ALDI Food Stores

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

Ok, I just moved to my new town here in Tennessee. My girlfriend and I were at a strip mall and we needed to get a few items for dinner so she suggested going to ALDI - ive never heard of the place before. So we walk in and I look about and it seems to be one of those bottom dollar grocery stores where the employees dont even look up at you when you walk by or much less speak english.

Well, we snag some Texas Toast and get a frozen lump of off brand lasagna and some GT Cola then begin to proceed to the checkout counter. Well, plop down our potentially poorly tasting dinner down on the rubber roller mat and the items slide up to the checkout women had clearly had a small gene pool from which she spawned from. She slid the food past the laser scanner and put the food onto a counter to the right of her and then glared at us. I sorta look back at her too and then my GF says "oh look, the sign says we gotta bag it ourselves".

So im like, OK. I can understand that this place can barely keep the freezers running so they're most likely trying to cut costs in general. I get that.

So I this is the further contents of the conversation.

Me : "OK, well can I get a bag to put this in?"

Woman : "uhm....no. You gotta buy a bag to put your stuff in"

Me : (PUZZLED....then looks down at bags under the shelf in front of me, then peers at $1.99 cost) "uhm....a little pricey dont ya think?"

Woman : "well, you can bring in your walmart bags, or hell .... just go in the back and get an empty box"

Me : (WTF look) "uh....I guess i'll just hold my food"

Then the woman actually puts our recipt in the basket in front of her checkout counter, so me thinking that she's going to be cool and put the food in the basket too - I grab the big new shiney chrome basket and I ask her -

Me : "Can I at least take the basket? :wow:"

Woman : "nah, duh basket stays here. But next time you come in, you can put 25 cents in the basket dispenser out front (I look outside and see a coin operated cart despenser similar to the ones found at the airport) and it will give you a basket....then when you're done with it you can return it and get your 25 cents back. Thats so that people will bring da carts back after they use them"

Me : "So let me get this right, you wont give me a bag that costs .01 cents for your company, but you have no problem about me taking your brand new chrome shopping carts for 25 cents."

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[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

Yea, ALDI's is weird. They're a foreign company and they just do stuff differently.

 

[Zakerid 10+ year member]

Yea, ALDI's is weird. They're a foreign company and they just do stuff differently.

i thought they were owned by Walmart //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[deLeo 10+ year member]

yeah they are cool though... cheap food yedigggg goin 2 give walmart a run on soda chips and canned goods cause they just moved in across the street

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

i thought they were owned by Walmart //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

No, I think they are actually German, which could be why Wal MArt has had little to no success in Germany.

 

[deLeo 10+ year member]

No, I think they are actually German, which could be why Wal MArt has had little to no success in Germany.

x2 they are german, my grandma loves them (she was born in germany) go figure. LoL!

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

They have lots of off-brand stuff, pretty cheap prices. One of my old friends used to shop there alot, and she always bragged about how good the stuff was... we never found much of it we liked. I got some bratwurst there once and ended up throwing it out because the skin was so tough you couldn't bite through it. lol You had to use a knife to cut it, and when you put it on a hotdog bun, it was inedible that way.

Other stuff... looked like a lot of cheap stuff that her kids would like (she had 3 daughters, 9, 10, & 11), but not alot for me.

When we lived in Europe we shopped at a place called LIDL, which was identical to ALDI in how it was run.... bring your own bags, deposit for shopping carts, etc. But everyplace in Europe was like that. LIDL seemed to have alot better stuff to me, though. ALDI is kinda hit or miss.... I think for college students who aren't too picky about foodstuffs, or for poor families in the same boat, it's prolly a lifesaver.

 

[vgeek 10+ year member]

Biggs used to do the .25 deposit on carts, but stopped. There aren't any Save-A-Lots there? Those are always the best place and carry name brands, but are cheaper than even Walmart.

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

Biggs used to do the .25 deposit on carts, but stopped. There aren't any Save-A-Lots there? Those are always the best place and carry name brands, but are cheaper than even Walmart.

I've been in Sav-a-Lot like once, dirty store, and I didn't see a name brand in site.

 

[NightDrifter05 10+ year member]

They just opened a Save-A-Lots here but never been inside. Maybe I'll have to check it out if it's got good prices.

 

[vgeek 10+ year member]

I've been in Sav-a-Lot like once, dirty store, and I didn't see a name brand in site.

It depends on how the store is run. At home the Family Dollars and Dollar Stores are clean and safe, but in New Orleans, they're not. Maybe Michigan is just a dump?

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

It depends on how the store is run. At home the Family Dollars and Dollar Stores are clean and safe, but in New Orleans, they're not. Maybe Michigan is just a dump?

Lol, no, I have only been in 1 of them. Other than that I haven't really seen many of them. We all just shop at Meijer here.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

This thread delivers the lulz.

How you liking the new town, though?

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

It depends on how the store is run. At home the Family Dollars and Dollar Stores are clean and safe, but in New Orleans, they're not. Maybe Michigan is just a dump?

DINGDINGDINGDINGDING!!!!! What do we have for him, Johnny?!?!?!?!

Lol, no, I have only been in 1 of them. Other than that I haven't really seen many of them. We all just shop at Meijer here.

Actually yes, Meijer is da bomb up there... Wal-Mart blows, 'cause most of 'em aren't SuperCenters (the 3 I went to weren't anyways), and Meijer is just like Wal-Mart Super Center.... close as I could tell, anyways, but maybe a better deli section... I think housewares was nicer, too.

Only IMNSHO. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[vgeek 10+ year member]

Lol, no, I have only been in 1 of them. Other than that I haven't really seen many of them. We all just shop at Meijer here.

Yep, Meijers is where we go. They actually clearance stuff, especially clothes. When they wanted to get rid of the summer clothes, they had shirts for $2, shorts for $5, and polos for $5. All real brands too.