Aldi wins !

 Reading the BBC report on this survey seems to indicate that value for money was the main reason for Aldi being the winner. However it seems to have very little else to recommend it, at least by this quote from the article 

"Customers criticised Aldi stores for being "untidy" and for a lack of staff availability, but rated them highly for offering value for money, according to consumer group Which?."

What they don't mention is the packing question which annoys a lot of people!!! I am sure, like all store groups, branches vary according to age and how they are managed but I would say that our nearest Aldi fits in with the Which description. It is not a particularly nice environment to shop in. I suppose at the end of the day you pays your money etc.

David

What we have noticed about Aldi /Lidl is that it all depends on the location of the store and how easy it is to recruit staff ,as with most supermarkets which then shows in how the store is run as they are always busy, especially on a Thursday when the next weeks offers tend to begin, in one of our fairly local Lidl it has just had the latest makeover with big upright cool cabinets, self serve tills and very posh public toilets

We like both Aldi and Lidl’s and like the fact they stock local products which is a bonus when seeking such produce when in foreign climes

My Mum struggles with Aldi DK, things at the tills seem strange to her, and I can fully understand others feeling the same. Agree that at times some of the stores look like a tornado has gone through. But like or loathe them, they have delivered a big kick up the pants of the mainstream supermarkets, and a lot of ideas from the two stores have been copied into places like Tesco and Asda in terms of offering items at bargain prices. Its a tad unfair comparing them in reality, they are so different. I think a lot depends on your personal diet choices as well.

Son who works for a "Part"of Tesco told us some weeks ago that there is going to be a "New" chain of supermarkets in the "pipeline",to take on the "infiltrators" I asked him are they going to "compete" then if succesful  go back to higher prices he just smiled 

Both Aldi and Lidl are very good on pricing, low overheads and basic store design no doubt keep prices down. We have a vg new Lidl in our nearest town, it's well lit, has customer toilets and easy parking. For myself, if I hadn't got a car I couldn't get to either of the Lidls in our area, no public transport passes in their direction from where I live. If I was on a restricted income I would be missing out on good value food. 

We have no loyalty to any of the supermarkets but choose to shop around for what we' like' rather than what is the cheapest. 

We don't have a Sainsburys or Waitrose but from what I've seen of them when away I probably wouldn't use them. 

Lidl and Aldi we were used to when living in Germany, Asda and Tesco are the biggies in our town with only a smaller Morrisons and M&S food.

We no longer have a fishmonger is town but we do have a fresh fish van from Arbroath, that comes to the village every week, we also have fresh butcher in the village but I've only ever used it twice in 27 years of living here. No green grocer either, so everything is pretty much bought through the supermarkets. I too like that that big multi buys are not supported by Lidl and Aldi, 1 melon or pineapple is enough at a time 

We are lucky as we have a good selection of  the main shops reasonably near to us.

Living about the same distance from 2 large commuter "villages", within 2-3 miles we have 2 x M&S, Tesco, Waitrose, Asda and Lidl, the latter being only a 5 minute walk away.

Then within 3-4 miles we also have Morrisons, Sainsburys and Aldi x 2,  plus another M&S.  One  Aldi and this M&S are right next to each other and very close to DD's house, which is handy.  The other Aldi is brand new and very nice.  Our Lidl store is small and old, they are looking for another location, but if they get this they may well close down this one.  Unfortunately there is no space where they are to enlarge the store.

Not a lot to  choose between Aldi and Lidl, we are more used to Lidl, but the 2 Aldis are much bigger so have a better selection.   We do find you need to watch the fruit and veggies for  damage, and often they do not keep well so we need to shop more often.

For special treats we use M&S  and Waitrose, buying the special offers the prices can be reasonable.  Not happy Waitrose are stopping the Pick your own Offers scheme.

Both Lidl and Aldi do scan you through the till very fast, but we just load everything back into the trolley and pack at our leisure.

Sainsbury's has just been caught out!

selling two almost identical Valentine cards.....

with love to my wife £2

with love to my husband £2.50

Naughty.

It is slightly ironic that apart from Mercedes and BMW the most famous German exports are Aldi and Lidl!!!! 

David