Lol. You put a quarter in the cart so you take it back yourself and ALDI doesn't have to pay for employees to do that. Probably saves them >$100k/store per year.

Doesn't every place ever have that?

I only have it at NoFrills.

I don't really understand the stigma regarding shopping at Aldi. I shop there probably once every 2-3 weeks and grab the stuff I like. Also it's awesome for things like big jars of artichokes at ridiculously low prices on occasion. It's not the only place I shop at, I shop at the other supermarkets plus farmers markets and butchers etc. Plus they have different nationality themed weeks so you can go in and buy food that isn't always offered at other stores, this is particularly great in rural areas. There are some things I have bought that I wouldn't buy again but that is exactly the same at any store. Lol snobs.

Hmmm maybe I'm just a poor

I have never shopped at a place where you had to rent your cart.

Loss/damage to the carts is just reflected in the prices of everything you buy at the other stores, so you certainly have.

Didace,

Come to Australia then because it's fairly standard for the larger chains to do this. You may get exceptions, for example the Safeway near me doesn't choose to do it.

Don't people take their own bags regardless of where they are shopping? I've done this pretty much my whole adult life. Still end up with too much plastic in my house.

FWIW, in Germany were ALDI is from, every grocery store chain handles shopping carts the same way.

Also no free plastic bags anywhere, same as at ALDI US.

They're about to phase them out here. It's way overdue tbh. I think the ACT did it years ago as a test run. How ridiculous lol.

California stopped free plastic shopping bags.

Then they learned homeless people used to **** in them. So now they just do it on the streets. And San Diego had a hepatitis outbreak from it.

Stupid California

Possibly trying to deal with the issues of homelessness might be a better strategy? Passing out biodegradable bags or having them at parks might help also. Don't you have public toilets in the US?

the problem with homelessness especially in the US, is we'd rather spend ridiculous amount of money on jails, prisons, etc. but we treat our homeless pretty ****ty in the us. homeless are better off in prisons, that's f'ed up.

there are public toilets but they aren't everywhere and they hardly have all the amenities a homeless person may need. like in the us you aren't going to see public urinals like you will in london in the middle of the city near pubs.

i've never been to an aldi but i've heard it's a pretty nice deal. it's very similar to trader joe which it owns. the quarter in the cart thing does make sense--but i would assume there are greater up front costs to the carts with quarter slots than the typical cart but since most of their customer base is cost conscious that the quarter system likely makes a ton of sense. and if you don't want to return your cart, i'll assume there is someone who would do it for a quarter.

I went there for the first time recently. I like it. My wife does not. The majority of what we buy on a weekly basis is basic fruit, veggies and a little meat. Aldis selections for those are adequate and at a substantial discount from other grocery stores. The lack of options means I don't spend as much time reading labels. I get in and out quickly.

I'm perfectly happy to let other people look down on it. It just means they won't be cluttering up the aisles when I go.

You'd think. That would involve politicians admitting that the economy is broken, the average worker can't afford to pay for a place to live, and there is a rampant drug problem. So in most West Coast cities they pretty much deal with homelessness by ignoring it. Then when there's enough public outcry about a particular camping area, the cops will roust it. Then it pops up somewhere else and it gets ignored again. But by God, keep that plastic out of the landfill.

No public toilets. Homeless people ruin them.

We do this for dogs.

When I went to London this winter, there was an Aldi on the walking route from my hotel to the convention center, and every evening on the way back to the hotel I would stop in and buy a prepackaged sandwich and a candy bar to eat back at the room.

It is not renting. It is deposit that you get back.
Ha! Another similarity. Similar patterns here.

I generally don't understand scoffing at trying to get a good deal. I mean..... clearly this dollar or two don't change your financial situation, but why spend more if you can spend less?

slight hijack, but prolly doesn't need it's own thread - anyone go to the Dollar Tree? I went there for the first time a couple weeks ago - got a box of Italian ice, some dried fruit packs - saw things like detergent and cereal - all for $1! I don't know where they get this stuff (although some if it is name brands.)

A lot of it is insurance write-off stuff. Good deals can be found, but your fellow shoppers make the Walmart crowd look good.

what's weird is the one I went to is in a very nice area

Not for long

This hasn't been true since about 1987. UK has a ton of great budget and mid-price eateries.

No it does not, it might have more than (arbitrary data point) 1987, but relative to most other European countries and Yanklandia its still a total utter wasteland. Which is something most travellers to UK will affirm.

Your observation could not be further from the truth.