to not understand why people go to Aldi & Lidl...

[TheBeautifulVisit]

… it's such a horrible shopping experience.

It reminded me of being in a co-op in my very small hometown circa 1977. And then when you've got a trolley full of their stuff and queue up to pay there's that humiliating bit at the end where they don't give you sufficient time to pack your groceries. They just expect you to very quickly remove your groceries and go and pack them elsewhere, with no bags.

I feel assaulted.

Can you please tell me

1. how far away is your Aldi or Lidl & why do you go?

2. what do you miss about your old supermarket? (which one was it)

3. how much do you spend there each time you go

It was cheaper than my normal shopping but actually I didn't buy my normal shopping: no fresh chives, no fresh ginger, no butternut squash, no purple sprouting broccoli, no green peppercorns, no little tubs of anchovies & olives from the Waitrose deli. I travelled much further to get there.

And there's no delivery.

Why why why?

Oh yes I forgot the other bonus - the random sections in the middle you never know what you'll find

My nearest Lidl is in my town. I buy the majority of my stuff there including all my meat because it's excellent quality and a lot cheaper, and then do the rest at Tesco.

My only complaint is that there isn't enough room to pack my shopping at the till.

I am lucky and don't have to be too careful about my supermarket budget. I still love Lidl. I get an ocado delivery once or twice a month and go to Lidl in between.

I genuinely rate the fruit and veg, yoghurt, some cheese, olive oil and some deli meats. I also like the shopping experience: in and out, no ridiculous offers or rows of processed crap to wade through. Staff are good too.

To answer for questions:

1. It is about 1.5 miles away

1. I used to go to Tesco and miss nothing. I hate the place. I do like to do an ocado shop to stock up on ponce things like orzo and certain herbs. Could manage to eat well without though.

1. I spend about $60 varies a lot on how sucked into middle isle I get

I found a really sweet little Winnie the Poo duvet set. DS loves it.

We love it (as a family). We go in the early evening, and in comparison to Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury's it is so nice and quiet; so relaxed! You sweep it all into your trolley as they scan it, then pack at your leisure, without someone huffing in the queue behind you 'cos they think you're going too slowly!

1. how far away is your Aldi or Lidl & why do you go?
   A five minute drive. It's cheaper, food is fine, and it's smaller. I hate big supermarkets, and hate shopping in general. One choice of potato is just fine by me. They also have a fair bit of continental stuff which I like. I love their chocolate!

2. what do you miss about your old supermarket? (which one was it)
   We went to a mix of Tesco/Asda. Still pop back to Tesco for some things Lidl don't sell - find it busy, too large, and rushed.

3. how much do you spend there each time you go
   Can get a week's shopping for £30-40. Top up about £5-10 at Tesco on top of that. Used to spend £60-70 so much cheaper.

If it's so far away that the money you saved on shopping was spent on petrol then it's not cheaper for you is it. So here's a crazy idea. Don't go.

Why would you care if other people do though?

It's either a poorly disguised attempt at 'research' or you're so bored on a rainy Monday that you thought you'd entertain yourself by winding up a load of silly wimmin on t'internet.

Either way, a bit weird.

Our Aldi is just up the road, I can do a wee k's shop in the 45 mins I have between getting home from work & picking kids up. We save about £120 a month compared to tesco, and the only thing I miss is taco shells - I do an online tesco shop every 6 weeks or so to stock up on things I can't get. I can't bear to do a weekly shop in tesco anymore, it's so massive and takes forever.
Aldi prosecco (yellow label) is luuurvly!
I went to waitrose for a mooch the other week as had some time to kill and a few bits to top up. Not even a full basket, and £28!! I nearly fell over. Then I was offered a free frigging telegraph, to add insult to injury

I'm always dressed when I leave the house. I don't even own a onsie.

Love Aldi and Lidl, the fresh fruit and veg is always a great price so I can feed family healthily. Also, things like cheap jam are far superior to white label stuff in other supermarkets. I bought some value jam from Asda the other day and it is absolutely vile, has no flavour, just sticky red stuff, whereas the cheap jam in Lidl is delicious.

