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Post by daz on Nov 6, 2015 13:06:58 GMT
Slightly off topic but channel 4s Dispatches programme is running a documentary about Aldi and its success this coming Monday, 9th November. Oops, should have read the previous page
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Post by Terry on Nov 6, 2015 18:39:31 GMT
...and when you do finally get served the rush is on to get your victuals back in the trolley or bag it as the cashier is under instruction to beep beep like crazy which is very very annoying. Same here, but I use no such tricks but mere brute force by getting angry at them. I believe in the saying "Der Kunde ist König - The client is king" and if they are too pressing I tell them to stop and go slower. Takes them by surprise every time and works as noone else does it. They even broke a box of eggs one time.
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Post by daz on Nov 6, 2015 19:18:05 GMT
When Lidl first opened in Aberdeen, you couldn't pack your bags, the checkout person filled your trolley and once finished you took your trolley and packed your bags away from the checkout. Now they have the annoying general supermarket system where you get time to pack, I worry that shops like Lidle and Aldi may lose a lot of their charm by becoming more and more like "normal" supermarkets.
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Post by yoyopickles on Nov 7, 2015 10:09:04 GMT
When Lidl first opened in Aberdeen, you couldn't pack your bags, the checkout person filled your trolley and once finished you took your trolley and packed your bags away from the checkout. Now they have the annoying general supermarket system where you get time to pack, I worry that shops like Lidle and Aldi may lose a lot of their charm by becoming more and more like "normal" supermarkets. My two Lidls (there are 2 here ) and Aldi (although another one is being built) still throw everythiNG at you! it made me laugh, as I bought a DAILY STAR yesterday, and ALDI had actually taken out a wrap around front and back page advert for their Christmas promotions!
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Post by jno on Nov 9, 2015 20:21:41 GMT
Slightly off topic but channel 4s Dispatches programme is running a documentary about Aldi and its success this coming Monday, 9th November. Oops, should have read the previous page Yup ... and 15 minutes in Aldi have had a right old hatchet job done on 'em! Should I now say I voted Lidl (but can't imagine they're a million miles away).
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Post by daz on Nov 9, 2015 21:07:04 GMT
Slightly off topic but channel 4s Dispatches programme is running a documentary about Aldi and its success this coming Monday, 9th November. Oops, should have read the previous page Yup ... and 15 minutes in Aldi have had a right old hatchet job done on 'em! Should I now say I voted Lidl (but can't imagine they're a million miles away). I do believe Lidl are a shower of crooks to work for, but after working for three of the UKs largest supermarkets, I would tar them all with the same brush. The worst part for me working in a supermarket was the management, each and everyone one I disliked, the way they treated everybody was shameful, but we always had the last laugh!!
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Post by jno on Nov 10, 2015 2:52:59 GMT
Interesting stuff daz. Here in Austria Lidl were found to be spying on cashiers by installing hidden CCTV in their stores - quite a well known story. I also have a relative who used to work at Asda in South Wales and your assessment of management from what I was told was spot on too.
Aldi blocking fire escapes though? Eek, let's all burn in the stock room - shocking. Again, it makes you wonder if the others are all the same - it is hard to imagine Aldi are unique in this department.
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Post by daz on Nov 10, 2015 8:15:48 GMT
Interesting stuff daz. Here in Austria Lidl were found to be spying on cashiers by installing hidden CCTV in their stores - quite a well known story. I also have a relative who used to work at Asda in South Wales and your assessment of management from what I was told was spot on too. Aldi blocking fire escapes though? Eek, let's all burn in the stock room - shocking. Again, it makes you wonder if the others are all the same - it is hard to imagine Aldi are unique in this department. Safeway, Asda and Sainsbury all spied on their staff, with CCTV they put cameras everywhere, there were more cameras watching staff then what was monitoring the shopfloor, make of that what you want. I was a shop steward at Sainsbury, the days when the main union person would visit, they would have a member of staff watching who spoke to him and taking notes and putting rumours around that anyone speaking with the union would be sacked. People were getting into trouble for going to the toilet during shifts, checkout workers couldn't get to the toilet at all at some points, bullying people into working shifts. cheating people out of wages, making threats to people who were sick or looking after sick children, I could go on and on, you wouldn't treat a dog they way they treated staff. I also have to say that blocking fire escapes was a common practice, health and safety existed, but you couldn't complain or it would be come back to haunt you. Aldi and Lidl may not be perfect, but honestly, their UK counterparts are no better.
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Post by Terry on Nov 10, 2015 10:56:17 GMT
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Post by jno on Nov 10, 2015 11:43:26 GMT
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 14, 2015 10:04:31 GMT
daz - I think a lot of employers have overtones of what you describe, especially in the service sector.
