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Original poster

AMA Working for Aldi

104 replies

HoeAbout · 30/04/2023 07:18

I've only just left my position due to a relocation, but wondered if anyone had any questions!

Worst times to shop, best time for a click and collect, anything behind the scenes :)

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 08:30

Inkblue · 01/05/2023 22:03

Why doesn’t Aldi sell live yoghurt? At least they don’t in my store, which is a smallish one but I haven’t seen it anywhere else. Ditto Lidl. It’s really my only complaint.

It'll be a cost/demand decision I expect; their social media department does take feedback on board so you could pop the suggestion to them!

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 08:33

TinyKittenPaw · 01/05/2023 22:30

Can i ask about their beauty products - they are excellent covered extensively in the media but then never re stocked or rarely restocked. Do Aldi make them as dupes or are they re bottled high end products that have been over ordered else where?

The stock availability of the core range of beauty products in store will be down to the management ordering and warehouse availability.

Anything beauty related on the Special Buys will be very limited and once gone, gone!

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WheelsUp · 02/05/2023 08:36

I saw the ginger cake and the kids dried fruit snack thing is currently in my local Aldi. They were both in the middle aisle

My store has a sign by the packing bench saying "Please don't sit on this packing bench. It is for packing groceries" rather than explaining the packing bench etiquette. There's often empty boxes scattered on it so it's not crystal clear if employees are customers are supposed to pack there but I've lived in Germany so knew how it worked.

Our store got self service after a refurbishment. It's brilliant as I am often on foot and just need one item like a jar of pesto and don't want people waiting for the tills to feel obliged to let me go in front of them.

Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 08:37

Soapyspuds · 01/05/2023 22:40

The idea with Aldi is that you pack your items at the packing bench and not at the till, so you just fill your trolley back up as we scan it through which can be done very quickly

Follow up question.

There are no signs or comments to this effect in my store. How are customer supposed to realise this?

It's just one of those "known" things, but I do appreciate that if you don't know, then how could you!

I will say Aldi are evolving from what they were, becoming more customer service prioritised, so this is why it's not mandatory.

One thing I will suggest to customers - let the cashier position your trolley correctly, as it REALLY helps with packing and helps your back!

I'd be cringing at the awkward angles customers insisted on loading the trolleys at, mostly blokes who didn't want a kind suggestion...

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 08:39

ExhaustedPigwidgeon · 01/05/2023 22:51

So - if you have to jump on tills really quick do you just leave your cage of chilled delivery out on the floor till you can get off tills and come back?

So it depends how long you're going to be on the till. If it's busy and it's going to be more than 5 minutes then you or a colleague will put the pallet/cage back in the chiller. Same for freezer!

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 08:43

Soapyspuds · 01/05/2023 22:39

It is clear that checkout workers are expected to scan everything mega quickly. Do they get annoyed when customers cannot pack their items fast enough or are they glad they can slow down?

It depends if we really need to get back onto the shop floor and if it impacts into your break time

It can be frustrating to have a very slow packer when I need to sort the milk delivery, or when I've been working for 6 hours since 5am and I'm desperate for a pee and bite to eat.

But it's part and parcel of the role and staff know this - and most of us adapt to each customer.

We'd have no energy left if we got frustrated at every other customer!

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9GreenBottles · 02/05/2023 08:54

What’s the reason that there are cases of mixed flavours/types of products that you have to rake through to find what you want (eg lemon and lime juice, dog food in gravy and jelly, red and green pesto etc) so that there are loads of boxes with the unpopular version pushed out of the way in the hunt for the desired version?

What do staff make of this approach?

00100001 · 02/05/2023 12:12

9GreenBottles · 02/05/2023 08:54

What’s the reason that there are cases of mixed flavours/types of products that you have to rake through to find what you want (eg lemon and lime juice, dog food in gravy and jelly, red and green pesto etc) so that there are loads of boxes with the unpopular version pushed out of the way in the hunt for the desired version?

What do staff make of this approach?

Surely it's just cheaper to do it this way?
You have one generic box design rather than 3.
Less inventory
takes up less horizontal shelf space, so you can stick more in a smaller area.
Means if raspberry flavour is in short supply,you can fill it with the strawberry and orange instead.

Shhhquirrel · 02/05/2023 18:39

00100001 · 02/05/2023 12:12

Surely it's just cheaper to do it this way?
You have one generic box design rather than 3.
Less inventory
takes up less horizontal shelf space, so you can stick more in a smaller area.
Means if raspberry flavour is in short supply,you can fill it with the strawberry and orange instead.

Show quote history

But surely it takes much longer to fill the boxes in the first place, always find it a faff having to sift through.

Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 19:12

Shhhquirrel · 02/05/2023 18:39

But surely it takes much longer to fill the boxes in the first place, always find it a faff having to sift through.

Show quote history

PP is right!

The varieties are manufactured that way and delivered that way, it's a streamlined process from factory, transport & then onto the shelf so it's more efficient and therefore cheaper!

Absolutely agree it can take a few annoying moments to pick your choice but it means it can be sold to you cheaper. If flavours/varieties were delivered separately, you'd potentially be paying more for that product.

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00100001 · 02/05/2023 19:29

Shhhquirrel · 02/05/2023 18:39

But surely it takes much longer to fill the boxes in the first place, always find it a faff having to sift through.

Show quote history

Why would it take longer? Just shove 36 random packs in?

Florissant · 02/05/2023 19:41

Thank you, OP, for starting this thread. It's really interesting to learn about how the shops operate.

