ALDI slammed for not having express checkouts
A group of mums have criticised ALDI supermarkets for not installing express lanes for customers with small hauls.
A woman took to the Aldi Mums Facebook group to share that she felt intimidated by other shoppers queuing at the register behind her with only a few items while she loaded her trolley of groceries onto the conveyor belt.
“... the dirty looks I got when I filled up the conveyor belt at Aldi by other impatient customers, who thought it was the end of the world that someone was doing a big shop, was phenomenal,” she wrote.
“Aldi needs an express lane for the grumps who basically want to shiv you like a prison line for smokes in commissary, because they want to get ahead.
“Who knew that people shopped big at Aldi? I have three kids ... four if you include my husband.”
Other mums in the comments agreed, saying they had similar experiences at the discount retailer.
“I feel ya pain. I shop every fortnight as I get paid that way. My trolley is usually full...” one wrote.
“So I let in a few people while I’m stacking just so the lane goes faster. But my bug is when a person rocks up behind me puts their stuff on, when I’m [halfway] through.”
Another commented, “I do a fortnightly shop and I’m sure I piss off at least 10 shoppers by having the conveyor belt full.”
One wrote: ““They should have an express lane it does help. I sometimes only need 1 or 2 things [and] find myself stuck behind people with a trolley full to the brim.”
A shopper shared that she told the manager of her local ALDI store to introduce an express lane for customers with 12 items or fewer.
However, according to the New York Times, getting in the express checkout line does not always guarantee a faster process due to the amount of time allocated for each shopper to choose their bags, pay, collect their purchases and more.
“Think of it this way: One person with 100 items to be rung up will take an average of almost six minutes to process. If you get in a line with four people who each have 20 items, it will take an average of nearly seven minutes,” the article stated.
An ALDI spokeswoman told Yahoo News Australia the current format of its checkouts meets the needs of shoppers.
“Shopping at Aldi is a unique experience, but one that we are proud of,” the supermarket said in a statement.
“We constantly review our processes and are open to receiving customer feedback to ensure we continue to deliver exceptional value and great service to our customers.”