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A comment on Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets. Parent comment

Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by MrsPeaches on Friday May 17, 2019 @05:28PM (#19943738)
> They can glance down and count how many of each, scan one, then hit the number pad for the quantity. I haven't seen the number pad used extensively at any other grocer.

I spent a lot of time in Germany in the 90s. Aldi (and Lidl) hadn't switched to barcode scanners and the chashiers were still typing in product numbers by hand.

I was always super impressed with the speed with which they typed and it certainly felt faster than the cumbersome bar code scanners found in the UK at the time.

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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by jvagner on Friday May 17, 2019 @06:08PM (#19944048)
Do American Aldi grocery cashiers sit?

That's what I noticed the most in German grocery stores. American cashiers stand, German cashiers sit.

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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by deathanatos on Friday May 17, 2019 @08:25PM (#19944810)
At the ALDI's I used to shop at in Tennessee, the cashiers sat. It was an appropriately high stool, sort of like the other poster mentions. (but they were definitely seated.)
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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by HeWhoLurksLate on Friday May 17, 2019 @06:15PM (#19944110)
The ones near me have a sort of stool thingy- it's for sure not standing, but it's close.
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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by troels on Friday May 17, 2019 @05:51PM (#19943916)
They stuck to it for a long time and the argument was indeed speed and to some extend ergonomics (the cashier doesn't need to lift up items). There is a system to it (100-199 is liquor, 400-499 dairy etc.), so it's fairly easy to memorise it.
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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by V-2 on Saturday May 18, 2019 @07:33AM (#19946848)
Still used for fruit and veggies - at least a few years back, in England. Up to 100 codes to memorize, but some would come and go every week or so.
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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by troels on Saturday May 18, 2019 @08:37AM (#19947067)
Yeah, but for those they have a cheat sheet next to the register.
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Re:Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending Ame... by V-2 on Saturday May 18, 2019 @10:14AM (#19947473)
It's not practical to use them in the long run, you pretty much have to memorize them to be able to meet the company standards for till speed. And memorization is expected by the management. At least that was the case when I used to work at Aldi's (in the UK, quite a while ago).
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