My first ever Aldi shop - WOW!

DCFC79

butterfly72 wrote: »

Can someone explain how the checkout works please? Its sounds a nightmare!

I can see how it might seem a bit of a nightmare, basically the checkout operator will scan the items like in Tesco, Asda but its done quickly, if you only have a few things you can pop them straight in a bag (or a box you have picked up around the store) but if more then once scanned it goes into the trolley then you bag it once you have paid.

The whole idea is to for the customer to pay and out the door asap ( you could do a full shop in Aldi/Lidl in half the time ( or less ) it would take in Asda etc).



Why dont you visit a store and watch how other customers do it.

Doc_N

bella2121 wrote: »

I've never had a problem with this although I do give them my vouchers before they start putting the shopping through as they can't just scan them all through at the end like you would with other vouchers they have to scan the product then the relevant voucher straight after it

Likewise - all the voucher items placed together at the front, along with the vouchers, to save time.

They refuse, however, to allow more than one item to be discounted with a voucher at a time. So, for example, the discounted yoghurts last week had to be put through one at a time as separate, individual transactions after we'd completed the main shop, which wasn't a small amount.

Waste of my time, waste of their time, and a waste of time for the other customers in the queue.

richardw

Doc_N wrote: »

No - just an Aldi problem. Always kept properly refrigerated from purchase to use.

My guess is it just isn't peak fresh when you pick it off the shelf in the store. Perhaps change your shopping day and see if there is an improvement.

Coopdivi

Doc_N wrote: »

Anyone else finding that their milk goes off well before its 'use by' date? Finding this time after time.

Buy a fridge thermometer and check your fridge which should be 1C to 4C. Then take it to your local Aldi branch and check theirs.

Doc_N

richardw wrote: »

My guess is it just isn't peak fresh when you pick it off the shelf in the store. Perhaps change your shopping day and see if there is an improvement.

Coopdivi wrote: »

Buy a fridge thermometer and check your fridge which should be 1C to 4C. Then take it to your local Aldi branch and check theirs.

Thanks - the mystery continues, though, because the milk always has at least 10 days left on it at purchase, and the fridges at home run at 4C.

I suspect this is store-specific - just curious to know whether others had had the same problem, and so far it seems to be just me!

richardw

Don't forget the more air in the bottle the quicker it'll go off, so when half full there is 2 pints of air in the bottle accelerating the going off.

Fully skimmed milk, the red one, also goes off quicker because there's less fat in the milk.

Perhaps buy in 2 pint bottles more frequently.

Over on the old style forum they'd probably say save the soured milk and make Soda Bread for a waste nothing tip.

Doc_N

richardw wrote: »

Don't forget the more air in the bottle the quicker it'll go off, so when half full there is 2 pints of air in the bottle accelerating the going off.

Fully skimmed milk, the red one, also goes off quicker because there's less fat in the milk.

Perhaps buy in 2 pint bottles more frequently.

Over on the old style forum they'd probably say save the soured milk and make Soda Bread for a waste nothing tip.

I'm talking about full, sealed cartons of milk. If a sealed carton has, say, a 4 October use by date, wouldn't you expect it to last (still sealed) until that date?

richardw

I wouldn't expect it to be fresh as on the day of purchase and wouldn't be surprised if it had just started to go of.

How long do you want to store the milk before opening it?

Doc_N

richardw wrote: »

I wouldn't expect it to be fresh as on the day of purchase and wouldn't be surprised if it had just started to go of.

How long do you want to store the milk before opening it?

How long do I want to store it? For as long as the label tells me I can - if it won't keep that long, then the Aldi labelling system is overoptimistic. We shop as little as possible - a week or more between visits.

On a related subject, and speaking as a confirmed Aldi shopper of some years, it's a shame they won't improve the quality of the fruit and veg. Lidl's much the same - poorish quality, and has to be eaten very quickly before it deteriorates.

bigjoe

Doc_N wrote: »

On a related subject, and speaking as a confirmed Aldi shopper of some years, it's a shame they won't improve the quality of the fruit and veg. Lidl's much the same - poorish quality, and has to be eaten very quickly before it deteriorates.

Haven't had any problems with Aldi milk and have to disagree with you on the fruit and veg - it HAS improved a great deal over the last few years as I'm sure others will agree. For the money, it's excellent value.