assiduousness.
I fully concur with your perspicacity on this matter :D
Aldi and Lidl are top shops ;)
Sounds you would be better off with the creepingly de-humanising 'self service' checkouts; something I eschew with assiduousness.
Absolutely! I simply pretend that they don't exist.
If I'm paying top dollar for my shopping in one of the main supermarkets, then I expect (or rather DEMAND) that what I've bought is scanned and packed for me by a member of staff, as the cost attached to that is built into the price I'm paying for my shopping!
If they want to encourage me to use the 'self-service' checkouts, then discount the cost of my shopping for the inconvenience I've incurred!! Plus, it's all a big ruse to eventually do away with manned checkouts, so the more that these 'self-service' things are used, the quicker that'll become a reality, along with a subsequent loss of jobs!
Nah, f*ck yer 'self-service' pish. It'll end nowhere beneficial for the customer, and simply put more cash into the pockets of the money men! :exactly:
Marco.
Absolutely! I simply pretend that they don't exist.
If I'm paying top dollar for my shopping in one of the main supermarkets, then I expect (or rather DEMAND) that what I've bought is scanned and packed for me by a member of staff, as the cost attached to that is built into the price I'm paying for my shopping!
If they want to encourage me to use the 'self-service' facilities, then discount the cost of my shopping for the inconvenience I've incurred!! Plus, it's all a big ruse to eventually do away with manned checkouts, so the more that these 'self-service' facilities are used, the quicker that'll become a reality, along with a subsequent loss of jobs!
Nah, f*ck yer 'self-service' pish. It'll end nowhere beneficial for the customer, and simply put more cash into the pockets of the money men! :exactly:
Marco.
OK - you've got it (and if you want to be a sullen, grumpy so-and-so, you can refuse to talk to the staff as well! :lol:).
walpurgis
26-02-2016, 23:16
Nah, f*ck yer 'self-service' pish. It'll end nowhere beneficial for the customer, and simply put more cash into the pockets of the money men! :exactly:
Marco.
And you can imagine the amount of people who inadvertently get it wrong and go out with something that payment got missed on as it has not scanned properly and then get grabbed by the security guard who's been watching the CCTV for victims.
And you can imagine the amount of people who inadvertently get it wrong and go out with something that payment got missed on as it has not scanned properly and then get grabbed by the security guard who's been watching the CCTV for victims.
Or the number of times a scanned item is entered twice! It's the latter, which has stopped me using them, as well as my suspicion of the cynical means to reduce paid employment for some.
Audio Advent
26-02-2016, 23:30
And you can imagine the amount of people who inadvertently get it wrong and go out with something that payment got missed on as it has not scanned properly and then get grabbed by the security guard who's been watching the CCTV for victims.
You can imagine all you want... but I've never seen it happen, no-one I know has ever seen it happen that they've ever spoken of. And if you've ever used one you'll know that the slightest thing that goes wrong and the machine itself make a big noise and notifies the staff so they can come to help.. you can scan an avacado as an onion and the security guard won't be able to see - that's about as big a mistake as you can "inadvertently" make via actually using the machine.
So, the only thing security will see on their CCTV would be blatent shop lifting - not scanning stuff and putting it straight into another bag. Good on them for stopping that when it happens.
Yeah, Geoff, exactly!
Anyway, buy anything in Lidl from the following range, and you'll not only be quids in, but your tastebuds will be suitably tickled: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10746.htm or this: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm
Not sure if it's listed, but the creme brûlée and panna cotta are simply to die for! :drool:
And we're having this to start for Sunday lunch: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm?action=showDetail&id=28773 with a slice of pâté http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm?action=showDetail&id=28733 (followed by roast rib of beef from our local butcher).
Yum, yum!
Aye, Aldi and Lidl sell 'hee haw' that's any good.... :doh: :rolleyes:
Marco.
Audio Advent
26-02-2016, 23:34
Or the number of times a scanned item is entered twice! It's the latter, which has stopped me using them, as well as my suspicion of the cynical means to reduce paid employment for some.
How does that happen? It won't let you scan something new until the first item has been detected on the weighing scales ("bagging area" as it's called).
In fact the opposite happens! You scan something, it beeps (or a machine nearby does?) and so you put it in the bagging area and scan the next but it never actually scanned in the first place and won't let you continue until you've removed the first item and scanned it again.
Have people here actually used them to know what they're talking about?
Audio Advent
26-02-2016, 23:38
The queue can be a bit much but only when people don't practice Aldi etiquette. It is the unspoken rule that if you've got a load of stuff and the guy behind only has hus cans of lager then you let him jump your place while you load the conveyer.
