Aldi – dispatches.

I am sure the powers that be had their financial reasons.

well last time I was at a Luminati meeting, Chipps was sat to the right of the CEO of CRC…..

Interestingly, that thread about “working at Chain Reaction” has been deleted. Not just closed to replies, but deleted

Is that true? If so, have STW HQ given an explanation?

Wasn’t Aldi one of the recent companies to announce they are paying the proper full fat living wage?

Lidl

Lidl did it first, then Aldi joined in. As far as I know they are the only two supermarkets paying the living wage. :D

I thought it was pretty lazy journalism. At one point they interviewed a disgruntled ex-employee who, funnily enough, wanted to slag off his ex employer, despite working for them for 11 years and not raising complaint during that time.

The only thing that really surprised me was the rule about working for free for 15 minutes before every shift, that was terrible.

From my experience Aldi branded food falls well below the standard of the brands they’re trying to copy. As an example compare their cinnamon cereal to the nestle version or their wotsit copies. Blurgh…..

Also cheeses me off when they compare their prices to the branded stuff at other supermarkets. Compare it to the value or better buy range and the price difference is minimal.

Also, they never have everything I need meaning I have to go to another shop and they don’t sell much veg/fruit loose meaning I waste food. Oh, and the whole bagging up on the windowsill?

I like to save money but Aldi is too much of a compromise for me. Saying that, they’re good for party food and the meat is half decent.

your probably right but then i wouldnt eat wotsits or cinnemon cereal anyway.

i tend to stick to the ingredients to make real food and i then work with the bagged extra fruit and veg – extra stuff and left overs… thatll be soup and smoothies then – or even banana bread. MMMMMMM

I don’t shop in Aldi for 2 reasons:

1. their own brands are complete rip offs of other companies’ products – simply ripping off a brand that someone else has designed and in most cases heavily invested in the promotion of is unethical.

2. Aldi take up to 120 days to pay suppliers. It’s not difficult to run a low cost business when your suppliers (in many case small companies) are effectively providing your working capital.

I was accused of dropping a pallet of jam in the warehouse and demanded to see the video footage and it went away quietly.

Are you me? That sounds very familiar.

1. their own brands are complete rip offs of other companies’ products – simply ripping off a brand that someone else has designed and in most cases heavily invested in the promotion of is unethical.

They all do that so where do you shop?

The blocked fire exit was the only major issue in the documentary.

I do sometime get annoyed at some of the very fast checkout operators or the shelf fillers who block the aisles and barge you out of the way. We top up our shop in Sainsburys which is over the road from Aldi and the staff behaviour is markedly different – those on the shop floor are like zombies and don’t appear to be doing anything of any purpose. Those on the checkouts are slow and insisting on asking inane hairdresser style questions about my day.
On balance I prefer the Aldi staff although some perhaps the speed targets shout be knocked down a bit.

This programme messed up and got you all confused Aldi are not selling out of date food. The L code is not the best before or use by date but in fact the date it was packed L32 06 for instance means it was packed in the 32nd financial week of the year on Saturday. They only carry over 20% of fresh stock maximum into the next day so In the morning all the stock left will go on top and is usually gone by 10-11am. They are able to deliver such no costs no because the quality is less but because the biggest cost to a business by far is personal cost so they keep this extremely low by understaffing stores and staff do twice as much work as other supermarkets. This is graded in productivity points. For instance an asda taking 100k would probably have around 40 staff to man tills and work delivery. An aldi 10-15 staff. This allows them to give you a high quality product at a low price. Lidl and aldi have pretty much an identically business strategy.

They all do that so where do you shop?

No They don’t. The Aldi own brand stuff copies the branding of higher value products. Tesco, Sainsbury etc have their own branding.

Can’t find the Aldi one but Lidl do the same

blatantly coppied and intended to deceive ——the hard of sight.

. Tesco, Sainsbury etc have their own branding.

Which copies the higher branding just like Aldi.

For example I bought a bottle of Aldi Anti-Dandruff shampoo as my Sainsbury’s one was getting low. They’re identical both copying Head and Shoulders.

No They don’t. The Aldi own brand stuff copies the branding of higher value products. Tesco, Sainsbury etc have their own branding.

Which? says and demonstrates different.
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/04/own-label-copycat-products-can-you-spot-the-difference-316370/%5B/url%5D
They’re all at it to a greater or lesser degree.

using a cylindrical tin for the bake beans shocking !

i also have a slight issue in that – i couldnt give a shit whats on the packet…..

scribbled on in a sharpie would do me so long as whats in the packet is of decent quality.

i also have a slight issue in that – i couldnt give a shit whats on the packet…..

scribbled on in a sharpie would do me so long as whats in the packet is of decent quality.

Snap!

tesco’s and sainsbury’s can’t do it to the same extent as aldi and lidl, but they probably would if they could, as they stock the branded goods and the own brands side by side, Aldi and lidl don’t stock the branded goods.

