For many of us, ALDI is more than just a popular discount grocery store — it's a weekly ritual and a way to save some money on groceries (or is it?).

But at the end of the day, ALDI isn’t immune to frustrating customer experiences like claims of bad products and self-checkout counters that aren’t too senior-friendly.

Now, speaking of checkouts, you might have noticed that sometimes ALDI staff seem to wait a bit for you to place all your items on the conveyor belt before they go on quickly scanning your grocery items at lightning speed.

Have you ever wondered if there’s anything more to this?

Well, you see, it appears ALDI staff have been trained to not scan your groceries until you have finished putting them all on the conveyor belt.

That’s right; even though you can be finished with half your trolley load of goods, they must wait until you’ve taken the entire lot out before they can start the scanning process!

At least, that’s according to ALDI employees on the Aldi Mums Facebook page, who recently revealed that checkout staff must abide by the policy.

'It’s in ALDI’s employee handbook/policy to not start scanning until the trolley is up your end,' said one former employee. 'As an ex-employee, we got in trouble if we started before the customer was finished and wasn’t at the other end to receive.'

Alleged ALDI workers revealed that it’s company policy to wait for customers to load their items on counter conveyor belts first before they start scanning. Image Credit: Facebook

Another worker said: 'Our most recent training states that we shouldn’t scan before all items are on the belt. We can offer to help you with your items, but technically we are supposed to wait.'

While this may come as a surprise to some, one customer confirmed having been told this policy while she was out shopping once.

But if you’re wondering if this means ALDI checkout staff aren’t allowed to proceed with scanning your items before you’re ready, a third alleged worker offered some clarification.

‘Technically we are allowed to start scanning whenever we want,’ they began. ‘But it is highly advised we do wait until all items are put on the belt before we do start.’

It’s understood that this is to prevent customers from being overwhelmed when their items pile up on the other end of the checkout counter.

Other ALDI workers also weighed in and said the style of the checkout counter might also be one factor in following the policy.

In some stores with dual checkouts, for example, workers can start scanning even before shoppers are done loading their haul onto the counter.

‘It depends if there is a dual chute or not… If it is a single (counter), then you generally wait for the trolley to get to the end,’ a worker pointed out.

‘If it’s a dual chute, you are encouraged to start before the trolley is at the end.’

Simply put: two chute, or not two chute? Kidding!

Other people who claimed to know ALDI’s checkout policy said that it was ‘highly advised’. Image Credit: YouTube/ALDI Australia

In response, shoppers shared their experiences with the little-known policy.

‘The other day I had my two boys in the trolley, one crying for the bananas we were buying, and about six items on the belt and she started scanning before I had finished,’ one customer said.

‘I get it, maybe she was trying to rush for my sake but then I had to stuff around quickly to get my card out.’

‘I once had a lady start scanning while I was still unloading and she piled all my stuff up on any available space, including her chair, ruining all my specified piles of cold food, cans and tins, fresh produce etc.,’ a second shared.

‘It was the biggest s*** fight of a shopping trip I’ve ever had.’

Meanwhile, ALDI confirmed that their staff adjust how fast they scan depending on the needs of their customers.

Key Takeaways

• ALDI workers have revealed the one act shoppers must do before they can start scanning groceries in a Facebook group for store customers.
• Employees must wait for the customer to finish placing all their groceries on the conveyor belt before they can start scanning the items.
• This policy is in place to stop groceries from piling up at the end of the checkout, giving the shopper time to place the items back in their trolley.
• An ALDI spokesperson said staff adjust their scanning speed depending on the customer’s needs.

According to a spokesperson, ALDI stores are designed for shoppers to have an ‘efficient’ and ‘convenient’ experience, including during checkouts.

‘One way we can do this is by asking customers to place their groceries back in their trolley once they have been scanned, and then pack at their own pace at the long bench behind the tills,’ they said.

‘Of course, ALDI employees will review and adjust their scan speed based on how quickly or slowly each customer packs their shopping.’

‘If any customer would like an ALDI employee to slow down at the checkout, we welcome them to request this.’

