Where do I begin? I guess we can go back to the beginning, where it all started. It was approximately 5:30 PM when I got the phone call from my mother. In her old age, she had forgotten to get sour cream for the taco casserole she was making and knew I would be in the neighborhood. I agreed to help my mother get her lite sour cream. To complete my promise, I decided to stop at my local Aldi. I thought to myself "Aldi is quick, convenient, cheap, and I can just run in and out" ... I would soon discover; this would not be my reality.
I entered the Aldi with haste. I found the lite sour cream my mother desperately craved for her taco casserole and approached the registers. On my arrival, 2 out of the 3 registers turned off their glowing lights indicating that I could not proceed to those cashier's lane. Which was understandable. At this time, there was only one lady in line at the open register and I would stand patiently behind her. The lady in front of me was sweet, kind, and apologetic that she had so many groceries compared to my one item of 86 cents lite sour cream. I reassured her it was no problem and she had nothing to be sorry about.
Once the cashier finished ringing up the lady's items, the total reached ~$124. The lady was in a panic as you see she only had $90 on her. The cashier started voiding off items to get the price lower. Every so often the manager would have to confirm the voids the cashier was doing, and the voids would continue. The lady was in a panic, embarrassed. As all this chaos was going on, the manager advised the other cashier to open up. I thought to myself, "This is it! I can finally buy my 86 cents lite sour cream and be on my way!" ... Again, I would discover this would not be my reality.
Instead of calling over the next customer (me), the manager was allowing people who were just approaching the line swarm to the next lane like cattle.
I was crushed. Defeated.
I look ahead to see the lady and cashier are still deciding on items to void off to reach the lady's goal of $90 (with tax). It was going on 9 minutes at this time of me waiting in line to get my one item of 86 cents lite sour cream, seeming to be no end in sight. Finally, the total came down and the lady was able to hand over her cash in exchange for her groceries. At this point, I was livid. I was waiting for the cashier to apologize for the wait to tell him how unacceptable it was that I was not even considered to be the first in line when they opened the next register lane up. However, this never happened.
I walked up to the cashier... lite sour cream in hand... handed it over to the cashier along with my one bill for payment to which he replies "Is this all for you today?" ...
So that brings us here, now. I did not yell at the cashier, or the manager. I did not ask why I was not automatically moved to the next lane when it opened. I just paid and left. However, I knew my story had to be told. You may be asking, "if your experience was so bad, why are you still leaving two stars?" and that is simple, I always appreciated a good deal. Just not poor customer service. read more