Empty store shelves & self check-out at Aldi

Ha! Too right mate.................. The food is just unreal. The only thi ng I eat is that cheeze and chilli pizza in the green box for around £1.29 from memory. Pretty much the only thing in Aldi that tastes like food.

Her indoors loves M&S too! Holy smoke it don'y half taste good. I used to state all the foods in our supermarkets are rhe same, bar the packaging. yet after trying Marks bickies I've come around to realise there is a difference. She got into that Waitrose place too, oh my life, it is a little pricey too, drop her off at the doors and head over to Lidl over the road

a reply to: ancientlight

Since self check outs have come about, I have been using them. They are fast and I prefer them over real cashiers. I have social anxiety and these were a God send. I have been using them since my late 20's. I don't have an issue with them at all.

a reply to: DaRAGE

I use canvas bags when I am shopping for the week, but when I buy a few items I use plastic. It doesn't cost me anything to use plastic. I reuse them for my bathroom trash cans.

a reply to: ancientlight

This has been coming for years. It is the result of the push for the $15 an hour minimum wage. Personally I like the Self-Checkout. I don't have to stand in line, wasting my time, while some cashier talks to his/her friend about BS. I get in and get out. The little bit of labor I have to do is nothing compared to the time I save.

a reply to: marg6043

My wife worked for Fresh Market and although a bit pricey they do have one of the better selections and quality of food items. I used publix on the east coast but out west it is Smiths for the go to. I don't even bother with aldi anymore because there isn't one near me. Honestly I eat out most of the time because neither me or the wife have much time to cook or motivation to after work. Most of the perishable things went bad after no one cooking for a bit and I realized I was wasting a good third to half of my grocery bill to waste. Might cost a bit more but I don't waste a large portion of my food bill now!

There is reason for deep concern. Here in Central Illinois where we live most shelves are stocked. There are some that are empty. We have no illusion; This will most likely not improve.

You are correct. People are flocking to the self checkout. Those who support this support the continued loss of jobs. Soon though, we may have no choice other than skip your burger or go through the self check. Most of those jobs are going to be lost

I remember before barcode scanners came out. The checkers were indeed very fast, and had memorized the price of every product in that store, punching it in on the register one item at a time. So fast.
Then…

The bar codes came into play, and one at a time stores began to transform. Now nothing is punched in and one can easily realize the stores were able to lay off a certain amount of checkers. I hope folks remember that…..Jobs were lost then, and now we see it happening again. Soon...no checkers. Lay off of checkers began a long time ago. And now it is near complete.

It goes beyond this folks. We went to our favorite fast food franchise to get a burger. They had transformed to kiosks to order and laid off a number of their workers. If you go somewhere where any business has laid off workers by going to technology, you are supporting the layoff of those workers, regardless of whatever business it may be.

We wanted that burger so we went to a store and got hamburger through the regular check out. Then we went home, and grilled our own burger. Better than any burger joint.
We have not gone back to that burger place since. And even if they go back to the way it was as they are indeed losing money, We will not go back because it is a matter of the heart.
If they do it in the dry…Will their hearts change when it rains?

So empty shelves….yes. Checkers laid off in leu of Self Checkouts yes. happened before...and now getting worse.
Eventually these businesses will all transform and we will have no choice. It is coming, but until then we say..."Sorry, we don't dance".
Consequences.

a reply to: ancientlight

Thankfully we have a local grocer that still can get product, especially meats. I haven't been able to get big box Tyson or Jennie-O products in months.

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

No Lidl here, otherwise I'd check them out. I will have to go back to shopping more at Publix.
That's off course what these dirtbags want, that we spend more and more just to be where we were a few years ago
Publix is more expensive , but I will have to, I cant' stand lefty Aldi anymore.

originally posted by: starlahazelnut
a reply to: ancientlight

Since self check outs have come about, I have been using them. They are fast and I prefer them over real cashiers. I have social anxiety and these were a God send. I have been using them since my late 20's. I don't have an issue with them at all.