The Chianti is particularly good though.
Whenever I go in for one or two items (too far for regular use) I would need the whole queue to step aside for my one item.. Seems, perhaps because of the same experience, people only go in for larger shops and never for one or two items. Hence the big queues in the first place with only one person on the checkout.
Doesn't seem to matter if a shop has automated checkouts or strictly only manned checkouts, the reduction in the staffing levels appears to be the same (but with one having a less efficient and time consuming experience for the customer).
How does that happen? It won't let you scan something new until the first item has been detected on the weighing scales ("bagging area" as it's called).
In fact the opposite happens! You scan something, it beeps (or a machine nearby does?) and so you put it in the bagging area and scan the next but it never actually scanned in the first place and won't let you continue until you've removed the first item and scanned it again.
Have people here actually used them to know what they're talking about?
On several occasions I have scanned an item, the machine beeps, I put in the bag and the machine beeps again, and because the item is already in the bag adds another item. Obviously a problem with the machine, don't ask me what's going on, but I get fed up with having to wait for an assistant to come along and sort things out.
That and the social undesirability of these self-service checkouts is why I avoid them.
I like both Aldi and Lidl. The latter has some great bread products and always seems like a more pleasant place to shop. Both have encouraged me to try new tastes over the years.
walpurgis
26-02-2016, 23:58
You can imagine all you want... but I've never seen it happen, no-one I know has ever seen it happen that they've ever spoken of. And if you've ever used one you'll know that the slightest thing that goes wrong and the machine itself make a big noise and notifies the staff so they can come to help.. you can scan an avacado as an onion and the security guard won't be able to see - that's about as big a mistake as you can "inadvertently" make via actually using the machine.
So, the only thing security will see on their CCTV would be blatent shop lifting - not scanning stuff and putting it straight into another bag. Good on them for stopping that when it happens.
Oh. I'm so glad you put me right on that one! Endless gratitude, etc. Thanks so much. Must be nice being right about everything all the time.
Audio Advent
27-02-2016, 00:01
Prices are nice and cheap, though. ;)
And the small numbers of staff is one of the reasons why.
They pay quite well, apparently, but they expect their employees to work hard.
I'm single and freelance so only shop for myself and can shop at any time in the day..
.. therefore the cheapest shop depends entirely on how a shop reduces it's products at the end of the day!
Cheapest fruit and veg is from local shops for me by far. Waitrose and Co-op have the best reductions if you go at the right time. I don't think I've ever seen Aldi and Lidl reductions but I don't go enough to know. Tesco and Sainsbury's have the stingiest reductions of all except for 30 minutes before they scoop it all up and throw it away.
Buying £4.25 "luxury" bread for 65p at Waitrose is pretty commonplace for example, Higgldy Piggldy (or whatever the brand is called!) quiche's for 35p at co-op.. Can feel quite upper middle class for not much at all.
I think Waitrose is actually quite cheap! If you actually compare like with like they are often cheaper than Tesco or Sainsbury's. However, the image people get from Waitrose is not like for like comparison - Waitrose has some expensive products which no-one else sells and so it appears to be an expensive shop. And their cheap stuff is better quality than the cheap equivalent from Tesco/Sainsbury's at the same price. Plus they are more fancy for the same price - compare Waitrose brand smoothies with those from tesco or sainsburys - waitrose will be more obscure with broccoli and yoku berries etc in whilst the other shops go for predictable orange and mango or strawberry/banana. Yet they'll be the very same price, £1.60 ish. So, again, without actually paying attention Waitrose appears to be more posh (and therefore it must follow, expensive) whereas actually it's that the main ones are bland and boring and yet still cost the same.
I don't eat meat so I have a different outlook with prices - I ignore all the meaty products (obviously) and so have no clue as to any of those kind of prices. TEsco Metros and Sainsbury Local's (as are the most common shops in london near me) appear to be stocked by the people running them who's idea of a good meal is cheap meat with a side of cheap meat.. so I only go reluctantly.
I really need to cook more! Then I could cut them all mostly out of my daily life..
Audio Advent
27-02-2016, 00:06
Oh. I'm so glad you put me right on that one! Endless gratitude, etc. Thanks so much. Must be nice being right about everything all the time.
Strange reaction!
Your point appeared to be made up - what's the point of painting a completely false picture of something? If you disagree then you can just post again to justify what you've said and I might then stand corrected - surely that's the whole point of a forum? No point getting the hump.
Audio Advent
27-02-2016, 00:14
On several occasions I have scanned an item, the machine beeps, I put in the bag and the machine beeps again, and because the item is already in the bag adds another item. Obviously a problem with the machine, don't ask me what's going on, but I get fed up with having to wait for an assistant to come along and sort things out.
