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Regret causing a scene in Aldi

311 replies

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 16:51

I went to Aldi earlier. While I was scanning an item at the self checkout, the price was more expensive than the price on the sticker on the shelf. I asked the assistant if I could quickly go back to swap it. I was away for only about 2 minutes.

When I came back to the till, there was a man arguing with the assistant, saying she had to remove my items so he could use the till. I explained that the items were mine and that I had just gone back to swap something. He started shouting at me, saying I had “jumped the queue” and that I shouldn’t go to the till until I had finished my shopping.

I stayed quiet for a few moments. When he was in the queue, I approached him and pointed my finger, saying, “don’t fucking speak to me like that again, or at any woman.” He shouted at me in response, telling me not to point my finger or swear at him. I said, “You’ve chosen the wrong person to be rude to,” and went back to DD.

We finished paying at the same time, and he was walking close behind me, looking at me. I said, “I didn’t appreciate you shouting at me in front of my child.” He then said, “I’ll see you here at 4pm next Sunday.” I said I wasn't from the area so no chance and continued walking to my car.

As time has passed, I regret my actions and wish I had just stayed quiet.

OP posts:
Moonnstarz · 08/02/2026 18:02

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:13

Thank you, everyone.
I really regret what happened, especially because my DD was with me, even though my back was to her so she didn’t see much except me speaking to the man.
It was an item that was reduced on the sticker but scanned at full price. Because staff were busy, I just wanted to swap it for something else quickly to save them from having to check it or get a manager to adjust the price.
I didn’t put my finger in his face.
I really wish I had behaved differently though and feel gutted about it. I’m not sure why he said he'd see me next Sunday at 4. My only thought is that maybe he was planning to do his shopping just before the store closes next week.

This doesn't make sense though. It took you a couple of minutes to go and find an alternative item when you could have simply asked them to get a price check. At our Aldi they have headsets or someone at an actual till does and they just ask through that for someone on the shop floor to go and check. That would have made more sense and likely to have taken a similar amount of time. Saying you would get a different product is likely to be more time consuming. Aldi is also the kind of shop where it is fast paced.

Or your daughter is 9, you could have sent her back to find an alternative and continued to pay for your shopping, waited to one side, and then joined the queue again once she returned. Or if she didn't know the item, again you could have paid for the shopping, she could have waited at the end of the shop and then you could have gone back to get the different product.

Anyway you both sound a bit silly, him for having a go at you and you for swearing and ranting at him.

cavalier · 08/02/2026 18:02

He was a starting idiot … next time just ignore anyone who talked to you like that .. people hate being ignored .. 👌🏼😁.. They want input .. don’t give it to them 👍.. If he’s harassing you call the police and tell him you’re going to either .. even if you don’t

Livingthebestlife · 08/02/2026 18:02

Gosh I'm finding this happening to me a lot lately in supermarkets and some public places with women getting really angry and shouting at me for no reason at all.

MassiveWordSalad · 08/02/2026 18:02

youalright · 08/02/2026 17:55

I dont think many women do but there are ways to stand up for yourself without swearing and pointing your finger at someone. How pathetic do you think women are do you honestly think most women would start looking at there shoes and say sorry sir please take my till. Have you met women before I think where actually worse then men for our gobs and attitudes

She returned his aggression. TBH when I was younger I would have probably stammered an apology at this kind of guy and scampered off, probably in tears.

Lollipop81 · 08/02/2026 18:02

I really don’t blame you but I have learnt over time to keep my mouth shut when with my children. Imagine if he attacked you in front of her. I’ve done it in the past then afterwards thought I really shouldn’t risk it when with the kids.
at the same time though it’s good she saw you stand up for yourself.

KStockHERO · 08/02/2026 18:01

You sound fabulous, OP.

Well fucking done.

Ignore all the pearl-clutchers saying you shouldn't have sworn in front of a child. It's good for children to see women standing up to men. Fucking cunts.

Dublassie · 08/02/2026 18:01

I think OP was just as rude as the guy . And swearing like that is awful - especially in front of your daughter.
I can see why the man was annoyed . However , he was rude and impatient .
But I don't think you have achieved some kind of great defence of females everywhere as many of the post here seem to suggest .
Both of you were at fault . But you lowered yourself to his angry , unreasonable level in my opinion.

SickandTiredofEverything · 08/02/2026 18:01

Something similar happened to me - also Aldi. Different circumstances but fundamentally an entitled young man felt it acceptable to remonstrate with me at the tills. I didn’t swear - but responded also along the lines of ‘how dare you raise your voice to me’. He really didn’t like being challenged by some middle aged fat bird half his size. He loomed into my face, definitely trying to intimidate me and spoke even louder - so I talked / shouted over him even more loudly than that - at this point certainly loud enough for the whole store to hear. Soon security came along and asked us to stop ‘certainly’, said I, ‘I was only responding in the tone I was spoken to’. He gave me daggers till he left the store - I just stared back at him. I don’t regret a single second. I absolutely detest the way big blokes pick on women (no WAY would he have spoken to a burly chap like that, I am convinced). Maybe he’ll think twice next time.

ForeverTheOptomist · 08/02/2026 18:01

One quick tip - if you have this sort of situation again, or indeed any situation that is contentious, don't ever, ever, respond with swear words, or in particular the F word. It undermines and eradicates your standing.

piano55 · 08/02/2026 18:00

I’m the kind of person who regrets NOT saying things when I look back and wished I’d said something so well done you. No regrets necessary. I vow to be more “Liiz” in future. X

Walkden · 08/02/2026 17:59

"Have you never seen misogyny in action? It happens a lot. A man is feeling pissed off, sees a woman doing something he disagrees with, and berates her,"

This is your misandry showing. We don't know that this man is a misogynist. For all we know, he rants at men who hold people up at checkouts.

