I live in New England, and awhile back our local supermarket (Market Basket) was on strike. We ended up having to shop elsewhere, and Aldi was one of the places we shopped. To be honest, I wasn't as impressed as I thought. I do have to say, the customer service was awesome. Everyone who worked there was very friendly and welcoming which is very rare to find nowadays. However, I feel like their selection was very specific, but at the same time, all over the place! (If that even makes sense) Maybe I should elaborate... I feel like while they had different items from a few national brands, nothing really made sense. One section would have cereal, then you'd go two aisles down, and it would be the cereal aisle again. They would have a large assortment of brands in one type of product, but then only one in another, or none at all. I felt like it was a bit disorganized with no rhyme or reason. I still feel like the supermarket is much more convenient. We did save on a few things at Aldi's, but not so much that I think I would go out of my way to go there. I definitely feel as though the major supermarket chains have more deals and more items to choose from. Even though Aldi has great prices, it's not worth it in my opinion since they don't have much to choose from.
I agree the food in the aisles is not great and you can't get all your shopping done there. But they do have all kinds of chips for around 1.50, you really can't beat a price like that. Tortilla chips for 1.00, pita chips for 1.79. You really can't beat prices like that and right there I easily save $10 by shopping my items there versus the regular store. Butter they used to have for 1.49. That's an amazing price. Eggs 1.49 cents. Bricks of cheese 1.79. Hummus for 1.89. Those prices you would never be able to match elsewhere. So I feel I save a lot of money by shopping there. I mostly shop the refrigerated and freezer sections at Aldi. All the other stuff I end up at Walmart for.
Aldi has the best price for milk in our area, there cheese is a good price also. Really basic items like coffee and bread we get from Aldi. but most of the items come from the larger stores. You can save money by going to Aldi butat Aldi and the other stuff I need the following week at the larger store so that I am not going to more than one store each week.
Aldi is just one of the stores I visit in order to get the best prices. I'm not keen on the tinned goods but the fresh produce is far cheaper than the usual stores.
I'm surprised you had good service when you went there, while I like Aldi in general, all the times I've been there the employees were stone cold, ignored you and would look right through you if you wanted to ask them a question or for help with something. I was almost wondering if they specifically train them to be like that, because at their sister company, Trader Joes, it's the exact opposite. Their employees won't leave you alone, especially the cashiers who chat up a storm with you. I'm happy though that both stores pay their employees much better wages than their competitors, so in that regard I'm ok with shopping at both. As for their selection, many of the seemingly off brand items that they carry are actually made by the name brand companies, but just packaged under another name. Perhaps some of the big brands got tired of manufacturing their stuff under an alter-ego brand, and just started supplying their stuff to stores like Aldi under their main brand. But that's why those off brand "Cheerios" taste so much like the real thing, for example. They will also carry some unusual non-food related items from time to time. About 13 years ago, I once bought an entertainment center shelf from them for like $80, lol, no joke.
Aldi is a little different in the US than the UK as there are more Aldi stores in the UK as they are growing. Market Basket is cheaper, but the quality sometimes is borderline of their own brands, so they are comparable, but Market Basket does do more specials and has more choice. It was my favorite place to shop on a budget next to Stop and Shop. I think in time Aldi will have more stores and it will force other stores to keep their prices lower.
Aldi is easily one of my favorite stores. It varies by location how the customer service and general cleanliness are, but I've never had an issue with the quality of the food nor the prices. Aldi is my baseline for price comparisons. I know when to stock-up - when prices are lower than Aldi! I also love Aldi's lack of selection. It makes shopping there a very consistent trip. No price comparisons to see which brand is on sale. I can make a list for my husband (in the order of how the food is laid out in the aisles) and he can hit it on his way home from work and do an entire week's worth of grocery staple shopping in 20 minutes. My ONLY Aldi complaint is that there isn't one closer to my house.
I personally prefer chain supermarkets over Aldi. Aldi has a few good items that are cheaper, but for the most part they only sell inferior knock off brands. And their prices aren't that great on the national brands that they do in fact carry. I would much rather just go to the local supermarket and have a better selection of actual name brand items rather than go to Aldi and get inferior products at a slightly lower price.
Honestly, I do almost all my shopping at Aldi. It's true that you can't get all of it done there. However, there is nothing wrong with making a couple trips if you are going to save a huge amount. I am very similar to you when it comes to shopping for groceries in that I get most of the basics and find whatever I missed at Walmart. I get my produce from Aldi too.
We're getting an Aldi in my area soon and I'm looking forward to it. I'm aware that they only have 5 aisles and only carry a limited selection of items, but I usually do my shopping at 3 different stores anyway, so I can just add them to the rotation and do part of my shopping there.
The only items I buy from aldi tends to be fresh fruit and veg. That's it. While I know that its probably one of the cheapest supermarket's around for other items, a lot of them I've found I'm not particularly keen on so I end up paying again from a different supermarket for a brand I know that I do like. There's certainly no harm in giving aldi a go but I wouldn't expect many people would be able to do a full shop there.
I love Aldi to be honest, maybe it is different here in the UK, but they have a huge and every growing selection and great prices. I do agree with you on the organisation thing though, it could be a lot better.
Aldi's is one of those places where, if you know the store and what it carries, you can run in and grab a few items that you need for cheap, cheap, cheap. And quickly! The trick is to know what you can get there so you don't waste your time looking for things they don't carry. It is THE place for milk, ice cream and just about any other dairy products. The produce section is really good. It's the only store I'll buy bacon at anymore because they make it affordable. You just have to shop it a time or two to figure out what items you buy that are worth stopping at Aldi's for. Without a doubt, there will be enough of those for just about anybody to do so.
Aldi is just a really good store to get cheap and quality things. I like to buy mostly dairy products from Aldi as they have the best deals there, but some other foods are not as cheap. Still, it is easily one of my favorite stores to buy from.
The last time I went to an Aldi (UK) I left the store feeling I hadn't been able to complete my shopping because the choice you see in other supermarkets wasn't there. For example, shampoo, pet food, some tinned food and frozen food - I wasn't fussed with the brands stocked. Also I don't like the way you have to put your shopping in another trolley at the till before then bagging it. In other stores you can do this in one go. However, their prices are really competitive and I find myself returning once in a while to save some money.
There have been a lot of Aldi supermarkets that have been popping up around my area, and I have never quite understood what makes them better than all of the other places like Walmart or Kroger. Kroger seems to have a good price on milk, plus they give you discounts on their gas whenever you shop their a certain amount of times. I choose Kroger over Aldi.
There have been a lot of Aldi supermarkets that have been popping up around my area, and I have never quite understood what makes them better than all of the other places like Walmart or Kroger. Kroger seems to have a good price on milk, plus they give you discounts on their gas whenever you shop their a certain amount of times. I choose Kroger over Aldi.
