Pressure in Lidil/Aldi

Idbatterim · 24-09-2014 4:40pm

Originally Posted by smash View Post
Lidil and Aldi are complete kips. I don't care what anyone says, the quality of the stock isn't good and they're generally not cheaper than the likes of Tesco or Supervalu. Plus they're customer service is bloody awful.

they are vastly cheaper than either tesco or super valu. I had to shop in tesco the other night and only bought the bare essentials, having recently started shopping in aldi...

Red Nissan · 24-09-2014 4:45pm

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

The one universal truth that working in retail will teach you.

Governments have known this for millennia already!!!

Eurovisionmad · 24-09-2014 4:47pm

muddypaws wrote: »

I was a bit surprised at the low maximum amount you can spend, until a shop worker explained how dangerous it would be if it was higher,very easy for someone to steal a card and wipe out a bank account - a real Doh moment.

Erah it's a bit arbitary, sure they could steal it and clean you out with online shopping anyway. In Australis the limit is A$100 and I was in Poland recently and EVERYONE (old geezers included) put their card up on the screen to pay contactless straight away, the cashier doesn't even need to prompt them. I think the 5 transaction limit is safety enough, €15 is VERY low, especially considering so many retailers don't take card for under €5 (or even €10) making contactless only useful for a small subsection of shoppers.

TheSheriff · 24-09-2014 4:51pm

Galway K9 wrote: »

Can someone clarify then

The process of lidl/adli shopping:
1) Pack groceries in Trolley
2) Unpack groceries at till
3) Pack groceries at the till again into trolley after checkout
4) move 2 meteres, and unpack groceries at shelf
5) Pack groceries into bags and into trolley
6) At car, unpack groceries into car.

All done while the cashier has a gun to your head,and a boardsie is shouting down to you while you are counting change out.

very complicated, might print out your post, laminate it and bring it with me next week to remind myself of the process

Red Nissan · 24-09-2014 4:56pm

TheSheriff wrote: »

very complicated, might print out your post, laminate it and bring it with me next week to remind myself of the process

Actually on some stores they have footprints on the floor to guide you to the area. Think of it like an old fashioned waltz, when it's explained to you, you'll never, learn all that, but most go on to perfect the art after a surprisingly few tryouts.

Occasionally we do hear of people with two left feet, let us know how you get on next time.

chicorytip · 24-09-2014 4:56pm

Princess Peach wrote: »

You're not supposed to pack at the till, that's what the shelved area behind the till is for.

The "shelved" area behind the till is hardly
wide enough to accommodate a tin of beans !

Ghekko · 24-09-2014 4:57pm

I gave up long ago trying to beat the cashier, so everything gets thrown into the trolley again when checked out. They even put the first item into the trolley, obviously as a reminder not to even think about producing a bag! It gets complicated if there are others at the shelf - best to wait in order to come home with your own purchases and not a tin of dog food where your cat food should be!

Red Nissan · 24-09-2014 4:58pm

chicorytip wrote: »

The "shelved" area behind the till is hardly
wide enough to accommodate a tin of beans !

Shooo the kids off it, you'll be grand then like. :pac:

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 24-09-2014 5:00pm

chicorytip wrote: »

The "shelved" area behind the till is hardly
wide enough to accommodate a tin of beans !

Would you come off it. You could park the car on the shelf in my local Aldi.

RebelButtMunch · 24-09-2014 5:02pm

Ghekko wrote: »

I gave up long ago trying to beat the cashier, so everything gets thrown into the trolley again when checked out. They even put the first item into the trolley, obviously as a reminder not to even think about producing a bag! It gets complicated if there are others at the shelf - best to wait in order to come home with your own purchases and not a tin of dog food where your cat food should be!

