Anyone watching the Aldi Dispatches Programme?

[Nicknamegrief]

Just that really ..... probably going to put me off, just in time for one to open 10mins drive away!

[1AngelicFruitCake]

It's not putting me off so far. Staff throwing bread onto shelves, rushing you through checkouts and some fruit and veg going off...there's a reason that Aldi is cheap. I shop there each week and just check the fruit and veg. I feel sorry for the employees being filmed and really hope they don't lose their jobs because of this.

[expatinscotland]

Doesn't put me off.

[gingerdad]

It's a none program.

[Nicknamegrief]

I usually go to Lidl, as we used to live in Germany and that was significantly better than Aldi there. However Lidl is 25mins drive away (I am rather rural).
Because of this I like my fruit and veg to last 5/7days so it would annoy me to have it going off (but I judge for myself with fruit and veg rather than go by a date on a packet).

[RainbowDashed]

Doesn't put me off at all. Best before dates on a carrot ffs? If it looks ok to eat, then it's ok to eat. How much food gets chucked out due to spurious use by dates?

[juicynectarines]

Is a bit like it is sponsored by the other supermarket chains!

[Lenuccia]

Or me - my local M&S always has things on the shelf out of date or about to go - I have often pointed it out as so many elderly people buy their food there. My DD used to work part time for a major supermarket and all the things they are showing are pretty standard. Al least Aldi pay for breaks my DD only got a break for 15 mins every 6 hours.

[PotOfYoghurt]

I'm watching, but shall reserve judgement until the end.

I'm waiting for the chickens on floor/mice in bagels dramatics.

[Dontsayaword]

It's making me angry but with the program not aldi. Dispatches always blow things out of proportion or try to make problems where none really exist.
I am sure they could make a similar programming in any supermarket, especially on fish\meat counters.

They are going on about best before dates on veg at the moment, I like the fact that aldi veg does not have a best before date so I can assess whether the food is OK or not rather than all the people who throw perfectly good food in the bin because of the best before (not use by) date on the pack.

Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant

[HirplesWithHaggis]

I've been yelling at the telly. It really annoys me that they're whining about fresh produce being past it when it still looks absolutely fine (though the cucumber was ick - but wtf would buy it. ) It should have been off the shelves - and dumped where? Waste of food, creating landfill. Grr.

(Are they now one of the supermarkets offering such food to homeless charities/foodbanks?)

[gingerdad]

We never stop at m&s after some terrible quality on food.

I love the expert in this he ran focus diy for fuck sake.

I'll still use Aldi for my monthly supermarket shop.

[WheresMyBurrito]

I've seen mouldy carrots for sale in Asda. Manky spuds in Morrisons. It's nothing new.

(In fact, in Asda I reported the carrots to a member of staff and he did nothing!)

All the supermarkets are bastards, I'm sure.

[Nicknamegrief]

Yep....storm in a tea cup. If that?!

[AimlesslyPurposeful]

So far it seems to be the Aldi staff that have more to complain about than the customers. Making them walk the aisles and get their tills ready fifteen minutes before their shift starts is a sneaky way of getting more hours out of them than they're paid for.

I knew that their fruit and veg wasn't as fresh as the other big name stores as I've been told that they buy the fruit and veg that the big names turn down at the suppliers. This means that it has been hanging around longer between picking and being on the shelves. This is why it's cheap/cheaper though.

I'm not really too fussed about packaged food being thrown onto shelves though as I have eyes and am able to see if the packaging has split.

I don't buy meat from them and it would be interesting to see the treatment of the animals that provide the meat for their ready meals and imported sliced packaged meats. I'd imagine the animals providing the cut price meat and dairy have more to worry about than we the customers do.

[RainbowDashed]

aimless it's the same veg, grown to the same spec, as waitrose et Al. The only difference would be a wider range of size. It hasn't been rejected by anyone.

[AimlesslyPurposeful]

Rainbow - I have been told by someone who works in fruit and veg packing cold stores that the likes of Aldi buy the stock that the big stores would not buy due to the lack of potential shelf life.

I'm not disputing the quality - it's all come from the same place. It's just that the fruit and veg on the shelves in the larger stores is a bit younger than the produce on the shelves at Aldi. Not a big deal though and as others have said, this was a non programme.

[WyldChyld]

It's really irritating me, and DH and I have seriously wondered whether it is propaganda by the other supermarkets. I worked for Boots as a teenager - we HAD to be on the shop floor 5 minutes before our shift started, we got no paid breaks but had exactly 1 hour including the 5 minute battle up the stairs and back down them, no toilet breaks without permission and had to stay and lock up for normally 20 - 30 minutes per night without pay.

