Customer's rant about Aldi closing ten minutes early sparks debate
A mum’s online rant about an Aldi store denying her entry 10 minutes before closing time has caused a stir among shoppers.
The woman posted in detail about the incident on the Aldi mum’s Facebook group earlier this month.
“So the other day I went into my local Aldi to pick something up last minute. It was 10 minutes before closing time and they had switched off the entrance gate so customers couldn't get into the store,” she wrote.
“Now I get their reasoning and all that, but I personally disagree with it and I've never had that situation at any of their other outlets (I'm a bit notorious for visiting just before closing time due to my work).”
The mum said she was able to get into the Sydney store through the register line and was in and out in five minutes – but that the incident had annoyed her.
“If you're going to close at 8pm, you should expect that people will come in at the last minute and at least actually stay open until 8pm,” she said.
She called for Aldi to extend their trading hours because “there's always huge lines at the checkout at closing time, indicating that clearly many people experience the same time constraint to get their shopping done before 8pm.”
The customer asked fellow Aldi shoppers within the group if it was normal retail etiquette to close off the entrance before the set closing time, or if they’ve have similar experiences.
Customers defend Aldi’s closing policy
Dozens of group members leapt to the defence of the German grocery chain’s staff.
“That’s retail. They want to get out on time as they are only paid until 8pm. We do the same where I work. There’s nothing more annoying than customers coming in at the last second then we have to stay behind with no pay,” one woman said.
“From someone who worked in retail - I think this is acceptable! We all have families we want to go home and see, and just because the store closes at 8pm it doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole stack of jobs that need doing once customers have left,” another woman wrote.
Some others agreed with the mum, saying they would also like Aldi to extend their hours.
“Their closing times prevent many people from shopping there,” a mum said.
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