Put the heavy stuff at the start of the conveyor belt and group the cold food. Leave the eggs and salad till last. That way it goes safely into the trolley and makes it easier to pack into bags

Edit: I've no life

sydthebeat · 24-09-2014 5:05pm

Galway K9 wrote: »

Can someone clarify then

The process of lidl/adli shopping:
1) Pack groceries in Trolley
2) Unpack groceries at till
3) Pack groceries at the till again into trolley after checkout
4) move 2 meteres, and unpack groceries at shelf
5) Pack groceries into bags and into trolley
6) At car, unpack groceries into car.

All done while the cashier has a gun to your head,and a boardsie is shouting down to you while you are counting change out.

why would you pack groceries in your trolley?
or pack them back in again after checkout?

personally i find placing them works much better......

foggy_lad · 24-09-2014 5:11pm

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Do ye get time and a half for the weekends?

Nobody except those working in civil service and semi state gets those big perks anymore! They pay overtime when you work more than the normal 38/40 hours a week.

Galwayguy35 · 24-09-2014 5:16pm

foggy_lad wrote: »

Nobody except those working in civil service and semi state gets those big perks anymore! They pay overtime when you work more than the normal 38/40 hours a week.

Don't I know it!

I was just wondering because I have to work weekends for a flat rate.

foggy_lad · 24-09-2014 5:23pm

@ galwayk9 & the sheriff will ye be taking the voluntary redundancy being offered by tescos from today's news? Heard they are also abolishingnthe staff discounts=-O

monkeysnapper · 24-09-2014 6:03pm

shruikan2553 wrote: »

Why wont they add a checkout for 10 items or less. I'm standing there with 2 or 3 things stuck behind some woman with 20 loaves of bread, 8 bags of chips and 7 large pizzas.

If they use the quantity key then that's only 3 items . 3 scans,

I know you may think I'm being smart but you'd be surprised by the amount of people thinking their stuck behind a huge shop, when you pile up the large quantity of multiple goods they might only really have a very small shop

LizT · 24-09-2014 6:10pm

Barely There wrote: »

That's another reason I hate Tesco/Supervalu, there's always some little scrote collecting for something wanting to pack your bags in the most illogical way possible - feckin' hate that!

I hate letting people pack my bags. Where I live (not Ireland), they insist on packing your bags for you but do it in the most stupid, illogical way. The other day I got chicken fillets in their own bag, mince in another and a single bag for a bottle of orange juice :mad:

FloatingVoter · 24-09-2014 6:14pm

Always stand behind the one or two with a huge shop. That's just two payments at most. And old school housewives know how to pack.
Its the 8 strong queue of hipsters who need to go through their environmentally friendly wallets to find their piece of plastic and remember their PINS from their wooly little heads that cause traffic jams.
I often pray that the cashless morons get mugged by a violent junkie on the way home. See how the "doh, its more convenient to not have cash on me, loike, man" argument goes down with a syringe to the throat.
Yes, that's me behind you with the placid smile on my face.

Galway K9 · 24-09-2014 9:30pm

foggy_lad wrote: »

@ galwayk9 & the sheriff will ye be taking the voluntary redundancy being offered by tescos from today's news? Heard they are also abolishingnthe staff discounts=-O

I'm.a computer progrAmmer lol

Chucken · 24-09-2014 9:48pm

chicorytip wrote: »

The "shelved" area behind the till is hardly
wide enough to accommodate a tin of beans !

It's about 18 inches wide. And all shops are the same.

http://www.eucharisteo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/aldi4-590x590.jpg

OldMrBrennan83 · 24-09-2014 9:51pm

This post has been deleted.

kissmequick · 24-09-2014 10:06pm

Maybe if they used those Dividers they wouldn't spend half the time correcting their mistakes and have to cancel out stuff from the next Customer that they shouldn't have scanned in the first place. Usually 6/7 Dividers propped under their elbow, and every eejit that lines up then has to be awkwardly walking and shuffling along and holding their own stuff so it won't get mixed up in someone else's, and arms flailing about grabbin' this that and the other so the item won't get shoved up further and mixed up in someone else's , or fall off the Conveyor with all the shlidderin' and shlidin' and shlippin' or bring/drag half the over-head Shelf down around them 'cos no-one's individual purchases on the Conveyor Belt is grouped / held in-place while moving along. They know me now in my local Shop 'cos first thing I do is go up to the top of the Till and slide all the Dividers down to the other end of the Check-Out where everyone is standing.