I have social anxiety as well, but I will do anything I can to stand up to tyranny. Because this is not about 'saving money for the CEOs' (groceries are just going up regardless), this is about the push towards the so called 'fourth industrial revolution' Klaus Schwab talks about it in his book/videos

originally posted by: JIMC5499
a reply to: ancientlight

This has been coming for years. It is the result of the push for the $15 an hour minimum wage. Personally I like the Self-Checkout. I don't have to stand in line, wasting my time, while some cashier talks to his/her friend about BS. I get in and get out. The little bit of labor I have to do is nothing compared to the time I save.

All planned with the same end result : to be able to push towards the 'fourth industrial revolution'

a reply to: billxam

How much of that is a result of the bird flu culling along with farm fires that have killed tons of animals and destryoed lots of farm infrastructure? I have seen a lot of poultry at my local grocer switch brands as well as almost double in price. I think some of the Brands being gone are due to this.

I also think in some cases the empty shelves is due to just lack of people to stock them. I shop at Aldi for some of my grocery needs and the availability relies heavily on who is working and when you go in to the store. I have seen the same thing at Target. I used to very rarely see employees stocking shelves as it was done off-hours and now it is a common occurrence as well as having empty shelves there. I am not a Target fan but for some products I don't have many other options that are better.

On the topic of the self checkouts my Aldis do not have them (yet) but most other stores do. The close Target I frequent has 14 lanes of regular checkout and 4 lanes of self checkout. Of the last dozen times I have been there I have never seen more than 1 regular lane open. The other Target I go to is the same but they have had 2 lanes open but have maybe 9 self checkouts.

originally posted by: DavidsHope

You are correct. People are flocking to the self checkout. Those who support this support the continued loss of jobs. Soon though, we may have no choice other than skip your burger or go through the self check. Most of those jobs are going to be lost

.......
It goes beyond this folks. We went to our favorite fast food franchise to get a burger. They had transformed to kiosks to order and laid off a number of their workers. If you go somewhere where any business has laid off workers by going to technology, you are supporting the layoff of those workers, regardless of whatever business it may be.
......
So empty shelves….yes. Checkers laid off in leu of Self Checkouts yes. happened before...and now getting worse.
Eventually these businesses will all transform and we will have no choice. It is coming, but until then we say..."Sorry, we don't dance".
Consequences.

I have edited your post simply to address the main point that I will be stressing.

Many stores in my larger area and other businesses as well have had a difficult time hiring staff, which has been the case for years. Long before Covid, ads on the radio for positions that paid well, good benefits and lots of room for advancement, especially in larger stores and bigger businesses such as manufacturing etc. But, there is lots of manufacturing in the area and lots of competition for businesses in hiring workers. And even fast food workers which start out at $15.00/hr in many and have for a few years, have a difficult finding staff.

But my point is, self checkout and kiosk ordering is simply a matter of survival for many of these businesses AND maintaining customer demands of product. It isn't a matter of replacing employees with machines. And trust me when I say meeting customer demands. It is slim pickins to find things within a 50-75 mile range here in central USA because in the midwest, there are times when product availability is few and far between because of the lack of companies offering it. And having to drive sometimes over 150 miles to get specific items is just BS and many would go without. But I digress.

Self checkout is necessary in order maintain product availability to consumers because I have seen stores close down and it isn't pretty to lose yet another option of purchasing choices. Of course now, there is Amazon but hey, that's another can of worms.

a reply to: StoutBroux
The himan cashier is not disappearing yet. But the best counter will get the job, for some odd reason even with the computer doing all the calculating, some dimwits just want figure out how to habe a balanced till at the end of the night.

Many cities here in florida are just getting more crowded with refugees from authoritarian states. Some businesses are just getting way more volume, and need a way to kind of deal with overflow. Hip digi folks can quickly do their simple few items while us cash payers wait for the cashier. Its not like we didnt all grow up waiting in lines.

But i shop at a lot of small businesses who do not even have these devices. I enjoy meeting independent business owners. Probably the only benefit now of living in a growing successful city, there is lots of competition and options. Indream of the days when i have the resources to retire in the mountains. It feels better knowing more than half my spending goes to smaller entities not directly under the globalist corporate umbrella.

a reply to: ancientlight

Imagine being so lazy you take the effort to write such a lengthy post complaining about bagging your own groceries.
Just shop somewhere else, no one cares, not even those employees at ALDI, Karen.

originally posted by: Overd0sed
a reply to: ancientlight

Imagine being so lazy you take the effort to write such a lengthy post complaining about bagging your own groceries.
Just shop somewhere else, no one cares, not even those employees at ALDI, Karen.

