Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aldi no packing rule

125 replies

chunkyrun · 21/05/2020 10:15

I always shop in Aldi. Got to the till. Well prepared. Have my bags organised ready to throw in my shopping quick as I can. Cashier told me policy is to put shopping into trolley and pack at benches. I don't get what the difference is if I put my shopping next to my bags in my trolley or straight in the bags already open in trolley. I usually chuck stuff in racing the cashier then organise stuff at benches. I just don't get the point and who it benefits. Surely most people who shop in Aldi know the drill.

OP posts:
Original poster
chunkyrun · 21/05/2020 11:24

seems a long time ago when shopping at Aldi was an "urgh" thing to do

^^ I've known people to lie about shopping in Aldi Hmm then see them in the bread aisle...

OP posts:
AllTheUserNamesAreTaken · 21/05/2020 11:25

I found it’s actually harder to maintain distance when people are packing at the shelf. There’s isn’t enough space (in our local Aldi, anyway) to have someone putting goods into trolley at the till and then another customer packing at the shelf. I needed to get between people doing this to leave the shop with my trolley the other day and had no chance of maintaining 2m distance

icansmellburningleaves · 21/05/2020 11:26

It’s always been this way. They scan your items, throw them at you and you then throw them in the trolley and pack at the bench. They do t want to slowing down the speed at which they can process customers. They are also rated at the speed at which they can scan items.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 21/05/2020 11:27

What am I supposed to do if I don't have a car? I usually shop at Sainsburys (not aware of a rule saying I can't put items on the belt till the previous person is gone - I usually start while they are packing as am more than 2 metres away) and pack into bags at the till and then put into the trolley ready to walk outside to the trolley park. If I am not fast enough or have made my bags very differing weights because I am trying to be quick, I move away from the till after paying and rearrange some things to make the bags comfortable /easier to carry home.

OldEvilOwl · 21/05/2020 11:29

I've always packed at the car. So much easier to have the bags ready in the boot, and you can take your time, not worry about social distancing etc

SeaToSki · 21/05/2020 11:29

Just to add some irrelevant global info... at our supermarkets (USA) they have banned reusable bags at all shops as they can carry corona virus (so they say) and people dont / cant sanitize them. So you have to use the paper or plastic bags the supermarket provides. Also they pack for you and you stand well back until you have to quickly pay.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 21/05/2020 11:29

They are also rated at the speed at which they can scan items

Not at the moment according to our local store manager; apparently it's been lifted temporarily while folk have to shop on their own

SoupDragon · 21/05/2020 11:31

they throw items at you

I've never had any items thrown at me.

imsooverthisdrama · 21/05/2020 11:34

Yeah I thought that , I don't go to Aldi as much usually Lidl.
Anyway I went to aldi , i have 3 big bags open ready to put stuff in I'm very quick and what I can't do I sort later at the car .
So yeah the woman said pack over there please , I said ok.
I don't like packing at the side so did it at my car but it takes longer . What I did was take bags to car and just repack it that way , longer for me but I see why they do that as some people take forever to pack and they need to get people out as quick as possible.

Roselilly36 · 21/05/2020 11:35

I am so missing Aldi, shielding at the moment, not been to Aldi since March, shopping is costing me a small fortune.

toddlertantrumhell · 21/05/2020 11:36

My husband had a massive argument with the cashier at Aldi over this. Same as you he had the bags ready and open in the trolley but she said he couldn't do it this way and needed to pack by the benches. They wasted a good 5 minutes or so arguing about it until the cashier said she refused to serve my husband and the manager came and put the shopping through the till. I personally would've backed down and just packed at the bench but he couldn't see why they were asking him to do this instead of throw it in the bag and she couldn't give him a clear answer 🙈

cabbageking · 21/05/2020 11:36

Agree this is how Aldi usually operate but if you are a fast packet you can usually get it packed in time for the cashier finishing. If you are slowing down the process then you need to change your actions.

