Americans in trouble with Aldi stores? WTF?

Kelly says that many Americans don't understand why they have to put a coin in an Aldi shopping cart. They mistakenly think this as a rental. They obviously don't know that they get the coin back after shopping.

If you're living in the US, what do you think (and feel) about Aldi stores?

 

Aldi stores are okay. Ain't been lately. I think the quarter for a cart is fine and it saves the store on Labor running down shopping carts.

 

We don't have any Aldi's here, but on the road I've discovered that Aldi has really good prices. If there are carts near where I park I run them up inside the store anyway, and at least put mine where it's supposed to go in the racks when I'm done with it.

I wish stores could impose fines on people who litter the parking lot. It often ends up in the waterways and then the oceans.

 

I think cart rental (for what else would you call it?) is perfectly reasonable. What prolly pisses people off is not having a quarter. I generally have no cash on me, and if i need a quarter, it would be a frustrating PITA to get one to rent a shopping cart. Folks are prolly less mad about the fee and more mad that 'i forgot a quarter again and have to either go find one now or shop elsewhere.' After a few times of this, they'll develope a negative connotation with the place.

 

It's not rental. You'll get 100% of your money back.
Aldi keeps none of it. I swear!

 

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It seems to me that after the first time they would know they need to bring along a quarter.

 

Aldi is okay; we go there sometimes.

I don't know why people think the quarter is a rental fee, unless they aren't bothering to go back and get their quarter. In that case, it's more like a restocking fee.

We always have a quarter in the car. When we get our quarter back, we just put it back in it's "Aldi quarter" spot.

 

plenty of quarters in the store's registers...

simply walk in and ask for change, most times the manager/cashier will just give you a quarter...

it's a non-issue

 

aldis is good, i like the single piece, vacuum sealed packages of steaks...

now lidl is here as well, similar concept to aldis...

btw, aldis owns trader joes... both are good stores and reasonably priced...

i have no use for a place like whole foods, especially now that amazon owns them... rip-off store

 

If you dont have cash though, it means you either gotta pay ~$2 at an ATM or go buy something with debit to get cash back at the register to get change with. I know- first world problems. But its still just enough of a pita that one might go to the other supermarket instead after a couple times.

 

only if they're extremely superficial...

here in ny, when i unload my groceries someone else just arrived and offers me a quarter for the cart so i dont have to walk it back to the corral, i always just give it to them without takin the quarter. i tell them to pass it along to the next person...

new yorkers are kool like that...

 

You should really see someone about your rapid memory loss. It's a little scary. I hadn't been to an Aldi in over 25 years, until a few years ago. It took exactly one time for me to remember to bring the quarter with me from the car the next time.

 

i don't have quarters in my car.

we don't have any aldi stores. if we did, it would literally be the only thing that I would need a quarter for.

 

It's not just Aldi, I think most of the big supermarkets here do that (or certainly have done in the past). I can sympathise with someone new to the concept since pretty much everyone here is familiar with it there won't be a lot of clear explanations for the system.

I don't know if Aldi does but some places you can buy a key-ring token for a pound that is the same size as the coin that works in the trolleys too. Probably a requirement as more and more people stop carrying cash.

 

Ok, well, I guess you just need to trust that hundreds of thousands of people are perfectly able to remember they need a quarter before heading out to an Aldi store.

 

I shopped at Aldi until a friend took me to CostCo.....That changed everything but the quarter for a cart was no big deal.

 

I dream of the day when the issue of whether we have to put a quarter in a machine to get a shopping cart is the biggest issue in a political forum.

If that is one of the biggest issues in the world we have to worry about, I think we would be able to count ourselves in heaven.

I think this takes first prize for pointless threads. That darn capitalist system where we have to part with a quarter to get a shopping cart. Even though there is plenty of other competition and options from other stores. And even though you can get that quarter right back if you're not lazy and willing to put the shopping cart back, like people are supposed to anyway.

Geesh, in my state you have to pay an extra 30 cent deposit to buy a 6-pack of soda.
Are we going to start a thread complaining about that?

 

The OP was asking about the culture in the US where Americans are fighting against a 25 cent rental fee and pointing out it's not a rental fee. Certainly not the most important topic in the world, but also, not a complaint.

Where in the PF rules does it say that the topic has to be extremely serious, politically, in order to be a thread?

Should we ban the "what's your favorite sandwich" thread, too?

I'm also very curious as to who forced you to read this thread? If I have no interest in a topic, I simply pass it by. I wonder why that's not an option for you.

 

What a useless store.

The first time I went there, I knew nothing about them. Yeah, no quarter. Didn't know I'd need one. Why? Because I've never needed one at any other store I've ever been to. I asked a cashier for change for a dollar so I could get a cart and she refused.

Seriously?

Second, their selection sucks. A friend of mine touted their meats selection. She swears by it. It was horrible. I was looking for filets and all they had was prepackaged, processed nonsense.

The layout of my local Aldi makes no sense whatsoever, and the lighting in the store is bleak.

I've no use for a place like that.

 

The only people who complain about it are fat lazy pieces of trash who are too stupid and lazy to take the cart back and get their quarter. I worked for Kroger 4 years and I know the exact type of people people who are too stupid lazy to walk 3 foot to put their cart in a cart corral after they get done using it. No one cares about these ****ing morons.

 

Aldi's a great chain; while not all of their prices are lower than Wally World's, many are, and they're the only competition for that massive chain. But hey, if you think paying much more at a Kroger''s or an Albertson's for a can of corn most likely canned at the same plant, go ahead and delude yourself that you're 'Speshul n classy' instead of just a moron fashion victim who can't save money.

While Sam's Clubs and the better option, Costco, are great, when there is only two people in your household buying stocks for 20 isn't that much cheaper or desirable with some goods. Costco has the better selection of tools and other stuff than Sam's does now, so I may drop the Sam's card next year and just use Costco after that.

I shop all of them for various products, some carry brands the others don't, Albertson's and Kroger's for instance carries two local brands of chow chow, and regional Mexican food and condiments, while the other stores have no idea they exist or even what chow chow is, they think it's some kind of Asian food. lol

 

Yes. They are small stores with small lots, and it's only a few steps back and forth, so no excuses. It keeps the lot cleaner, no cart dodging gymnastics and blocked parking spaces. Unless you're filling up your cart, no need to push it past the front door anyway; I shop with my bags in my hands and rarely use a cart.

 

I've never seen an Aldi store. Having to put a coin in for a shopping cart would be a huge turnoff for me. I'm one of those who if I put the coin in, I'd consider it as now owning the shopping cart and not only place the groceries in the back of the truck, but the cart also. After all, I bought it.

I don't think I'd ever return when I found out you had to pay to use a cart.

 

Will usually by pass Aldi as I tend to not have quarters or any cash and I always forget bringing paper bags. And I'm a bad guesser wondering how many bags to purchase when checking out. Sometimes I go as I like a few frozen items they have. But not usually.

 

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