Probably it's a good things all supermarkets aren't exactly like 'Lidl'....and yet... (Lidl)

Member Name: worst_trip

Product:	Lidl
Date:	25/10/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sells discount storecupbpard, fresh & frozen, 'speciality' & special offer goods all quite cheaply

Disadvantages: The actual shops are a bit fluorescently-lit, warehousey-grim in style (but what the heck)

Hints and tips to improve your shopping expereince at the discount grocery shopping supermarket chain Lidl:

- Take a pound coin with you to release one of their shopping trollies. Lidl provides no baskets.
- In lieu of a basket (if you're not doing a 'big shop') you might do as other seasoned Lidl shoppers do, and try to use the flimsy cardboard packaging taken from some of Lidl's on-shelf goods to contain your shopping.
- Take some resuable / longlife poly bags with you. Lidl charges you 9p for a robust-looking polythene bag that'll unfortunately rip like tissue paper the moment you put anything in it.
- Be prepared to wait for quite a while to pay for your shopping. Lidl VERY RARELY has more than one till open at a time.
- Be prepared in advance for their super-speed-scanning process at the checkout; I believe the checkout operators are asked by the shop management to scan items through the till as quickly as is humanly possible. You'll need to enter a similar 'ready - set - go!' mindset before preparing to pack your up shopping (as if you were about to start running a race.)
(If all else fails and you fall behind with packing up your purchases, just sweep the whole lot off the end of the till and back into your trolley, to take away to one side after you've paid).
- While you can pay with cash or debit cards, Lidl don't accept credit cards of any sort.

- You can go on the Lidl website to find a list of shops near to where you are (searchable by town or postcode). This is a good idea because every week, Lidl sells a variety of 'special offers' - including all sorts of things like electrical items (TVs and laptop computers), clothing, gardening goods, household furniture, 'back to school' items and tools - that are usually pretty good / acceptable quality, and really good value.

For example my special offer Lidl best buys recently have included a 100% cotton double duvet set with two pillowcases for £14.99 (100% cotton! Have you seen what they charge for that elsewhere in the shops?) and this is the important bit - with a really nice, non-objectionable design; and 100% cotton inside and out, really nice quality gents' wax jackets for £20.

Looking for alternative outlets is often necessary because it seems clear that 'old Lidl hands', having found out in advance what the special offers are (it's on the website, also a newsletter goes round in the post, I believe), descend on their local shops like plagues of locusts the moment these types of offers open, to buy out all the special offer stock. I went early on a 'special offer Monday' morning once by chance and the place was noticeably, packed to the doors. Therefore if you've your heart set on something, chances are it'll sell out quickly, or only be available in the wrong sizes, so you'll have to go searching for what you want in other local branches.

All this and a whole range of cut-price (ie 'no frills') staples like pasta, oil and canned goods, as well as weird (but really quite nice quality) Itallian / Germanic speciality meats and olives and antipasti and such on sale at Lidl as well! I think it's brilliant!

Summary: Excellent European discount grocers