Lidl/Aldi Checkout Speed Trauma

Going Forward

I once noticed a sticker on the inside of the cashiers desk which had a symbol which basically said if there are more than two trolleys in the queue then the cashier was to ring for assistance.

-It dont happen, and woe betide anyone who is not literally up to speed on the speed of dispatch of each customer!!

Has anyone used these supermarkets in Germany or elsewhere on the continent; whats the service like abroad?

Are purchases flung across the barcode scanner into one's trolley in an uber-efficient manner elsewhere or is it just Paddy thats gets his eggs scrambled?

Ken.

On the continent shoppers are use to the speed of service in shop's like aldi or lidl. It's the paddies with their laid back style that are behind the times.

Frowzy

Well Lucyfur I wasn't aware ignorance was keeping up with the times. I happen to agree with the OP that service is bad. While I understand that costs are kept down to keep prices low, and that this means that we must wait patiently in the queue from time to time, I don't expect to have my fire lighters flung into my trolley on top of my bread! I have been asked numerous times not to organise or pack my shopping I still do it as I like my food to be in edible condition when it arrives home.

Customer service seems to count for nothing these days, especially in Aldi and Lidl. I save money by shopping there but staff are so rude I leave my manners and smiles in the car!!

Zab

Organize it on the belt so that it's in the correct order on the other end. I'm not entirely sure why you want to spend longer at the check-out but personally I'm happy enough to minimize my time spent there.

I also don't find Also/Lidl staff at all rude, unless you're unfairly framing store policy as rudeness. I will admit that it was a little jarring at first but that's just because I was used to something else. Certainly I'd be pretty sceptical at the implication that they were ruder than the other supermarkets.

Frowzy

Zab wrote: »

Organize it on the belt so that it's in the correct order on the other end. I'm not entirely sure why you want to spend longer at the check-out but personally I'm happy enough to minimize my time spent there.

I also don't find Also/Lidl staff at all rude, unless you're unfairly framing store policy as rudeness. I will admit that it was a little jarring at first but that's just because I was used to something else. Certainly I'd be pretty sceptical at the implication that they were ruder than the other supermarkets.

Oh the staff in my local Aldi are pig ignorant, staff in Lidl are lovely.

Dunno what I said that makes you skeptical about believing me, but you're welcome to shop with me if you think I'm lying....

Patricide

Lived in Germany for a year and currently living in Austria. I can safely say the Irish lidl and aldi's are going at 1/3rd the continental cashier speed. Its honestly crazy how fast you have to pack your stuff into your rucksack here. Sometimes I shop with a trolly just because its easier that way, especially if you have more items that will fit on that stub after the till.

I even heard rumours that they have some sort of pedal they must push to the floor while they are working at the till; and that the time spent is compared to the amount of items scanned. Dunno how true that is but it wouldn't shock me.

I know the whole idea behind lidl and aldi is that they hire far less staff than other comparably sized super markets. The staff get a better pay but must do much more work and that is why speed is the key.

Zab

Frowzy wrote: »

Oh the staff in my local Aldi are pig ignorant, staff in Lidl are lovely.

Dunno what I said that makes you skeptical about believing me, but you're welcome to shop with me if you think I'm lying....

Surely you'd agree that's likely to be pretty random though, as in ignorant staff in Aldi A and Lidl A, but nice staff in Aldi B and Lidl B, and the same with other supermarkets. My local Tesco has by far the worst staff of all the local supermarkets.

I didn't call you a liar. I'm skeptical of the theory that the rudeness of Aldi/Lidl is greater than Tesco on a general basis, not in your particular experience.

the groutch

Trauma? better go see your psychiatrist :rolleyes:

ejmaztec

I only get traumatised in non-German supermarkets, especially when I see a customer make no effort to pack their own groceries, and just stand there waiting for the person on the till to do it for them. They wouldn't get away with it in Aldi or Lidl, because there's no space available for these antics.

