Lidl — Local services in Bear

I was so excited for this store to open because I love Lidl's bakery, which I've visited in stores in Lancaster, PA and Middletown, DE. But when I actually visited this store it was a nightmarish experience that was the worst experience I have ever had in any supermarket.

The first thing I noticed was that this store has an unusual gate that closes behind you when you enter, unlike other supermarkets. It seems to be an anti-theft measure forcing you to walk through the whole store to exit, but it gave me a bad feeling, like it triggered feelings of being trapped and it seemed to point to the store's assumption that I was a shoplifter (when I have never shoplifted anything in my life.)

The store itself was underwhelming. I shop at ALDI regularly and I noticed that prices here were by and large about 20% higher than at ALDI. Some products, especially nuts, also have deceptive pricing and "shrinkflation" going on, with unusual unit sizes.

I shopped here anyway and got a full cart of stuff and was all ready to buy it when I got to the front. But there were no registers open. Only the self-checkout was available. But...shockingly, there wasn't even an employee manning the self-checkout. I have literally never had this happen in any supermarket ever before, not a LIDL or any supermarket. I normally only use self-checkout if it's a small purchase, I don't like doing it for a huge cart because it's inefficient and exhausting both physically and mentally. I thought, okay, I hate this, but it looks like I'm forced into this option so I'll just try my best.

The problem was that the self-checkout was SO glitchy. It literally glitched after EVERY item. And so after the first scan, I'm waiting for this employee to come out from the back of the store. He took his good old time. He did clear the error, but then I scan the second item, and it glitched too. Meanwhile there are 3 other customers dealing with the same problem. There was a long line. It was a bad situation. At the rate at which the checkout was proceeding, the thing glitching after every single item, it was looking like it was going to take 40 minutes or longer to check out, and I just can't do that, especially with a cart full of expensive frozen items like seafood that were already thawing.

I feel bad for the employee. It clearly wasn't his fault.

I told him though, if I can't check out at a normal register, I am going to abandon this cart. He didn't say anything. So I abandoned the cart. I don't feel bad about abandoning the cart. I was not trying to be a jerk. The company forced me into this situation.

I really think it is wrong for a company to keep their doors open if they don't have staff to check the customers out in a timely manner. It is also totally unacceptable to not have any registers open and force all customers into self-checkout...ESPECIALLY if the self-checkout is as glitchy as this one is, and if there isn't even a customer manning the station consistently.

I really hope Lidl can right the situation in this store. I am reading the reviews and it is clear countless other customers are having the same experience. I feel bad for the employees; it's so stressful to deal with a situation like this too.

Bottom line, Lidl needs to hire more staff or temporarily close this store. The status quo is untenable and frankly I'm really shocked that there weren't more customers abandoning their carts. The company needs to be punished for pushing its customers AND employees to the...

A wonderful Lidl store has opened in our town of Bear, Glasgow, which is in the New Castle, Delaware. Now, in this store, the management is focused on training people. The checkout lanes are never open, and everyone is forced to use the self-checkout. There’s no handheld scanner, so you have to move your items from the cart to the basket. The machine is very faulty and constantly glitches, which means the staff have to run around like Spider-Man from one checkout to another just to scan the code to activate it. The service is terrible, and the employees are worse. Today, I went in with four packs of water, which are quite heavy. There was a girl at the checkout who was XXL size, and when I asked her to help put the water on the checkout and then back on the cart, she said it was too heavy for her. I waited 15 minutes for a guy to come and help. Is there some kind of discrimination in this store that only men lift heavy things? I bet they get paid the same. It’s a dreadful store, and I’ll never go back. All my friends and acquaintances have also stopped going because of these awful self-checkouts. I’m really...

This is very personal from someone who does not like to do grocery shopping and the only place I went was Trader Joe’s, because I knew where everything was and of course, the great quality.! I love Lidl, prices are great, the quality is great, some staff are very friendly and super helpful, others do not care to greet back when you greet them. But I noticed that the self checkout registers are closed. Not convenient for busy people who want to get items, pay and get out. This morning I had three items and I had o wait 30 minutes in the line. People who do not like self checkout should go to the regular registers. The lady at the register mixed my items with the other person’s because she did not use the other belt . If I buy two bagels and butter why should I wait 30 minutes. A little disappointed! It was my perfect...