Aldi shops - good or bad?

LyndsM

Since my partner and I read 'Shopped' by Joanna Blythman, we have given all the other supermarkets the heave-ho.
For all our basic household 'stuff' we now shop exclusivley at Aldi.
Although - Luckily, we've just moved to a town that has plenty of independent grocers, butchers etc., which definitely helps when you have a desire to buy fresh, local food, but for pretty much all other things Aldi is great!
The Aldi food is good quality (no shrinking bacon here...) and the staff are really nice and friendly. (noticed they get paid £1-2 more than the average temp PA in our town!) Our shopping bills have reduced by more than half :T since we changed over (and we're not throwing 'gone off' stuff away that much anymore.)

I am interested in their 'food miles' and such though, and am going to look into it in more depth, but am informed that they have a policy of trading fairly with their producers and build up long-term relationships with them, and pay them fairly.
Here comes the rant... As for the 'deals' in Tesco/Sainsbury's etc, I am now loathe to buy them at all as I now know just how much these deals cost the producers of the goods and I can't bring myself to assist in the destruction of our country's/world's farming markets just so that I can get 3 chicken breasts for the price of two.
Would seriously recommend reading that book to anyone - it's a real eye-opener!

Lynds

PS: Just had a girly party almost entirely fed by Aldi stuff: wine, pizzas, chips & dips, mini spring rolls, potato salad, all the rest - everyone was raving about the food! Take that, supermarket snobs!!

stamfordblue

Well I've just had my 1st bad experience of Aldi.
Bought a loaf last Thursday 21st...put into freezer same day...took out Sunday...the label said Best Before 18th!!...and to my horror the loaf had green mould on most slices.
Took it back and complained...obviously got a refund...and manager also let me have any bottle of wine I wanted for free.
What's the law on dates on bread?Anyone know.
If that happens again on any product I will report them.
Check the dates on stuff you buy there.

chinagirl

I discovered Aldi a while ago, have been shopping almost exclusively there for past 8 years. Their chocolate have better cocoa content, and make the English brands taste very fatty in comparison. Yogurts are heavenly, they have just expanded the range to incude "Breakfast Selection, Classic Selection etc" and they are so creamy in taste, yet still very low in fat. I have not tasted a better yogurt. The Creme Caramel are "to die for" and very low in fat. Mozzarella cheese tastes much better from Aldi. Soups are a good one to try, they do a great range, and you Must try their Lentil and Bacon, its like a meal in a tin. My husband says their bitter is far superior in taste and texture than say John Smiths, and half the price.
I could go on, (but I've got to go to work now).

Give Aldi a try, you won't regret it, and I bet more of you will be converts by end of the month.

jenpoptab

I think Aldi is great, I have to go elsewhere for Quorn but everything else there is great, in last 6 wks they have had excellent buys such as car stereo £49.99, plasma 42" tv £999.99, great microwave rice, pasta in box for 49p, bargains!

N9eav

Which is better Aldi or Lidl ??? We will soon hjave both, as a new Aldi is being built. But I have gone off Lidl since I heard this So I wonder if Aldi is better?

kevtrader

Thanks for all the replies! It seems like the Aldi is just as good as the big supermarkets! I'm glad I asked about this!

TheChillPill

stamfordblue wrote:

Well I've just had my 1st bad experience of Aldi.
Bought a loaf last Thursday 21st...put into freezer same day...took out Sunday...the label said Best Before 18th!!...and to my horror the loaf had green mould on most slices.
Took it back and complained...obviously got a refund...and manager also let me have any bottle of wine I wanted for free.
What's the law on dates on bread?Anyone know.
If that happens again on any product I will report them.
Check the dates on stuff you buy there.

As far as I know, there is no law that would govern this - hence why you often see 'past dated' products discounted. The onus is on the buyer to be aware of the date.

It sounds to me like the Aldi manager went way beyond what would be the norm anywhere else - how does he know it's the same loaf you bought on the 21st for example? Giving you the free wine too I feel is a nice touch and I believe they deserve some slack for doing that.

Mistakes happen, but it sounds like Aldi are customer-focussed enough to want to please.

sainthalo

Also think it was good to give you the wine as a goodwill gesture.

Aldi has better CS than most of store here in UK. this is because they try to apply german standards of customer care. although they are actually not quite there yet.