So I'm on a quest for whole buttermilk for a recipe. My nearby Shoprite didn't have it, only lowfat. I'd been wanting to check out this Lidl in my neighborhood for awhile as it's closer to my house than Shoprite and this seemed like a good excuse.
First time in the store; it's bright, new, great, the bakery looks cute and had lots of fresh cookies which I'm thinking my kid will love, so I'm already thinking 30 seconds into the store that yeah I gotta come back here.
But do they have everything I normally buy at Shoprite, i.e., could I start making this my main grocery store? So I take my time while strolling back to the dairy aisle taking stock of what I see in the fish aisle, the meats, and so on. I never touched a thing, just looking.
I get to the dairy aisle and all I see in terms of buttermilk is the lowfat kind. Dang. So I take out my phone to double-check the recipe to see whether lowfat can work. It can't. But that's when I notice I'm being SURVEILLED by an employee, earpiece, the whole 9 yards, just leaning against a case pretending to play with his phone. I move a little bit, he moves a little bit. Jeez, this guy really is watching me and FOLLOWING ME AROUND THE STORE. Why did he single out me over all the other customers? Who knows. I guess I should have dressed more like a yuppie just to go grocery shopping. I still hadn't touched a thing in the store.
Anyhoo, they don't have what I want so I turn to leave. As soon as I'm past him he darts up the aisle next to mine. When I get to the front of the store, yep he pops out of his aisle at the same moment, darts past me and turns again to stand and watch me, got the whole Secret Service vibe going on w/ his earpiece and phone at the ready to call in the SWAT team I guess. I walked past him and let him watch me walk out of the store. I wonder if he watched me get in my Jeep and drive away...to Acme.
Won't be going back to Lidl and definitely won't be taking my son there. I guess this is how they do things in Germany but I ain't shopping in a store that's run like a police state and wants to run around flexing that muscle in front of the customers.
So if you're only out for one or two things, DO NOT GO HERE. Or if you do, PRETEND to be shopping for lots of things. Grab a cart and throw a few things in it and keep your head low so no one suspects you, even though you're doing nothing wrong. And for god's sake don't stop to appreciate their selection. read more