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Aldi and Lidl checkout system

Commotion Ocean

I regularly go to a local Aldi and Lidl and in principle, the queuing system is excellent.

Lob your stuff on the conveyor belt, move to end of the checkout, your stuff is quickly scanned through and you (just as quickly) put the stuff back into the trolley and pay.

Move to the preparation window sill things at the end and repack and organise there.

What p1sses me off about Aldi and Lidls here is that most people are organising and packing at the end of the tills.
The whole mantra of Lidl and Aldi is efficiency, which thus translates into cheaper goods due to less dwell time and wasted time. There is no justification to have more tills open in Lidl / Aldi if people just copped on and stopped packing at the till.

THAT'S WHAT THE WINDOW SILLS ARE THERE FOR :mad:

I've been to Aldi and Lidl in Germany and the Netherlands and you'll get dirty looks for holding up the system. People there actually respect the system there.

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Elliott S

kurtainsider wrote: »

I think that that whole idea of throwing all your messages back in the trolley and repacking at the window has failed in Ireland. I regularly go to 6 or 7 Lidl's and Aldi's and I don't see anyone do it anymore. Why should I double my handling of my shopping to facilitate these corporations? It's not as if they're giving the stuff away. That's my hard earned money I'm giving them.

Hasn't failed in any Lidl or Aldi I frequent. People have embraced it in the ones I visit as far as I can observe. I love the breathing room you get to pack at the window sills and I'm not alone on that. I hate the pressure of packing with a queue looking on. As for double handling your groceries, you're in a no frills, discount retailer. You got huge savings by doing your shopping there, but it costs in other ways. People would be mighty unimpressed if someone started packing at the tills in any of the Aldis and Lidls I go to. There is no room provided at the end of the till to pack for a reason.

Going Forward

Elliott S wrote: »

Hasn't failed in any Lidl or Aldi I frequent. People have embraced it in the ones I visit as far as I can observe. I love the breathing room you get to pack at the window sills and I'm not alone on that. I hate the pressure of packing with a queue looking on. As for double handling your groceries, you're in a no frills, discount retailer. You got huge savings by doing your shopping there, but it costs in other ways. People would be mighty unimpressed if someone started packing at the tills in any of the Aldis and Lidls I go to. There is no room provided at the end of the till to pack for a reason.

Yes we know, they want the money but don't really want the person with the money, they're just in the way, but unfortunately the stuff they're selling needs to be bought by someone, preferably someone who conforms to the masterplan and because "there is a cost" if it's cheap, so put a few nice designs on packaging and lots of pictures of nature and farmers in fields smiling down at us and we tend to forget ourselves.

The "huge savings" you mention, I presume you'd still want to make those savings if your till exiting sequence was delayed slightly, you know, as a cost, of being unable to continue to provide window sills if company policy changed on the matter and you were forced to actually pack at the till, or would you dispense with the "huge savings" idea in order to be able to pack at a window sill somewhere else?

It'd be less arcing around really instead of all this handling stuff twice and checking other customers in the queue to see are you in danger of being murdered for delaying them.

Aldildli are like the bus driver who says his job is great, except for the passengers, so at least we know where we stand with the "low frills discount retailer". In out, in out.

They want the custom but not necessarily the customer and it seems to have rubbed off on those in a frenzy to break the record for having their goods scanned and fired back at them.

They were looking for middle class customers recently.

Makes you wonder how they describe the ones they have already..........

meeeeh

Going Forward wrote: »

They want the custom but not necessarily the customer and it seems to have rubbed off on those in a frenzy to break the record for having their goods scanned and fired back at them.

They were looking for middle class customers recently.

Makes you wonder how they describe the ones they have already..........

It might be me but I very much prefer cashier arrangements in Lidl or Aldi to those in other supermarkets. I do grocery shopping out of necessity not because I want to waste some time waiting at the cashiers.

MeatTwoVeg

meeeeh wrote:

It might be me but I very much prefer cashier arrangements in Lidl or Aldi to those in other supermarkets. I do grocery shopping out of necessity not because I want to waste some time waiting at the cashiers.

