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

Cornucopia

Murphybear said:

harz99 said:

My local Aldi has just removed all the Covid plastic screening around the checkout cashiers, and a few weeks back installed the self check out tills which they are trying to persuade everyone to use (unsuccessfully)...what next, bag checks and/or card only payment.

We asked our local Aldi when they were going to install self check out tills and were told they were not going to as it encouraged shop lifting  .  This is not a poor area but “times is hard” and our local Waitrose now has a security guard 

I asked my local Aldi why they sometimes had half the self-service tills closed, and the answer (as expected) was theft control.    Having said that, I was told that they felt that one member of staff could only effectively supervise 4 tills, which seems a little pathetic.

When I last went in, all of the self-service tills were open, and the staff were having an "open" conversation about how they could be used more at quiet times of day, so perhaps my enquiry has sparked some discussion and improvement?

Rosa_Damascena

Cornucopia said:

Murphybear said:

harz99 said:

My local Aldi has just removed all the Covid plastic screening around the checkout cashiers, and a few weeks back installed the self check out tills which they are trying to persuade everyone to use (unsuccessfully)...what next, bag checks and/or card only payment.

We asked our local Aldi when they were going to install self check out tills and were told they were not going to as it encouraged shop lifting  .  This is not a poor area but “times is hard” and our local Waitrose now has a security guard 

I asked my local Aldi why they sometimes had half the self-service tills closed, and the answer (as expected) was theft control.    Having said that, I was told that they felt that one member of staff could only effectively supervise 4 tills, which seems a little pathetic.

When I last went in, all of the self-service tills were open, and the staff were having an "open" conversation about how they could be used more at quiet times of day, so perhaps my enquiry has sparked some discussion and improvement?

Aldi and Lidl are constantly trying to find was of increasing  efficiency (cutting unnecessary shifts) productivity (getting the most out of those on shift).

wild666

General_Grant said:

I used to find Lidl final day reductions (20p, 90p, £1.50 etc) enticing and useful for trying out new things on a serendipity basis.  So these were often very "good buys".  But my local Lidl store has had no such offers for at least a couple of months and offers only the 30% reduction offers.  Are others finding the flat rate offers still available in the shops they visit?

The best time for the greatest reductions is after the new year, I got a few whole extra large chickens at 90p each,  500g of mince 90p each, 1 kg of chicken breasts at £2 each, gammon joints at 90p each, 400g diced beef at 90p each. I overfilled my freezer with the stuff I bought, I reckon I still have about 40% of the stuff I bought in the freezer.

wild666

My local Lidl has just put in 8 self check outs and removed two manned checkouts, the Lidl app doesn't work on the self checkouts  but I don't use them anyway it's taking away jobs from people. If Lidl went to a full self checkout store then I would go to Aldi even though it's three times further in each direction than the Lidl store.

Pollycat

wild666 said:

My local Lidl has just put in 8 self check outs and removed two manned checkouts, the Lidl app doesn't work on the self checkouts  but I don't use them anyway it's taking away jobs from people. If Lidl went to a full self checkout store then I would go to Aldi even though it's three times further in each direction than the Lidl store.

Our Aldi has 8 self-service checkouts.
They are handy if I've popped in for a couple of items (as I did yesterday).
I wouldn't want to wait behind several people with full trollies to pay for my items - and there is no guarantee that someone would be kind enough to let me go through before them.

I use self-service tills in our local Tesco Metro as I usually just have a few items.

I think they do have their place in supermarkets depending what you've bought.
It would be silly to attempt to use a self service checkout for a full trolley load.

maman

Pollycat said:

I think they do have their place in supermarkets depending what you've bought.
It would be silly to attempt to use a self service checkout for a full trolley load.

Our Aldi has self checkouts for both large and small shops. I think some people prefer to use them because they can pack as they go and take their time.

We have about 8 self service checkouts and definitely a reduction in how many staffed ones are open. 

Our local Sainsbury's has almost no staffed checkouts (3?🤔) and probably 30-40 self checkouts. Last Friday only 2 staff trying to manage them, deal with errors, authorise booze, watch for shoplifting etc. One had to go off and deal with a leaking milk carton and it was absolutely chaotic. 

Fortunately the Sainsbury self checkouts don't seem to throw up errors needing an attendant as often as the ones in Aldi but at least, the staff in Aldi are only overseeing 8. 

Katiehound

I actually like using the self service ones in Aldi because the manned tills have folk with trolleys filled to the brim!
You don't have to wait so long and you can pack as you go without being hassled.
 only thing you can't do is use a gift card- but never mind because Aldi gift cards are no longer available

Pollycat

maman said:

Pollycat said:

I think they do have their place in supermarkets depending what you've bought.
It would be silly to attempt to use a self service checkout for a full trolley load.

Our Aldi has self checkouts for both large and small shops. I think some people prefer to use them because they can pack as they go and take their time.

We have about 8 self service checkouts and definitely a reduction in how many staffed ones are open. 

Our local Sainsbury's has almost no staffed checkouts (3?🤔) and probably 30-40 self checkouts. Last Friday only 2 staff trying to manage them, deal with errors, authorise booze, watch for shoplifting etc. One had to go off and deal with a leaking milk carton and it was absolutely chaotic. 

Fortunately the Sainsbury self checkouts don't seem to throw up errors needing an attendant as often as the ones in Aldi but at least, the staff in Aldi are only overseeing 8. 

Ours only have 8 small ones - perfect for a few items.

Brie

I prefer the regular tills for keeping someone employed and the majority of the cashiers are lovely so nice to chat to.  Guess I'm becoming that silly elderly type that will till block talking about the weather and the cat I had 2 decades back.  And then slowly pick all the pennies out of my change purse to pay.

The problem in Lidl for us today was having to queue up twice.  We had bought a large item from the middle aisle which needed to be returned so security sent us directly to the till for our refund.  Then we did our shopping and had to queue again.  We did run into a minor blip on getting the refund.  It was a very large cash purchase and they didn't have sufficient to refund but we solved that by getting them to credit it to my mastercard which worked out just fine. 

Pollycat

Brie said:

I prefer the regular tills for keeping someone employed and the majority of the cashiers are lovely so nice to chat to.  Guess I'm becoming that silly elderly type that will till block talking about the weather and the cat I had 2 decades back.  And then slowly pick all the pennies out of my change purse to pay.

The problem in Lidl for us today was having to queue up twice.  We had bought a large item from the middle aisle which needed to be returned so security sent us directly to the till for our refund.  Then we did our shopping and had to queue again.  We did run into a minor blip on getting the refund.  It was a very large cash purchase and they didn't have sufficient to refund but we solved that by getting them to credit it to my mastercard which worked out just fine. 

I prefer the method that gets me in and out of the shop in the fastest time when I have a couple of items.
I'm happy to use the staffed tills when I have a full basket (which is the most shopping I do at Aldi).