to get really irritated by Aldi opening and closing tills?

[flitwit99]

I was only in 15 minutes and they must have opened and closed till number 5 about 4 times. Then they opened till number 6. But then closed it again once it has served one person. Drives me insane.

EssentialHummus I now mainly go to the Lidl nearby that has a self-checkout.

HOLD ON THERE HUMMUS! You can't just drop that in and walk away. Lidl have self checkouts now?

they have to actually stop and let me pack
That's actually quite selfish. Staff have to scan at a certain speed or they will get in trouble plus you're holding up the queue because you've decided that you are too special to follow the same system as everyone else.
Go to another supermarket if that's not the system you want to use FFS.

@russell,
That's really selfish, there are other customers and staff who you are affecting.

It does slightly annoy me that the message comes over the tannoy that till number 5 is opening and then there’s a message that someone needs to go and open till 5. Why isn’t it the other way round?

It's to optimise time. They are assuming the customer will need to unpack a trolley at till 5 so there is no need for a checkout operator sitting there looking at them while they do so. It's a bit shit when you've only got a basket though.

The problem I find is that some people at Aldi still pack at the till, drives me nuts that some assistants allow them to do it.

@russellsprout

Do you not understand the business model of Aldi and Lidl? Why do you think you can expect sainsbos service at Lidl when you aren't paying for it? That's like leaving all your wrapping and rubbish all over your McDonald's table because in most restaurants the staff clear it for you. You're penalising the staff who are expected to spend their time doing other things rather than waiting for you to pack.

@thehobbitmum - well I love Aldi, including the tills. A small group of us always get there at about 9:45 on Sundays to be a the front of the queue and have a chat and catch up before the store opens.

I went during the week once, and it was remarked on :)

Much better when our store was upgraded to have the voice messages for the tills rather than just the bells

We consider ourselves almost trained staff...

I hate the way they fling the food at you, at checkout. I just set my bags up and do my best to keep up with them. Self service is crap though. Always hanging about for an “unknown item in the bagging area” at Morrison’s. Their staffing levels are dreadful at my local.

They pay staff more than other supermarkets because they make them work more. You know how in other supermarkets there’s usually at least one (but usually a few) sitting around not serving anyone? It isn’t allowed in aldi. If they’re not serving someone they need to be proactive and stack shelves.

Not saying I agree or disagree with this btw, just the way Aldi chooses to function.

@thehobbitmum - well I love Aldi, including the tills. A small group of us always get there at about 9:45 on Sundays to be a the front of the queue and have a chat and catch up before the store opens.

I went during the week once, and it was remarked on :)

Much better when our store was upgraded to have the voice messages for the tills rather than just the bells

We consider ourselves almost trained staff...

For christs sake I don't go slow deliberately! Just at a normal, I will not be rushed pace.

Why the fuck should I be made to rush just because I'm in a budget shop? I'm still entitled to a reasonable level of service.

And how am I supposed to NOT pack at the till if I do a basket shop? The packing shelves are for the people with trolleys, as you have to put the basket at the front of the till before you load your shopping on to the conveyor belt.

@MissKittyBeaudelais u are supposed to just put it back in the trolley. And then pack on the big ledge behind the tills after.

I just don't go to Aldis if at all possible as can't stand the queues or them shoving my shopping at me as fast as they can.

I shop at Jacks instead

I shop at Aldis and Lidl in Europe and they do not adhere to this craziness

RussellSprout you said this
I do a basket shop and deliberately take as long as I like to put the shopping in my bags

I think it's fair for us to surmise from the above text that you do in fact do it deliberately and you are now desperately back tracking.

If you have trolley bags, you can just (carefully) lob the stuff in from the conveyor belt. I get really twitchy at Sainsbury’s etc now, because they seem so slow and I always end up behind someone who waits tobpavk until all the stuff is through the till and then fiddles for ages looming for vouchers.

And how am I supposed to NOT pack at the till if I do a basket shop?

Put it back in the basket? They don't force you to leave it at the start of the conveyor belt. Or just arrange the shopping on the belt so you pack it easily as it's scanned.

I don't understand why people make a fuss about the speed really. It's well known and not difficult to manage.

Yes, I gather. But still, they don’t have to “fling” it at you. If I’m not shopping for much, I’ll pack as they scan. Or, I might have to use the bagging area.

If Aldi or Lidl introduced Scan as you Shop I might be tempted to go.

That said our nearest Asda has finally got the scanners, get there at 3.15pm (it closes at 5) and the self scan shut at 3.
For the first time in a long time I had to do the conveyor malarkey.

I work for Aldi, so I shall explain. Aldi prices are so low as they employ minimal staff (but pay superbly for a supermarket), who then do ALL of the work in the store. We have to open a new till when queues get to a certain length, and close that till when the tills have died down a bit. When off till we have to tidy the entire store, stock the entire store, sort deliveries, answer customer queries, and a million other things. There is a till order, so the till will have skipped to 6 instead of opening 5 as 5 till person was either doing something on the shop floor of higher priority, having a break or going home. Believe me when I say we have far more things to complain about about customers than you do about how the shop is run . Prime example being customers who don't pack at the packing bench but instead insist on packing at the till, thus holding literally everybody up and then complaining about the speed on the internet (another way Aldi keeps prices low is to be as efficient as possible at the till point, but will likely have to increase prices as folks are too slow here and refuse to change despite packing at the bench being the way Aldi has been run since the dawn of time).

Well, we’ll all be wrestling in the street over the last loaf of bread and a fucking turnip, this time next year #Brexit

I love shopping at Aldi, and do understand how it works but I seriously think ours overdoes it, the same till opens and closes so fast that the operator can't possibly do anything other than walk up and down the store and get on and off the till.
I used to like Lidls but ours is really rubbish now, all the foods I actually liked have been changed and there's barely anything I want to buy.

I have never had a member of staff throw my shopping at me at the checkouts. They always put it on the tiny flat area.

Also staff are supposed to scan 1000 things per hour I think? That's why they are quick. It's their business model. Other supermarkets are available.