To not like the atmosphere in Aldi?

[Beansandvodka]

Can’t quite put my finger on it but there is something I find a-bit off putting. I went the other day and I really wanted to like it but there was a chaotic atmosphere and the people were so loud. I’m aware I don’t have to shop there but wondering if anyone else has encountered this?

How do you end up packing stuff into bags while the cashier is still scanning?

You put your shopping on the conveyor belt when there's space, as the cashier is scanning the last few items of the customer before you, and taking payment. Then you should be ready to walk to the other end of the checkout, take your scanned items and put them into bags. Even if you can't fit all your shopping on before the scanning starts, you'll be unloading, say, item 90 while the cashier is scanning item 20, so there's still plenty of time to pack while the scanning continues.

I don't shop at Aldi but agree some supermarkets feel different. M&S and Waitrose just feel nicer when you walk in! But even between two Tesco's where I live there's a difference. One has narrower aisles, smells funny, weird layout and the shelves just seem messier like no one works there or cares. It makes a difference to the shopping experience. We drive an extra ten minutes to go to the better one!

It's a bit Eastern bloc and the lighting could be better and the aisles a bit wider, but it works as a shop and the staff are nice although usually quite harassed.

I prefer Aldi. No background music unlike Tesco, veg seems fresher than my local Sainsbury and I can get around it reasonably quickly. Plus I'm on a tight budget so it helps to pay a little less. The atmosphere is no better or worse than any other supermarket- I don't expect a good time in any.

🤣🤣 I actually can't believe some of the outrageous snobbery that I'm reading on this thread...it's staggering 🤦‍♀️

The pace of worker's keeps the prices down.

I become frustrated in other supermarkets because they're very slow in comparison.

What a load of bollocks.

This.

I think that Aldi's prices are well worth an hour of warehouse shopping experience. We must have saved thousands over the years.

I can’t get on board with finding aldi noisy or overwhelming compared to other supermarkets - unless you usually only shop on a tesco express or similar. Aldi’s are tiny compared to other supermarkets, so much quieter and a lot less choice which for me is much less overwhelming. It’s the massive Asda’s and Tesco Extras that are noisy and overwhelming!

In some buildings the acoustics are just 'off'. My local M&S is like this. Whenever I go in it always feels loud without there being any more noise than in a supermarket.

Hardly anyone actually does that though.

Most people load the conveyor belt as they wish to pack eg heavy stuff first, bread last. Then they open their bags into the trolley and put the stuff directly in the bags as the cashier scans it.

I never see anyone at the packing bench really.

I like their efficiency. Much less faffing around.

We have two, ones awful, very gloomy and dark. I hate it and refuse to go there. There's always boxes piled up and it always seems to have loads of kids running about for some reason. I can never find what I need because they seem to randomly dump stuff and move things around at will.

The other ones on an industrial estate, it's much nicer. Better organised and the staff are lovely.......neither are in particularly salubrious areas but I'm rough as toast myself so I can't say I'd notice enough to care.

hums that classic by Russ Abbot

Oh what an atmosphere, I love an Aldi with a happy atmosphere.....

Really we always do that 😂
I see most people using the packing area too if they've a trolley full.
I don't think I could keep up with the cashier firing the items through like lightening to pack in any sort of an officiant manner as they're scanned through...that's something you'd have time to do in tesco etc where they have space for your items to gather as you pack. Aldi don't have that space so you'd have to be fast and extremely organised if you buy a trolley full of groceries.

I absolutely hate how slow other supermarkets are.
I can shop for 5 of us in 20 mins on a good run.
Love the fast scanning. Just need to organise it 9n the belt in the bags, then have bags open and we're done. Full trolley packed in 2 mins. Not like bloody Sainsbury's that takes forever

Same here. I hate the sluggish pace of Tesco/Sainsbury now I'm used to Aldi and Lidl. I just set my bags out in the trolley and put the shopping in as it's scanned, heaviest items first. On the rare occasions that DH shops with me, he's learned to stand well clear, otherwise he mucks up the system.

I used to shop in Lidl all the time but over lock down switched to M&S to cheer us up and justified it by saying we weren’t eating out. Now I am trapped as everytime I go back to Lidl the comparison is cruel and the teens complain about the rank food. It’s a cautionary tale!

I love how everyone talks about "aldi" and "lidl" as if they are one huge blob, with identical stores and staff across the UK.

For the record, the nearest Lidl to me is a much older store, grubby, dark, cramped and with rude staff. The Aldi by contrast is only 2 years old, bright and clean, aisles twice the width of Lidl and some really chatty and lovely staff.

But i'm not dim enough to think that the Aldi I use for my shopping in suburban Glasgow is exactly the same as the Aldi in Aberdeen, Birmingham or Plymouth.

That's really interesting! I like our Aldi because it is quieter than Sainsbury's/Tesco's/Morrisons. There seem to be fewer children, which helps.

There are two in my area. One is very dated, dark and grey - feels like a warehouse. Not somewhere you'd browse for a long time. The other is much newer and is very light bright and airy. Totally different atmosphere.

Unlike the likes of Tesco, Morrisons, sainsburys etc they don't want you to hang around hence no cafe, clothing, customer loos etc. this is their ethos and it's why they can keep prices lower.

The best supermarket atmosphere is clearly Asda. In the 1990s. With the button that goes moo. (And the one that goes cluck.)

I agree with you.

There are several supermarkets in my local area and Aldi and Lidl are by far the worst.

Really poor and confusing layout, lack of products, chaotic tills and rude staff.

It looks like a very messy warehouse rather than a shop.

If I want cheaper products I use Morrissons or Asda instead because they do have perfectly good stores and a wide range of products that are displayed in a way that makes them easy to find.

Shopping in general stresses me out and I want somewhere quick and practical, not to have to go through someone's ugly warehouse.

Perhaps you can hear other customers more and think they are loud because Aldi don't play music.

Maybe the music affects you more than you realise.

I go to Aldi when I need to shop cheaply and quickly. (No faffing about which beans are better value or whether something is on offer)

The carpark issues fines if you stay over 90 min but I can't imagine how you would manage to stay that long. (The only shop is Aldi - its not a retail park) So I assume it's to encourage people to shop quickly.

Tesco and co-op have music but I spend more time and money in there!!