Among the supermarket chains operating in Australia today, Aldi is probably the most well known for offering customers cheap and quality options.

But aside from their amazing markdown deals, there is another thing that differentiates Aldi from the other grocery chains, and that is their trolleys.

Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys.

Ever since the supermarket giant came to Australia in 2001, they have always used coin-operated trolleys in hopes to encourage their customers to return the trolleys to the store – a key preventative measure against trolleys being dumped in backstreets, waterways and public areas.

“As a result, we find almost all of our trolleys are returned to our stores,” said an Aldi spokesperson. “By incentivising customers to return their own trolleys, we save money on trolley retrieval services and pass those savings on to customers in the form of our low prices.”

The mechanics behind the idea is pretty simple: pay a small fee for a token to use the trolley, and to get your money back, just clip the cart into another Aldi trolley or chain.

However, this is not the case for everyone every time, such as this one shopper who said that Aldi’s trolley return system was more inconvenient than helpful.

One Aldi shopper discovered there were no trolleys in the bays for him to redeem his coin back. Credit: news.com.au.
​

One Aldi shopper has taken to Facebook to complain about an “annoying” problem with the store’s trolleys.

The man said that after he was done shopping at Aldi’s Lake Haven store in NSW, he went to the carpark downstairs to unpack his groceries into his car.

Once he had finished loading his groceries, it was time to return the trolley to the trolley bay and retrieve his gold coin. Simple enough, right?

However, there were no available release chains or trolleys in the bay. Meaning, he would have to take the trolley all the way upstairs to get his deposit back.

“Just a pain because this particular Aldi is in a shopping complex,” he added.

When he wrote an email to a store representative, he was only met with a generic response, saying “thank you” for his report.

The man’s post on social media was met with mixed reactions from fellow Aldi shoppers, but most of them said that they have been in a similar “annoying” situation.

One user said that most of the time, the chain is missing at the designated Aldi trolley bay. Other times, it is filled with trolleys from others stores like Coles and Woolies.

Meanwhile, some suggested that it would be easier to take the complaint to the store’s manager. One person even shared: “I’ve had two issues and the store has gladly reissued me with a token free of charge.”

 

[Ricci]

I don't actually use Aldi trolleys for this reason. In my shopping centre we have a Woolies and an Aldi. I always go get a Woolies trolley even if I'm not actually going to shop there this trip as I have to walk past Woolies to get to Aldi.

 

[Big Al]

Aldi shopper complains about Aldi’s trolley return system​

Among the supermarket chains operating in Australia today, Aldi is probably the most well known for offering customers cheap and quality options.

But aside from their amazing markdown deals, there is another thing that differentiates Aldi from the other grocery chains, and that is their trolleys.

Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys.

Ever since the supermarket giant came to Australia in 2001, they have always used coin-operated trolleys in hopes to encourage their customers to return the trolleys to the store – a key preventative measure against trolleys being dumped in backstreets, waterways and public areas.

“As a result, we find almost all of our trolleys are returned to our stores,” said an Aldi spokesperson. “By incentivising customers to return their own trolleys, we save money on trolley retrieval services and pass those savings on to customers in the form of our low prices.”

The mechanics behind the idea is pretty simple: pay a small fee for a token to use the trolley, and to get your money back, just clip the cart into another Aldi trolley or chain.

However, this is not the case for everyone every time, such as this one shopper who said that Aldi’s trolley return system was more inconvenient than helpful.

One Aldi shopper discovered there were no trolleys in the bays for him to redeem his coin back. Credit: news.com.au.
​

One Aldi shopper has taken to Facebook to complain about an “annoying” problem with the store’s trolleys.

The man said that after he was done shopping at Aldi’s Lake Haven store in NSW, he went to the carpark downstairs to unpack his groceries into his car.

Once he had finished loading his groceries, it was time to return the trolley to the trolley bay and retrieve his gold coin. Simple enough, right?

However, there were no available release chains or trolleys in the bay. Meaning, he would have to take the trolley all the way upstairs to get his deposit back.

“Just a pain because this particular Aldi is in a shopping complex,” he added.

When he wrote an email to a store representative, he was only met with a generic response, saying “thank you” for his report.