Muahahaha · 24-09-2014 10:36pm

monkeysnapper wrote: »

If they use the quantity key then that's only 3 items . 3 scans,

I know you may think I'm being smart but you'd be surprised by the amount of people thinking their stuck behind a huge shop, when you pile up the large quantity of multiple goods they might only really have a very small shop

For a good while I used to get annoyed the way Aldi/Lidl dont have an express Q for under 10 items. But to be fair to them I've since realised that they have their staff trained to be super fast and efficient so no longer annoys me as even if there are two people ahead of me with two large trollies full I know the cashier can bash through both of them in under 6 minutes or so.

All that said when I do only have a few items and there is someone with a large trolley ahead of me I always have the items in my hands, blanaced against my chest for as long as possible before putting them on the conveyor belt. That way I guilt trolley shoppers into letting me through and to be fair the vast majority of people do and when they do I'm super fast to get my stuff paid for and always pay cash rather than holding them up with paying by card. Then I give them a second big thank you and I'm off on my way.

Over in my local Dunnes they have a kiosk which they say is for under 5 items. You'd think this express lane would be quick with only 4 items allowed but as it is the only place in the entire supermarket to sell Lotto tickets the 'express' Q is typically slower than getting served at one of the main checkouts. On a Friday or Saturday before the Lotto draws you can spend an age in the express Q as oul wans try to remember their lucky numbers and fiddle for change. And then go and buy a scratchcard and pay for it with a previous winning scratchcard. It's far from an express by the time all this sh1te goes down

foggy_lad · 25-09-2014 12:31am

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Are you sure that is not the protective rail along the wall to protect it from trolleys bashing into it?

Muahahaha wrote: »

All that said when I do only have a few items and there is someone with a large trolley ahead of me I always have the items in my hands, blanaced against my chest for as long as possible before putting them on the conveyor belt. That way I guilt trolley shoppers into letting me through and to be fair the vast majority of people do and when they do I'm super fast to get my stuff paid for and always pay cash rather than holding them up with paying by card. Then I give them a second big thank you and I'm off on my way.

No need to do that with me as if I'm loading my stuff on the belt and anyone with hands full of items arrives I tell them to go on through, they may as well pay and go while I'm still loading my items on the belt.

They feel good and are happy, the staff are happy with more items through the till and I feel good for doing a good turn, everybody wins!

Dan Jaman · 25-09-2014 1:01am

The way I beat / attune to the Aldidly system is this...
Banana boxes.
I have a pair of them, fitted inside one another (top turned over and the bottom fitted into it). One of the boxes as a whole is slightly smaller than the other and it fits completely into the larger one.
With this assembly in the bottom of the trolley, I wander around the shop, filling it up to the rim.
At the checkout, group items - milk, frozen stuff, tinned gear, etc on the belt.
I move to the receiving end and seperate the boxes, leaving each double-box as one, so it's strong. As the stuff comes through the cashier's hands, I stick it in the big box which nearly fills the trolley bottom. When that's full, I grab the smaller box, stick it on top and fill that. Anything extra goes down the sides - like washing-up liquid, soappowder, bleach, etc.
Result - no stress, quick service, out and gone. Back at the car, lift the double-strength boxes out of the trolley and heave them into the boot or side door.

All sorted, done.

I just recalled - when I started shopping at Lidl, a full trolley was €135 or so; now it's €200-ish

AlekSmart · 25-09-2014 1:24am

Dan Jaman wrote: »

I just recalled - when I started shopping at Lidl, a full trolley was €135 or so; now it's €200-ish

A far more deserving topic surely ?

