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?

That's how it used to be in Germany, there was no space to put scanned stuff, it went straight into another basket/trolley and your basket replaced it, worked perfectly well too, people could then take as long as they liked packing it.

Also at the beginning of the pandemic, everyone having to use the packing shelf at the back of the store where there is barely room for two trolleys to pass, just caused a massive traffic jam of trolleys and people definitely not being two metres apart.

It doesn’t worry me particularly. I can just understand that people feel it’s hypocritical. (I think it is, but I don’t care enough to bother. I’m not in a hurry and although I am
broke it’s short term, so it’s not one of my forks)

No other supermarket is as good at opening additional tills as Aldi. Sainsbury’s are the worst - three tills open at most. I pack into bags at the till at Aldi and take great delight in the race between me and the cashier.

Why are people expected to know what the Aldi packing etiquette is? You have the same mentality as drivers who honk their horns aggressively at others who find themselves in the wrong lane because of incorrect signs and nonsensical satnav instructions.

If you can't bear to share the planet with non-telepathic people who have the gall to shop in "your" supermarket, try asking the supermarket to put up some signs.

I think Aldi ( Ireland ) have changed their policy - possibly unofficially.
They used to throw things at you and God forbid you couldn't keep up.
But now it seems more relaxed.
Lidl is the same.
Perhaps the old way didn't suit Irish shoppers and they voted with their feet so they decided to loosen up a little.
However I don't usually do a "big" shop in Aldi or Lidl, just bits.

There is a massive bloody sign telling you this. No telepathy required.

In my Aldi posh area we all pack at till but most have bags set I'm up introlley ready to rumble. I can pack that way as quick now as having to repack later. Staff accept this. No one means

Moans

Because that's not the Aldi rules!

It's annoying! I just slide it in the trolley and pack at the bench, one Aldi worker actually thanked me for not packing at the till. Can only imagine what day she had 🤣

Exactly. I'm not interested in shops that tell me how to be a customer there correctly (usual etiquette apart). And in my experience, other than in March 2020, Aldi never do, only the corporate drone groupies on Mumsnet.

I had an assistant scan so fast once I couldn’t get it in my trolley quick enough never mind a bag. He ended up rolling a melon onto the floor after he scanned it. I politely told him I wasnt accepting that one, gave it back to him and went to find a replacement. He then had to wait for me. Absolutely ridiculous and at the end of the day we are the customers, paying high prices now even if it is Aldi/Lidl. There is also the irritation from other customers and staff when anyone pays by cash instead of card. Society has changed, not enough kindness, and patience.

The reason the section at ALDI and Lidl after the till is so short is to encourage ppl to pack fast, it's about 10-12 inches long

My Lidl don't mind if you pack at the till, we have since covid. It seems to have been brought in since then. We have big bags for life and just sling everything in, it doesn't slow anybody up

I used to work on the checkout at ALDI and slow people were very annoying

It’s extraordinary that some people are such indoctrinated rule followers they’ll allow a supermarket where they’re a customer to dictate to them. Mind blowing.

They have this at the Aldi and Lidl near me! I always pack at the till and I’ve never delayed anyone.

NOBODY packs their trolley at the benches in my local ALDI.
EVERYONE packs at the till.

It’s what we do and accepted as normal where I live in Ireland.
If you’re an impatient person, please do not come down to the south west for your holidays. We will not take kindly to people trying to rush others through. 😂

These threads always make me laugh.
In every supermarket in Germany, regardless of the store name, you are not allowed to pack at the till, you have to use the packing shelf.
Anyone attempting to pack at the till is sharply told to move and use the bench by both the checkout staff and the customer waiting behind.
It's no use retaliating as either the manager will come along and throw you out or you will have other irate customers on your back.
You might think that we are being rude in telling you to move, we don't care. We just want to get the job done and get out.
We can always spot the British customer, they're the ones who attempt to pack at the till and look offended when they're told to move. It's amusing.

I've got trolley bags that I bought at Aldi - with the shop name on the side of them! Clearly designed for parking at the till.

packing, obviously!

ALDI shoppers care mainly about 2 things : price, and speed of shopping.
The 'pack elsewhere' rules mean that customers get low prices and reasonably quick checkout.
Someone else who does not value these things, and doesn't want to be 'rushed through their shopping' is welcome to shop elsewhere.

So what's the problem?

Also... there are plenty of reasons for wanting to get through quickly that have nothing to do with pure impatience. Wrangling toddlers, wanting to go to the loo (but where would you leave your trolley), dare I say even parking running out?

I don't care what supermarket I'm in and what unwritten "rulz" there are about how to pack.
I do it all at the till, into bags (except big/heavy stuff which goes back into the trolley) at a fairly good pace.
Any checkout staff chucking stuff at me, I slow down.
Anyone tutting or sighing at me, I slow down more.
I might sometimes forget my pin