The man’s post on social media was met with mixed reactions from fellow Aldi shoppers, but most of them said that they have been in a similar “annoying” situation.

One user said that most of the time, the chain is missing at the designated Aldi trolley bay. Other times, it is filled with trolleys from others stores like Coles and Woolies.

Meanwhile, some suggested that it would be easier to take the complaint to the store’s manager. One person even shared: “I’ve had two issues and the store has gladly reissued me with a token free of charge.”

We always go to Woolies first to get the few things we need that Aldi doesn't stock then use that trolley at Aldi.

 

[ZARKO G.]

If you don't like Aldi's way of running their business than DO NOT go there. Go and buy at Woolies and Coles which are more afordable for your culture.

 

[Tim K]

It’s a problem in any shopping complex with either Coles and / or Woolworths as well as ALDI . At Salamander Square I often move up to 20 Woolworths and Coles trolleys to put my ALDI trolley back into the clearly marked ALDI Trolley Return.
The good news for us is that ALDI is so successful here that they’re building a new free standing store with it’s own car park . Problem solved.

 

[saggitarius14]

I wish that Aldi had smaller trolleys option as I find the big ones cumbersome and I don't do a "big shop" so more convenient for me.

 

[Sunshine45]

The thing that annoys me is the poor design of the tokens you cannot use the token attached to the clip it comes with in the trolley, then it is difficult to remove so I have attached my own wire coated bread tie to the token works much better, but they could have made them with a little stick out tab with the hole in to attach the clip for easy removal. Hope that makes sense as I am not clever enough to add a photo.
Having said that I am a dedicated ALDI shopper and will put up with the minor inconvenience.

 

[Alexander]

If you don't like something don't use it. In this cynical age we live in no-one really cares, whatever they say on the phone. It is a stock answer that you know they will not necessarily follow up and if they actually do then you will be the very last to hear abouut it.

 

[chezna]

Every Aldi I have been to in WA have a chain on the pipe bars that the trolleys go into so I take trolley back & put that chain attached to the pipe bars into the trolley.. never had a problem!

 

[Bronze]

Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys

Aldi shopper complains about Aldi’s trolley return system​

Among the supermarket chains operating in Australia today, Aldi is probably the most well known for offering customers cheap and quality options.

But aside from their amazing markdown deals, there is another thing that differentiates Aldi from the other grocery chains, and that is their trolleys.

Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys.

Ever since the supermarket giant came to Australia in 2001, they have always used coin-operated trolleys in hopes to encourage their customers to return the trolleys to the store – a key preventative measure against trolleys being dumped in backstreets, waterways and public areas.

“As a result, we find almost all of our trolleys are returned to our stores,” said an Aldi spokesperson. “By incentivising customers to return their own trolleys, we save money on trolley retrieval services and pass those savings on to customers in the form of our low prices.”

The mechanics behind the idea is pretty simple: pay a small fee for a token to use the trolley, and to get your money back, just clip the cart into another Aldi trolley or chain.

However, this is not the case for everyone every time, such as this one shopper who said that Aldi’s trolley return system was more inconvenient than helpful.

One Aldi shopper discovered there were no trolleys in the bays for him to redeem his coin back. Credit: news.com.au.
​

One Aldi shopper has taken to Facebook to complain about an “annoying” problem with the store’s trolleys.

The man said that after he was done shopping at Aldi’s Lake Haven store in NSW, he went to the carpark downstairs to unpack his groceries into his car.

Once he had finished loading his groceries, it was time to return the trolley to the trolley bay and retrieve his gold coin. Simple enough, right?

However, there were no available release chains or trolleys in the bay. Meaning, he would have to take the trolley all the way upstairs to get his deposit back.

“Just a pain because this particular Aldi is in a shopping complex,” he added.

When he wrote an email to a store representative, he was only met with a generic response, saying “thank you” for his report.

The man’s post on social media was met with mixed reactions from fellow Aldi shoppers, but most of them said that they have been in a similar “annoying” situation.

One user said that most of the time, the chain is missing at the designated Aldi trolley bay. Other times, it is filled with trolleys from others stores like Coles and Woolies.

Meanwhile, some suggested that it would be easier to take the complaint to the store’s manager. One person even shared: “I’ve had two issues and the store has gladly reissued me with a token free of charge.”

"Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys". This statement is incorrect as both Woolies and Coles also use the gold coin to obtain - and return - trolleys for a refund. My local Woolies also has a release chain in the bay so that in the event that there are no trolleys there, shoppers can still click their trolley to the chain to receive their refund.

 

[Vinylted]

Melbourne Woollies, IGA & Coles mostly use the gold coin system for trolleys. Whatever happened to the trial they had a few years back that locked the trolley wheels if you tried to remove it from the carpark?

 

[chezna]

Melbourne Woollies, IGA & Coles mostly use the gold coin system for trolleys. Whatever happened to the trial they had a few years back that locked the trolley wheels if you tried to remove it from the carpark?

I don’t think it worked! Trolleys we’re still everywhere

 

[RhodaStarr]

I have used a token since Aldi first came to my suburb (Mount Annan) Trolleys are always available and at times I have got a bonus coin, from people too lazy to put them back in the right area. They are also much cleaner.

 

[Lei]

Would be good to see trollies have lockable wheels to stop them being taken home, pushed in the lake or used for joy rides.

 

[68autobug]

I have never ever had any problems as the semi local ALDI [30 klms away] is by itself , so NO other trolleys , and it is easy to return Your trolley & get Your token or coin back.... simple... I see that having ALDI in a shopping complex isn't good trolley wise...

 

[chezna]

Would be good to see trollies have lockable wheels to stop them being taken home, pushed in the lake or used for joy rides.

People should be more responsible & less entitled!

 

[Ree]

All three supermarkets at Karingal hub (Woolies, Coles and Aldi) use tokens or gold coins. I have no problem returning the trolley to the trolley bay at the end of my shop. What I do find annoying is that both Coles and Woolies have a large and a small trolly. The small trolly will fit into the large trolly but not the other way around. Each trolly bay only allows for one bay for each store. Consequently, if a small trolly has been returned and attached to a large trolly there is nowhere else to put the trolly except in a bay from another store. Aldi has the largest trollies which I personally love, but they can only be attached to other Aldi trollies. I often find that I cannot return my trolly to its spot due to non Aldi trollies taking up the Aldi bay. This problem is caused by the 'one size fits all' policy at the trolly bays which starts at the planning and construction stage for the shopping complex. It would be better to allow for 5 or 6 bays. Two for Woolies and two for Coles, one for large trollies and the second for the small trollies. Aldi could have one bay or two. The problem that creates if the trolly bays are in the centre of a carpark is that parking spaces would be lost.
I think that if people slowed down and returned the trolly correctly, rather than being in so much of a hurry that they are unwilling to spend the extra couple of minutes to put the trolly in the correct bay, the problem might not be as bad.

 

[chezna]

All three supermarkets at Karingal hub (Woolies, Coles and Aldi) use tokens or gold coins. I have no problem returning the trolley to the trolley bay at the end of my shop. What I do find annoying is that both Coles and Woolies have a large and a small trolly. The small trolly will fit into the large trolly but not the other way around. Each trolly bay only allows for one bay for each store. Consequently, if a small trolly has been returned and attached to a large trolly there is nowhere else to put the trolly except in a bay from another store. Aldi has the largest trollies which I personally love, but they can only be attached to other Aldi trollies. I often find that I cannot return my trolly to its spot due to non Aldi trollies taking up the Aldi bay. This problem is caused by the 'one size fits all' policy at the trolly bays which starts at the planning and construction stage for the shopping complex. It would be better to allow for 5 or 6 bays. Two for Woolies and two for Coles, one for large trollies and the second for the small trollies. Aldi could have one bay or two. The problem that creates if the trolly bays are in the centre of a carpark is that parking spaces would be lost.
I think that if people slowed down and returned the trolly correctly, rather than being in so much of a hurry that they are unwilling to spend the extra couple of minutes to put the trolly in the correct bay, the problem might not be as bad.

Unfortunately many people today are selfish & don’t think of anyone else & how it could inconvenience another person!

 

[BabsL]

Aldi shopper complains about Aldi’s trolley return system​

Among the supermarket chains operating in Australia today, Aldi is probably the most well known for offering customers cheap and quality options.

But aside from their amazing markdown deals, there is another thing that differentiates Aldi from the other grocery chains, and that is their trolleys.