Dan Jaman · 25-09-2014 1:32am

AlekSmart wrote: »

A far more deserving topic surely ?

Well, I'd not be surprised to find that Ireland is one of the most profitable places per customer for Aldidl.
I distinctly recall, some years ago, the prices in Lidl Portugal were 60% of the prices here for exactly the same items. Items which originated in Germany or Greece for example. Aldidl price according to the market and here they're able to greatly undercut most other chains yet still charge a lot more for their stuff. The per-tin cost for transportation is trivial when you move stuff by the 40-ton load.

Lyaiera · 25-09-2014 1:46am

For all the people complaining about women and hard to find purses what about men, pocket coins and what looks like a prolonged gooly shuffle?

twowheelsonly · 25-09-2014 2:30am

Galway K9 wrote: »

Can someone clarify then

The process of lidl/adli shopping:
1) Pack groceries in Trolley
2) Unpack groceries at till
3) Pack groceries at the till again into trolley after checkout
4) move 2 meteres, and unpack groceries at shelf
5) Pack groceries into bags and into trolley
6) At car, unpack groceries into boxes in car.

All done while the cashier has a gun to your head,and a boardsie is shouting down to you while you are counting change out.

Skip steps 4 and 5 and go straight from the till to the car and pack stuff into boxes there. At home, lift out boxes into house. Easy to sort and put stuff away. Time saved all round..

ardle1 · 25-09-2014 3:03am

LizT wrote: »

I hate letting people pack my bags. Where I live (not Ireland), they insist on packing your bags for you but do it in the most stupid, illogical way. The other day I got chicken fillets in their own bag, mince in another and a single bag for a bottle of orange juice :mad:

Same Here,. The last time she did it, she forgot my favourite shirt:(

ardle1 · 25-09-2014 3:14am

McGrath5 wrote: »

I love the fast, efficient service at Aldi/Lidl. I am never waiting more than a few minutes even with long queues.

I had to drop into a Supervalu over the weekend, and gpt caught behind some middle aged bint yapping away to the checkout woman about Fair City or Emmerdale, I was queuing for 10 minutes easily.

That's exactly how I feel.......... Yeah I can never tell the difference between Fair City and Emmerdale! I know one of them has Phil and Grant, but fcuk knows which one.....

fryup · 25-09-2014 9:28am

Rogaine2 wrote: »

LOL, I think anyone who has ever spent two minutes in their shop knows that.
They pay their floor staff well.
But, they expect 120% all the time. Unsustainable. That's what they demand however. Try getting a job with them!

but thats why they are so successful minimum staff, minimum overheads

Shenshen · 25-09-2014 10:17am

Dan Jaman wrote: »

Well, I'd not be surprised to find that Ireland is one of the most profitable places per customer for Aldidl.
I distinctly recall, some years ago, the prices in Lidl Portugal were 60% of the prices here for exactly the same items. Items which originated in Germany or Greece for example. Aldidl price according to the market and here they're able to greatly undercut most other chains yet still charge a lot more for their stuff. The per-tin cost for transportation is trivial when you move stuff by the 40-ton load.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit, either.

It may not be fair to compare prices with Portugal or even Germany, taxes and duties still are different across the EU, as are wages etc.
But I distinclty remember a while ago one of the Tesco big-wigs in the UK refered to Ireland as "treasure island" as they could get away with so much higher margins here than virtually anywhere else.

So I kind of expect a similar attitude from all supermarkets, really. It's just that a shop at Aldi or Lidl still comes in around 1/3 cheaper for me than the equivalent shop in Tesco, and easily half the equivalent shop in SuperValu.

Sprog 4 · 26-09-2014 12:18am

Put a random item that you got somewhere else (such as a can of coke) on the belt halfway through your shopping. It will not scan and they will get confused and seek help from their colleagues, giving you time to pack some extra stuff and then say something like 'oops, I got that somewhere else'. It gets a bit awkward on repeat visits though. Last time the lady just picked it up and handed it to me with an angry look and proceeded to scan stuff super fast thereby causing build up. It was a traumatic experience.