One of the reasons I like Aldi fruit and veg is it has no best before date - you have to check it! Their produce is brilliant and I can count on one hand the number of problems I have had with it - about the same as any other supermarket.

I also love the fact they are really fast at the tills!

[steve5jmc]

The problem with people that (like me) are on a tight budget, we tend to want to ignore reality and the fact that aldi and lidl no matter how much we try to ignore it because it's all we can afford so we act like "oh the stuff from aldi is great, nothin wrong with it, it's as good as any other supermarket" ... but the reality is that most people are embarrased because they HAVE to shop there because it's all we can afford. If i could afford to shop in a decent supermarket I wouldn't put a foot through the door of lidl or aldi because 9 times out of ten the stuff i buy from there is shite!! it's just that I'm prepared to admit thats all I can afford whereas others (and I know some of them) wont!!!

[EssentialHummus]

Steve - I'm a recent lidl convert (from waitrose and ocado) and for me the quality stacks up. It doesn't feel any different. I'm embarrassed at having spent so much on Ocado until now.

The programme was a non-event though. Chucking bread? Really?

[HelenF35]

It reminded me of the sports direct one. Total non story. Retail chain uses targets to try and increase productivity, they all bloody do! Best before date thing is bollocks too, you don't need a best before date to tell if fruit and veg is edible unless you are a complete imbecile! The only concerning thing was the health and safety breaches but that is down to individual store management to check.

[cdtaylornats]

My sister knows when supermarkets put out the low price stuff and when to buy. Depending on the area she can get fish cheaply most days and towards the end of the month large joints of meat, steaks and smoked salmon because the locals are waiting to be paid.

She thinks the Eat Well For Less show is extremely extravagant shopping after Greg Wallace has had a go.

[ihatevirginmobile]

steve I think you are wrong ...I think the lack of choice makes you feel like that...and that is understandable.
I don't need to shop at Lidl/Aldi but I do - actually prefer Lidl to Aldi - but I like the fact I can do a weeks shop in 30 mins. The big supermarkets have too much choice- I can spend ages dithering over eg which box of cornflakes to buy ...the value ones or own label - the 1kg box of own label actually works out more expensive per kg than the 500g one ...but actually they have a special offer on Kelloggs...so that might be better value ... and I dither not because I have to watch the pennies but because I don't like to feel like I have been ripped off. More often than not at the checkout I am surprised...in Lidl at how little it cost - in Tescos/Asda etc at how much ...
I do think you have to watch the pack sizes in LIdl/Aldi - I know that in eg asda a medium box of cereal is normally 750 g but in lidl I'm sure they are slightly smaller ... so may not as great value for things like that as we might think
And I buy most of my meat from the butcher -(except sausages, bacon and ham - but make sure it is from UK pork). And don't buy ready meals (just the odd one to keep in the freezer) so I can't comment on either of those in any supermarket though...

[MintChocAddict]

Still going to Aldi too. Not put off at all. I worked in one of the traditional big hitter supermarkets when I was a student and I've got stories to tell that would make your hair curl! Nothing shocking in that programme IMHO. And agree expected to see it sponsored by the other major supermarkets in the credits at the end!

[Kem99]

I gave up years ago buying their fruit or veg, for me it was false economy as most of it would end up in the bin.
Always wondered why during the horse meat scandal how they kept quiet and issued no apologies even though their 'Quality Aberdeen Angus' burgers were found to contain horse meat.
Other supermarkets were recently targeted by farmers for the price of milk but it was Aldi that reduced their prices first!

To be honest there are other supermarkets which offer own brands that are just as cheap but are better quality.

There is no point just looking a the price of something, you have to take the quality and quantity of the ingredients into account.

[steve5jmc]

ihatevirginmobile : Well all I can tell you is this ... I buy in aldi but compared with Tesco and Asda, what I buy in Aldi is tasteless or just plain nasty (in my opinion). I'm lucky that my parents are very good to me and treat me every now and then so I do a shop in a proper supermarket. It's amazing what a difference it makes when you get decent grub. As far as the cereals in Aldi are concerned I tried the Cornflakes they do and I may as well have been eating the box they came in, absolute garbage. It's true that you aren't going to get everything you like in one supermarket and that includes Morrisons etc. However It's only my opinion. But I will NOT take back what I said about people saying they like the stuff from Aldi just because they are embarrased to say otherwise.