Great Value but somewhat inconvenient (Lidl)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Lidl
Date:	25/10/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great value, interesting products

Disadvantages: No baskets, looks untidy, some customers are awful

Lidl is a german discount supermarket which has made a big impact on the UK high street, whether you shop there or not they have probably had some impact on your shopping experience as they've forced the other supermarkets to think about pricing policies and cater for different markets including discount brands for people on a lower income.

Lidl's have a number of stores throughout the UK, my local store is close to amenities, has a car park behind it and is a reasonably large size.

When you enter the store there are no baskets so if you don't pay the £1 to get a trolley you have the inconvenience of carrying around your stuff which is off-putting and makes you spend less.

When you walk in there are cartons of fruit juice, many are in German but are cheaper than conventional stores and like European products traditionally contain more fruit, the tinned section is weak and the products do look cheap and cheerful, the bakery section is a small segment of bread and cakes, including some decent Stollen and other german produce.

For me the best parts of the store are the meat and cheese sections with a decent selection of meats including chorizo, kielbasa, frankfurter and other European delicacies, there are a number of dutch and german cheeses too which are interesting and great value.

The frozen section is good with a decent selection, but it does look poorly stocked at times, I like the olives and Mezze selections but I was put off recently when I picked up a jar of olives to find someone had unscrewed it and I got soaked in brine.

This for me is the big problem with Lidl's the stock is interesting and varied and damned good value, including the wine which has a nice selection, the problem is other shoppers who can be pushy and aggressive, there are always queues and some of the people in them are truly awful, i've seen fights, robberies, people abusing staff and other shoppers, I accept this isn't the stores fault but something must attract this element of shopper, be it the prices or lack of staff, I find I go to the store less and less because of this, not because of the products which can be great value with fruit and vegetables in particular being very cheap, but of varying quality.

Staff are hard to find and you have to pay for carrier bags, overall its good value but it can be a pain shopping here as its inconvenient and price based over comfort.

Summary: Great Value but somewhat inconvenient