Unlike Woolies or Coles, Aldi requires their shoppers to commit to a small, refundable gold coin deposit to use their shopping trolleys.

Ever since the supermarket giant came to Australia in 2001, they have always used coin-operated trolleys in hopes to encourage their customers to return the trolleys to the store – a key preventative measure against trolleys being dumped in backstreets, waterways and public areas.

“As a result, we find almost all of our trolleys are returned to our stores,” said an Aldi spokesperson. “By incentivising customers to return their own trolleys, we save money on trolley retrieval services and pass those savings on to customers in the form of our low prices.”

The mechanics behind the idea is pretty simple: pay a small fee for a token to use the trolley, and to get your money back, just clip the cart into another Aldi trolley or chain.

However, this is not the case for everyone every time, such as this one shopper who said that Aldi’s trolley return system was more inconvenient than helpful.

One Aldi shopper discovered there were no trolleys in the bays for him to redeem his coin back. Credit: news.com.au.
​

One Aldi shopper has taken to Facebook to complain about an “annoying” problem with the store’s trolleys.

The man said that after he was done shopping at Aldi’s Lake Haven store in NSW, he went to the carpark downstairs to unpack his groceries into his car.

Once he had finished loading his groceries, it was time to return the trolley to the trolley bay and retrieve his gold coin. Simple enough, right?

However, there were no available release chains or trolleys in the bay. Meaning, he would have to take the trolley all the way upstairs to get his deposit back.

“Just a pain because this particular Aldi is in a shopping complex,” he added.

When he wrote an email to a store representative, he was only met with a generic response, saying “thank you” for his report.

The man’s post on social media was met with mixed reactions from fellow Aldi shoppers, but most of them said that they have been in a similar “annoying” situation.

One user said that most of the time, the chain is missing at the designated Aldi trolley bay. Other times, it is filled with trolleys from others stores like Coles and Woolies.

Meanwhile, some suggested that it would be easier to take the complaint to the store’s manager. One person even shared: “I’ve had two issues and the store has gladly reissued me with a token free of charge.”

Same issue w Woolies trolleys at Southland Vic. Have to walk trolley frm top car park back down to second level and back to store.
For disabled pensioner w severe Ankylosing Spondylitis this is literally a sickening journey. Buy the time I've had to lift items into trolley, then deep dive to lift them out onto conveyor, then lift back into trolley, THEN push heavy trolley to car and deep dive to haul groceries into the car, I am often mear collapse. To find I must take trolley all the way back into the WOW store is enough to make me cry (in severe pain and exhaustion).
*I do carry pain meds w me all the time.

 

[Ree]

All three supermarkets at Karingal hub (Woolies, Coles and Aldi) use tokens or gold coins. I have no problem returning the trolley to the trolley bay at the end of my shop. What I do find annoying is that both Coles and Woolies have a large and a small trolley. The small trolley will fit into the large trolley but not the other way around. Each trolley bay only allows for one bay for each store. Consequently, if a small trolley has been returned and attached to a large trolley there is nowhere else to put the trolley except in a bay from another store. Aldi has the largest trollies which I personally love, but they can only be attached to other Aldi trolleys. I often find that I cannot return my trolley to its spot due to non Aldi trolleys taking up the Aldi bay. This problem is caused by the 'one size fits all' policy at the trolley bays, which starts at the planning and construction stage for the shopping complex. It would be better to allow for 5 or 6 bays. Two for Woolies and two for Coles, one for large trolleys and the second for the small trolleys. Aldi could have one bay or two. The problem that creates is, if the trolly bays are in the centre of a carpark, parking spaces would be lost.
I think that if people slowed down and returned the trolly correctly, rather than being in so much of a hurry that they are unwilling to spend the extra couple of minutes to put the trolly in the correct bay, the problem might not be as bad.

If you read this correctly, it was NOT a complaint about Aldi trolleys or their return system. It was the fact that there are NEVER enough trolley bays as;
a) they are all taken up by other supermarket shoppers returning them where ever.
b) the large and small trolley sizes from Coles and Woolies that do not allow for all sizes to connect together
c) as I stated, the problem starts, at the planning stages when not enough space allowance is given for trolly returns. Only 3 spaces is not sufficient.