Going Forward

the groutch wrote: »

Trauma? better go see your psychiatrist :rolleyes:

Humour me, OK?

tayto lover

Why is everyone in such a rush?
Plenty of time and have a nice wee chat with the cashier too.

WIZE

Its normally the Customers

you will notice the end of the Cashier is small so we better be fast packing

Time is wasted with People being slow Packing away there shopping

This is for slow people

1. Put all you shopping straight into the Trolly when at the till

2 . Aldi and Lidl supply a long Shelf/ Table for you at the window to pack your shopping into Bags

paddyandy

so well established here now that they are getting to do as they please and the queues are getting very long while the checkout staff are elsewhere on the premises.I've complained a few times and that's only how standards are maintained .Complain because., when we don't standards fall .It's a bad sign when people are afraid to complain . Complainers keep good standards .. good !... Everything hinges on the Whinge .

Eleganza

ALDI/LIDL are a good deal more professional in Germany from my experience.
Shelves are better stacked with cardboard boxes taken away frequently.
Cashier desks open and close as needed with a message playing to tell you when a desk is opening.
Cashiers will step away from desks and tidy shelves when there are no customers waiting and then hop back on to the desk when a customer wants to checkout.
Staff are friendly too.
I never had any huge criticism of LIDL or ALDI in Ireland but they're just much more professional in Germany.

spank_inferno

place your items on the conveyor belt in the order in which they need to be bagged.

ie: heavier items to the front etc

I much prefer the checkouts in lidl compared to other supermarkets.
The eastern european manning it is always fast, courteous and helpful when needed.

Beats my local tesco, manned with dawdling, chewing gummed, "young wans" having top of their voice conversation with another "wan" 4 tills over about their respecive 'fellas'

WIZE

paddyandy wrote: »

so well established here now that they are getting to do as they please and the queues are getting very long while the checkout staff are elsewhere on the premises.I've complained a few times and that's only how standards are maintained .Complain because., when we don't standards fall .It's a bad sign when people are afraid to complain . Complainers keep good standards .. good !... Everything hinges on the Whinge .

No . Aldi and Lidl have minimum staff on to save on cost

Its the same in Germany ( I lived their for 10 years )

If you dont like it go somewhere else

People go to Aldi and Lidl for saving money for good Quality Food

If you want better Service and more people employed to serve you then expect to pay

They are what they are , A Budget supermarket ,

Mr. Presentable

I agree with WIZE. You are not expected to be packing at the checkout - that's why there is no space there. You fill the goods back into the trolley and use the packing area at your leisure when you've paid.

Yawns

Had to grab a few things in Lidl on the 24th. Cue some middle aged lady in front with a full trolley at checkout. She decided to walk along the conveyor belt and not unpack until she reached the till despite 3 people in front and behind her.

I placed my stuff down and there was a huge gap still between mine and the person in front of her. Anyone behind me placed their items behind mine. Cue the tuts and muttering when this lady had no room as she tried to put everything on the belt as it was just about to be her turn to be served. She slowed the cashier down by having to hand her items direct out of the trolley.

OP If you find Lidl and Aldi slow, stay out of SuperValu!

doolox

...then they ask several questions, never have their money ready on time and engage in inane "small talk" with the hapless staff trying to keep queues down. I love the new automated tills which do not attract the older customers. At least you have enough channels empty to get through.

rabjoshu

Lidl & Aldi have much better customer service than the more established grocery chains. OP, what did the manager say when you complained you were being attended to in a hasty manner?

maxer68

Patricide wrote: »

Lived in Germany for a year and currently living in Austria. I can safely say the Irish lidl and aldi's are going at 1/3rd the continental cashier speed.

You must be shopping in the slow European ones!!:D:D Looking at the slowness of some shoppers in Lidl heer, I wouldn;t be surprised that the german ones would work at 5 times the speed!

One huge advantage of lidl/aldi is when you see a queue of say 6 people, you know you will be service within 2 min - in Tesco a queue of 6 could mean up to 10 - 15 min wait depending on what the checkout person want to talk about!

