Anyone work for Adli/Lidl?

YLALD99

Hi

Does anyone work or know someone that works for Lidl or Aldi - particularly in their head offices. They advertise jobs that seem really good with great salaries and prospects but anyone Ive mentioned them to have said they'd never work for them.

Does anyone have any first hand or real experience with these companies - should I bother applying?

GP

YLALD99 wrote:

Hi

Does anyone work or know someone that works for Lidl or Aldi - particularly in their head offices. They advertise jobs that seem really good with great salaries and prospects but anyone Ive mentioned them to have said they'd never work for them.

Does anyone have any first hand or real experience with these companies - should I bother applying?

Sure why not ?

I mean you can at least get a real idea of what they're about. Not sure why people who have no idea of the companies, tell you that you shouldn't work for them......

You can't loose anything by applying can you ?

whippet

I did come across somebody that did work for them as a Trainee Regional Manager (or something like that), he was on a fair wage (€45K) + Audi A4 + etc .. Aldi I think.

I met him when he was applying for another job after walking out on them 6 months down the line. He maintained that there is no work-life balance with them at all, you are expected to work all hours and at very short notice. He worked it out that for the hours he put in he was getting paid less than the minimum wage per hour.

Bluetonic

whippet wrote:

He worked it out that for the hours he put in he was getting paid less than the minimum wage per hour.

For that to be the case he'd have been working 16 hour days 8 days a week with no holidays at all - 128 hour weeks, thats if it was after the 1st of May 2005 he was working, it would have been 18 hour days 8 days a week with no holidays before the 1st of May 2005 and thats without taking into account the company car....Sounds excessive and also is illegal.

jank

Bluetonic wrote:

For that to be the case he'd have been working 16 hour days 8 days a week with

8 days a week?

Yea, They pay well and give you a car but from what ive heard be prepared for 70-80 hour weeks with them. Not my cup of tea. But hey you will be loaded after a few months cause you will be working all the time so you wont be able to spend your money.

If you are prepared for those hours then go for it because there is a reason why they pay so much at the start...(im on 20k less but would never take that type of job)

mountainyman

jank wrote:

...from what ive heard be prepared for 70-80 hour weeks with them...

They pay well because they expect to own you. However if you want a career in retail (by which I mean in an office not in a shop) presumably in two years you could walk into any comany in Ireland after Aldi.

Don't bother unless you are going to do CIMA though, the retail business is run by bean counters.

MM

Borzoi

YLALD99 wrote:

Hi

Does anyone have any first hand or real experience with these companies - should I bother applying?

I've dealt with Lidl head office on a number of projects over several years - like others have said, they'll work you like a dog, and very few people last more than a few years.

All the senior management are german, and all the senior decisions are made in Germany, who issue dicktats to local head offices.

From looking at their advertising they only seem to employ people with a small amount of experience, who they then can mould into their own way of thinking. They also shift people around internally to different areas on a regular basis, as result I've frequently dealt with people who haven't had a clue.

Compared to other people I know in retail, like M&S, Dunnes etc, who all work you hard - but at least there seems to be genuine career development

ballooba

whippet wrote:

I did come across somebody that did work for them as a Trainee Regional Manager (or something like that), he was on a fair wage (€45K) + Audi A4 + etc .. Aldi I think.

I met him when he was applying for another job after walking out on them 6 months down the line. He maintained that there is no work-life balance with them at all, you are expected to work all hours and at very short notice. He worked it out that for the hours he put in he was getting paid less than the minimum wage per hour.

As long as you realise this then you will be fine. You will get very good training and if you are able to stick out the training then you will be highly attractive to employers. Stick it out for two years and you will be doing extremely well.