Dan Jaman · 26-09-2014 12:24am

Sprog 4 wrote: »

Put a random item that you got somewhere else (such as a can of coke) on the belt halfway through your shopping. It will not scan and they will get confused and seek help from their colleagues, giving you time to pack some extra stuff and then say something like 'oops, I got that somewhere else'. It gets a bit awkward on repeat visits though. Last time the lady just picked it up and handed it to me with an angry look and proceeded to scan stuff super fast thereby causing build up. It was a traumatic experience.

Or you could just pick your game up a bit. Faster, laddie, faster, let's see those arms blur.

shruikan2553 · 26-09-2014 1:47am

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

As someone in retail don't even get me started with that. . . ."What's daaa????" and that accusing look they give you when you do it without asking that you've basically stolen all their money! In short the general populace are idiots.

Ive found its the people at the till who have no idea that contactless exists. My friend might as well showed them fire for the first time when I last saw someone try it.

Idbatterim wrote: »

they are vastly cheaper than either tesco or super valu. I had to shop in tesco the other night and only bought the bare essentials, having recently started shopping in aldi...

I wish I knew where people were getting these deals because every time Im in aldi or lidl they are around the same price as Tesco or Dunnes.

FloatingVoter · 26-09-2014 1:58am

shruikan2553 wrote: »

I wish I knew where people were getting these deals because every time Im in aldi or lidl they are around the same price as Tesco or Dunnes.

I can't comment on Aldi but Lidl have a magazine / brochure thing thats in stores every Thursday outlining the following weeks deals. So they'll slash the price on carrots or tomatoes. Do an Italian themed week with deals on pasta and sauces etc. Week after next is XXL week - bigger portions, same price. Means you can plan ahead. I do the same with Tesco - go online and see what their deals are before I go into the store. I might be a fast shopper but I've done the homework beforehand.

Dan Jaman · 26-09-2014 2:07am

FloatingVoter wrote: »

I can't comment on Aldi but Lidl have a magazine / brochure thing thats in stores every Thursday outlining the following weeks deals. So they'll slash the price on carrots or tomatoes. Do an Italian themed week with deals on pasta and sauces etc. Week after next is XXL week - bigger portions, same price. Means you can plan ahead. I do the same with Tesco - go online and see what their deals are before I go into the store. I might be a fast shopper but I've done the homework beforehand.

Aldi have an online newsletter I'm subscribed to too; very same idea.

EmilyHoward · 26-09-2014 2:23am

Nearly 300 posts in and nobody has noticed that Lidl is misspelled in the title. Shame on you grammar nazis.

Dan Jaman · 26-09-2014 2:26am

EmilyHoward wrote: »

Nearly 300 posts in and nobody has noticed that Lidl is misspelled in the title. Shame on you grammar nazis.

At least, nobody's pronounced it 'Leedle'.

EmilyHoward · 26-09-2014 2:27am

Dan Jaman wrote: »

At least, nobody's pronounced it 'Leedle'.

That would be terrible, considering it's correctly pronounced L-eye-dell

Wait a minute, how can you "pronounce" something in text on an internet forum

FloatingVoter · 26-09-2014 2:29am

Liddly-lyddly-whateverde**** is how I refer to it.

Shenshen · 26-09-2014 8:10am

shruikan2553 wrote: »

I wish I knew where people were getting these deals because every time Im in aldi or lidl they are around the same price as Tesco or Dunnes.

Might depend on what you buy.
Lidl's and Aldis fruit and veg come in a lot cheaper, even before Aldi's offers on 5 fruit and veg at €0.49 each.
Same with their cupboard staples - sugar, flour, lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc.
Their frozen vegetables are cheaper than Tesco's own brand.
Eggs come in around the same price, I believe. Well, the free range ones anyway.
Their cheese range is seriously cheaper than anywhere else, some cheeses like Feta are about half the price they are in Tesco, others even lower.
When it comes to cosmetics and cleaning products, their prices would be about the same as Tesco's own brand, but I find them much better quality than that.