You've just assumed he wouldn't do the same to a man and is instead berating only women because he is a man, then extrapolated based on that stereotypical assumption.

There's plenty of men who get into petty arguments with other men in aldi, and are more likely to do that than berates a woman.

RudolphTheReindeer · 08/02/2026 17:59

verabarbleen · 08/02/2026 17:58

Good for you I’m laughing at the 4pm thing did he want to meet you for a fight 😂 sorry I shouldn’t laugh it’s just something people used to say at school!

I thought this too. Is it guns at 10 paces 😂

PhaedraWas · 08/02/2026 17:58

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:44

He wasn’t. His face dropped when I confronted him. He looked very surprised that I waited a few moments before speaking to him and didn't just 'leave it'. His face actually changed colour, it went pale after being red when he was shouting at me. He probably didn’t expect me to revisit the situation again. But who knows maybe he was shaking with laughter on the inside.

Nevertheless, I do think I made a total arse out of myself.

You did.

MassiveWordSalad · 08/02/2026 17:58

landlordhell · 08/02/2026 17:56

Exactly- they should send a runner.

There are no runners, since COVID they use the absolute minimum number of staff they can. The member of staff by the self-service tills has to stay there.

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:58

I 100% agree that I should have been more careful. I shouldn’t have sworn, even without my DD present.

I was just frustrated that some men get away with bullying. Last month, I was in the car with my daughter when a random man angrily and dangerously overtook me (I was driving at the speed limit), then stopped in front of me with his hazard lights on. He wouldn’t let me drive forward and blocked me from turning or leaving the road. My daughter and I were so scared, and there was nothing I could do. I think my reaction this time was an accumulation of stressful experiences involving men in public.

OP posts:
Duckchops · 08/02/2026 17:58

Typo

verabarbleen · 08/02/2026 17:58

Good for you I’m laughing at the 4pm thing did he want to meet you for a fight 😂 sorry I shouldn’t laugh it’s just something people used to say at school!

Shakeyshakeyshake · 08/02/2026 17:56

You were fine. Stop overthinking it.
He was being an arse and you called him on it. It’s on him.
I know you regret the language you used, however your daughter saw you don’t take shit from randomers in the wrong. She’ll be fine.

landlordhell · 08/02/2026 17:56

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:55

The sales assistant said I could go and swap the item so how did I cause the problem in the first place?

Exactly- they should send a runner.

MassiveWordSalad · 08/02/2026 17:56

Growlybear83 · 08/02/2026 17:49

I think she made a complete fool of herself. When shops are busy, it’s really irritating when someone wanders off to either exchange something or get something they’ve forgotten. The OP hasn’t given any indication of how long she was gone for and it’s understandable that the man was annoyed. Of course he shouldn’t have been as rude as he was, but the OP outdid him in the rudeness stakes massively. She behaved like a fishwife, swearing and pointing at him the way she did, especially in front of her nine year old daughter. And I fail to see why the ‘or any woman’ part of the OP’s comment was relevant. I suppose I do has to admire her total lack of self awareness telling the man that she didn’t appreciate him shouting at her in front of her child, after how she had just behaved. I bet she brightened up the day of a number of other shoppers with her ridiculous behaviour.

When there’s one person attending the tills, you have to rectify mistakes yourself. They won’t go and get something for you any more. In one of the OP’s updates she said there were other tills he could have used, he was just trying to make a point.

And “fishwife” FFS 🤣

youalright · 08/02/2026 17:55

MassiveWordSalad · 08/02/2026 17:49

Standing up to a bullying man in front of your daughter may show her that women shouldn’t quietly put up with this shit.

I dont think many women do but there are ways to stand up for yourself without swearing and pointing your finger at someone. How pathetic do you think women are do you honestly think most women would start looking at there shoes and say sorry sir please take my till. Have you met women before I think where actually worse then men for our gobs and attitudes

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:55

PussInBin20 · 08/02/2026 17:49

I think you were in the wrong and don’t blame you for regretting it. You caused the problem in the first place.

The sales assistant said I could go and swap the item so how did I cause the problem in the first place?

OP posts:
landlordhell · 08/02/2026 17:55

Sometimes we just act in the heat of the moment- you are human. I would talk to your DD if old enough to understand and say that you wish you had dealt with it differently but the man was rude and you felt you had to stand up for yourself.
Last week in Lidl an older man decided to chat away on a Saturday morning to the checkout person. After ahe processed his payment he continued- unusually for Lidl staff she allowed this and the queue was halfway up the shop. My face must’ve said it all as I was 2 customers back and he decided to blow me a kiss and then give me the mid digit! Honestly what is going on? He wasn’t in the car park after I left otherwise I would have given him the same lecture.

Liiz92 · 08/02/2026 17:54

tinyspiny · 08/02/2026 17:48

I don’t see why so many people are saying he was wrong , it was the OP that caused the scene , she should have just ignored him and carried on with her scanning but instead she reignited the argument . I also don’t believe for one second that she said ‘ don’t fucking speak to me like that again, or at any woman.”, I totally think that the ‘or at any woman’ is an added extra on here to make it look like she is looking out for us all to garner support .

I promise you I did say exactly that.

OP posts:
diddl · 08/02/2026 17:50

He sounds awful.

Seems a lot of fuss due to a discounted sticker not showing up though!

Surprised the assistant couldn't have put it through somehow.