That and the social undesirability of these self-service checkouts is why I avoid them.
I see what you mean.. I think it depends on the machine and shop. A lot just won't let you scan anything until each item is placed in the bag, and I've noticed that more, if not all, do that now. Probably something that's evolved over their use.
Whilst I disagree with their use taking away jobs, I do also appreciate their social consequence too - lets face it, neither the customer nor the check out person actually wants to speak to each other 90% of the time and when you do and you're the 300th person they've said the exact same platitudes to for the last 4 hours, it will all be fake no matter how unique the experience might have seemed to you. I actually feel I get more genuine interaction when the person comes to sort out the machine for me . Can't have any interaction at a local supermarkets either because the queue behind is too long for there to be any pause for chit chat. Have to leave the social part for non-supermarket shops.
walpurgis
27-02-2016, 00:15
Strange reaction!
Your point appeared to be made up - what's the point of painting a completely false picture of something? If you disagree then you can just post again to justify what you've said and I might then stand corrected - surely that's the whole point of a forum? No point getting the hump.
I was being entirely complimentary.
Love self-service checkouts, particularly if there are queues ... hate waiting in a daft line for someone to do the robot act when I can do it faster myself.
Used them in a variety of stores and rarely encounter problems, except B&Q for some reason :scratch:
Used to enjoy going to Lidl for weird food in indecipherable languages but last time I went the stock seemed to be dominated by 'English' brand type stuff with slightly different packaging designs ... like some surreal movie set. I walked out ....
Oldpinkman
27-02-2016, 06:56
Yeah, Geoff, exactly!
Anyway, buy anything in Lidl from the following range, and you'll not only be quids in, but your tastebuds will be suitably tickled: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10746.htm or this: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm
Not sure if it's listed, but the creme brûlée and panna cotta are simply to die for! :drool:
And we're having this to start for Sunday lunch: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm?action=showDetail&id=28773 with a slice of pâté http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10984.htm?action=showDetail&id=28733 (followed by roast rib of beef from our local butcher).
Yum, yum!
Aye, Aldi and Lidl sell 'hee haw' that's any good.... :doh: :rolleyes:
Marco.
Yeah, but they are German supermarkets, here because we are EU members, run by bloody foreigners, out to cheat the honest true born Englishman. Probably full of shoppers speaking foreign too :doh:
Has anyone got any evidence that self service checkouts are putting people out of work, or just spouting because they don't like them or can't get to grips with them? My observation would be they are an addition to what's available not a replacement.
I personally use them all the time, very quick and efficient and I have never had anything incorrectly scanned, not ever. The only problem I get is having my bags authorised, as I use the heavy duty Waitrose bags they issue when you register for the self scanners. I love the personal hand scanners too, even faster and you get a running total of your spend. Mind you I'm glad the majority of technophobe duffers can't figure them out as it means faster shopping for me and no waiting at a check out wth the riff raff :)
The self service checkouts are designed to put people out of work otherwise why would the supermarkets have put them in?
Staff is the biggest cost for any business even if they are students on three-fifty an hour.
I won't use them as I can't be arsed. I'm the customer, you're the shopkeeper, you ring my stuff up, tell me how much, take my money and give me my change. It worked like that for hundreds of years and I'm not changing now.
As for Lidl I went in once. Yes the chocolate is good. I wouldn't know a good wine from a hole in the ground. Agree it was like a surreal film set. Like shopping on the Continent where you can't work out what anything is and end up buying some nasty tasting biscuits.
Haha, well hopefully we'll move on over the next 100 years. And last time I looked unemployment is at a record low right now, so the argument is flawed ;)
Unemployed and looking for work is 1.6 million. That's not a record low, the record low was zero back in about 1968
Number in work is at a record high, that may be where you are confused. But the population is at a record high as well so that's not as impressive as it sounds.
The self service checkouts are there to reduce staffing levels. I don't see how anyone can argue otherwise. You think the supermarkets spent all that money installing them just to give a better customer experience? If they wanted to give a better CE then they would just open more tills. Never understood why they install 20 tills and never have more than 4 open. Just install 4 and save a bundle.
Love self-service checkouts, particularly if there are queues ... hate waiting in a daft line for someone to do the robot act when I can do it faster myself.
I get that, but can you not also see that you're playing into the hands of the supermarkets, who offer that 'service' (the word is actually rather ironic considering the lack of it)? Fine, if like in Aldi and Lidl, you're paying LESS for your shopping, because you have to pack stuff yourself, etc, but why pay MORE to serve yourself??? :mental:
For me that's just lunacy!