I'm always astounded that there are people who'll pay 30% more for their shopping at Dunne's or Tesco because of what they perceive as a more relaxed and chatty checkout experience.

I've got things to do with my weekend time and shooting the breeze with some surly checkout attendant doesn't figure high in my list of priorities.

lawlolawl

somesoldiers wrote: »

same woman?

It's always a woman, so yeah, may as well be the same woman.

They are also the ones that **** up the idea of packing at the till.

It would be grand if they would pay attention to what was going on but they'd rather:

- talk on their mobile

-natter away with Mary in front/behind them

-annoy the till operator with some inane blathering about the weather that they've already heard 50 times that day

-try unsuccessfully to wrangle their feral kids who are climbing on every surface available because they were never taught about acceptable public behavior

-dive into their giant handbag to find their purse which is buried under everything else for some reason. Bonus points for making some kind of quip about "sure you could find anything in here". Also, this handbag exploration is only commenced once the total of the bill is said to them because up until then I can only presume they thought that everything in the shop was free so they wouldn't need their purse.

-treat every single occasion a debit card is used as a new and exciting adventure despite using one multiple times daily. Stare blankly at the keypad until you have to be prompted to put in your pin, then remove your card immediately despite the on screen warning not to, start again and complain that there must be "something wrong with the machine"

- If paying in cash, initially whip out near the correct amount in notes and then suddenly decide you might have the exact amount in change. Toss a huge fistful of coppers out on the counter and slowly count them until you realize that you don't have anything even approaching enough and hand over the notes you had in your hand anyway at the start of this nonsense.

TLDR: women are bad and annoying at everyday tasks

Going Forward

MeatTwoVeg wrote: »

I'm always astounded that there are people who'll pay 30% more for their shopping at Dunne's or Tesco because of what they perceive as a more relaxed and chatty checkout experience.

I've got things to do with my weekend time and shooting the breeze with some surly checkout attendant doesn't figure high in my list of priorities.

I can pay 30% less for shopping at Aldi or Lidl and still pack at the till .

Best of both worlds.

Either they want my custom, several thousand a year, or they don't.

Whats aldi lidls published position on the packing at the window?

Can I be barred, or just knifed by a customer with no time to spare???

Elliott S

Going Forward wrote: »

I can pay 30% less for shopping at Aldi or Lidl and still pack at the till .

Best of both worlds.

Either they want my custom, several thousand a year, or they don't.

Whats aldi lidls published position on the packing at the window?

Can I be barred, or just knifed by a customer with no time to spare???

It's as quick to pack at the sill or alternatively slow if you like and is a courtesy to other shoppers and at no extra inconvenience to you.

average_runner

Going Forward wrote: »

I can pay 30% less for shopping at Aldi or Lidl and still pack at the till .

Best of both worlds.

Either they want my custom, several thousand a year, or they don't.

Whats aldi lidls published position on the packing at the window?

Can I be barred, or just knifed by a customer with no time to spare???

Why can't you just follow the system like everyone else?

It makes things move faster.

They can refuse to.serve you, and your thousands are a lot less than what a group behind you will spend together. So your not worth much

bigmike99

dbagman wrote: »

how hard is it to have your empty bags open in the trolley ready to go? I always pack at the till. whats the point in putting the stuff in the trolley twice?

because their employers train them to ask and demand that you empty your trolley completely before you bring it around to the spot with the trolley icon on the ground.

Going Forward

average_runner wrote: »

Why can't you just follow the system like everyone else?

It makes things move faster.

They can refuse to.serve you, and your thousands are a lot less than what a group behind you will spend together. So your not worth much

Am I not?

I doubt they'd tell me that, what kind of business would say that to a customer??

They'd probably just give me some corporate waffle about smiling farmers and keeping costs down and Brannans Bread.

How do you know the people in the queue behind want to pack at the windowsill?

Elliott S

Going Forward wrote: »

Am I not?

I doubt they'd tell me that, what kind of business would say that to a customer??