Kashkai

I love the Lidl style of quick checkout and then pack your bags at your leisure on the long shelf at the front of the store. Conversely, in a Dunnes/Tesco, you feel like you're under the stopwatch trying to jam your groceries into bags so you're not holding up other people behind you. Well at least thats the way I feel unlike others who will take their own sweet time sorting out which item goes with other items and into which bag, never mind the lengthening queues behind them.

The staff in my local Lidl have always been very friendly and courteous with the exception of one guy, and he was the only Irish person working there.

efb

Dunnes cashiers are so slow and lazy compared to aldi lidl- I love their efficency

goat2

WIZE wrote: »

No . Aldi and Lidl have minimum staff on to save on cost

Its the same in Germany ( I lived their for 10 years )

If you dont like it go somewhere else

People go to Aldi and Lidl for saving money for good Quality Food

If you want better Service and more people employed to serve you then expect to pay

They are what they are , A Budget supermarket ,

my local supervalu beat them in prices for alot of things, that trashes the budget supermarket,
i dont go there anymore and have not for the very reason, that they are like robots, it gives me the hebey geebies, this rushing through and trying to keep up getting groceries in bag, it looks thankless for to customer, so no thanks, i would rather be appreciated and asked if i need help bagging my groceries,

gavmcg92

That is one thing that really annoys me in Aldi and Lidl! There are benches past the cashier sections for you to organise and to pack your shopping. I don't know why people feel that they should be able to pack their bags at the cashiers and waste other peoples time.
Aldi and Lidl are budget supermarkets that provide good products at low prices. In order to keep these low prices, productivity needs to be high.

goat2

i go into dealz where i pay 1.49 for everything i buy, all brilliant stuff, the staff are helpful, pack bags and says thanks for shopping with them, that is my kind of place

goat2

gavmcg92 wrote: »

That is one thing that really annoys me in Aldi and Lidl! There are benches past the cashier sections for you to organise and to pack your shopping. I don't know why people feel that they should be able to pack their bags at the cashiers and waste other peoples time.
Aldi and Lidl are budget supermarkets that provide good products at low prices. In order to keep these low prices, productivity needs to be high.

try dealz, and then you know what i mean by budget and friendly and helpful

CJhaughey

I find it great, I load my trolley at high speed and repack at the car boot, I still chat to the cashier but get it all done in about 3-4 minutes for a full trolley.
If you have kids time is of the essence, I can't stand waiting in a queue for some old one to faff about loading her bag in slow motion.

goat2

last time i was there there was a long queu and a long wait, so i cannot see where the fast service is coming from, and i find the finest bargains in the supermarkets,

Del2005

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Conversely, in a Dunnes/Tesco, you feel like you're under the stopwatch trying to jam your groceries into bags so you're not holding up other people behind you. Well at least thats the way I feel unlike others who will take their own sweet time sorting out which item goes with other items and into which bag, never mind the lengthening queues behind them.

The last few times I've been to Dunnes or Tesco they've had chackers. They never pack properly and you're expected to pay for this. If they left one or two tills free it would be better.

As was said earlier. If there's a queue in Lidl or Aldi you will have another till open in a few minutes, in the normal ones you can be sure no other tills will open and the one you're in will close.

thesandeman

I love the way Aldi/Lidl do it. There is always room at the shelf to do your own packing without holding everyone else up.
There is nothing worse then in Dunnes/Tesco/SuperValu when the person in front decides to pack their bags at the till and THEN decides to look for their purse, take out a load of coppers, hunt for their Clubcard, realise they havnt got enough in change so the search begins for the Credit Card, ask for CashBack, take the purse out again to put the cash and card back in, put purse in handbag, look at receipt, fold it, take purse out again and put receipt in it, rearrange bags in trolly and toddle off oblivious to the dirty looks from everyone in the queue and the cashier.
Maybe Im just unlucky but I always seem to end up behind these people.
Its even worse when some spotty kid tries to grab your shopping and tries to stuff it in any bag he might see in your trolly in the hope you will pay for his holiday to Paris (but thats for a different rant).