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Lidl/Aldi Checkout Speed Trauma
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you do get some slow bints in my lidl that is for sure. they want to faff about when loading stuff onto the belt and again when putting stuff in trolleys/trying to pack at end of checkout.
me if i have a trolley load it is fired into the trolley, sometimes directly into bags and off i go, either to the bench, or my car boot, where i can then worry about what goes where. but i have also always loaded up the belt in the correct order anyway. was brought up that way, easier to pack if it is already grouped correctly.
one thing i LOVE about aldi and lidl is the complete lack of chackers
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What I hate are the clowns who insist on packing soap, dishwasher tablets, washing powder, wash-up liquid, bleach etc seperately in little plastic bags instead of taking a mili-second to check the top is tight.you do get some slow bints in my lidl that is for sure. they want to faff about when loading stuff onto the belt and again when putting stuff in trolleys/trying to pack at end of checkout.
me if i have a trolley load it is fired into the trolley, sometimes directly into bags and off i go, either to the bench, or my car boot, where i can then worry about what goes where. but i have also always loaded up the belt in the correct order anyway. was brought up that way, easier to pack if it is already grouped correctly.
one thing i LOVE about aldi and lidl is the complete lack of chackers0 -
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The most stressful part of my week in Germany....
is grocery shopping. Well, let me be more exact. Grocery shopping in itself is not that stressful. It’s actually pretty relaxing roaming the aisles and at times adventurous, particularly when I am trying to figure out if what I am buying is actually what I think it is (good old German language for you there).
What is it then about this experience? The real stressful part is checking out and paying. Now, I’ve been fortunate enough to gather some experience in grocery store check-outs. I’ve tested the aisles of supermarkets in the United States, in a small po-dunk grocer on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, in the Walmart-esque Sansibury’s and Tesco’s of the United Kingdom, in the small grocer chains of Netherlands, in the suave Ikea fashioned grocers of Sweden, in the open air markets of China . . . In most of these countries, I’ve enjoyed a nice stress-free, relaxed grocery check-out system. In the States, we even sometimes have people to help you bag your groceries.
Germany, however, is the land of efficiency and punctuality. So when you waltz into your local German grocery, be ready. First factor: efficiency. That means that most grocery stores only have a checkout lane open if it absolutely needs to be open. Thus, there is usually only one lane open; if the line and wait gets past a certain point for the one lane, then a second check-out lane will be opened.
Now, I’m all down for saving money and cutting costs, so I will give a nod of recognition to the Germans here. Having only one lane open frees other workers up to do other tasks. But typically this doesn’t work out as it is intended. Usually, the line will build up and people get impatient. When that second lane is opened, it’s like a new wave of anxiety takes over people – they gotta get into that second lane! You have to be ready and you have to move fast for that second lane! People make a move for it quick.
In any case, when you get to the check out and have unloaded your items for scanning and it finally becomes your turn to check out, you are feeling the pressure to get through there quickly and efficiently, particularly because there is a long line behind you. You know what it is like to go through airport security? Apply that to this situation and you will get my drift.
The stakes are raised at the check out though: there is very limited space at the check out for your items once they have traveled the conveyer belt and have been checked by the cashier. In this regard, you are left scrambling a bit, trying to get your items into your bag or container or box or whatever you have there. Here is a fine picture I found online explaining this feature:
Limited Space at Aldi-Checkout. The first box reads: "A long belt gives the customers enough time to prepare themselves for checkout" (don't believe it!). The second box reads: "Absence of second belt places customers under pressure." The third box reads: "Guidance system on the floor."
Now, the check out guy is speeding through the process, so the items start to build up. Then comes the decisive moment of actually paying for the items. So you get out your wallet and get a higher numbered bill out, but typically, giving exact change is preferred by the customer and cashier alike in Germany (exact change does make the entire transaction more orderly, and Germans do love order). In my opinion, though, this adds on to the chaos of the whole process. In review now, you’ve got items still waiting to be bagged, impatient Germans behind wanting to get through the check-out line, all the while the line is growing longer, and now you are digging around trying to find the right change. Sometimes you can just bite the bullet and give them that higher numbered bill and just call it good. But then you might end up in a few weeks with a ton of small coins. And if you go and try to pay with only those small coins, be ready for some fury.
Let’s say you’ve actually made it this far, though, and you successfully pay for your groceries. Now you’ve still got to bag your items. An extra challenge will be thrown your way, as indeed, the cashier will start to check out the next person, adding their items to your items, making it a bit confusing which groceries should actually go into your bag. At times, that person will even come and stand right where those two feet are in the photo.
Now, I will say that there are indeed strategies you can employ in this whole process. You can, for instance, go grocery shopping during odd hours of the day. However, the best one I’ve found so far: always use a cart to shop (be sure to bring your 1 Euro coin though so you can actually pay the deposit to get a cart; often times I forget this, which leads to problems). When you get to the check out, just dump all of the items right away into the cart as they come to you. Have your small money bag at hand and know where your coins are at so you can quickly select the right ones. Then, vacate the area and bag all your items far away from the check out as you can possibly be. Successfully employing this strategy is seriously a major victory in my week.
http://jstrasburg.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/the-most-stressful-part-of-my-week-in-germany/0 -
Why are you making such a fuss about it?
You put your items back in the trolley, pay, then you go to the shelf and bag them at your leisure over there.
