Good and Bad Buys at Lidl and Aldi stores (***Please don't expire***)

Brie

Penguin_ said:

Brie said:

Shuffling off to Lidl today to return a set of Christmas lights we bought.  Unfortunately no receipt which might be a challenge.  But I'm not wanting to return them as I don't like them (they look lovely) but that they are missing a part which is the switch to turn them on!!  So effectively useless.  

Do you use the Lidl Plus app? The receipt may be on there.

No.  The OH bought it and he's even more app resistant than I am.  But all's well that ends well.  Turns out it's us that are defective not the lights.  The nice manager pulled the lights out of the box, immediately found the switch we hadn't spotted but very politely said he wasn't surprised as it was well hidden.  And he knew no one else had returned any.

And then, delight of delights, I had the possibly once in a lifetime opportunity when I got to the till to point past the cashier and exclaim "that's my husband's hat!!"  The day he bought the lights he'd used the loo and, being a gentleman, took off his hat while he was in there.  And, being a twonk, forgot to pick it up again.  He'd gone back to get it but it hadn't been added to their lost and found at that point.  After a couple of questions it was agreed that I should be allowed to take it home with me and I placed the hat on my head to enable me to carry the groceries purchased.  And received a round of applause from the other customers.

robrymond

Has anyone else wondered why Aldi never have more than four joints of meat on the shelves? Turns out is is policy not to put more than four joints of each meat out presumably for security reasons.

Problem is it leaves you with little choice over joint sizes which is frustrating. I'm sure this policy has only happened in recent years. Sure they won't have just four joints out for Xmas though!

harz99

robrymond said:

Has anyone else wondered why Aldi never have more than four joints of meat on the shelves? Turns out is is policy not to put more than four joints of each meat out presumably for security reasons.

Problem is it leaves you with little choice over joint sizes which is frustrating. I'm sure this policy has only happened in recent years. Sure they won't have just four joints out for Xmas though!

Well, maybe that explains why despite multiple visits i can never find any of the much vaunted giant yorkshires stuffed with a 2 foot pig in a blanket then!!

robrymond

Terrible shop in Aldi tonight, loads of stuff missing so ended up in Sainsbury's.

Turkey prices were only 50p less than them and beef prices were same. 

None of the cheap veg bad a few spuds. Weird as supply is normally plentiful, I can't see them giving away much Xmas Eve or even having anything left.

Try getting edible crackers, both Sainsburys and Aldi out and no eggs still anywhere. 

maman

It must be a regional thing @robrymond and @harz99. I did my shop in Aldi today (South Coast) and got everything I needed, fully stocked with all the cheap veg and the filled Yorkshires.

I only needed to go elsewhere for loose sprouts as only needed a handful of the disgusting things for DH. ☹️

robrymond

Possibly, never known it this bad even during Covid. I'll try again tomorrow. Another thing missing from stores is Vanilla Cheesecake, unless you want a £7.50 one from Sainsburys!

Rosa_Damascena

robrymond said:

Terrible shop in Aldi tonight, loads of stuff missing so ended up in Sainsbury's.

Turkey prices were only 50p less than them and beef prices were same. 

None of the cheap veg bad a few spuds. Weird as supply is normally plentiful, I can't see them giving away much Xmas Eve or even having anything left.

Try getting edible crackers, both Sainsburys and Aldi out and no eggs still anywhere. 

Perishables shift fast towards Christmas, no good getting there in the evenings.

I drove past Aldi at 7.30am yesterday, and the car park was full. (It doesn't open until 8am). 20 years ago there would be long queues of cars outside the Tesco Extra. The rise of the so-called discounters has put a stop to that.

Pollycat

maman said:

It must be a regional thing @robrymond and @harz99. I did my shop in Aldi today (South Coast) and got everything I needed, fully stocked with all the cheap veg and the filled Yorkshires.

I only needed to go elsewhere for loose sprouts as only needed a handful of the disgusting things for DH. ☹️

Although great for reduced waste, I'd have balanced throwing a few sprouts away by buying a 19p pack from Aldi together with everything else against travelling to another store to buy the exact amount I needed. The 19p Aldi bag would have won for me.

harz99

Pollycat said:

maman said:

It must be a regional thing @robrymond and @harz99. I did my shop in Aldi today (South Coast) and got everything I needed, fully stocked with all the cheap veg and the filled Yorkshires.

I only needed to go elsewhere for loose sprouts as only needed a handful of the disgusting things for DH. ☹️

Although great for reduced waste, I'd have balanced throwing a few sprouts away by buying a 19p pack from Aldi together with everything else against travelling to another store to buy the exact amount I needed. The 19p Aldi bag would have won for me.

Yep, after all this is a money-saving website!

And there still weren't any of the giant pig filled yorkies in my (Co. Durham) Aldi this morning - i reckon the staff are having first dibs and they're not getting onto the shelves...

Doc_N

If you’ve bought any smoked salmon or trout from Lidl lately, best check this re Listeria.  Given that supermarkets frequently use the same suppliers, I imagine more recalls will follow.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/our-products/product-information/product-recalls

Smoked salmon and other uncooked fish products are now carrying health warnings for the over 65s and those with weakened immune systems:

“The Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Standards Scotland (FSS), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are reinforcing their advice to vulnerable groups of consumers in relation to the risks of Listeria monocytogenes infection linked to ready to eat smoked fish.

The advice to those who are over 65, pregnant or have weakened immune systems is that they should ensure that ready to eat smoked fish is thoroughly cooked before they eat it. ‘Ready to eat smoked fish’ refers to chilled smoked fish products that would not normally be cooked at home before being eaten.

This is due to an ongoing Listeria outbreak linked to smoked fish that Food Alert reported on back in April.  There have been 14 linked cases and three elderly people have died.

Listeria is of concern in chilled, ready to eat foods that do not require further cooking, such as smoked fish and it has also been listed as a high-risk product which should be thoroughly cooked before being eaten by anyone in a high-risk group.”