OzAnnouncements
Fast checkout and friendly staff at Aldi? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.
I went once and a guy who I thought was the security guard was on the till. He was roid raging or something because his face was all red, veins were popping out and he was just scanning items and throwing them right off the end.
Was he exhaling and counting each repscanned item?
They recruit at gyms for this very reason… faster scanning. Better have your trolley ready!
I've never had a problem with staff or speed. All the Aldi's I've been too have had good and fast staff.
The staff have pretty strict metrics that they need to scan stuff fast.
Sometimes they get told there scan-rate is low, and they have to madly scan as fast as they can to get it back up.
Sometimes it feels like they are throwing items at you.
Aldi - the great grocery catch competition
They scan items quickly, but there's only 2 checkouts open and all 5 people in each line have full trolleys.
Meanwhile at (other supermarkets), there's 10 self checkout machines and you only have to wait 30 seconds.
The staff at Thornleigh, Sydney are all very friendly.
Fast if there are no customer. Averaging 4 customer in Queue, it's anything but fast.
In other words: It never took me as long in woolies with the choice of Cashier, Fast Checkout ans Self Checkout, than in ALDI with 2 cashier open for 11 people.
😁 😁 😁
@watwatwat, totally with you on that - I avoid Aldi for various reasons one of which is their unfriendly and robotic staff. That's my experience in the Aldi stores I have visited.
I reckon' ALDI people are right up there with Apple people in their blind devotion to a store.
I did not find this very helpful…
I'm not very good with cult following.
I thought it was helpful, actually you described it very well. Unless some Aldi fans can list some examples, i won't believe they are cheaper.
@Savas: the power soak dish washing liquid, unless morning fresh is on special it's much cheaper and smells much better imo.
Titan 60g choc bars for 79c which aren't bad, the snack size ones are kinda sheet though…
3 cheese pizza for $6
Sun-dried tomato pasta bake is great, not much cheaper but I really like it.
The choc blocks are pretty well priced for what they are.
Special buys…
Anywho I shop at them all, Coles,ww,aldi,iga,foodworks and spar. Lol I do actually like the non supermarket feel of Aldi shops though, with the exception of the new ones freezer area, it's shopish but really good also with the cabinet and tuckerbox design.
@Slippery Fish: Thanks, those items are now on my shopping list. Also just remembered they sell Chocco Pillows!
@Savas:clothes washing liquid and softener for $1.50 each
Usually what brings me in to stock up
Veg is way cheaper but fruit and veg shops can have better specials again as well as the other supermarket's markdowns
@Beach Bum: Never been overly impressed with the look of the Aldi vegetables. I also haven't seen them at much cheaper than elsewhere. They tend to advertise them as smaller than 1 Kg to make themselves look cheaper.
@Savas: Cheaper they might be, but lacks the quality
Inedible fish sticks ( must have used Blue mackerel ) and Meat that is full of veins and tendons.
And what good is ALDI if i still have to go to Woolies because they don't have all Items I want?
Yep, I agree…I once went out of my way to go to Aldi to get a list of 4 items the missus gave me. Aldi didn't have a single one :(
What really surprised me was that they don't even stock Baby Powder :/ at least not at my local Aldi.
I've also found that the few times I have shopped there (the missus is a fan, for some reason), by the end of the checkout process I feel like I need a Valium !
Give me Coles or Woolworths any-day.
PJ
This
When people create topics like this and start defending when people post why they hate the store lol
I don't mind Aldi, love their weekly specials and wine, but I'm not devoted to one store, I'm devote to lowest prices! I'll shop at Coles, woolies, iga, Aldi as long as they have the cheapest price!
I'll go where the prices are cheapest. It turns out ALDI is cheapest 90% of the time.
And this is ozbargain where people will happily wait 3 weeks for something to arrive from Hong Kong to save $5.
And this is ozbargain where people will happily wait 3 weeks for something to arrive from Hong Kong to save $5.
Gilbert Gottfried is an OzBargainer:
I only buy the stuff that are on special and I always shop at coles
If its not on sale this week (or its a shitty sale) I either buy it next week or buy something else that almost never goes on sale or is the same price as aldi.
The standard fare like chicken thigh/breast and mince are only marginally cheaper and aldi (and hardly ever goes on sale elsewhere), its not worth the time making two trips when I can get other stuff that aldi does not even sell (pork leg, pork ribs, lamb shanks, prawn, fish).
Drill bits from ALDI: Totally unusable. Break at the smallest amount of tension
Bunnings 4$ special: They Last and Last and Last.
I have a set of drill bits from Aldi and they are way better quality than the ones I have from Bunnings. Items all need to be taken on their merits, if anyone thinks there's a blanket rule they are letting their bias get the better of them
Agreed, while there's lots of cheap stuff there, some (a lot) of it IMO is terrible quality.
On the other hand they have some great stuff also (dish washer tabs, some special buys, etc).