And, I prefer the checkout process, I don't want to chat to the cashier, don't want them looking at my stuff as they pack it, sometimes even commenting on what I'm buying - gah! Give me the trolley swoop and put it in bags elsewhere any day.

If I take DD with me, I Can still afford the shopping at either Lidl or Aldi, whereas the extras that get added in any other supermarket take me way over budget.

It's quick, very cheap, high quality food (including good German meats) and never crowded.

No contest really.

You can keep your "Waitrose deli"

Lesley: You are not supposed to pack your shopping at the till, put it on the trolley in order so that things that can get squashed without harm go through first, and then just swoop everything into your trolley at the other end before packing your bags at the packing shelf area or your car boot.

Maybe the op used my closest aldi
There have been two stand up fights in the shop and one in the car park, in the limited number of times I have shopped there
I do go back though as its such value for money

I never knew that about the packing. I just have big bags open in the trolley and swoop them in like that.

I don't have one locally otherwise I would go there often.

Nearest Aldi same distance from home as Sainsbury and Waitrose. I mainly use Aldi because like others find it good value, is quicker than going to Sainsbury/Tesco and other big supermarkets and a lot of their stuff I find better then the main supermarkets (with the exception of Waitrose, but I can't afford to buy anything other than occasional treats there). I think Aldi's cheese, cold meats and fish, seasonal things like stollen, leiberkuchen, some wines, as well as their washing powder and other household things are really very good.

I'm not bothered about the shopping experience, so the packing set-up at Aldi isn't an issue. I just try not to go at peak times wherever poss.

Useless I would have no friends at the school gates! Apparently a onesie is a must have even suitable for the local in the evening!!!!! Lol

Yes dear when I can afford to move out of London with all the high prices I will start shopping it waitrose

Have a don't worry it's not from lidl

LIDL is less than a mile away. I shop there because it has a great range of quality products. I buy everything I can there and shop elsewhere for the rest. Saves me a fortune, I was in Sainsburys last week and was shocked at some of the prices!
I bought purple sprouting broccoli in LIDL last week - cost me £1
As for the "shopping experience" I can't say I'm bothered, I take my own bags and don't have a problem with not packing at the till and the staff are always helpful and chatty.

I was staying at Premier inn in London recently and two mornings in a row two women (look like grandmother and mother) and their little girl (about 5) came down into the dining room to eat breakfast in their pyjama onesies. I always think I am pretty laid back about stuff, but that really shocked me.

As you were.

My local Lidl is calm and quiet and full of posh people. The fresh bread is better than Waitrose bread (in which I once found gravel). I have defected from Waitrose, in fact. Since I defected, I have not had a mould problem with my fruit 'n' veg either.

I do still take my Waitrose jute bags with me, though.

Aldi and Lidl; keeping the riff-raff out of Waitrose since 2014...

Waitrose. Keeping the posh twats out of Lidl...

Oh man, Lidl isnt cheaper overall. I always spend a flipping fortune in there. I go in at 8.30 before work, and its nice and quiet. I pick up some nice cheap veg and juice for the boys packed lunches and whoops I just bought a danish pastry because the smell is too much. And then I browse that weeks tat and end up with a load of random and 'essential' items - like deckchairs and potted plants and leggings (I really like their leggings - much nicer than tesco) and paper clip removers and multi-coloured bandages or whatever else they are flogging that week. Before you know it, I've spent twenty quid and I only went in for the veg. It is just not cheaper for a sucker like me!

I used to love 5 mins walk from a largish coop AND a lidl. Bliss I tell thee, shopping bliss.

Still kicking myself over a nail gun! I've found so many uses since I didn't buy one in lidl. To the extent dah wants to go buy one and it's not 19.99!

What a strange OP .
I like Lidl and Aldi , like the way the aisles are set out , sort of modern unlike some of the other "BIG" names. As for having to pack quite quickly , so what , just get on with and probably your life