They'd probably just give me some corporate waffle about smiling farmers and keeping costs down and Brannans Bread.

How do you know the people in the queue behind want to pack at the windowsill?

This is anecdotal but everyone I know prefers sill-packing. I'd go to Aldis and Lidls in both the rural west of Ireland and in Dublin and it's been embraced in all of them? Packing at the till is no quicker. Till packing is always something I found stressful and you can't do it right with a queue looking on. (Yes, there's a wrong way) My sixty-something parents love sill-packing after a lifetime of packing at the till.

Going Forward

Elliott S wrote: »

This is anecdotal but everyone I know prefers sill-packing. I'd go to Aldis and Lidls in both the rural west of Ireland and in Dublin and it's been embraced in all of them? Packing at the till is no quicker. Till packing is always something I found stressful and you can't do it right with a queue looking on. (Yes, there's a wrong way) My sixty-something parents love sill-packing after a lifetime of packing at the till.

Stress isn't good is it?

The silent killer.

I'm thinking of running classes for people that are stressed out by difficulties encountered when grocery shopping.

I'll be telling them to share the love, de stress their shopping experience, be cinfident and fight the fear by packing at the fooking till once in a blue moon, take a walk on the wild side:pac:

Elliott S

Going Forward wrote: »

Stress isn't good is it?

Not in my down time, nope!

Pack at the end of the till in the discount retailer, that's your right. But people in the queue will resent you for it. Hardly anyone likes to dilly dally in supermarkets, they want to get out of there.

FanadMan

Going Forward wrote: »

Stress isn't good is it?

The silent killer.

I'm thinking of running classes for people that are stressed out by difficulties encountered when grocery shopping.

I'll be telling them to share the love, de stress their shopping experience, be cinfident and fight the fear by packing at the fooking till once in a blue moon, take a walk on the wild side:pac:

Well class runner.....how would you deal with people like me that are socially awkward and can't stand thinking about holding up people in a queue? If I have a few items I'll spread them out on the belt so they are easy to put in one bag. But if I have a trolley full of stuff, most of it get fecked back into the trolley.......mainly because I don't want to hold up the queue. So I try and repack to the trolley and then bag at the shelf.

Am I a bad person? Should I be beaten with Lidls crusty baguettes? Or should I just carry on and say "screw you" to any whingers that are waiting?

Sorry Going Forward - having a bad day

Clampdown

Well, the employees have a target of 1,000 items per hour that mgmt expect them to hit, so it's not just the shoppers in the queue who are silently cursing you if you insist on selfishly holding the process up.

exaisle

Why do so many women wait until they've been told the total cost of their shopping to fumble in their handbag for their purse and fumble in their purse for their cash/card?

**Lights blue touch paper and stands well back....;-)

Going Forward

FanadMan wrote: »

Well class runner.....how would you deal with people like me that are socially awkward and can't stand thinking about holding up people in a queue? If I have a few items I'll spread them out on the belt so they are easy to put in one bag. But if I have a trolley full of stuff, most of it get fecked back into the trolley.......mainly because I don't want to hold up the queue. So I try and repack to the trolley and then bag at the shelf.

Am I a bad person? Should I be beaten with Lidls crusty baguettes? Or should I just carry on and say "screw you" to any whingers that are waiting?

Sorry Going Forward - having a bad day

Sound, I'd prefer someone who describes themselves as socially awkward over any amount of thinly veiled borderline violent sociopaths anyday.

Have you noticed the violent sentiment in the thread, people who can't stand stuff or hating this that or the other?

There's a lot of anger brewing beneath the veneer of outwardly calm grocery shoppers.

ronnie085

Didn't read the full thread but just thought about the double handling efficiency argument, to turn it around if it takes an extra minute to pack at the till and just say, which is possible at busy times there is 5+ people in front of you, that's an extra 5 or more minutes queuing, while the cues are backing up more, even longer waiting times and so on, increasing infinitely or something

uck51js9zml2yt

Going Forward wrote: »

Sound, I'd prefer someone who describes themselves as socially awkward over any amount of thinly veiled borderline violent sociopaths anyday.