IMO they could not replace Colesworths yet with their product lineup.
Actually there are lessor Apple people than Anti-Apple people around.
Which is their devotion to hate a particular store.
the best nappies.
Grandpa?
Protip: contact your states incontinence groups, pads are free for pensioners in most states.
They're not free in NSW you can apply to get a rebate with a medical certificate, I think it's about $200/year
Costco
Top 10 Things I HATE about ALDI
I agree strongly with the rewards being a marketing scam. So true. For example flybuys works out to 0.5% off on your total shopping bill. Pay with Amex then it becomes 1%.
I just want an express lane for 8 items or less.
ALDI is better suited for big shops, though many people with a trolley full of groceries will let you in front.
You're Holding It Wrong
I'd be happy with being to buy their alcohol at more than one checkout lane only.
Damn annoying to wait on the only alcohol permitted lane for the 10 people in front, when I just want a 6 pk :(
PJ
No rewards is a bonus, they aren't tracking what you purchase with the illusion of a discount.
Cheaper groceries > $10 off for every $2000 spent, whilst collecting data about you.
+1 for that. I'd prefer no rewards programs (even though I use them).
The free shit they give you is factored into the price. I see it more as a penalty for those who don't participate in the rewards programs.
If you pay with a card, they're tracking you, rewards card or no.
Wouldn't say that is impossible, though the data is of no use to them if they can't use it to market to you.
You do know that rewards are a sham right? Nothing is free, every cent given in rewards had to be built into the price of the goods. Remove the rewards and you get cheaper goods.
I agree with 1,2,4,6 and 9.
Surprised you put rewards even as a concern. I dont want to pay much more expensive items at first place to give me pennys in rewards or fuel vouchers.
I still love Aldi products and many of the food items are made in Australia compared to Woolies and coles where big brand items are now made in Asia.
The variety is the thing that gets to me the most.
Rather go to iga
You don't belong in Ozbargain if you shop at IGA.
When you do, please have a look at their prices before you buy.
If your local has it in the prepacked meat section I got some bertoli budget bacon for $8 a kg pack, no rind and good smokey flavor (and it's proper nonformed stuff).
Aldi burger meat and kebabs are the best!
Supa IGA are great for quality but price is up there.
In terms of Quality: SupaIGA > Coles > Aldi > Woolworths
In terms of low pricing: Aldi > Coles > Woolies > Supa IGA
Not my experience at all. IGA is easily the worst when it comes to quality of their packaged items. Probably because they don't turn stuff over very quickly.
The ones in Canberra are particularly bad, with items frequently near (or a few times well beyond) their best before dates. IGA taught me to always check the dates on things like chips and sauces. I've never had that issue anywhere else.
Sounds like they differ a fair bit between stores.
Hmmm, my Canberra experience with IGA was similar.
They really differ.
One IGA I go to has very high quality veggies and mushrooms, much better than Coles/Woolies usually have.
Another IGA I've been to 2x, has had rotten fruit both times!
I looked at a lemon with obvious (profanity) mold on all over it.
Quality and prices vary per store.
Top 10 Things I'm AMBIVALENT about ALDI
Is that the squeezy mayonnaise or the glass jar mayonnaise?
I wasn't too happy with the Vegetable Oil used in the whole egg mayonnaise since Vegetable Oils are really high in PUFAs which are quite bad for you.
I ended up finding a recipe for mayonnaise which is really nice and only takes 2 minutes to make and I get to choose my oil.
Please share recipe. Thank you!
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
One cup of oil of your choice for example olive oil avocado oil or coconut oil.
1 teaspoon of mustard if that's your thing
Blend it all in a blender till it's the consistently you like your mayonnaise
@mranderson978: how long does it store for? I'll give it a try, as I can't really afford my fave mayo (norganic), but the Aldi one is the back up
It gets polished off so quickly in my house I can't say how long it would last. But it's just eggs, lemon juice and oil so I'd say at least 3 weeks.
What's wrong with pineapple rings? I have always got really good sweet ones?
Aldi cardboard food is of the highest cardboard quality
you talking about the gluten free range?
You're getting paid to post this right?
He is prolly the marketing team lol
11: The surfing santa ads
The $20 s/s food mill!
Can I get an aww yeah?!
aw yee
I smell sarcasm
No. 11. Go to buy a cucumber, instead come home with a leaf-blower.
Toffifee
Aldi is shite. Would rather pay the extra to shop at Woolies or Coles, at least I'm getting decent brands and not some random knock off like 99% of Aldi brands.
you may be surprised that those top brands also make the same products for Aldi under different brand names that they pay a lot less in marketing for hence the cheaper prices :)
Why do they taste different then?
