Aldi Trolleys and Baskets

foggy_lad

i have noticed from doing some shopping in different aldi stores around dublin that they all seem to have two sizes of trolley, the standard large trolley and a much smaller and handier one about a quarter the size of the larger one. some stores in the city area even have baskets!

my question is why do all stores not have these handy smaller trolleys? i have often seen elderly and disabled people in the carlow stores struggling to get items out of the larger trolleys and yes the staff will help if it is not too busy but they would not have to if all aldi's customers were catered for.

they have wheelchair trolleys for people in wheelchairs(these are not suitable for using without a wheelchair) but what have they got for disabled but mobile persons that may not be able to reach down into the large trolleys?

i thought Aldi based themselves on having all their stores basically the same as far as products and services so why do they not have these smaller trolleys at all stores? or why are people outside of Dublin left without?

dudara

foggy_lad - I'm not even sure where to put this thread. I don't consider it a CI, more of a general question.

Cabaal

Perhaps they've found in some parts of the country the smaller trollies are stolen
?

delllat

Cabaal wrote: »

Perhaps they've found in some parts of the country the smaller trollies are stolen
?

i thought all trollies had a lock on the wheels thesedays that only allowed them a few meteres away from the shop

looksee

I have only ever seen those enormous trollies in Aldi and Lidl. I am fairly tall and I find it difficult to get things out of them, I would even say that there have been times when I have not bothered to go in because I couldn't be bothered hauling one of them about.

I don't mind them being impersonal, and I like the lack of music, but between the trolly sizes and the fuss about which way round you can put it at the checkout, I don't go in nearly as often as I used.

dxhound2005

I often wondered why they only have the big trolleys, I might ask them next time I'm in. I just bring my big shopping bag and put the few items I need into it but it puts me off going more often as well. I thought there might be lots on Google about it but this is all I can find.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090904120908AAuKJDf

Jesus Wept

Have never seen baskets in Aldi.
Only use Parnell Street though.

jimmycrackcorm

You need those big trolleys for those times you go in for a few tins of beans yet end up coming out with a chainsaw.

P. Breathnach

Advice for jimmycrackcorm: you don't need a chainsaw to open a tin of beans.

gerrycollins

the reason all store dont have the handy trollies is that they prevent you buying more. People are more likely to stop shopping when the trolly is full so if you have a smaller trolly you are going to be conserative in what you buy.

the smaller trolly could also be a dublin issue to encourage customers to repeat visit during the week because of a load of issues. customers might only live a few mins away from the shop so they tend to buy in smaller amounts wheras I live in the sticks and when I go shopping I stock up becasue I have to drive 20 mins to my nearest.

calex71

gerrycollins wrote: »

the reason all store dont have the handy trollies is that they prevent you buying more. People are more likely to stop shopping when the trolly is full so if you have a smaller trolly you are going to be conserative in what you buy.

This is true, but on the flip side the lack of baskets or a small trolley actually puts me off going in at all most of the time. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Usually I 'll pick up 3 items I need, had I a basket I'd likely get a few more bit's.

Is it fair to say Irish people do a lot of 'top up' shops? I know I do. Having baskets would cater for these and not just the ones in doing the big family shop. Mind you going to the till with 3 items in your hand usually results in 'Is that all you have?, sure go ahead of me'

the groutch

a smidgen off topic, but has anyone noticed how hard it is to physically get out of aldi/lidl without buying something. alot of the time I'll just go in to browse the twice a week non-food offers, but when you go to leave the only way out is the high hurdle over one of the barriered tills (which isnt always an option if it's very busy, or maybe back out through the entrance and set off the alarm (which security guys have more than once gone mad at me over)

rubadub

calex71 wrote: »

This is true, but on the flip side the lack of baskets or a small trolley actually puts me off going in at all most of the time. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Usually I 'll pick up 3 items I need, had I a basket I'd likely get a few more bit's.

Same here, I go to lidl for a few beers and something small to eat and often have my hands full by the time I see another item so have to leave it.

Many people in lidl "book" a spot on the long conveyor, you stick a few items down put the yellow yokes down around your stuff and then head off to get some more items. By the time I go to get my next items and come back to the conveyor I am near the top of the line.

Apollo123

foggy_lad wrote: »

i have noticed from doing some shopping in different aldi stores around dublin that they all seem to have two sizes of trolley, the standard large trolley and a much smaller and handier one about a quarter the size of the larger one. some stores in the city area even have baskets!

Not really sure about the smaller trollies you mentioned, but I know that the reason why only some stores have baskets is because people take them out of the store and never return them. The cost adds up.

January

the groutch wrote: »

a smidgen off topic, but has anyone noticed how hard it is to physically get out of aldi/lidl without buying something. alot of the time I'll just go in to browse the twice a week non-food offers, but when you go to leave the only way out is the high hurdle over one of the barriered tills (which isnt always an option if it's very busy, or maybe back out through the entrance and set off the alarm (which security guys have more than once gone mad at me over)

Ask security officer to let you out one of the barriers, (or they're easy enough to open yourself... but... don't do that )

rubadub

Apollo123 wrote: »

I know that the reason why only some stores have baskets is because people take them out of the store and never return them.

My tesco just put security tags on the baskets, same as the ones on spirits etc. Not sure if lidl even have tags, I presume they do on expensive items.

wmpdd3

At €40 per basket to replace, you can be sure they are security tagged.

rubadub

wmpdd3 wrote: »

At €40 per basket to replace

Do the idiots really pay €40 for those wire baskets? I could get them made for a fraction of that, and far better quality finish and steel. Might be a new business for me!

wmpdd3

Yep good money in it, the bill for a extra store could be €10,000 per year! Well worth security tagging them.

A much better business idea is a way of dispensing baskets with the use of a trolley fob / euro coin.

1st person to come up with that will make a mint.

Last I heard, Mr. Dyson was working on it.

Would love if stores did the plastic baskets you pull along behind you, but apparently the cost and shrinkage was to high.

foggy_lad

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Yep good money in it, the bill for a extra store could be €10,000 per year! Well worth security tagging them.

A much better business idea is a way of dispensing baskets with the use of a trolley fob / euro coin.

1st person to come up with that will make a mint.

Last I heard, Mr. Dyson was working on it.

Would love if stores did the plastic baskets you pull along behind you, but apparently the cost and shrinkage was to high.

those bloody pull along baskets are lethal in the hands/control of children! hopefully some bright spark in Lidl and Aldi will see the benefits of having at least a couple of dozen small trolleys in each store! they could even be kept inside many stores to keep them from rambling off to the local streams etc.

borderlinemeath

I saw a little old lady today pushing her wire shopping basket up the street in one of the "holders" that the baskets sit in on wheels!! She must have "acquired" it from one of the local supermarkets!
Should have taken a picture!

Karen23

The Lidl and Aldi stores I've been to have only had the big trolleys or take a cardboard box. The big trolleys are a nuisance for small people like me , you have hang yourself over the side to get the stuff out at the bottom.