I've been wanting to shop at Aldi for a while now, since I first saw their direct mail flyer and their low prices. The store isn't all that close, being about twice as far as my local Kroger, but it is near Super Target and Walmart Supercenter, and I shop at them about every 2 to 3 months. Because of that, and being that I was over that way last week, I decided to shop in and see how the experience went. I had a reusable shopping bag that i keep in my car, but I forgot to make sure I had a quarter for the shopping cart. I had only planned to pick up a few items, so I ended up just putting them in the shopping bag, and because of that, I was limited as far as how much I could buy. I was also limited because I had to stop at Walmart after, and the temperature outside was around 95, so I couldn't purchase anything frozen or refrigerated. I was able to get some great deals, mainly on produce, but I also picked up some sugar at a better price than either Kroger or Walmart, and the fruit and vegetables were fresh, and good quality. I didn't see the non-food items in store that I've seen listed in the flyers, but I did see a leaflet for a computer, and it stated the flyer should be brought to a clerk, so the item could be brought out, I guess from the back of the store. The cashier had a stray shopping cart she put my items in, and I then bagged them. As I was leaving the store and preparing to return the cart to the stack, a woman came and took my cart and handed me a quarter. I left that in my car for my next trip. I still don't know exactly how the chain system works at the cart storage, but I guess I'll figure that out on my next visit to the store. I am also putting a few more reusable shopping bags in the car, so next time I can purchase more.
I do all my main grocery shopping at Aldi, I really enjoy the store, and in the last few years they have been really up-ing their game! I spend about 150 -200 dollars a month on groceries now thanks to Aldi (that is for 3 meals a day for 2 people). There shredded Parmesan cheese is really good, and I get there blocked cheese, it is a lot cheaper then most stores. I LOVE their produce prices, it is how I stock up of produce (I freeze a lot of my produce) when it is on sell super cheap there. I like most there meat but I get my hamburger from Dillions/Kroger instead usually! The chain on the carts just pop off when you push your quarter it
I'm bad at carts and a quarter, so I use a basket! Here in the UK it's a £1 coin or there are tokens you can use that work as well. Most people use those and there is a little hole so you can add a key ring to it to pull it out so you don't break your nails. With specials in Aldi and those stores, they put them out when they have space usually and they don't always have staff to do it, so they do it when they can. I find staff generally helpful, and the weekly buys go really fast when they are a bargain. Sometimes you need to go early and there is no harm in asking if the stock has arrived yet. Most are happy to do it as it means they have more space for other items.
Do you buy the tokens at Aldi @Theo? I wouldn't mind doing that. I usually keep a variety of change on me, but it so happens that I often use up all of my quarters in the air machine for my car tires, which is why I didn't have one on hand. I did make a quarter by 'selling' my cart that the cashier put my groceries in, to the lady I ran into in the parking lot, though. It didn't even occur to me until just now that I actually made a little money. Not that a quarter's a lot, but I'm glad I have it handy for the next time. I wouldn't mind investing in a token I could keep on my keychain, that would be handy for those spur of the moment trips when I don't have change. When you say Weekly Buys, do you mean the items advertised in the direct mail flyers? They definitely have a lot of things crammed into a relatively small space. I got a little bit of system overload when I walked in, especially since I only had the one bag to put my purchases in. I had to be more selective than I'd have preferred, but hopefully that won't happen again.
ALDI is a great store. I am ramping up on my use of this store as I am trying to find ways to avoid having to go to Walmart. Or at least, if I have to go, I want it to be quick and painless. ALDI is a great size and I whip in and out of there in no time. And their food is really good! I go to ALDI once a week, but what has been a quick stop for a few items, is going to become a more serious shopping stop.
Aldi has you using a quarter to get a cart to prevent theft of carts. It is supposed to help the store save money on replacing carts and then the savings get passed on to us. Also, it helps the store a lot because in order to get your quarter back, you have to return the cart so employees don't have to worry about putting carts away as often. I guess this also one of the reasons why Aldi can offer cheaper prices: because they are not spending so much money on buying carts or paying people to chase after them and put them back.
I'm surprised no one in the US has come up with a token that is like a quarter maybe because of fraud. Here we have pound coins and you can get trolley tokens given as promotional gifts on a key chain and that's how people have them. They are the same size as the coin as that's all the cart needs, a coin that is the right shape. Aldi here in the UK and Europe have begun to make fridges too, and kitchen gear like blenders and mixers, so you may get them soon in the US.
They do seem to have some really good prices on small kitchen appliances. I haven't paid that much attention to the brand names or specifics, since I don't shop there that often, but hopefully I will shop there more in the future. We do have what are called 'slugs' here, but I haven't seen one in years. Some people would use them in the laundromats years ago, and I'm sure there are people who still do that, but I haven't been to a laundromat since I moved here and bought my washer and dryer.
I've been rather pleased with my experiences with Aldi. They always seem to have something new, which is nice. I have had good luck with getting nice produce for very low prices (better quality and cheaper than at "higher end" grocery stores). I like the other stuff they offer as well. My mother has gotten some great deals on small kitchen appliances. She bought me a pressure cooker from there, which is nice. I love it. She just got me a small food processors as well, but I haven't tried it out yet. I've talked a lot about Aldi before, so I'll just add that it's cool to visit different locations too. Some have different items than others. I was recently on a trip to see my mother, so I stopped into Aldi there. It's huge. Way bigger than the one nearest me, so even more deals to be had. They also seem to have one on every corner up there (and unfortunately, they are few and far between around here). If I had one closer, I'd shop there all the time.