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Post by Terry on Nov 14, 2015 11:28:39 GMT
Now they have the annoying general supermarket system where you get time to pack, I worry that shops like Lidle and Aldi may lose a lot of their charm by becoming more and more like "normal" supermarkets. As long as the prices are right that's fine by me....
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Post by jno on Nov 14, 2015 14:15:41 GMT
I think price is the key but after that it comes down to how much you can suffer the customer service (or lack of it). In the UK the supermarkets have been known to have US style "bag packers" after the tills with a "happy to help" badge on. If I'm honest I've never seen anything like in Austria or Germany (where I've been) and never ever heard the German expression for "would you like some help with your packing sir?" instead everything being rushed through at speed. The psychic ability of Aldi & Lidl to predict change is very funny to watch just to save a few milliseconds when you pay - sometimes at the till I genuinely feel like I'm nothing more than cattle in Aldi & Lidl. Still, despite that I do continue to return but try to avoid the till at busy periods as it is annoying. Aldi do some very dodgy crackers in blighty too:
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Post by daz on Nov 14, 2015 21:01:07 GMT
jno - All the customer service costs money in staffing, this is an area where Aldi and Lidl don't focus on as costs a lot of money. They have a very rigid pricing structure to keep their costs down and I for one and happy to go along with. I hate the "happy to help" bullsh*t you get in all the major supermarkets, so false, the same with all their "free" loyalty cards and so on. Stack it high, sell it cheap and keep the time spent in the shop to a minimum. They are not perfect by any stretch, but I for one more than enjoy going to them, Lidl is king though They do make a nice cracker.
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Post by jno on Nov 15, 2015 4:03:03 GMT
I agree that in the majority of cases the bag packing "happy to help" is probably an added extra you can well do without. That said, there might be some that need it - men (of which I am one) who might squash their loaf of bread putting tins of beans on top or little old ladies that can't lift a heavy bag etc. It also gives me a warm feeling at least they asked compared to Aldi's "chuck it all through and hurry up lovey asap" chop-chop policy. I was at my local Lidl yesterday and noticed the 'post till loading area' area is now marginally bigger to allow 'one to pack after paying while current customer's gets lobbed through' which is nice. That was Lidl (who I voted for here) and not Aldi. Where I am Aldi still has/have a 30cm loading area if you do not want to be rushed on and simply lob straight your victuals back in same trolley from whence they came. Both Aldi and Lidl very much force you to load the way THEY want as opposed to want YOU want which takes some getting used to if you're a slow coach loader who doesn't want to be rushed like me. Lidl sounds so much more exquisite if you refer to it as 'Le Dell' (with a French accent) as many of my Scottish relatives do! If I see Aldi or Lidl cashiers predicting change I must admit to being a little evil and slowly counting out coppers rather than handing over the expected note.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Nov 15, 2015 9:30:31 GMT
If I see Aldi or Lidl cashiers predicting change I must admit to being a little evil and slowly counting out coppers rather than handing over the expected note. jno you sound like a nightmare! Why are you being so mean to the checkout monkeys? They're just trying to get through the queue..
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Post by jno on Nov 15, 2015 9:31:37 GMT
If I see Aldi or Lidl cashiers predicting change I must admit to being a little evil and slowly counting out coppers rather than handing over the expected note. jno you sound like a nightmare! Why are you being so mean to the checkout monkeys? They're just trying to get through the queue..
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Post by Terry on Nov 15, 2015 15:47:05 GMT
Well, bag packers, in my view, are a true waste of money, because they need payment which drives the prices up. Should there be an old dear who cant pack herself it is something different, but one of them would be enough for that.
At the Ramsgate Asda where we always shop when in Broadstairs the are about 20 tills and twenty people standing there asking if they can help...Wahnsinn. Thank god they don't do this here....
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Post by jno on Feb 25, 2017 5:42:33 GMT
Lidl's "British" marmalade on sale in Austria...covered all over in British things: London taxi, Big Ben, phone boxes even the Union Jack in the shape of a heart: Then spot the 'Hergestellt in Deutschland' (Made in Germany) message at the bottom of the label.
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Post by ace5150 on Feb 25, 2017 9:05:59 GMT
My snooty neighbours are all up in arms as the Ford dealership at the bottom of the road has been demolished, and a Lidl is being built. The same snooty neighbours that shop in Aldi.
