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).

cintec

Going Forward wrote: »

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?

In Lidl the staff are timed by how many items they scan if its not quick enough they get in trouble(lose there job) that's why you sometimes see them put the till on break when someone is being very slow and they don't slow down if you ask them(which comes across as ignorant but there ordered to do it)

Also depending on the time of the day you go shopping there may only be 2-3 members on this includes the manager who regularly has to serve customers clear boxes and sweep the floor.

goat2

cintec wrote: »

In Lidl the staff are timed by how many items they scan if its not quick enough they get in trouble(lose there job) that's why you sometimes see them put the till on break when someone is being very slow and they don't slow down if you ask them(which comes across as ignorant but there ordered to do it)

Also depending on the time of the day you go shopping there may only be 2-3 members on this includes the manager who regularly has to serve customers clear boxes and sweep the floor.

thanks for clearing this, was wondering why when i had huge baskets or trollies that things were being done at such speed, i bet there is a big turnover of staff if that is the case, robotic really, there are no self service tills on our local aldi and lidl, at least we could go at our own pace on the self service,

Going Forward

Just because the goods are relatively cheaper than elsewhere should' nt mean that the quality of service provided should be below standard.

Speed and efficiency and cheap and cheerful can work together nicely, as opposed to the apparent disregard for the slow, aged or infirm shopper.

The only reason people are putting up with this spartan service in austere surroundings is because the are on a restricted budget, and a little customer service at the till (packing etc) would make the experience more enjoyable for many.

thesandeman

Maybe someone should put op a poll? Opinions seem about 50/50.

paddyandy

There is a quick way of taking a trolley and arranging all items on the conveyor so they go immediately back in to same trolley as they finish scan and repack at the place provided . People might need just a little training with this .

Corruptedmorals

Del2005 wrote: »

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.

Dunnes do, it's a policy. Every store has two bag-packer-free checkouts. There are signs either on or above the checkouts, can't remember but probably next to the 'alcohol can be bought at this checkout' sign. Ask a manager if you can't tell before you join a queue.

looksee

I don't very often go into Lidl as I had too many arguments about which way round the trolley should go. I don't mind speed and I am quite happy to put my groceries into the trolley then sort them at the window shelf, but I do object to the pure silliness of insisting I position the trolley in the most inconvenient position for me to put stuff into it.

I don't find Tesco staff unfriendly, my local store is very good. My only issue is with the chackers (love that word) who may be perfectly nice people but I don't want them throwing my groceries anyhow into the bags. I can usually have my bags just about packed by the time the assistant is finished, and would be finished by the time the payment is made.

Going Forward

paddyandy wrote: »

There is a quick way of taking a trolley and arranging all items on the conveyor so they go immediately back in to same trolley as they finish scan and repack at the place provided . People might need just a little training with this .

Do you know if there are any training courses available?
I really think that i have the potential to become a better customer.

WIZE

goat2 wrote: »

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

Is Dealz a Supermarket for Food ?

goat2

WIZE wrote: »

Is Dealz a Supermarket for Food ?

yes, it sells, bread, milk ,butter, tea, coffee, etc, also toiloteries, household equipment, they cover a huge range, and their stuff is good, everything is 1.49, even reading glasses, baking tins, top brand toothpastes, sweets, the lot.
try it

run_Forrest_run

I like the Aldi/Lidl speed at the checkout. It actually highlights how thick some people can be, if they don't group their items in order of packing compatibility then they deserve the trauma!

Hopefully this fast way will eventually kill out the far too casual attitude of Irish shoppers. I still see dopes at the checkout trying to pack their items into bags at the checkout...hello, that's what the big bench behind you is for!!

I'd have a bigger gripe with the Tesco/Dunnes staff who go at snails pace with a scowl on their face. They are usually middle-aged women full of bitterness because they had to go back to work due to husband's investments going belly up in the last year or two.

muboop1

looksee wrote: »

but I do object to the pure silliness of insisting I position the trolley in the most inconvenient position for me to put stuff into it.

Just to clear it up. They do that for a simple reason, to turn the trolley around like that exposes it in its entirety to the checkout persons eyes (otherwise they cannot see most of it). They had a huge problem in the past with people leaving things in their trolleys and not paying (Whether intentional or not).

This reduced their losses enough that they made it a policy all over the world (I questioned this with a mate who worked in Lidl).

It's nothing personal, its just business. Obey or don't go, but that their logic... Personally I think it's fine. If it saves them cash which keeps prices low... good stuff!

looksee

muboop1 wrote: »

Just to clear it up. They do that for a simple reason, to turn the trolley around like that exposes it in its entirety to the checkout persons eyes (otherwise they cannot see most of it). They had a huge problem in the past with people leaving things in their trolleys and not paying (Whether intentional or not).

This reduced their losses enough that they made it a policy all over the world (I questioned this with a mate who worked in Lidl).

It's nothing personal, its just business. Obey or don't go, but that their logic... Personally I think it's fine. If it saves them cash which keeps prices low... good stuff!

Yup, that's the basis I work on. I don't go.

dxhound2005

The only gripe I have about Lidl/Aldi is that they don't have baskets or small trolleys (at least in my local stores). I usually only need 6 or 8 items so I put them in my bag as I go around the shop, on to the conveyor belt and back into the bag as quick as into a trolley. I like the speed and I have never came away feeling traumatised.

cookie1977

I love racing the cashiers and when I get in the lead I stand there indignant waiting for the next item to be scanned.

pavb2

It does seem a bit odd having to load everything from the trolley on to the belt & back in to the trolley.

I think someone should invent a machine/system like the scanners at the airport where you push your trolley through and it calculates the price automatically.

cookie1977

Superquinn have the hand held scanners that you use in the shop and then hand over to pay the bill at the checkout.

Going Forward

rabjoshu wrote: »

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?

My dear rabjoshu, dont misquote me.
Thank you.

Going Forward

Can we not all wise up and realise that:

A. The Aldi/lidl checkout procedure is akin to "Pay up, now get over there out of my sight and bag up.

and

B. You the customer are not saving any (of your) time, because you have to take everything out of your precisely-placed-trolley twice!

You are just enabling the retailer to process more customers; in your time.

A little less of the maniacal time and motion managerial preoccupation would lead to a more pleasant shopping experience.

strandroad

dxhound2005 wrote: »

The only gripe I have about Lidl/Aldi is that they don't have baskets or small trolleys (at least in my local stores). I usually only need 6 or 8 items so I put them in my bag as I go around the shop, on to the conveyor belt and back into the bag as quick as into a trolley. I like the speed and I have never came away feeling traumatised.

Depends on the store, my local Lidl has baskets as well as trolleys. I only go there for breads so never have to use the trolley at all.