If less folk used the 'self-service' checkouts, unless the supermarkets concerned lowered their prices, to reflect the fact that their staff can be otherwise gainfully employed, whilst placing more workload onto the customer, then the supermarkets would soon do something about it, otherwise be faced with empty 'self-service' checkouts, and a gross loss of profit from their investment in them!
Keep it up too, and it'll eventually lead to completely unmanned checkouts in all major supermarkets, so you'll have no option *but* to serve yourself, whilst prices still remain higher than those in Lidl and Aldi, and the supermarkets concerned sink the extra profit, whilst laughing at the saps, fiddling around with machines at self-service areas, willing to pay MORE to serve themselves.
It's simply a cost-cutting exercise designed to make THEM more money! :doh:
My advice? Boycott the 'self-service' checkouts and FORCE supermarkets into doing the OPPOSITE of what they want, and that's having more staff SERVING customers at manned checkouts. The fact is, if there were more manned checkouts open, doing precisely that (instead of lying empty whilst the sheep, doing precisely what the supermarkets want them to do, use the 'self-service' areas), there would be far less queues, and so no need for any 'self-service' checkouts in the first place!! :exactly:
Used to enjoy going to Lidl for weird food in indecipherable languages but last time I went the stock seemed to be dominated by 'English' brand type stuff with slightly different packaging designs ... like some surreal movie set. I walked out ....
Lol - very good! However, it bears no resemblance whatsoever to what I see at my my local Lidl, or have seen since day one of me using their stores, unless you've never travelled abroad before and witnessed anything 'foreign' ;)
Marco.
The self service checkouts are designed to put people out of work otherwise why would the supermarkets have put them in?
Staff is the biggest cost for any business even if they are students on three-fifty an hour.
I won't use them as I can't be arsed. I'm the customer, you're the shopkeeper, you ring my stuff up, tell me how much, take my money and give me my change. It worked like that for hundreds of years and I'm not changing now.
Hear, hear!! :clap: :clap:
Marco.
The only problem I get is having my bags authorised, as I use the heavy duty Waitrose bags they issue when you register for the self scanners. I love the personal hand scanners too, even faster and you get a running total of your spend.
Yeah, and while you're at it, you may as well put a uniform on and start packing some shelves too - that way you can be in control of the 'whole experience'!! :lol:
Marco.
The ultimate reward for supermarkets is to 'train' customers to do more of the work, whilst making more profit - and that is *exactly* what's happening when you use the 'self-service' checkouts or hand-scanners, so think about that next time you're doing it, and how you're allowing yourself to be manipulated in that way, and what the consequences of that might be in future! ;)
Never allow yourself to be controlled by 'the system'... Instead, control it.
Therefore, if supermarkets want me to use their robotic 'self-service' checkouts, and make ME do the work instead, then incentivise me to do so, by discounting the cost of my shopping accordingly!
If they offered customers 10% off, for using the 'self-service' areas, then the manned checkouts would soon be empty....! *But* the supermarkets don't want that: they want to have their cake AND eat it!! :rolleyes:
Wake up and smell the coffee, folks.....
Marco.
Tesco has these things.. Ive used it with a couple of items when its busy and was less than impressed..ended up taki!g as long as it would have waiting.. Handy for the impatient. See a lot of folk using those hand scanner jobs too... Not my job. Quite like getting the stuff delivered these days. Ive a list of usuals and you get a list of offers. It takes less time than warming up the car and probably no more expensive at 4 quid between 2 of us. I then just take his round the corner to him lol.
Brushes on the front of the trolleys and a bit of windolene and they can have you cleaning their floors for them as you go around.
They can have that one gratis
I envy Barry if he still has all the little shops around. I know food is a lot cheaper because of supermarkets but the down side is everyone involved gets a worse deal on balance - the staff, the suppliers and increasingly the customers. When I was a lad you could buy every day to day item within a hundred yards from your house - bread, meat fish, booze, veg, cakes, pharmacy, tobacco, bleach. You knew all the shopkeeps and staff by name and they knew you.
Plus everyone shopping there was local so you knew them as well and got to have a chat and a laugh.
In short it was all a damn sight better than what we have now.
Click bait or irony? :scratch:
Yeah, but they are German supermarkets, here because we are EU members, run by bloody foreigners, out to cheat the honest true born Englishman. Probably full of shoppers speaking foreign too :doh:
There are plenty of small independent shops round here (and in most places), Martin, where you can still do all that. However, it takes some effort to find them and get to them.
