Millions shop at Aldi weekly, but some rules might catch even the most dedicated regulars off guard. Some have been caught out recently, leading to awkward moments with staff having to enforce the policies.
The supermarket has been adding self-serve tills at stores to allow customers to quickly and efficiently pay for their shopping without waiting for a cashier. Yet, one ‘rule’ may not be common knowledge amongst all shoppers, reports the Daily Record.
One shopper, Janet, reached out to Aldi on social media to comment on the store’s ’20-items-only rule’. She said: “Since when did you have 20 items or less on your self-service checkouts?”
“There is no sign saying so. Be nice to know in advance which self-service checkout I can go to.”
An Aldi spokesperson explained: “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.”
Despite this policy being established for a few years now, its awareness seems to spread largely via word of mouth and social platforms. It has led to some uncomfortable moments between customers and staff when they’re caught off guard and often unintentionally breaking the ‘rule’.
Alan from Milton Keynes found himself at odds with this rule and aired his grievances online. He said: “I’ve always used the self service checkouts since they were installed, but denied access today because staff member said I had more than 20 items.
“In actual fact, I had 19. Doubt I’ll use this branch again, as waiting for usual till queues takes ages!”
When the rule was initially introduced, an Aldi spokesperson commented: “This change will make shopping at Aldi even simpler and more efficient for our customers and has been designed to further improve their experience in-store. All customers can still use checkouts managed by our amazing colleagues.”
Not everyone is a fan of self-service tills. Earlier in the year, it was reported that both Asda and Morrisons were planning to cut back on these automated pay points. Morrisons admitted it “went a bit too far” with the deployment of self-service checkouts and would be reversing its strategy concerning this technology.