What To Do If You Don't Feel Like Paying For Grocery Bags At Aldi
First-time Aldi shoppers may be a bit flummoxed by the store's processes and practices. For instance, the discount chain does not provide grocery bags but instead asks customers to bring their own from home or purchase a reusable one. Thrifty shoppers may balk at the suggestion and find that they don't have any bags at their disposal. In this case, one can simply look around the store to see if there are any empty cardboard boxes. If so, you're free to use them to transport your groceries.
Aldi prioritizes efficiency at its stores, which is why you don't see the standard displays you see at other chains. Instead, Aldi staff place boxes on shelves and open them to provide access to shoppers. Once these boxes are empty, customers can place their goods inside. Otherwise, Aldi would simply crush and recycle the boxes, so you're actually reducing the amount of work the staff must perform when you use them for shopping. If it's your first time visiting the chain, you should also be prepared for a slightly off-kilter bagging experience.
How to navigate Aldi's bagging process
At other grocery stores, staff members usually help customers bag up their items, which are then deposited into the cart the shopper used during the trip. This is not the case at Aldi, where cashiers will scan each product and deposit it into a cart that's sitting next to the register. Once the transaction is completed, customers are expected to move the cart to a special dedicated bagging area, and the cashier will move on to the next shopper.
Aldi's bagging area consists of a lengthy counter, which provides multiple customers ample room to transfer their groceries from the cart to a bag or box. In some instances, there may even be spare cardboard boxes waiting for you on the counter, although they often get picked up quickly by other shoppers. Establishing a separate bagging area allows Aldi cashiers to move customers through the line expediently without any slowdowns related to bagging. Staff efficiency also plays a role in another curious Aldi practice.
No quarter? No problem!
The lack of grocery bags is not the only cost-saving measure Aldi utilizes. It also asks that customers provide a 25-cent deposit to use the store's shopping carts, which is then returned when the shopper takes the cart back to the corral. By having customers return their own carts, Aldi can maintain a smaller, more dedicated staff, since wrangling carts from the parking lot and returning them to the store isn't necessary.
Even seasoned shoppers can forget their cart quarter, which can leave them in a bit of a pickle. According to Reddit, Aldi anticipates this issue and offers an alternative to ensure a stress-free shopping excursion. As explained by a commenter, "You can walk up to a cashier and ask for a quarter," as staff are permitted to disperse up to $5 worth of coins to customers without quarter deposits for shopping carts. It's just one of many methods the discount chain uses to make the experience as pleasurable as possible. While Aldi likes to do things differently, customers can easily find accommodation in the event they run into a snag when shopping.