Have you noticed the violent sentiment in the thread, people who can't stand stuff or hating this that or the other?

There's a lot of anger brewing beneath the veneer of outwardly calm grocery shoppers.

Outwardly calm, inwardly manic as we pack our bags before the call to pay comes along.

lawlolawl

Going Forward wrote: »

There's a lot of anger brewing beneath the veneer of outwardly calm grocery shoppers.

Well, I know that I'm constantly furious any time I'm forced to deal with the idiot general public. I try to go shopping when it's quiet because other people make it a chore.

I presume I'm not alone.

Flippyfloppy

I read this thread about everyone freaking out about the feckin sill, and I have 5 little words for you, SAY IT TO MY FACE!

Macy0161

Just put it back in the trolley and pack in bags into the boot of the car. Headwrecking when the idiots insist on organising at the checkout - hoping for the day I'm there and it's the check out operators last day and then just keep pushing the shopping through on to the floor.

If you want to take your time at the checkout, pay the increased costs (which includes check out times/ operators) at Tesco, Dunnes.

I do say it - I can be in rush and part of the attraction of Lidl/ Aldi (as well as value for money) is that it's in and out without all the time of the "mainstream" supermarkets.

The entitlement culture in Ireland even goes to supermarkets - want the cheaper prices (which is based on things like more efficient check out's) but then will do their best to make it less efficient and drive up prices, because it's my right to pack my bags!

Most do - very much the minority that are pig ignorant. Just like most with a trolley full in Aldi and Lidl will let the person with a small number of items go ahead.

meeeeh

I let the first one go, sometimes the second if I have a lot of shopping nbut the third person can wait in the line. Otherwise you could be there all day.

snubbleste

And then there are those like me who insist on their precious 1c/2c back.

Lidl does not round the change for some reason, they round the total before payment - which is wrong.

murpho999

snubbleste wrote: »

And then there are those like me who insist on their precious 1c/2c back.

Lidl does not round the change for some reason, they round the total before payment - which is wrong.

Don't get this, if they round the prices up or down to nearest 5 cent then, which is correct then there is no need to round the change.

maximum12

murpho999 wrote: »

Don't get this, if they round the prices up or down to nearest 5 cent then, which is correct then there is no need to round the change.

Rounding isn't about individual prices of goods. It's only the change that gets rounded when paying cash.

road_high

Think personally it's the height of ignorance to insist on packing your groceries at the checkout. It's not the system they operate and it's downright rude to decide to hold up everyone else.
It's not that hard to pack them away on the ledge 5 feet away and that way you pack away at your own pace without holding everyone else up. They're cheaper than Dunnes etc for many reasons, this being one of them.

snubbleste

murpho999 wrote: »

Don't get this, if they round the prices up or down to nearest 5 cent then, which is correct then there is no need to round the change.

If the total is €1.18, the Lidl cashier says that will be €1.20 please.
Some of us may have €1.18 in exact change or seek not to pay 1.7% extra.

P. Breathnach

lawlolawl wrote: »

... I try to go shopping when it's quiet because other people make it a chore.

I presume I'm not alone.

How does this work? If everybody goes shopping when it's quiet, then it's not quiet.

[Deleted User]

Elliott S wrote: »

This is anecdotal but everyone I know prefers sill-packing. I'd go to Aldis and Lidls in both the rural west of Ireland and in Dublin and it's been embraced in all of them? Packing at the till is no quicker. Till packing is always something I found stressful and you can't do it right with a queue looking on. (Yes, there's a wrong way) My sixty-something parents love sill-packing after a lifetime of packing at the till.

I'd have the exact opposite experience it's very very rarely I see someone pack at the sill. The two Aldi's that I'm usually in a very busy ones and I would say 95% of people pack at the till and nobody has a problem with it and it all works smoothly imo.

I don't see how you can claim it's as quick or as handy to pack at the sill, it's a stupid system. You are adding an extra step that takes as long as packing the bags by putting them back in the trolley to move to the sill to handle them all again to put them in the bags.