The problem now is that they're no longer on your doorstep, and these days most town centres are filled with Pound shops (and other cheap discounters) and Charity shops, instead of butchers, bakers, ironmongers, fruiterers and fishmongers - all thanks of course to the supermarkets, who've driven them away....
We still buy most of our fresh produce from those independents, and from local farm shops, simply because the quality is so much higher (and the prices often cheaper), but you need a car, or some other means of private transport, to get to them - and crucially, the time and inclination to do it.
Marco.
Furthermore, banks are going the same way...
Local ones in small towns and villages are all closing down, forcing their customers to travel to branches in larger nearby towns or cities, with the inconvenience that often entails with parking, etc - and worse still, when you get there, most of the floor space is taken up by self-service machines, with a TINY area at the back, manned by about two members of staff, for handling transactions personally.
And I can assure you that NONE of this is done primarily for the benefit of the customer!
Marco.
I haven't read all of this, but you lot don't half go off on one :lol:
If I pop into out local Tesco metro and use a small basket, the self-service checkouts are fine, although I hate being 'shouted at' by the automated 'guide' - "Unkown item in bagging area, please wait for the assistant!"
Being at the end of the road here, apart from a Sainsbury's on the Ipswich outskirts, a Morrisons with a boring monotonous food selection (and they keep running out of many essentials halfway though the day), an over-crowded Tesco Metro and an expensive but superior (produce) Co-Op, the up and coming store is definitely our Lidl, which was almost empty for a few years until positive comments on TV last year. It's now 'heaving' much of the time and we pop in almost daily for fresh baked bread and rolls (I like to toast my bloomers - cough) and their fruit & veg is usually excellent quality and lasts better too. Now we and others are getting used to the 'odd names' on many items, we're finding the overall quality excellent and cheaper too. Diabetes prevents me enjoying their little biccie etc. treats, but they look good and I have sampled them in the past... The car park is very full now most of the time and staff are friendly, although the intention is that items are checked through very quickly and 'bagged up' on the side 'counter' after payment. I hardly drink these days, but the alcohol beverage choice looks as well.
I get that, but can you not also see that you're playing into the hands of the supermarkets, who offer that 'service' (the word is actually rather ironic considering the lack of it)? Fine, if like in Aldi and Lidl, you're paying LESS for your shopping, because you have to pack stuff yourself, etc, but why pay MORE to serve yourself??? :mental:
The myth that they are 'more efficient' and cut staff was exploded some time back when the majors stepped back from full implementation. In most supermarkets and megastores I've used, conventional check-out tills outnumber self service by a significant number, particularly at peak times. Can't think of any of our locals that have more than 4 and they are invariably staffed by at least one store employee (more at peak times) who deals with snags. the threat to staffing is to me a total non-argument and simply about nostalgia for a non-existent 'golden era' of shopping.
To me they are a welcome convenience fully in the spirit of why supermarkets became such a hit in the first place. Shame that most of the old-fashioned values of customer service died with the old skool 'mom and pop' shops (even when they existed in the first place) but as we all voted with our feet, and trolleys, we only have ourselves to blame ;)
http://www.nbc.com/sites/nbcunbc/files/files/images/2015/4/13/140207_2724044_Weekend_Update_Segment___Grumpy_Old _Man_anvver_2.jpg
http://grumpyoldguy.weebly.com/1/post/2011/10/symptoms-of-grumpy-old-man-syndrome.html (http://grumpyoldguy.weebly.com/1/post/2011/10/symptoms-of-grumpy-old-man-syndrome.html)
. Can't think of any of our locals that have more than 4 and they are invariably staffed by at least one store employee (more at peak times) who deals with snags. the threat to staffing is to me a total non-argument and simply about nostalgia for a non-existent 'golden era' of shopping.
My local Sainsbury have sixteen self services in 2 banks of 8. Only one bank open when it is quiet but I have seen long queues at both when busy. Imagine queuing to serve yourself! They obviously never considered this as there is no-where to queue without blocking a main aisle so people just mill about randomly waiting their turn. This got a mate of mine barred when he innocently went to serve himself and inadvertently jumped the 'queue'. Some bloke gave him grief and fisticuffs resulted.
I hate going to the supermarket, always have. The bright lights, the cold, impersonal nature of it all. That the vast majority of people don't seem to notice, or care, is alarming to me. There was a golden age for shops, and it existed right up until the supermarkets came along.
Not been in sainsburys for many years..that was the linlithgow shop. Not been in the big livingston one. Got a morrisons closest to me but only go in when i need whisky bourbon. Rarely go into the local lidl as the shop is crap and selection poor. Aldi is one of my favoured ones as its a size i can manage round as is tesco but its a bit farther out. Go to whitburn or livy for lidl..both new stores.. I quite like shopping and seeing all the goods....chicks included:eyebrows:
southall-1998
27-02-2016, 11:30
I'm sitting here eating two Sainsbury's rolls, filled with Dairylea cheese spread. Nice cheap snack!
