Real reason behind why Aldi staff scan shopping so quickly

Aldi has a banging bakery, the infamous middle aisle full of random oddities and extremely competitive prices.

But it's also famous for one reason that can leave shoppers feeling a little overwhelmed.

I am of course talking about the extremely fast cashiers.

When you head to the tills at Aldi, you need to have your wits about you.

You need to be on top form, because they sling those items through the till quicker than Usain Bolt down a track.

God help you when you're desperately flailing to fit everything into the bags you brought out from your kitchen cupboard.

They show no mercy, it's truly every shopper for themselves.

So why has Aldi developed this reputation for speediness in the check-out queue?

Pixabay

The supermarket have finally divulged the method to the madness.

Speaking to The Mirror, they admitted that their employees were encouraged to be as efficient as possible in a bid to keep their prices as low as possible.

According to Aldi, their checkouts are 40 percent speedier than other supermarket chains.

I don't know how you measure something like that, but I'd believe it.

Pixabay

However, Aldi did admit that not everybody packs their shopping at the same pace and that their super fast scanning isn't to everyone's tastes.

So employees are trained to slow down or speed up to the preferences of the customer.

The fast paced scanning has become a meme online, with many people making reference to it on various social media platforms.

Over on Facebook, there's a dedicated page called the Aldi Checkout Challenge where shoppers can ‘discuss tips, tricks and tactics to beat the formidable Aldi Checkout Operators’.

One stressed shopper wrote: "There’s just NO need for how fast they scan your s**t at Aldi. Stop firing cocktail sausages at me Janice and calm the f**k down."

Another posted: "Aldi should employ psychiatrists to stand by the stills to support customers who crumble under the pressure at trying to pack at the same rate the cashier is scanning your shopping."

A distressed shopper joked: "Once again an Aldi checkout man scanned my shopping so fast it was already waiting for me when I stepped in store."

However, some users boasted that they had triumphed and beat the Aldi checkout staff at their own game.

One wrote: "What could you win a gold medal for? Personally I am undefeated at the Aldi checkout. I’m packing as fast as they scan without breaking a sweat."

Another bragged: "I packed so fast at the Aldi checkout that the cashier went wow and now my life is complete."

In fairness, that would make my week too.

Ben Thompson