No wonder you find it stressful if you're trying to pack there
goodSuccessfully employing this strategy is seriously a major victory in my week. 0 -
The problem is no doubt education.Why are you making such a fuss about it?
You put your items back in the trolley, pay, then you go to the shelf and bag them at your leisure over there.
Until I read this thread, I had no idea that there was a table at the back for this purpose. In this country, we're accustomed to packing our bags at the end of the till and then paying.
A simple sticker at that section saying, "Please don't pack your bags here, use the area provided at the back", and people might understand the "correct" way to do it.
Personally I don't like that because it's horribly inefficient, you're unnecessarily loading and unloading the trolley a second time. So I pack my bags at the till, but then I worked as a bag packer when I was a nipper, so I don't leave the cashier waiting.0 -
jarecki1976 wrote: »The most stressful part of my week in Germany....
is grocery shopping. Well, let me be more exact. Grocery shopping in itself is not that stressful. It’s actually pretty relaxing roaming the aisles and at times adventurous, particularly when I am trying to figure out if what I am buying is actually what I think it is (good old German language for you there).
What is it then about this experience? The real stressful part is checking out and paying. Now, I’ve been fortunate enough to gather some experience in grocery store check-outs. I’ve tested the aisles of supermarkets in the United States, in a small po-dunk grocer on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, in the Walmart-esque Sansibury’s and Tesco’s of the United Kingdom, in the small grocer chains of Netherlands, in the suave Ikea fashioned grocers of Sweden, in the open air markets of China . . . In most of these countries, I’ve enjoyed a nice stress-free, relaxed grocery check-out system. In the States, we even sometimes have people to help you bag your groceries.
Germany, however, is the land of efficiency and punctuality. So when you waltz into your local German grocery, be ready. First factor: efficiency. That means that most grocery stores only have a checkout lane open if it absolutely needs to be open. Thus, there is usually only one lane open; if the line and wait gets past a certain point for the one lane, then a second check-out lane will be opened.
Now, I’m all down for saving money and cutting costs, so I will give a nod of recognition to the Germans here. Having only one lane open frees other workers up to do other tasks. But typically this doesn’t work out as it is intended. Usually, the line will build up and people get impatient. When that second lane is opened, it’s like a new wave of anxiety takes over people – they gotta get into that second lane! You have to be ready and you have to move fast for that second lane! People make a move for it quick.
In any case, when you get to the check out and have unloaded your items for scanning and it finally becomes your turn to check out, you are feeling the pressure to get through there quickly and efficiently, particularly because there is a long line behind you. You know what it is like to go through airport security? Apply that to this situation and you will get my drift.
The stakes are raised at the check out though: there is very limited space at the check out for your items once they have traveled the conveyer belt and have been checked by the cashier. In this regard, you are left scrambling a bit, trying to get your items into your bag or container or box or whatever you have there. Here is a fine picture I found online explaining this feature:
Limited Space at Aldi-Checkout. The first box reads: "A long belt gives the customers enough time to prepare themselves for checkout" (don't believe it!). The second box reads: "Absence of second belt places customers under pressure." The third box reads: "Guidance system on the floor."
Now, the check out guy is speeding through the process, so the items start to build up. Then comes the decisive moment of actually paying for the items. So you get out your wallet and get a higher numbered bill out, but typically, giving exact change is preferred by the customer and cashier alike in Germany (exact change does make the entire transaction more orderly, and Germans do love order). In my opinion, though, this adds on to the chaos of the whole process. In review now, you’ve got items still waiting to be bagged, impatient Germans behind wanting to get through the check-out line, all the while the line is growing longer, and now you are digging around trying to find the right change. Sometimes you can just bite the bullet and give them that higher numbered bill and just call it good. But then you might end up in a few weeks with a ton of small coins. And if you go and try to pay with only those small coins, be ready for some fury.
Let’s say you’ve actually made it this far, though, and you successfully pay for your groceries. Now you’ve still got to bag your items. An extra challenge will be thrown your way, as indeed, the cashier will start to check out the next person, adding their items to your items, making it a bit confusing which groceries should actually go into your bag. At times, that person will even come and stand right where those two feet are in the photo.
Now, I will say that there are indeed strategies you can employ in this whole process. You can, for instance, go grocery shopping during odd hours of the day. However, the best one I’ve found so far: always use a cart to shop (be sure to bring your 1 Euro coin though so you can actually pay the deposit to get a cart; often times I forget this, which leads to problems). When you get to the check out, just dump all of the items right away into the cart as they come to you. Have your small money bag at hand and know where your coins are at so you can quickly select the right ones. Then, vacate the area and bag all your items far away from the check out as you can possibly be. Successfully employing this strategy is seriously a major victory in my week.
http://jstrasburg.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/the-most-stressful-part-of-my-week-in-germany/
Blowing everything out of proportion ?
I go shopping in Germany, its grand, have a coin on my keyring for the trolley. If i'm in Aldi/Lidl I hand over the money when all the shopping is in the trolley.
They can't ring more stuff through the till until the transaction is completed and theres nothing wrong with that.
Rarely happens that the Cashier is done ringing it up before i've packed though.
Aldi and Lidl are the budget stores, go to Rewe for example and its the same as Tesco, its not a German thing, its a Lidl and Aldi thing, but its hardly traumatic, I mean if its that much of an issue then just go and shop somewhere else.0 -
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