S.
Got me on a real nostalgia trip now.
Unlike Uncle Monty I used to love going in the butchers shop as a kid. The blood and sawdust on the floor, the carcases hanging in the window. I can still recall the smell. hard to think that will never happen again.
Butchers were always big, ruddy-faced blokes with blood-stained apron, sleeves rolled up, forearms like Popeye.
You can't have the sawdust anymore, but lots of shops used to have it all over the floor. One greengrocer near where I lived in Liverpool was called Banks's. You walked on planks and the veg was just in crates on the floor. The further you went back in the shop the darker it got until it was just shadows. No-one minded. No counter just a bloke in a coat and flat cap with a change bag on his waist.
We had a cake shop as well. Sayers, with girls in black uniforms and white doily things on their heads serving.
Less money then, no mobile phones or tinterweb and cars had trouble starting if it was damp or cold but I swear to God the quality of life was better.
Ah - nostalgia aint what it used to be. :lol:
I haven't read all of this, but you lot don't half go off on one :lol:
Yes, I do have my 'pet subjects', which I'm rather passionate about! ;)
I only become exposed to all this pish, when leaving my 'little island', and entering the commercial reality of the outside world.....
Marco.
In most supermarkets and megastores I've used, conventional check-out tills outnumber self service by a significant number, particularly at peak times. Can't think of any of our locals that have more than 4 and they are invariably staffed by at least one store employee (more at peak times) who deals with snags.
Well, Mikey-boy, that's not the case where I am.
It's more like what Macca describes - and it can be chaos sometimes when there's a problem (frequently when the machines at the self-service section don't 'like', and thus fail to recognise, your own bags, which you've brought with you), and the assistant who should've been there to help, has been 'deployed elsewhere', leaving the machine screaming 'assistance required', while you're stood there like a tit, waiting for a member of staff to arrive......
That's particularly the case during quiet times of the day, which is when I do my shopping.
Also, as we buy a lot of loose fresh fruit and veg (and various different varieties of such), you've got the ball-ache of having to identify them on the machine and individually weigh the f*ckers, as well as having to contend with the rest of what you've bought, and then when you get to paying, the machine sometimes won't recognise either the paper money or coins you've put in (yes, we're old-fashioned that way and still like to pay most things with cash), which again requires a member of staff to sort out - all of which time they could've just served me properly at the till! :doh:
Hardly a relaxing or stress-free experience, and certainly only really of any use when popping in quickly for a few bits, and say a maximum of five or six items - certainly not for a full week's shopping. The thought of standing there going through what I've just described, with a whole week's shopping, simply to, erm, 'save time', by not using the manned checkouts, not only fills me with horror, but is completely and utterly counter-productive!! :nono:
And then, as Martin says, because they're trying to encourage (train) you into use the self-service checkouts, only a tiny proportion of the main checkouts are staffed, and so you get long queues developing on those which are, of folk like me, who a) aren't using the self-service areas out of principle, and b) have bought too much stuff to make using them practical - instead of the staff or management seeing what's happening, and opening up more tills to cope with the queues! :rolleyes:
I'm afraid that unless you're simply popping in quickly to buy a few (quickly and easily scanned) items, have bags that the machine wants to recognise, and paying by credit or debit card, the whole thing is a bollocks.
...the threat to staffing is to me a total non-argument and simply about nostalgia for a non-existent 'golden era' of shopping.
Well firstly, it's not so much about a 'threat to staffing', as things stand now, but penalising customers, by taking staff who should be manning the checkouts serving customers, away from there to do something else instead, because they've got daftees (customers) willing to do their job for them, by serving themselves!
However, when (not if, I feel) it gets to the stage that there are no manned checkouts left, then as a result, there *will* be job losses, simply because there will no longer be any need for employing people in that role.
As for 'the golden era of shopping', it certainly did exist in the 70s and early 80s, when I was growing up, simply because town centres then were full of things that should always have existed, such as independent butchers, fishmongers, etc, all selling superb, locally-sourced produce, together with traders who knew their customers personally, and thus offered genuinely excellent levels of service, instead of the sad reflection we have of that now... *That* is what made it special, and indeed a 'golden era' for shopping!
