Married with two children, the little darlings!! Thank you for the R/R/C's, much appreciated.
Married with two children, the little darlings!! Thank you for the R/R/C's, much appreciated.
Member since:27.08.2008
Reviews:35
Members who trust:23
I'm not going to bore you with the history of the store as that's got nothing really to do with why you might shop there.
We had always shied away from Aldi because in the past they wouldn't take credit cards and we normally pay by this method to get points on our card. However, to attract new custom they now take all major forms of credit cards so that's a tick in my box.
The stores are springing up everywhere, yes, even in South Wales, and the mother-in-law (gawd bless her) remarked one day how cheap the fruit and veg was.
A few months ago, we went in, and the secret is to find out their delivery day for when the fruit and veg are put out. If you leave it too long, what's left is really shoddy and not that nice. Pick the right days and you are in for a treat.
The fruit and veg, apart from being of exceptional quality is also staggeringly cheap. An excuse in the past for not eating the requisite five-a-day is that such items are extortionate. I've paid over £3 for a bunch of grapes in Tesco, £2.49 for strawberries and £1.86 for a pineapple, 6 tomatoes 39p, for example.
In Aldi's, a decent pack of grapes will set you back 69p or 79p, strawberries £0.99 and a pineapple (deliciously sweet) a mere 42 pence. A bag of new potatoes 39p and a five kilo bag of potatoes 99p. I could go on and on but you get my gist. The savings are truly amazing and they keep fresh at home for as long, if not longer, than other supermarkets.
People have said you can't do a week's shopping there due to the lack of choice, and to some extent I'd go along with that but you can still pick up bargains in the household section and other areas. For example, a multi surface cleaner for 89p as opposed to around £1.49 elsewhere. OK, you don't get the branded name but we've found the quality to be every bit as good.
You get the usual chilled goods, meat, yoghurts, and an excellent freezer selection along with wines and other alcohol if that's what are you into.
Plenty of choice on the tinned items, pasta, breads, cakes and biscuits. It just about has what you's buy in a major supermarket but not quite the options.
Normally in the middle isles you get offers, ranging from electric chain saws (an everyday item!)to sewing kits, books and toys.
Another consideration is that some of the goods are of German origin. Don't let that put you off, as a friend of ours who is German, pointed out how picky they are.
You do have to pay for carrier bags, at 9p a shot, but they are very strong and we simply re-use them on our next visit.
A plus for us blokes is that becuse the store isn't as large as some of the other stores, you can whizz in and out that much quicker. Yippee.
There is a slight variation at the checkout. For starters, there's not many, and at best only two will be manned. The name of the game for this store is pass people through as quickly as possible. After scanning, the goods are simply put as they are into the trolley and you pack after you have paid, on a long row of shelving just behind the checkouts. It sounds difficult but I actually now prefer it to the usual method of bagging at the checkout itself.
Times are hard at the moment, so please, if you haven't tried Aldi, just give it a go, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the huge savings you'll make.
This review is also on Dooyou.
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Having Sainsbury's a few paces away from my house, I don't visit Aldi very often but you're right that it offers some real bargains. David
martinwi 19.10.2008 15:43
Great review. I was not aware they had started taking credit cards and a pineapple for 42p, super. Martin.
headcase44 17.10.2008 10:30
To be honest I have never rated Lidl as a place to shop as I like to do all my shopping in one go ( Hate shopping) and Lidl dont have a wide range of things. Having said that we shop at Lidl for work and I like their continental meats and cheeses... Aldi ... I did go to an Aldi when we had a holiday in Denmark and found it to be quite a nice shop... We have not got and Aldi near where I live.. Thanks. J.x
Oct 15th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