Maybe the brands alter ingredients as well but from what i can see most are just direct copies.. Sara lee makes most the ice creams.. the juice packets are from berri .. buttferuly is identical tub and ingredients to one of the major brands sold in woolies and coles (forgot which but i checked this not long ago)… just saying that you'd be surprised how little difference there is for a majority of the products .. either home brand or aldi etc…. no ones going to twist your arm though if you prefer a specific grocery store thats up to you'no right or wrong here.. :) … i shop all 3 and am happy when Aldi is in a center along with the other two major stores.. keeps the prices down.
What always caught me out at Aldi are the uncommon product sizes.
As specific examples, I found Coke cans and Nivea Spray Deoderant at what I thought was a good price, brought them home and realised they were quite a bit smaller than the Woolies/Coles counterparts that I had at home. These are the geniune brands too, not the Aldi home brands.
Doing some quick math I found they were barely any cheaper at all - in fact the deoderant actually cost more per gm/ml than Coles.
I found this as well,
Typically unless it is ALDI home branded, the items costs roughly the same. They lure consumers in by selling it on non-standard sizes and make it "seem" cheaper
I only go and see what special buys are there and pick up some of the "home brands" that I don't mind getting, all others are just the same as coles/woollies/
Also the credit card surcharge is the thing that puts me off the most.
I like using my AMEX in supermarkets as they give 3x points. Where ALDI doesn't have that and charge me extra.
No able to use grocery shopping to fund my next holiday is a big issue for me.
Other things I like about Aldi:
- the aisles are wider than Coles and WW. Means less trolley collisions in the aisles. I can't remember when I last apologised for having to squeeze past someones trolley.
- the floor of the aisles are clear of unpacked boxes and rubbish. Coles and WW are harder to navigate as there are employees to dodge stacking shelves, pushing trolleys and leaving boxes over the floor.
- its quicker to finish a shopping trip in Aldi. There are less aisles than Coles+WW resulting in more efficient foot traffic. The price tags on the centre aisles are even quicker to read as they are at the same eye level (ie. no shelves).
- its more quiet and calming in ALDI. There are fewer announcements over the PA system (maybe due to fewer staff and better trained managers?).
- There are no ALDI marketing gimmicks that prey on kids. eg. stickers, cards, dominos, tazo's, etc.
- ALDI car parks are always clear of lost trolley's. Most ALDI car parks are built on level ground. I rarely worry about returning to the car to see trolley dents or scratches.
- they don't sell cigarettes. It's frustrating in WW and Coles to see your checkout attendant leave you and attend the cigarette counter.
- customers aren't holding up the checkout by fishing through their wallets for printed discount coupons and/or a loyalty card.
ALDI is quiet, apart from the frequent 'Dear customers, we're closing Register 5' 'Dear customers, we're opening Register 5' announcements.
ALDI customers hold up the queue by fishing through their wallets for coins because they don't want to pay the 0.5% surcharge.
Seeing more than 2 checkouts open at ALDI is a minor miracle worthy of informing the pope.
I like ALDI in general but it has some drawbacks. I go to the next door Woolworths if I'm in a hurry, even if I'll pay more, rather than go to ALDI and risk waiting 10 minutes behind someone doing shopping for a football team.
OP is secretly working for Aldi to persuade the Ozbargain community why their business is better than it's competitors
Or maybe I'm secretly working for you. For free.
Their butter is great. And cheap.
Sour cream is fine and a heap cheaper than the cheapest at woolies.
I like Aldi. Their meat is a lot cheaper than the equivalent at Coles or Woolworths - even when the others are on special, Aldi is still cheaper.
Take an unfrenched rack of lamb for example - $21.99 per kg everyday at Aldi - $32.99 per kilo at woolies or $29.99 on "special"
I also like the random crap they have every week. Some of it is great like for example their motorcycling gear. Other times its rubbish, but it always adds to the fun of shopping there seeing what crap they have this week.
One thing I dont like is if you want a specific special weekly item - say a 60" LCD TV - unless you queue 30 minutes before the store opens, it's sold out before you can even get into the store.
I am glad Aldi is here in Australia - it keeps Coles and Woolworths in line to some extent. I have no doubt Coles and Woolies would have higher prices if Aldi wasn't here.
Having said all of the above, I shop at Woolworths more because of their bigger range and items i particularly like - eg. Mr Beaks sausages.
I very rarely buy anything that isn't crazy cheap or 50% off. When it is I buy in bulk.
Only thing I buy regularly which doesn't get reduced much is chicken breast/thigh and high quality beef.
no problems with Aldi here!
Fresh/frozen fruit, vegies, eggs are fine - you would select your own normally and its cheaper than woolies/coles.
sauces, spices, some canned stuff like tuna isn't too bad. Open a bag of chips into a bowl and no one at the party can tell the difference.
haven't really tried their meats, though i tried their beef one time and it wasn't bad.
cheap wine too - some are award winning if that means anything https://tenplay.com.au/news/national/may-2017/aldi-rose-take…
You know what I hate Aldi? The skinny checkouts and closed checkouts which make it almost impossible exiting ALDI with not purchasing anything without feeling like a criminal.
Ok rightio