Aldi & Lidl

[RichB]

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.

[Barry]

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]

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!!

[struth]

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!!

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

[Marco]

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

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!

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...!

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.

[Barry]

Sounds you would be better off with the creepingly de-humanising 'self service' checkouts; something I eschew with assiduousness.

[struth]

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

[Arkless Electronics]

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

Aldi and Lidl are top shops

[Marco]

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!

Marco.

[Barry]

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!

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! ).