Yes, the general public's insatiable desire for convenience and the lowest prices - at any cost - gave birth to the supermarket, and the rest, of course, is history. However, I, or indeed my parents, certainly weren't amongst the former, and would've gladly paid a little extra for our provisions and continued to use the small independent shops in town centres, in order to keep them alive, but alas the lazy 'unwashed majority', with no consideration for anything else but themselves, ultimately will always get their own way...
Marco.
I think my tesco has 16 unmanned and another 16 for the handscanners. Probably 16 tills although an average of 5 will run sometimes less sometimes more. Also 2, 10 or less tills out of 4 normally. Not a huge shop either but mid range id guess.
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake.
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake.
:rfl: :rfl: :rfl: :rfl: :rfl:
indeed ....
what's that?
Marco.
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake
The Black Adder
27-02-2016, 17:14
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake.
Mumsnet is ace! I won't hear a bad thing about it. :)
Firebottle
27-02-2016, 17:14
Speak up lad :D
Sorry, I don't know what 'Mumsnet' is? Am I missing out on something special?
Marco.
Sorry, I don't know what 'Mumsnet' is? Am I missing out on something special?
Marco.
http://www.mumsnet.com
... where all the really cool shoppers hang out ;)
http://www.mumsnet.com/system/1/assets/files/000/009/881/9881/9c8926118/original/rosie-the-riveter.jpg
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake.
:lol:
twickers
27-02-2016, 18:44
I appear to have wandered into Mumsnet by mistake.
:rfl:
Now, now don't take the piss, Marco feels very strongly about this..:rolleyes:
:lol:
http://www.mumsnet.com
... where all the really cool shoppers hang out ;)
http://www.mumsnet.com/system/1/assets/files/000/009/881/9881/9c8926118/original/rosie-the-riveter.jpg
Soz, not my thing at all, especially since I'm not a parent. However, I'll acknowledge Joe's joke as being funny! :eyebrows:
Marco.
I haven't read all of this, but you lot don't half go off on one :lol:
I know, funny isn't it. Lifes too short ;)
....so make your time on this earth as enjoyable and as fulfilled as possible, which means ensuring that you don't waste many precious minutes stuck scanning in yer groceries at self-service supermarket checkouts!! :ner:
;)
Also, *never* simply become a pawn in 'the system'... Long live the free-thinkers and non-conformists! :yesbruv:
Marco.
So how do the ranters here buy petrol? Self-service? or assisted?
If assisted was available (as it used to be here, and often still is abroad), I'd take it... When possible, I'm all for being served! :)
Marco.
....so make your time on this earth as enjoyable and as fulfilled as possible, which means ensuring that you don't waste many precious minutes stuck scanning in yer groceries at self-service supermarket :ner:
Marco.
Don't you have self scanner's in Wales then? You don't have to spend anytime waiting with smelly folk in a checkout queue, so my minutes are never wasted - I'm out the door before people have even unloaded their trolley onto the belt, let alone waited for their turn. Also a flawed argument ;)
Flawed? Not at all, Timbo, me old son.
If the supermarkets manned all the checkouts necessary, in order to cope with the amount of customers in stores at any given time (so that there was no major queue at each one, with customers being served quickly and efficiently), and a member of staff was supervising that process, then you wouldn't need any self-service checkouts, and you'd be able to get in and out to do your shopping just as quickly, and with little effort on your part, just as it *should* be!
That aside, it's simply about if the cost of staff serving you is built into the price of your shopping, then you should be served by staff paid to do that job, or if not, the supermarket should discount the cost attached to that and pass it onto the customer. *Then*, I'd be quite happy to serve myself (provided that doing so was practical), because I'm suitably incentivised and haven't paid for the 'privilege' - simples! That's exactly what Aldi and Lidl do, so why can't the others?
I'm simply not willing to pay MORE to serve myself. I'm surprised that you don't seem to get that? :scratch:
It's certainly got nothing to do with being a 'technophobe'. I'll utilise technology when I consider that it's making MY life easier, not the supermarket's. Yes, we have 'self-scanners' here in Wales, but I've never used them, as they go against my principles of wanting to be served, when I'm paying for the privilege. So, could you explain to me how they work?
Say, I'm stood at the fruit and veg area, and I want to buy some loose carrots, potatoes, leeks, sprouts, swedes, parsnips, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, and then some apples (two varieties of such, as Del and I like different ones), bananas, oranges, grapefruits, pomegranates, kiwi fruit, etc, etc, as is frequently the case because Del's a veggie and we both like our fresh fruit and veg...
Therefore, with these 'self-scanners', do I have to stand there and individually identify and weigh each item before going to the checkout? And how does one pay for it afterwards - what's the procedure there?
Marco.