Where in the bloody h*ll did I complain about 'bagging my own groceries' ? I know that's just an absolute lie or you're unable to read/comprehend

To help you out , I complained about the self check-out as it's part of the 'fourth industrial revolution' that Klaus Schwab from the WEF talked about extensively. Also, job loss and we won't be paying any less for our groceries even though we're doing a cashier's job.

originally posted by: Overd0sed
a reply to: ancientlight

Imagine being so lazy you take the effort to write such a lengthy post complaining about bagging your own groceries.
Just shop somewhere else, no one cares, not even those employees at ALDI, Karen.

Do you realize that in every reply you make on this forum, you sound like a narrow-minded-frustrated little man?
You never, ever, agree with the OP's, every conspiracy is 'not a conspiracy', and you call just about anyone a 'Karen'.... what are you even doing on here ATS?

a reply to: ancientlight

About the self checkout, I was wondering... you moved from Europe to the US. Do they do the random checks there as well?
Over here there is always an employee over seeing the self checkout and randomly he picks customers, who then have to unload everything so he can scan it again..
That is the one thing I hate about it, because usually it is me who gets picked...

a reply to: ancientlight

My GOD, no ORGANIC EGGS?!

The Aldis around where I live only ever have one check-out, and they don't have any self-checks. the Wal-Marts and other bigger stores are all more focused on self-checks, with only one or two aisles open with actual cashiers. Its because there isn't anyone to work those jobs- just talk to the people who work there and you'll learn a thing or two. Don't have to be so reactionary or think the sky is falling.

But, chicken little, Aldi's is a store based on using as few workers as they can get by with, which is how they have lower prices usually than other stores for competitive goods.

Right now, we have a major problem with staffing across most careers and jobs. In my experience in emergency med and corrections, we're struggling hard. Be grateful that people show up to work at your local jails, or show up on the ambulance when your me-maw is having the biggun'

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
I refuse to use self-checkouts because I want to interact with a human.
Those humans also need jobs.
I have never shopped at walmart either fwiw.
We have the power to stop things.
we should use that power sometime.

I periodically go to Walmart and eat at the Subway there just to watch vast array of human beings who come through the door. All manner of cultures, intelligence, dispositions, etc.. Everything from Crooks to Well-Off people who are praying nobody they know saw them come in, lol.

Here in the UK, self checkout aisles have been common in most supermarkets for years now. Funnily enough though, Aldi is the only one near me that DOESN'T have self checkouts.

Personally, I prefer it. It's faster and you don't have to deal with the often surly staff (not that I blame them. I did my stint in retail as a student. It's a thankless, underpaid job and you have to deal with moaning and often rude customers all day).

In my local ASDA (Walmart), there are now generally only 1 or 2 serving staff on, but there are about 14 self serves for baskets/small quantities and about the same number for trolleys. Most supermarkets have even gone a step further now with self scan, where you carry a barcode scanner around, scanning the products as you shop. There are another 10 checkout machines for these.

Having said all that though, there does seem to be a correlation between the reduction in serving staff and the quality of the customer service. I remember during my days working in shops (late 90's/early 00's) being told to be polite, smile, welcome the customer, say please and thank you, offer to help if needed, offer to pack their bags etc etc. These days you're lucky if you can find anyone to help and if you do, they act as if you're nothing but an inconvenience!

Like most things today, it's all about quantity over quality... convenience over conscience. And, like most people in this world (in the west at least), I'm a complete hypocrite when it comes to my own participation. Take Amazon for example; I hate them for the way they treat their staff and the way they use bully tactics against smaller companies who know they can't survive without them and because they don't pay their way in taxes, along with many other reasons. It doesn't stop me from buying stuff from them, because I know they'll probably have anything I need and I can get it fast. It doesn't stop me from having a Prime subscription because I like getting my stuff faster and with free shipping. Having the Prime TV and Prime Music is handy too. Not only that, but I currently work as Operations Manager for an online retail company. We sell primarily, although not exclusively, via Amazon!