Aldi finally reveals why cashiers scan your shopping so fast (2024)
Doing the weekly shop requires focus, a planned route around the aisles and resilience – especially if you’ve chosen to brave it on a Saturday morning.
But shopping at Aldi is a whole other ball game when it comes to checkout time.
In fact, the rate at which the staff scan your items and send them hurling towards you could be considered an extreme sport.
Whilst it’s terrifying it’s also efficient and the till operators may very well be getting gold stars from their bosses for being such speedy scanners.
And as we suspected there is a method to the madness, with Aldi hinting at the reason their staff scan items at lightning speed.
The supermarket confessed, when asked by the Mirror, that staff members were ‘encouraged’ to be as efficient as possible to keep those pesky prices down.
It also claimed its checkouts were a mind-boggling 40% speedier than rival supermarkets.
Honestly, if we have to suffer through a roast chicken and packet of biscuits practically being launched at us in order to get our weekly shop over and done with that much quicker – we aren’t mad at it.
But Aldi did admit that not everyone can take the heat, saying that it accepts some people may need to pack at different speeds and that its checkout staff are trained to speed up or slow down the rate at which they scan to match the pace of the shopper.
But the speed of the Aldi checkout staff is the source of great entertainment, and perhaps a little stress, on social media with countless shoppers sharing their experiences.
There’s even a dedicated Facebook page called the Aldi Checkout Challenge where people can ‘discuss tips, tricks and tactics to beat the formidable Aldi Checkout Operators’.
One stressed shopper wrote: ‘There’s just NO need for how fast they scan your s**t at Aldi. Stop firing co*cktail sausages at me Janice and calm the f**k down.’
Another posted: ‘Aldi should employ psychiatrists to stand by the stills to support customers who crumble under the pressure at trying to pack at the same rate the cashier is scanning your shopping.’
A distressed shopper joked: ‘Once again an Aldi checkout man scanned my shopping so fast it was already waiting for me when I stepped in store.’
But others shared how they rose to the challenge and beat the formidable cashiers.
One Tweet read: ‘What could you win a gold medal for? Personally I am undefeated at the Aldi checkout. I’m packing as fast as they scan without breaking a sweat.’
Another shared the highlight of their weekly shop, writing: ‘I packed so fast at the Aldi checkout that the cashier went wow and now my life is complete’.
An Aldi customer service representative was quick to reply, telling the shopper: "All stores currently have a 20-item limit on self-checkouts. "This change is designed to make it simpler and more efficient for you to shop with us. All customers can still use checkouts managed by our amazing colleagues!"
An Aldi customer service representative was quick to reply, telling the shopper: "All stores currently have a 20-item limit on self-checkouts. "This change is designed to make it simpler and more efficient for you to shop with us. All customers can still use checkouts managed by our amazing colleagues!"
"Aldi says that cashiers sit at the register because, according to their testing, it allows us to ring up items faster," Jonah, an Aldi employee who works at one of its Pennsylvania locations, told Mental Floss. "We are given reports at the end of each day for our ringing statistics."
Elaine Victoria has attracted a legion of fans across the world. An ALDI checkout worker has gone viral on TikTok after sharing a video of herself behind the cash register. German cashier Elaine Victoria has attracted a legion of fans across the world after being named the “hottest ALDI worker ever”.
On TikTok, Aldi customer Ciaran said: "Top tip: spread all your shopping out and it gives you time to bag it so they don't throw it at you." In footage from his TikTok, Ciaran is seen leaving impressively large spaces between each of his items preventing staff from scanning the items quickly.
If a regular product scans at a price higher than that displayed, you are entitled to receive the first item free.All subsequent items will be charged at the lower price.
When customers shop at Aldi for the first time, they may be surprised that the store requires a deposit of a quarter to unlock its shopping carts. If you don't slide the coin into a slot on the cart, it won't unhook from the row of carts in front of it.
6. Don't expect employees to bag your groceries. Groceries are placed into a cart waiting at the end of the register to avoid bottlenecks after each transaction.
Seasoned shoppers were quick to explain that the code related to GST on various items. “GST-free items are 'A',” explained one. “Items that incur GST are 'B'.” ALDI receipts have an A or B alongside each item.
Although retail sales are expected to increase over the projections decade, employment of cashiers is expected to decline because of advances in technology, such as the use of self-service checkout stands in retail stores and increasing online sales.
It is very hard work though, as I almost never left the cash register. Aldi is run by very few employees so many times you are up there by yourself, and also I was expected to do cleaning duties as well. There wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to really connect with customers or my coworkers which made me sad.
Both Aldi and Trader Joe's may be small in terms of the physical sizes of their stores, but they obviously please their customers — and they seem to be proving themselves as big trendsetters in the supermarket business. Both sister supermarkets have been expanding rapidly in recent years.
Yes, ALDI has a uniform policy that requires employees to wear the approved uniform while they are on the job. The uniform typically consists of a navy blue or black polo shirt with the ALDI logo, black pants or skirt, and a name tag.
It is very hard work though, as I almost never left the cash register. Aldi is run by very few employees so many times you are up there by yourself, and also I was expected to do cleaning duties as well. There wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to really connect with customers or my coworkers which made me sad.
Aldi staff must scan 1000 items an hour or face the sack, claims ex-manager. The job security of staff at Aldi has came into question recently in a report by the Daily Mail on its treatment of employees.
Basically - practice ! The more you use the cash register, the faster you'll get at processing payments and merchandise. Your memory will improve (subconsciously) - as you'll start to remember regular customers etc. You'll also improve your social skills by interacting with the customers.
"Please keep in mind while shopping at Aldi that the company functions on a hyper-micromanagement system," an employee spilled on Reddit. "Cashiers are timed for time BETWEEN customers, How long DURING each individual customer, AND whether or not you "pre-dipped" your card in the POS machine."
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