To get the aldi rage...

[chillypop]

... when people pack at the till?

Aldi is predicated on low costs, meaning a smaller number of staff, meaning fewer checkouts open, meaning the etiquette is for customers to haul ass through the checkout. There's a packing area to accommodate this!

Today I found myself and many others waiting whilst an individual decided to meticulously pack a shop which was presumably to feed the population of a small country. Even the member of staff at the checkout seemed a touch bewildered.

Yes, a first world problem. Am I just being impatient?

I can’t stand the packing system at aldi. I love aldi because it’s obviously cheap and most products are just as good as brands but this is the one thing I hate. So much pressure, it causes a lot of anxiety and makes me feel like I’m on supermarket sweep. I tend to just throw it all in the trolley and then bag it up at the car.

We’re doing the same. Bags ready in the trolley, throw everything in if possible, and if we can’t keep up with the cashier we put the rest in the trolley.

I’m must say though, I am used to the speed of Aldi cashiers in Germany - here in the UK they are fast, but not unreasonably so (and more friendly too 🙂).

It's not entitled - people don't know until they are told! And anyway, who's to say putting the stuff back into a trolley is faster than putting it straight into a bag?

Anyway, self-serve is your friend as you can pack as you go (if you can get the "use your own bag" option to work - I have to confess I've only ever managed it once - this is in Sainsburys though).

This is how I’ve always done it. They’re not that cheap that I’ll double up on my work for it!

A student friend of my daughter's years ago was working evenings and weekends on the till at a supermarket, some old duffer reported her to the manager because she was scanning faster than he could pack! She actually got told off too.

Yes, this.

I pack at the tills but I am really fast and don't hold anyone up as I line my trolley with bags first.

It's a shame that Aldi and Lidl don't invest in the self scanners in their bigger stores as they really speed up things and you need one person then to check off items like any alcohol / medication etc.
I hate it when they throw the goods down the belt at you and how anyone with disabilities cope I don't know, I've slowed up as I've aged but I do try and keep up, plus not everyone is aware of the bench area maybe ?

That only works if the benched are empty.
Not filled with empty boxes,or leaflet or bind that you can't move.

I throw the stuff from the till into bags for life in the trolley. It's no slower than just throwing it in the trolley itself as they hold themselves open. I still only go to Aldi with my DH. It's too stressful on my own. I much prefer the scan and shop at Sainsburys where I pack as I go around.

Staff are going fast for a reason, to cover their arses, every transaction is timed, they will get pulled up on their scan rate if it drops, thats why its a good idea for customers to have cards and cash ready whilst waiting in queues. Staff are under pressure, Aldi only concentrate on cheap prices, customer service is non existant, kind of like it or lump it attitude, some customers won't tolerate it and rightly so. l refuse to shop there its an awful experiance and their stock is low quality and very limited, their stores look dirty and the staff are completely miserable.

Regularly shop at Aldi and have never used the packing bench. Bags open and ready in the trolley and items put onto the conveyor belt in order, heavy first. Can easily keep up with them!

Other supermarket cashiers just seem dreadful in comparison now, it's almost painful watching it come down item at a time so slowly

The skilful deployment of two big IKEA blue bags set up open in your empty trolley after unloading onto the belt is all you need to pack successfully at the till.

I’ve yet to meet an Aldi till operative who can beat me, I do NOT hold up the smooth running of the checkout and I like to sail past the people in the packing area with a big smug grin.

People who block aisles with their trollies whilst gazing at apples enrage me....I may or may not have been known to secretly dump a couple of watermelons in their trolly whilst they're back was turned and their trolly was in the middle of the aisle sideways....

Their*

My husband loves packing at Aldi, he is a very fast packer as his job also involves timed packing. He said he hates going into other supermarkets where they scan more slowly now. I'm the opposite, but most people can keep up with having large bags in the trolley and then rearrange them a bit at the shelf or in the car if necessary. It is knowing what to do though, I think some signs might be helpful and the staff should explain.

To be fair, this is the case in most retail but I think you’re right that they’re pulled up on it more. I work at M&S years ago and they missed me to lingerie/fitting rooms because my scan rate was so miserable in groceries 😂

its their own system so the checkout person should have reminded them how to do it-if they didnt then not much you can do

Never seen anyone use the bench. Most people are very quick. It must be hard living in a world full of entitled people 😀Mind you, it is YOU who thinks you have the right to tell people what the right way is and expects the entire world to follow and fit their life around you. 🤔

MN is crazy at the moment. Entertaining though.

We always use the packing shelf when we go to Aldi or Lidls. But every time it seems to be just us doing that and everyone else packs at the till. I can't keep up with the stuff being chucked at me to try and pack at the till.

People in the queue behind you won't like your rudeness if you are taking too long to pack everything meticulously.

Aldi should sell trolley bags, makes packing ten times easier.
Bags Original Vibe Reusable Shopping Bags - Set of 4 Bags for Normal Supermarket Trolleys amzn.eu/d/aS8pw0T
I can pack more quickly than the cashier can scan, I never keep anyone waiting by packing at the till.

Most other supermarkets except Lidl have a really large area for shopping that's been scanned, so if you get a bit behind on your packing it doesn't matter. Whereas at Lidl and Aldi the space is tiny, only room for about 4 items max, so if you can't pack as quickly as they're scanning it then your stuff would all fall off.

Also in some supermarkets they stop and wait if they can see you're struggling to keep up whereas in Lidl and Aldi they won't stop for anything. They are timed and need to scan as fast as humanly possible.

Bags ready in the trolley, throw everything in if possible, and if we can’t keep up with the cashier we put the rest in the trolley.

This is my approach - slower cashier or time arrange on conveyor belt and amount/items bought all factor into that. I tend to have to use the packing shelf - I don't drive so need to carry home so it does need to be arranged comfortably.

Even people with cars in our local Aldi do seem to do a bit at packing shelf - though that can vary with weather and how busy the shelf is.

I have seen people try and pack at till and delay and in every case the staff have politely directed to the shelf.

You just have to make sure you have big bags that you can stand up in the trolley to throw your stuff into. It actually would be very helpful if they had a big sign up explaining how to pack efficiently so that you don’t have to faff about at the packing bench.

I have my huge bags open in the trolley and put heavy in one, light or squashable in the other. There is no packing bench, only a windowsill about ten inches deep.

I thought this thread was going to be about the morons who don't wait for you to finish unloading onto the belt but put the divider up and start putting their stuff on. Last time I was left with a load of things I couldn't get on, that I handed individually to the assistant, who handed them back, very solemnly, and I put in my bag. It's always a bloke. FFS just bloody wait.