Doggybiccys · 21/05/2020 11:38

It’s their business model - get folk through as fast as possible and hardly anyone on the tils. It’s why they can be so cheap. People who want a more leisurely shop should avoid it.

On a side note - I use our local Aldi for emergency only (owing to points above). I find when I go to Tesco and someone has a massive shop, I look at them almost in awe. Same happens in Aldi and I want to kill them! Totally unreasonable I know.

MamaGee09 · 21/05/2020 11:40

I always pack At the cash desk, if im giving them service I can decide where I pack, I don’t see what the problem is, I’m as quick a tip packing as they are at swiping them! There is no way I’m putting everything back in the trolley to pack at the over crowded benches! Stupid idea.

Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches · 21/05/2020 11:42

I haven’t been going at the moment.

I’ve got a bad back so three lots of bending down to put stuff into the trolley is even worse that the two it would be if you could pack at the tills.

I only really use Aldi for a smallish shop as using the deep trollies is impossible for me.

enjoyingSun · 21/05/2020 11:42

What am I supposed to do if I don't have a car?

There's so often an assumption in society that you have a car.

I image they'd show common sense and let you pack at the bench.

I used to walk to local Aldi there and back - so would pack at bench as needed to make sure bags were packed comfortably - it was part of my weekly exercise.

My IL would do same neither of them drive - or occasionally get a taxi back with shopping. I wonder if it's what finally put them off going out to the shops and onto local deliveries and morrison boxes.

Original poster
chunkyrun · 21/05/2020 11:47

they have banned reusable bags at all shops as they can carry corona virus (so they say) and people dont / cant sanitize them.

^^ you know I never gave that any thought

OP posts:
MagisCapulus · 21/05/2020 11:48

WHY have I never thought to pack at the car? Genius!

Original poster
chunkyrun · 21/05/2020 11:48

I am so missing Aldi, shielding at the moment, not been to Aldi since March, shopping is costing me a small fortune.

^^ I bet! once in a blue moon I'll pick some bits up from Morrison's and it's double the cost. Eat so well shopping at Aldi/Lidl

OP posts:
NachoNachoMan · 21/05/2020 12:04

How did I never think of packing it at the car?! Going to do that from now on 😂

cologne4711 · 21/05/2020 12:05

Now that you have to wait for the person in front of you to completely leave the checkout before you can start putting your items onto the belt it’s quite stressful when you’ve got a full trolley to unload to then have to dash to the other end to start packing what they’ve already scanned

That's wholly impractical if you are on your own! Sainsburys have lost the plot. Are all the supermarkets doing that?

unlikelytobe · 21/05/2020 12:06

Logically there's no big time difference between throwing your shopping into bags opened up in the trolley and throwing it straight into the trolley but like all these rules it's meant to keep things simple for the piss takers with no common sense. If you've ever been stuck in a queue behind someone who seems to be packing their items alphabetically you'll appreciate Aldi's policy! Lidl are the same.

YippeeKayakOtherBuckets · 21/05/2020 12:06

I’m in the queue to get in Aldi right now and literally no one has any bags with them so I assume everyone is packing straight into the car. It makes sense really.

cologne4711 · 21/05/2020 12:07

they have banned reusable bags at all shops as they can carry corona virus (so they say) and people dont / cant sanitize them

Who has? I've not been anywhere where they've insisted I get new plastic bags, and I've shopped at Sainsburys, M&S and Waitrose. I take a rucksack and a cloth shopping bag.

R2519 · 21/05/2020 12:15

I have shopped at Aldi a couple of times but not for a very long time.

Question for everyone......you get to the till and have your bags open and start putting items straight into your bag. Then the cashier says you cant do that and have to pack bags at the bench. Lets say you are going at a fair pace and not taking your time with it. What can they do.....nothing right. I would just say oh well and carry on. I mean seriously, what can they actually do......if they get shitty with you just walk out and leave the shopping that would take far more time to sort out and put back on the shelves.

I get there are those benches and they may work for some people but if you pack fast i really dont see what the problem is or what they could do to stop you?!

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.