We got a flyer in the mailbox, and thought we'd check it out. Hoo boy.
First, you need to have a quarter if you want a shopping cart. Really. You stick it in the handle and it releases the cart, and when you return the cart and plug it back in you get the quarter back. Don't have a quarter with you? SOL, sucker. We were lucky enough to have a guy come out who didn't mind giving up his quarter so the mister and our two kids and I could use a cart.
Secondly, virtually everything is store brand. I don't mind store brands, I LIKE store brands, as long as they're quality. These are not quality. Chocolate sandwich cookies had no chocolate flavor, more like a bland coconut gingersnap flavor but not in a good way. The mister got a couple different kinds of sausages and both were really, really bad--way too sweet, odd/wrong seasonings, and he got bone chips. Not gristle, but sharp little BONE CHIPS. Yeah, no.
Thirdly, one check out lane was open, and the rest were blocked, making it a long way around to the bathroom with toddlers. I ended up going out the exit and back through the entrance before I noticed one very small open path at the main doors where someone could slide through between flyer stands, though it was hard to see from the bathroom side.
Fourthly, no credit cards. Cash or debit card only. Even McDonalds takes credit cards now. What the hell.
Fifthly, if you want grocery bags, you pay eleven cents each, in case you want to pretend that you live in San Francisco. Also, everything is bag your own, which frankly I prefer to do myself anyway, but heads up. Take your own bags, fine, but we had no warning. We had some grocery bags in the truck so after the sullen check out lady tossed our purchases willy-nilly into another cart (requiring us to move said kids as well, SIGH) we at least didn't have cans rolling around on the way home.
Sixthly, the prices were not any better than Market Basket or Hinsdale Walmart (which is just across a bridge from Brattleboro), and so Aldi does not have any draw for us.
But I like to be positive, so um, it was clean? Yes. It was clean. Hope that lasts. read more