Expensive bargains from Aldi

[ QUOTE ]
Aldi Bangor?

[/ QUOTE ] Yes. Quite close to Dickies (which has its own car park) and the swimming pool (ditto). And there are at least four other car parks between it and the football pitch
 
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Giving them back just compounds your losses.

[/ QUOTE ] Yup. A few groceries for £63 vs a few groceries, a wet suit and compass binoculars for £143.
 
You'll be asked why you were there for over the 90 minutes which seems a lot for an Aldi store. Do you have a good arguement. Bearing in mind all the people you have notified will be reading this.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You'll be asked why you were there for over the 90 minutes which seems a lot for an Aldi store.

[/ QUOTE ] 1. I was stocking up with groceries for a trip to Ireland.

2. I hadn't been to Aldi for some time, so I was checking out all the other goodies on offer. For example, the breathable sailing jackets seemed excellent value, so I tried to find one to fit. Large was too big, small too small, so I went through them all in a fruitless search for a medium. Likewise, the sandals seemed a gift, but it was a job to find a pair that fitted.

3. I am a fussy shopper, and insist on reading all the ingredients before I buy food products. (Have you noticed how many manufacturers of bread put soya flour in with the wheat?) It should also be borne in mind that at Aldi, as at Lidl, the ingredients are usually listed in a dozen different languages. Finding the GB/IRL version introduces further delay.

4. I am an indecisive shopper. The time I spend choosing between different options increases with the cube of the number of options. I must have spent at least 5 minutes in front of the salami stand.

5. There was a long queue at the checkout. An additional till was opened, but not before I had got to the front of the queue.

6. The packet of silica gel included with the binoculars had burst so that when I opened the box, I had beads of silica gel all over the car. SWMBO isn't over-enthusiastic about my shopping habits, and has a keen eye for evidence of my profligacy. The search and destroy beads mission must have taken a good ten minutes.

7. Erm . . .

8. That's it.
 
Re: MD details...

as a point of interest, where did you get that data from, please ? I tried Companies House, BT, the Aldi site in German, to little avail.
 
Re: MD details...

I was under impression that new regulations were in place that said that a commercial website must provide the a proper e-mail address and contact telephone number on their website.

<span style="color:blue"> Information that must be provided

Regulation 6 prescribes that all business websites whether or not trading on-line must list the following general information:-

* Business name;

* Business address which must be a geographic address, i.e. street number etc. In other words a PO Box address is not likely to be sufficient; but a registered office address would;

* Other contact details such as email address and phone number;

* Its registration number and registered office address if a company;

* [Its place of registration if a company or a LLP. Please note this is a requirement under new regulations which were brought into force on the 1st January 2007 ]

* VAT number if the business is VAT registered;

* Details of any trade and professional body or scheme with which the business is registered and the registration number if applicable;

The required information does not need to be on every page of the website; however, it must be ‘easily, directly and permanently accessible’. Thus, it is advised that the website displays the information on the page of ‘about us’ or ‘contact us’ or ‘disclaimer and legal information’.</span>

Aldi, and Lidl, are very careful to make sure that there is no way you can telephone either head office or a store if you have a problem. I think that this is probably illegal, especially if you are disabled and cannot readily get back to a store to mount a complaint in person. It is also discriminatory as it discourages people from making a complaint if they are not comfortable with face to face dealings.

However, reading the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 Aldi could claim that they are not an eCommerce site, so don't need to provide contacts for direct complaints.

I have shopped at Aldi Bangor and didn't even realise that there was a parking restriction in place as there isn't one at any other Aldi I have been to.
 
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"On the specified date, you were the registered owner, keeper or hirer of the vehicle in question. As such, you are responsible to ensure that the terms and conditions for parking, as set down and clearly displayed in the car park, are complied with."


[/ QUOTE ]

I think my response to that would be along the lines of:

1. I was not in charge of the vehicle at the time.

2. As the registered owner of the vehicle I have no responsibility to ensure that the terms and conditions for parking, as set down and clearly displayed in the car park, are complied with.

3. I have no legal duty to advise you who was in charge of the vehicle at the time.

I am returning your notice herewith and suggest that you store it where it will not deteriorate due to solar activity.
 
I learned a long time ago that store managers are fearful of 'adverse local publicity' reaching the ears of their regional managers, and used this lever a couple of years ago when confronted with a similar issue in a Sainsbury's near here. The successful process followed may help a little.

That store had an established, published '2-hour free parking' policy and an NCP regime. My wife and I visited for a sizeable weekly shop, queued almost forever, loaded our purchases then went for a coffee briefly at an adjacent place on the same site. On return, well before 2 hours, a parking ticket. The permitted period had been dropped to 90 minutes, and was not prominently displayed.

Duty store manager couldn't help, but suggested a letter.

