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Druid 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

UK shoppers, which one do you recommend?

Feel free to leave a comment for the reason why if you like. Thanks.

#shopping#Aldi#Lidl

Thanks everyone for the votes and comments. It's been interesting to read them all. I'll pop into the winner (Lidl) this weekend and check it out.

@druid love our local Lidl, the staff always seem much friendlier than any Aldi we’ve been into.

@druid Lidl has a better bakery section, and it’s biscuits are nicer.

@druid The cursed ratio!

@aegir Oh no! 😳 It must be "the will of the people". 😊

@druid I didn’t vote since i'm in #Belgium, but my take here is:

Lidl has the best prices on food esp. because of their recent 'zero waste' stickers. Also non-food prices are better & I like that there's English on the specs/docs, unlike Aldi where nothing is in English.

OTOH, Lidl has the worst communication.. forced CAPTCHA & staff can rarely give info.. and they're more persnickety about returns.

@expat Good to know, thank you.

@druid My memory was fuzzy.. I should clarify. It was Aldi that refused a return. It was a bicycle basket that broke a ~6 months after purchase. They had a right to refuse it since there was no warranty & the store policy is like 30 or 60 days (not sure). Apart from that Aldi cashiers have exchanged defective items without even looking at the receipt (they know their products).

@druid Lidl accepted all my returns (twice? i think), but they expect a receipt & always involve a manager, so it’s a little more process.. unlike Aldi where the cashier will just make a fast call on the fly.

@druid Also note both Aldi & Lidl have pricing inconsistencies when liquidating something but Aldi moreso as they just use an arbitrary price tag. Frog tape was €10 at one Aldi and €3 at another. Lidl is more consistent (20/30% off) but in one case I bought bike lights for €10 or 15 then found the same ones for €5 at another Lidl. They wouldn’t match the price but they refunded.

@expat That's strange. Very random.

@druid The closest Aldi to Key West is 110 miles. Whenever we go thru there on the way home from somewhere we stock up.

@druid As a non-UK person: is there a UK statute that limits the type and quantity of letters available to grocers names?

<imagining>
UK Grocery Naming Statute 4.2:
Grocery store names must be 4 characters long and contain the letters L, D, and I. You may reuse one of the consonants for the 4th character for free or, if you pay double tax, you can get another vowel. But 4 letters is all you get.

@gairdeachas Sshhh! Don't give our government ideas for additional taxes! 😂

@druid as you will be aware...Home Bargains is my favourite, but as this isn't an option on your list, I will go for Lidl.

I always feel like my life is in peril every time we go to an Aldi... trip hazards and general awfulness abound and the whole place makes me feel angry...not good.

Lidl is neater in general and staff actually aknowledge our existence, most of the time.

@druid I voted Lidl because the one near us is newer than the adjacent Aldi and also quieter. And the pastries. I like Aldi as well but I don’t often go there.

@druid The bakery is a bit better and our one seems to have a better charcuterie range too.

@aegir @druid Yeah, I voted for Aldi but Lidl fresh bread is ace.

@brad@chez.gay @druid Both of them are fantastic for beer though. Not that I drink much now 😔

@aegir @druid Aldi do a nice alcohol-free one. Blue label, longneck, six pack. Can’t remember the name.

@druid UK adjacent, but I prefer Aldi. Their stuff just seems... better. Can't really explain it. Except for fresh fruit and veg which always goes off before you get it home.

@druid
I go in both and they have many similarities, but I'd say Aldi is better for plants (sometimes), cheeses and frozen vegetarian/vegan goods.

Lidl has a better bakery and its special food items can be quite good - especially the recent Italian run.