If you still have more space for shopping revelations from the budget retailer, you might want to read up more about why they scan items so quickly!

Then, there’s also an appeal from one mum who asked for a bit of consideration about how some people return their trolleys after shopping.

And lastly, on a lighter note, two comedians also took aim at ALDI’s checkout speed in a recent video, and we have to say it’s so relatable!

So, what are your thoughts? Have you experienced something similar at your local ALDI?

Do you agree with this apparent rule, or is it something you don’t see the reason for?

Share your experiences and comments below!

 

[Janet Humphrey]

They have a very small space to place stuff after scanning so it makes sense for them to wait!
On the other hand other shoppers that place stuff up before you have finished so you can’t put all your shopping up is annoying

 

[Ezzy]

Ah, yes -- not a single word about the antics at the other end of the checkout as you frantically try to keep up with the flow of your goods piling up on the miniscule space allowed while fumbling in the kick to get the money out. Another reason why we simply don't have any of our "shopping experiences" at ALDI.

I think l would be asking the check out person if they could wait while you pack the items. You're not likely to do a runner with a trolley load of shopping are you & they cannot start putting the next customer through until that end is clear.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I have an interesting anecdote about Aldi, but before I share it with you I need to make it clear that I don’t like shopping at Aldi for the reasons detailed below.

Unfortunately, I have no choice because I do the shopping for my wife, who is mobility-impaired so she can’t shop personally for her favourite Aldi products.

These are the reasons I don’t like shopping at Aldi:

* There is rarely more than one register open even at peak times, so the wait time to check out can be extremely frustrating.

Aldi are the only supermarket that doesn’t have self-checkouts, so you’ve no choice but to wait.

* When there is a rare PA announcement of a register opening, there is a typical 5-minute wait for the operator to actually get to the register.

I used to rush with others on seeing the displayed register number change from red to green.

However abandoned doing that because I found it better to stay in the now-depleted current queue and let others waste their time waiting for the other register to open.

* There is no service desk

So when you have a product to return, you have wait patiently at the usual single open register; then have a dialogue with the register operator whilst being frowned on by the long queue of waiting customers.

* Register operators do not bag your products.

Aldi obviously reckoned it would improve register operators productivity by not bagging.

However the operator takes the same time in sliding the scanned product towards you as they would in dropping it into a bag.

So the result is that there is no benefit to Aldi, but extra work for the customer.

To keep up with the operator’s scanning, the customer has to frantically throw the products into their trolley; then go to the customer counter to do the bagging: a classic case of double-handling.

And whilst the customer was at the register filling their trolley then paying, the register operator couldn’t serve the next customer in any case, so there is no increase in operator productivity.

* There are no product category signs in the aisles.

There is thus a continual need to find an Aldi staff member to enquire where a particular product is located (if you can find a staff member!)

Now the anecdote.

All Aldi’s products are priced to end in 9c.

Historically in all retail outlets, a $10 product for example would be priced at $9.99.

The philosophy was that naïve customers would regard the price as $9 instead of $10, so thinking they are getting a bargain.

That marketing ploy started in pre-history before credit cards, so the store got it’s 1c back as the customer had to pay $10 in cash.

Now that cash is in the minority, that practice has largely been discontinued because the store is losing 1c per sold item on credit card payments which adds up to a significant sum on the total annual sales.

The exception is Aldi where EVERY product is priced to end in 9c.

So Aldi naively believes that a customer seeing a product priced at 29c will think it’s 20c.

Recently as I was walking down an aisle at Aldi my eyes nearly popped out on seeing a product priced at 75c.

They nearly popped out again on seeing an Aldi staff member further down the aisle; I rubbed my eyes; yes it was an Aldi staff member actually on the sales floor!

“Excuse me” I said, with pointed finger, “There is a price error on a product down the aisle”

“Where about?” he said as he started to walk down the aisle.

We walked together to the shelf with the 75c product.

“Look” I said, pointing to the product “It should be 79c”

“Oh” he exclaimed, “thanks very much for letting us know, I’ll get it fixed straight away!”whyc

Don't shop at Aldi and never will. I like to shop at MY pace not at the checkout pace of Aldi.