Things that dont come with a barcode you have to select at till individually from pc screen. If its by weight then not sure how it would work out its value..most are by how many i think.
Obviously everything in store must have a weight threshold so they know if your cheating or not
Things that dont come with a barcode you have to select at till individually from pc screen. If its by weight then not sure how it would work out its value..most are by how many i think.
Obviously everything in store must have a weight threshold so they know if your cheating or not
The scanner glass doubles up as scales. Presumably the cost/kilo for all loose items are programmed into the machine.
Things that dont come with a barcode you have to select at till individually from pc screen.
I'm talking about with using the self-scanners, dude, not the self-service checkouts, where you scan everything that you put in your trolley before going to the checkout, essentially doing what staff normally do at the tills.
I'd like to know what the process would be with me selecting all that loose fruit and veg, and how time consuming it would be. Also, what the process is when I pay for it.
Marco.
Ah sorry... Never used em but at a guess you would scan the ascociated label where you got them and then select amount.. Others may well be weighed .. I wont be trying them...
The scanner glass doubles up as scales. Presumably the cost/kilo for all loose items are programmed into the machine.
So, you're saying that I'd have to stand there, scanning in all the different produce individually, and weighing it, before going to the checkout? Feck that... Could you imagine how long it would take with all that loose fruit and veg, let alone anything else?? :eek:
Like I said, all this self-service bollocks is fine if you're not buying a lot of stuff, but not for a whole week's shopping. It's simply too impractical. Furthermore, as I've said before, the supermarket is effectively putting the workload onto you, and charging YOU for the privilege! :mental:
I'm no-one's unpaid slave....
Marco.
So, you're saying that I'd have to stand there, scanning in all the different produce individually, and weighing it, before going to the checkout? Feck that... Could you imagine how long it would take with all that loose fruit and veg, let alone anything else?? :eek:
Like I said, all this self-service bollocks is fine if you're not buying a lot of stuff, but not for a whole week's shopping. It's simply too impractical. Furthermore, as I've said before, the supermarket is effectively putting the workload onto you, and charging YOU for the privilege! :mental:
I'm no-one's unpaid slave....
Marco.
Unless its a sex slave;)
So, you're saying that I'd have to stand there, keying in all the different produce individually, and weighing it, before going to the checkout? Feck that... Could you imagine how long that would take with all that loose fruit and veg? :eek:
Like I said, all this self-service stuff is fine if you're not buying a lot of stuff, but not for a whole week's shopping. It's simply too impractical. Furthermore, as I've said before, the supermarket is effectively putting the workload on you, and charging you for the privilege! :mental:
Marco.
No, what I was saying was in response to Grant - the self-service checkouts can cope with loose items that need to be weighed.
I'm with you in that I eschew self-service checkouts. Anyway since I buy my fruit and veg from a traditional greengrocer the problem doesn't occur. And I get to have a nice chat with the assistant if the shop is not too busy. :)
No, what I was saying was in response to Grant - the self-service checkouts can cope with loose items that need to be weighed.
Yes, they can 'cope', but you still have to execute the procedure yourself, and how long do you think that would take, with all the loose fruit and veg to scan through, which I mentioned? Besides, as I've said, we're talking about using the self-scanners, not the self-service checkouts.
I'm with you in that I eschew self-service checkouts. Anyway since I buy my fruit and veg from a traditional greengrocer the problem doesn't occur. And I get to have a nice chat with the assistant if the shop is not too busy. :)
Indeed. We do too, sometimes. There's a huge farm shop, selling every kind of example of fresh produce you can think of, 10 mins drive from here. However, sometimes, it's quicker buying everything all under the one roof.
Marco.
Yo, Timbo!
It's certainly got nothing to do with being a 'technophobe'. I'll utilise technology when I consider that it's making MY life easier, not the supermarket's. Yes, we have 'self-scanners' here in Wales, but I've never used them, as they go against my principles of wanting to be served, when I'm paying for the privilege. So, could you explain to me how they work?
Say, I'm stood at the fruit and veg area, and I want to buy some loose carrots, potatoes, leeks, sprouts, swedes, parsnips, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, and then some apples (two varieties of such, as Del and I like different ones), bananas, oranges, grapefruits, pomegranates, kiwi fruit, etc, etc, as is frequently the case because Del's a veggie and we both like our fresh fruit and veg...
Therefore, with these 'self-scanners', do I have to stand there and individually identify and weigh each item before going to the checkout? And how does one pay for it afterwards - what's the procedure there?
:popcorn: :popcorn:
;)
Marco.
Floyddroid
09-03-2016, 11:50
http://youtu.be/cL7jyXCQ2Zc
Fantastic.
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