Yes, I have been doing an extensive research not too long ago, as our income shrank drastically, so I had to look for savings. I haven't done a full shop in Tesco since (only for items Lidl and Aldi don't stock, such as yeast) and haven't set foot in either Dunnes or SuperValu since.

Generic Dreadhead · 23-10-2014 5:02pm

Sorry to dig this up, but with some clever bag placement (placing 3 huge Lidl bags open inside the trolley side by side) and a 2 person team (me and the missus) we actually managed to beat the cashier and had to WAIT for her to scan some things.... it was all I could do to not tut loudly and throw my eyes up to heaven as if she was delaying me.
WIN!

snubbleste · 23-10-2014 5:12pm

Cormac... wrote: »

Sorry to dig this up, but with some clever bag placement (placing 3 huge Lidl bags open inside the trolley side by side) and a 2 person team (me and the missus) we actually managed to beat the cashier and had to WAIT for her to scan some things.... it was all I could do to not tut loudly and throw my eyes up to heaven as if she was delaying me.
WIN!

She's been fired now! The manager was watching on the cctv and acted.

branie2 · 23-10-2014 5:12pm

I don't think I was ever pressurised.

WILL NEVER LOG OFF · 23-10-2014 5:18pm

branie2 wrote: »

I don't think I was ever pressurised.

that's even worse

in that case, you might be one of those checkout malingerers.

instead of quickly gathering your groceries into your arms and scurrying away to the packing shelf, i bet you slowly pack, item by item, in descending order of weight, as the whole queue silently fumes at you:p

Dan Jaman · 23-10-2014 5:30pm

About ten years ago, I had the misfortune to encounter a loon cashier at one of the discounters.
The person next to me in the queue commented on the checkout arrangements and I agreed with her, remarking on the unwelcome multiple handling. The cashier overheard something else and reacted as if I'd insulted her first-born, grandmother, and religion and called the manager.
WTF?
The manager was a bloody fool and took her word for it that I'd said something non-existent, so the upshot was I walked off, leaving a loaded trolley. As I did so, he said something to my back, and I honestly didn't quite catch it. When I turned back and asked him to repeat it, he cacked himself. Nasty little worm.

Dan Jaman · 23-10-2014 5:32pm

WILL NEVER LOG OFF wrote: »

that's even worse

in that case, you might be one of those checkout malingerers.

instead of quickly gathering your groceries into your arms and scurrying away to the packing shelf, i bet you slowly pack, item by item, in descending order of weight, as the whole queue silently fumes at you:p

Or one of those Aldidl newbies who tries to pay with credit card and has no cash (one of them now takes a CC, iirc).

Iranoutofideas · 23-10-2014 6:21pm

There's a drop dead gorgeous blond working at the checkout in the Lidl on the Ennis Road Limerick.

She has this really friendly attitude and the most amazing smile.

I know that has nothing to do with the thread and I don't care

ordinary_girl · 23-10-2014 7:07pm

Dan Jaman wrote: »

About ten years ago, I had the misfortune to encounter a loon cashier at one of the discounters.
The person next to me in the queue commented on the checkout arrangements and I agreed with her, remarking on the unwelcome multiple handling. The cashier overheard something else and reacted as if I'd insulted her first-born, grandmother, and religion and called the manager.
WTF?
The manager was a bloody fool and took her word for it that I'd said something non-existent, so the upshot was I walked off, leaving a loaded trolley. As I did so, he said something to my back, and I honestly didn't quite catch it. When I turned back and asked him to repeat it, he cacked himself. Nasty little worm.

Wait, what? What's a "loon cashier"? I'm struggling to make sense of this story.

Pressure in Lidil/Aldi

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