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Post by daz on Feb 25, 2017 10:57:31 GMT
My son has been working for Aldi for nearly a year now and is treated so badly we no longer shop at Aldi. I even had to have a 'word' with one of his supervisors to calm things down it was getting that bad. Now I know from experience supermarkets are not good employers, but I doubt even our own UK based shops would pull some of the stunts the Aldi clowns try. Out of 18 staff employed for a new store in October only 2 are left, the is the norm for them!
I've told my son to use this experience to get him over the line of his marine engineering qualification then forget about the place.
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Post by jno on Feb 25, 2017 13:44:20 GMT
I've told my son to use this experience to get him over the line of his marine engineering qualification then forget about the place. Well done daz. From personal experience I know sometimes you have to suffer a bad job to appreciate a good one even more. The staff turnover at your Aldi sounds more like the Khmer Rouge than a supermarket. Dreadful treatment of people and with those high numbers alone, statistics say there is clearly something not right with the place.
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Post by Terry on Feb 25, 2017 18:29:45 GMT
Lidl's "British" marmalade on sale in Austria...covered all over in British things: London taxi, Big Ben, phone boxes even the Union Jack in the shape of a heart: Then spot the 'Hergestellt in Deutschland' (Made in Germany) message at the bottom of the label. Nice one, we also had this week of British stuff at Lidl: Cheddar containing onions and chives tastes real great. And if you look closely, it is even "hergestellt im verienigten Königreich" ...which is no surprise to me because if there is one thing germans cant do it's cheese. On another note, 'erindoors is now working part time at a supermarket of the German netto-online.de -chain....not a dream job, but generally ok. And with her not having a driving licence you cant be just as choosy as you can when you are mobile.
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Post by daz on Feb 25, 2017 19:04:32 GMT
I've told my son to use this experience to get him over the line of his marine engineering qualification then forget about the place. Well done daz. From personal experience I know sometimes you have to suffer a bad job to appreciate a good one even more. The staff turnover at your Aldi sounds more like the Khmer Rouge than a supermarket. Dreadful treatment of people and with those high numbers alone, statistics say there is clearly something not right with the place. I found out both Aldi and Lidl have dreadful records with how they treat their staff. Lidl have working practises out of a Dickens novel, a qick Google will see you obtain horrible stories about both but Lidl seem to be well in front. I knew they were not perfect to work for and having experienced working for 3 leading UK chains I turned a blind eye to a lot of what I had heard as typical supermarket practises, but I think I will have to grow my own food soon as fast running out of shops I can shop at.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 26, 2017 11:39:27 GMT
but I think I will have to grow my own food soon as fast running out of shops I can shop at. Daz, might I be so bold as to recommend Fortnum & Mason's. I know nothing of their supermarket practices but can vouch for their products.
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Post by daz on Feb 26, 2017 11:41:09 GMT
but I think I will have to grow my own food soon as fast running out of shops I can shop at. Daz, might I be so bold as to recommend Fortnum & Mason's. I know nothing of their supermarket practices but can vouch for their products. Sorry Arch, but dodgy tax avoidance schemes means this is a no go for Comrade Daz.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 26, 2017 11:55:54 GMT
Daz, might I be so bold as to recommend Fortnum & Mason's. I know nothing of their supermarket practices but can vouch for their products. Sorry Arch, but dodgy tax avoidance schemes means this is a no go for Comrade Daz. Maybe you need to reconsider these moral embargoes old boy, Their Goose Foie Gras with Pain d'Epices and their Baerii Caviar really are most agreeable.
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Post by Portland Road on Feb 27, 2017 8:31:27 GMT
I like Aldi and quite frankly I have found their staff helpful enough, in the two local stores that I visit. I did notice, certainly a few years ago, that the check-out lady was fairly sociable, but almost throwing the goods through the scanner. I was told that a minimal amount of staff have to serve a maximum amount of customers in a given time. More recently, this doesn't seem so evident, though I do try to visit at quieter times. Regarding employment, I suspect stores like this are best suited to part-time employees. They can do their bit and get away, without becoming embroiled in the politics of the job. To be dependent on an employer like this full-time can be depressing
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Post by bensonrad on Feb 27, 2017 13:52:12 GMT
I'd go with Aldi, purely on the basis that when we've done shops there the final bill is always a lot less than elsewhere.
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Post by yoyopickles on Feb 27, 2017 18:44:01 GMT
I have this week off of work on holiday, but its not a nice one, as tomorrow I have to have an ingrowing toe nail removed, so will be laid up for the rest of the week. Today I went over to Aldi and as well as stocking up on shopping, I also bought a £5.99 car first aid kit, a set of car mats for £6.99 and a windscreen cleaner pad for £2.99! gawd bless Aldi! I buy most of my bicycle bits and bobs there too!
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