Aldi

Zorz_2

patchwork_cat wrote: »

How out of touch are you !


' A retail research company, has calculated that last year 12.9 per cent of Aldi’s regular customers were from the A B socioeconomic group – what most people would call “middle class”. That figure has leapt to 18.6 per cent this year.' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10412195/How-Aldi-won-the-class-war-and-became-the-fastest-growing-supermarket-in-Britain.html

Precisely! If Lidl is anything to go by:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10414858/Lidl-launches-first-television-adverts-as-it-targets-middle-class-shoppers.html

cod3

I love Aldi! I find our local staff are very friendly, I've got the belt loading/bag packing down to a fine art so there is no double handling, I am in Scotland and I don't use a credit card. Life is sweet

duchy

Aldi operate on far lower staff levels ....you don't see a supervisor hanging around chatting to other supervisors and rolling their eyes and sighing if actually asked to do something (see this on a regular basis in my local Sainsburys and Co-op supermarkets) but are out on the front line - often manning tills or dashing about. Staff are actually timed on speed they get goods and customers through the tills and can be disciplined for slowness. That said I find the staff at my local Aldi very friendly -the greeting isn't automatic a la Tesco it's genuine sounding but they do it as they work and don't use it as an excuse to slow down.

Last winter in the snow at my local store one of the staff noticed a dog left tied up outside ....she stayed on two hours after her shift - waiting for the owner- she got boxes to protect the dog from the falling snow -customers then rallied round - and the dog soon had blankets and even a dog coat produced from various customer's car boots and customers were buying the dog food from the chip shop opposite and from Aldis. (The dog and his elderly forgetful owner were reunited the next day and neighbours got involved to make sure a better eye was kept on them both.)

I love my local Aldis and their prices and ranges -and their excellent staff.

It's a trade off - lower prices and a quick response at the till (and use your debit card) or higher prices and a checkout operator who is potentially far slower as if they pause to chat to the five people in front of you as well that time all adds up - Ultimately its choice. Some people choose to use smaller shops despite their higher prices because they like the personal contact ........ you choose Tesco or ASDA in preference to Aldi - for their warm and sparkling conversation and their packing but pay for it- that is your preference and your choice but I will say I believe your experience with friendly chatty checkout operators in the big 4 supermarkets is not the norm

Hominu wrote: »

Yes, you put your card in and the terminal says "Declined, remove card".

I do get a few things at Aldi, but I wouldn't do my main shopping there as they are not friendly enough. For example, you unpack your trolley onto the conveyor belt, the cashier just throws it past the scanner and ignores everything you say, you have to quickly empty the other end of the checkout back into the trolley* and then the cashier shouts the total and gives you a facial expression of "Come on, come on, I get paid by the customer!". Then you have to move your trolley to somewhere else so you can start filling your bags before putting them back into your trolley for taking outside to load up your car.

With Asda, it seems the checkout operators are more friendly, and they offer to help pack your bags, possibly savings two steps, but it does cost you more overall.

* - I'm sure if you didn't empty the other end of the checkout quickly enough that items would go whizzing off the end and onto the floor and the operator wouldn't care and continue throwing things at you. Or maybe that's just the store I visit?

2e0arr

222

duchy wrote: »

Aldi operate on far lower staff levels .... Staff are actually timed on speed they get goods and customers through the tills and can be disciplined for slowness.

Wow if this it true i strongly advise Aldi staff to find work at another supermarket !
Discliplined for slowness ?

duchy wrote: »

Last winter in the snow at my local store one of the staff noticed a dog left tied up outside ....she stayed on two hours after her shift - waiting for the owner- she got boxes to protect the dog from the falling snow -customers then rallied round - and the dog soon had blankets and even a dog coat produced from various customer's car boots and customers were buying the dog food from the chip shop opposite and from Aldis. (The dog and his elderly forgetful owner were reunited the next day and neighbours got involved to make sure a better eye was kept on them both.)

Is this true ? a chip shop selling dog food ?
Do Aldi not sell (or better donate) food that could have been fed to the dog ?

duchy wrote: »

It's a trade off - lower prices and a quick response at the till (and use your debit card) or higher prices and a checkout operator who is potentially far slower as if they pause to chat to the five people in front of you as well that time all adds up - Ultimately its choice. Some people choose to use smaller shops despite their higher prices because they like the personal contact ........ you choose Tesco or ASDA in preference to Aldi - for their warm and sparkling conversation and their packing but pay for it- that is your preference and your choice but I will say I believe your experience with friendly chatty checkout operators in the big 4 supermarkets is not the norm

The more professionally customer focused supermarkets observe till queues and have more active tills. They realise they have to be more customers focused and some provide self service tills for customers.

Gromitt

2e0arr wrote: »

They realise they have to be more customers focused and some provide self service tills for customers.

You mean the stores that include the service charge in the price of the goods and then expect you to serve yourself? and don't get me started on the whole "Unexpected item in bagging area" crap. I'd hardly call that "customer focused". More like "If we buy 6 of these machines we only need 1 staff member to run them all, they'll pay for themselves within the year and then make us more profit.".

pstuart

2e0arr wrote: »

222


Wow if this it true i strongly advise Aldi staff to find work at another supermarket !
Discliplined for slowness ?



Is this true ? a chip shop selling dog food ?
Do Aldi not sell (or better donate) food that could have been fed to the dog ?



The more professionally customer focused supermarkets observe till queues and have more active tills. They realise they have to be more customers focused and some provide self service tills for customers.

OK, we get it - you don't like ALDI !

2e0arr

Gromitt wrote: »

You mean the stores that include the service charge in the price of the goods and then expect you to serve yourself? and don't get me started on the whole "Unexpected item in bagging area" crap. I'd hardly call that "customer focused". More like "If we buy 6 of these machines we only need 1 staff member to run them all, they'll pay for themselves within the year and then make us more profit.".

On that basis of only having one member of staff for six of these machines I am surprised Aldi haven't introduced them

Actually I agree I don't like the self service tills. But observing at My Local Tesco (Bulwell Nottingham) they do respond quickly to customer traffic build up at tills.

2e0arr

I have just spoken to Aldi In swindon who run the south wales Aldis to discover which Aldi's in Wales accept Credit Cards . they are going to call me back

Apparently Aldi in North Wales don't accept Credit Cards at all.

Again I cannot see why Aldi have imposed a ban on credit cards based on geography ?

p00hsticks

2e0arr wrote: »

Wow if this it true i strongly advise Aldi staff to find work at another supermarket !

I suspect that if they did they'd be having to take a wage cut. my understanding is that ALDI and LIDL employees are generally paid more than checkout operators in the big four because they have more responsibility - all their employees are expected to be able to turn their hand to whatever task is needed.

(When I first started going to them many years ago they didn't have any scanners on the tills and the employees were expected to memorise the prices of the entire (limited) stock range, although they did have lsits wher they could look them up if they were unsure.)

dzug1

Gromitt wrote: »

You mean the stores that include the service charge in the price of the goods and then expect you to serve yourself? and don't get me started on the whole "Unexpected item in bagging area" crap. I'd hardly call that "customer focused". More like "If we buy 6 of these machines we only need 1 staff member to run them all, they'll pay for themselves within the year and then make us more profit.".

What exactly is wrong with a company setting out to increase its profit? Like it or not, that is their reason for existence and if they get things too badly wrong they'll go out of business