Which? says and demonstrates different

huh? Most of that is aldi and lidl, the examples from Tesco etc are hardly conclusive:

your probably right but then i wouldnt eat wotsits or cinnemon cereal anyway.

I don’t tend to either but they’re useful with us both working full time and Jr needing feeding on the hoof from time to time.

i tend to stick to the ingredients to make real food

As do I and that’s the reason I don’t shop at Aldi. Anything but the most basic herbs and spices are beyond them, as are a great many other ingredients I tend to use when cooking from scratch. If I wanted to eat meat and potatoes every day then Aldi would be fine but I like to push the boat out a bit further than that.

Out of interest, what does Aldi not sell which you need for cooking from scratch?

He must be a very exotic cook.

“To a greater or lesser degree”, also Sainsbury’s were famously done a few years ago for copying, almost identically, the Nescafe branding, so are probably treading lightly.
Picking Monster Munch is not conclusive either that they are not doing it. The truth is that they are as you so aptly demonstrate with the Carte d’Or. When rushing around the supermarket I would probably not realise my mistake until I got home.
Don’t forget they spend a lot of money on branding, there’s a reason why they choose colours, images, packaging materials, styles, etc.
Are you also immune to all marketing too?

Out of interest, what does Aldi not sell which you need for cooking from scratch?

It’s not much use for SE Asian cookery, but then neither are the mainstream supermarkets – I go to a Chinese supermarket for stuff like fish sauce, tamarind, etc. For day-to-day cookery it’s fine.

If you lived in Hessle and worked in Morrisons in Beverley then we may just be the same person. That’s quite worrying.

When rushing around the supermarket I would probably not realise my mistake until I got home.

That’s what they’re counting on. You’re not paying attention, you buy own brand by mistake. I guess they hope you like it and buy it next time.

Chainreaction employee reviews on Glassdoor also appear to have been deleted.

If you lived in Hessle and worked in Morrisons in Beverley then we may just be the same person.

Phew! We’re not.

Out of interest, what does Aldi not sell which you need for cooking from scratch?

Can’t remember exactly (Harissa and Garam Masala spring to mind. Got a feeling I couldn’t even get Rosemary?) but I went in a couple of times when ours first opened and came away without quite a few items on my list.

Some people on here seem to get very touchy when it comes to Aldi. If you’re happy shopping there then whoopy-doo, go for it. Simple fact is though that it’s a compromise over the mainstream and not one I, or many others are willing to make.

He must be a very exotic cook.

If you call not having meat, carrots and potatoes everyday exotic then yes, I probably am. :wink:

wrecker – Member

Out of interest, what does Aldi not sell which you need for cooking from scratch?

Fresh curry leaf.

If you call not having meat, carrots and potatoes everyday exotic then yes, I probably am

I must have a different Aldi as ours sells more than that.

Fresh curry leaf.

And you use that every day?

Aldi and lidl don’t stock the branded goods.

Pretty sure they stock ‘some’ branded goods – e .g. Digestives I think, certainly Tunnocks (alongside their own brand).

Fresh curry leaf.

Tesco and asda also do not sell this. I find all of the supermarkets crap for particulars. Fresh Jalapenos? non. Chipotle paste? non (both of which sainsburys claim to sell but are never in our HUGE Supermarket)
Aldi is OK. We don’t do all of our shopping there, but the quality of the food is easily as good as that from anywhere else, in fact it’s far better than anything I ever got from Ocado (which was utter shite).

Chipotle paste? non (both of which sainsburys claim to sell but are never in our HUGE Supermarket)

Our small one does. :D

how are aldi supposed to market their “weetabix” anyway ? they come from the same factory, I know the girl who handles the invoicing. Maybe a plain brown paper bag.

Aldi is one of the things I miss most from the UK.

Straightforward prices, happy staff, quality products, not paying for pointless endless choice.

I’m not sure looking at one supermarket chain gives a balanced view!

Our small one does.

That reminds me; I have just moved house. It has a smalley sainers around the corner. If they sell that stuff, I’ll shit.

My Local Aldi is further away than the closest Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, and is next to the closest ASDA, yet I will shop in Aldi before I would go to any of the others.

Really depends what your are after I suppose, if you are super particular that your Mars bars and Wotsits must be just so, then yeah dont go to Aldi and buy their versions. My fussy kids don’t like it in Aldi because their stuff is “different”, but if you are buying ingredients to cook with then it is definitely the place to go. All the stuff I buy from there is as good or better than the from the other supermarkets, but costs maybe 65% as much.

My guily pleasures are Toro Loco, Wiennerschnitzel, Taurus pear cider, and that Mather Ross (sp?) chocolate or is that Lidl, not sure? I also enjoy the “lets check out everything they have in the random lucky dip aisle” distraction from the shopping too.

Costco for the meat, Poundland for all the branded crisps and chocolates for the kids packed lunches

i know right klunk….

i have a packet of tesco wheet biscuits on my desk atm….

And you use that every day?

Of course not, I have to get it flown in from south west India and they only fly out on Wednesdays.

Bane of my bloody life. :(