PureBlackVoid · 02/05/2023 19:42

What’s the done thing with food returns, or chilled goods that customers have dumped on random shelves or left at the till (if changed their mind etc)?

Years ago I bought 2 legs of lamb at asda for a family thing, opened one to cook and it smelled rotten. When I took the other unopened one back for an exchange, the member of staff just put it back in the chiller and gave me a different one! I refused it and asked for a refund instead after seeing that🤢 I’m sure (hopeful) it’s not standard practice.

If you shop at other supermarkets, do you get frustrated at their pace? Aldi has spoiled me with their checkout speeds, when I go to Sainsburys I feel like I’m being served by the sloth in Zootopia.

Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 21:17

PureBlackVoid · 02/05/2023 19:42

What’s the done thing with food returns, or chilled goods that customers have dumped on random shelves or left at the till (if changed their mind etc)?

Years ago I bought 2 legs of lamb at asda for a family thing, opened one to cook and it smelled rotten. When I took the other unopened one back for an exchange, the member of staff just put it back in the chiller and gave me a different one! I refused it and asked for a refund instead after seeing that🤢 I’m sure (hopeful) it’s not standard practice.

If you shop at other supermarkets, do you get frustrated at their pace? Aldi has spoiled me with their checkout speeds, when I go to Sainsburys I feel like I’m being served by the sloth in Zootopia.

Food not being returned to the chiller is a huge pain. Aldi have strict rules about food safety so any chilled food that's found in other aisles gets taken off the shop floor, it's such a waste and it costs so much money.

Even if a chilled item has been shoved in a freezer, it's not safe to defrost & re-sell so those items get wasted off too.

It's awful when you find a joint of lamb shoved inbetween the specials!

Every day I'd find empty pockets hidden around the aisles too, where shoplifters sneakily help themselves.

Aldi has a great charity policy though, things like damaged cereal boxes that a customer wouldn't buy gets given to charity, we would donate quite a bit of damaged stock.

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 21:19

With other supermarkets - it's funny now when I'm in other supermarkets, the pace does seem very slow - and staff don't run about! 😂

I can't help myself tidying shelves wherever I am though...

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 21:23

Sorry it deleted a paragraph!

Customer food returns wouldn't be put back on the shop floor, (yikes!!) and any items a customer has just changed their minds about at the till would be returned to the shop floor as long as it was obvious it was still cold, wasn't damaged etc. If any doubt, then it would be removed.

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Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 21:28

Florissant · 02/05/2023 19:41

Thank you, OP, for starting this thread. It's really interesting to learn about how the shops operate.

I've enjoyed answering the questions as best as I can! I'd never worked any sort of retail before so I found it all really interesting, really enjoyed working there.

Apart from Christmas...Christmas periods were....another level of tough!!

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Blamethecat57 · 02/05/2023 21:51

Do you have any night shift workers?
Are you monitored on case numbers worked per hour?

Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 22:04

Blamethecat57 · 02/05/2023 21:51

Do you have any night shift workers?
Are you monitored on case numbers worked per hour?

Shifts in store are generally 5am-2pm and 2pm-11pm, so no night workers are in store (hour rate increases 20% so cheaper to hsve staff in the day).

Case numbers? Unsure what you mean, sorry.

We are expected to work through a number of pallets when working the delivery - 1 full-size pallet of ambient, on average, should take 20 minutes. If it's 8 foot high and tins though it'll take at least 35-40 mins. It's a very physically demanding job.

In the good old days of Aldi, a manager would actually time you (some still have this mindset!) And if you weren't fast enough you'd be fired.

I was the only person on shift once to do 15 pallets, it took me hours and I think a part of me died that day...

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KnickerlessParsons · 02/05/2023 22:14

The idea with Aldi is that you pack your items at the packing bench and not at the till, so you just fill your trolley back up as we scan it through which can be done very quickly.

I never knew that! Is that why the tills are so short? Stupid idea.

Why aren't there any self serve tills?

Original poster
HoeAbout · 02/05/2023 22:18

I never knew that! Is that why the tills are so short? Stupid idea.

It seems crazy if you're only used to 'normal' supermarkets but actually it works really well :)

Why aren't there any self serve tills?

There are self serve tills in quite a few stores now, mostly the newer ones!

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jelly79 · 03/05/2023 06:37

Why are the people on the tills ALWAYS talking in to a headset when serving! It's like they are doubling up in a contact centre

Justleaveitblankthen · 03/05/2023 06:44

Do the staff have to work out the change to give you?

Every time I pay in cash I am short changed! Maybe only by a few pence, but still..

Not making this up, it happens all the time..It's never the case that they give me too much funnily enough🤔

Contentious, but that's honestly my experience.

Original poster
HoeAbout · 03/05/2023 06:53

Justleaveitblankthen · 03/05/2023 06:44

Do the staff have to work out the change to give you?

Every time I pay in cash I am short changed! Maybe only by a few pence, but still..

Not making this up, it happens all the time..It's never the case that they give me too much funnily enough🤔

Contentious, but that's honestly my experience.

There are two ways of dealing with cash and change, the 1st way means you have to work out the change yourself but the 2nd way of operating the till will give you the exact change to give.

When your till is cashed up, it will say exactly how much the till is under or over, and staff will be pulled up if there are discrepancies so it's not ususl at all for change to be incorrect. I'd mention your experience to your store!

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bellinisurge · 03/05/2023 06:53

I actually find the Aldi till thing better than other supermarkets who actually feel more rushed. It's a throwback to the days when staff packed for you.

I've done a few till surveys for the staff on the receipt. Did you (or colleagues) ever get either general or particular feedback from those , op?