Our letter to the main manager by name indicated the change of period was 'deceptive, perhaps inadvertent', that we had used the car park for its legitimate purpose ( copying the timed till receipts ), that the checkout queues were much longer than normal and being mis-managed, and that the car park congestion was severe and also mis-managed.

It was also pointed out that my family regularly spent over £600 per month in his store and typically twice that buying petrol from his co-located filling station, and did he really want to lose over £21,000 of our custom annually and permanently over a parking ticket? It was pointed out that the manager of a competitor store nearby, when told of the problem, said "Come shop in my store. Park as long as you want. I want your business....."

It was suggested to the Sainsbury's manager that he exercise his discretion, before the letter was copied to his Regional Head Office and to the local newspaper - where many thousands would see it, and some react accordingly.

He was persuaded of the merits of the argument, opted for a quiet life, and had the ticket cancelled - plus a stores voucher for my wife 'for the inconvenience'.

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Putting me money where me mouf is......

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For Kate Aldred, Account Manager

( katealdred@kavanaghcommunications.com )

My family and I make frequent use of our neighbouring Aldi store in Wiltshire.

I draw your attention to the thread on http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1518172/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1 regarding the imposition of a resented parking charge, and request you inform your client of my intention to ensure my family make no more purchases at any Aldi store unless and until this imposition on my friend Mark Walker in Anglesey is resolved satisfactorily.

Sincerely,

B Baggins

[/ QUOTE ]


As I write, there are hundreds of forumeers online - and thousands may have read this thread by tonight. May I courteously suggest to each and everyone that we consider the power - well known to marketing wonks and PR peepl - of 'negative viral marketing' and use it now?

A simple cut'n paste.......


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It's not often that I'm lost for words. My sincere thanks to Bilbo, and to all the other helpful contributors.

Update: The Daily Post have kindly taken up the case, and after a long series of button-pushing responding to answering machines managed to contact the Stores Operations Manager, who promised their reporter he would contact me. I'll keep you posted.
 
Re: MD details...

[ QUOTE ]
as a point of interest, where did you get that data from, please ? I tried Companies House, BT, the Aldi site in German, to little avail.

[/ QUOTE ]Google is your friend.
 
Aw, shux.

C'mon guys - we're on the same side!

One good hard push together......!

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Hi Bilbo

Thank-you for your email. I have responded to Mary Walker’s email informing her that I have passed her complaint on to both Aldi and the PR agency dealing with car parking. I have asked them to respond to Mary’s complaint as soon as possible. Unfortunately I am unable to progress this any further myself as we deal predominantly with consumer product PR for Aldi.

I will forward your email on to both Aldi and the other agency immediately so that they are also aware of your position.

Kind regards

Kate Aldred

[/ QUOTE ]

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Hold on, everyone, I've just had a long conversation with the Area Manager, who has promised to get my payment refunded.

Perhaps understandably, she was defensive as well as apologetic. I'll spare you the apologies ("valued and loyal customer", etc.) and share some of the defence.

Apparently store managers do not have the authority to request cancellation of parking charges, but they can refer requests to area management if there is evidence that the parking "fine" (the Area Manager's word) was incurred in the course of bona fide shopping. The store gets 3-4 "enquiries" per day about parking charges.

As it happens, the Area Manager actually witnessed my conversation yesterday with the Assistant Store Manager (the nice girl behind the till that I referred to earlier). Bizzarely, she said that it was my calm and collected demeanour that persuaded both her and the Assistant Store Manager that my request had been dealt with satisfactorily. If I had been angry and abusive, the Store Manager would have been called to deal with me.

The Area Manager was clearly a little disconcerted that I had approached the press, and that the matter had been raised with the UK Stores Operations Manager. She was of the view that it would have been better if I had followed their complaints procedure, for which, reportedly, telephone numbers exist. My response was that their website offers no way of contacting Aldi other than by post.

The Area Operations Manager's point is well made, though. If one makes a request or complaint and is not satisfied with the response, one should perhaps say that one wishes to make a formal complaint and ask for advice on how to proceed.

I feel a bit sorry for the Store Manager, who has probably got better things to do than give a detailed account of his handling of a customer's pathetic complaint.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Bilbo

Thank-you for your email. I have responded to Mary Walker’s email informing her that I have passed her complaint on to both Aldi and the PR agency dealing with car parking.

[/ QUOTE ] Just to pre-empt any confusion, I have not had a sex change.

Mark Walker
 
Well I for one am extremely pleased you have had a result, not least because I have a predilection to buying anything in Aldi that is remotely garage/boat/diy oriented and was not looking forward to having to stage a boycot on your behalf. Visited a pal last week to ask if he could lay some bricks for me. Of course said he, 'does he need to bring his cement mixer?, asked his wife;
'No need, got one.'
'What about a welder?'.
'We are laying bricks'.
'I know' she said, 'but he's been to Aldi a lot recently'

I know the feeling well

HF
 
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