ALDI — Local services in Gadsden

Aldi's his exactly as advertised it has discount groceries some novelty items that you don't see in other stores delicious meat department quite surprising The Black Angus steak is really good and that a good price I love their vegetables mostly the fruits and they are always fresh inexpensive and tasty I don't shop there for my main items but I do get a lot of specialty things from Aldi's plus of course fruits and vegetables keep up the good work . A short update for Aldi's 122622 prices remain reasonable fruits and veggies are most likely the best combination of selection , quality and price in town. They also have some very unique selections of meats including black Angus beef. Sandwich meats and cheeses are a great variety. This trip had a very rare treat our cashier obviously was striving for high efficiency and accuracy. She mentioned something related to scans per minute . While we were scanning our card she had begun staging her next order while still being attentive of us and the completion of our transaction. I mentioned something about her efficiency and she stated that she had only been working there for three weeks. If my store this young lady would be that I would make every attempt to retain and also find a way to clone her this type of personal drive is no longer seen with the new hires and we that are not only tolerating this deterioration of our workforce we are doing nothing to increase efficiency the lack of productivity is simply being passed to the consumer as increased overhead not tolerance of laziness of our new hires and complacence of our management. I would give this cashier maximum ratings 5+ stars. Average workforce 1.5, management staff that know better would get 1vstar .The business owners and shareholders should be ashamed we all should be attempting to improve this before it is too late The economic theory I learn says this cannot continue with a collapse of the economy as we know it My apologies for the soapbox rant The cashier was to have been...

I had never been in an Aldi's before, so.....my first time in it, was a learning experience. #1 I have NEVER had to pay a quarter for a shopping cart. (I actually laughed outloud, because, I didn't have a quarter!) An employee,was outside & asked if everything was ok? I explained,I was a new customer to Aldi's & not having a quarter..... She immediately said"Welcome to Aldi's "& gave me a shopping cart! #2 Really was surprised at the selection of unusual items isle (That's what I would call it.) A different variety of items for you (clothing,slippers, etc) Your pet (Dog clothing, food dishes,etc) Your child (Backpack,toys,etc) Your home (Decor, Blankets,etc) It was a nice surprise! My favorite isle!! #3 If you find a favorite product, it might not be there the next time you shop.... #4 Expect the lines to be long... #5 They don't provide bags, unless you want to buy them! (So bring your own) #6 As they ring up your items,they place them into a different shopping cart. (You leave your first cart & take the second cart) #7 They don't bag your groceries for you. (You have to bag your own...) #8 After paying you push your second cart to long shelf, against the wall,across from registers.... (This is where you bag your own groceries.) #9 After unloading your shopping cart, you then bring back to side or front of store & return it,to get your quarter back..... (This was fun!) You have to push shopping cart, all the way into other carts. Then take the little red,key looking thing & insert into the slot in your cart....to get your quarter back.... LOL!!! Talk about a learning experience! LOL! Employees were helpful & friendly. All in all, I really like shopping at Aldi's! I'll be back again! Sorry, no...

New layout is nice, seems to be more room on the isles than before the remodel. Various sections are labeled now which makes items easier to find. Larger entry/exit makes coming and going easier as well.

Update 8/27/19 (this update comes a few months after the original review above):

At a return visit about a month ago I began to notice prices seemed higher. They used to be priced a bit cheaper than Walmart. So a week or so later I made sure to create my shopping list on my Walmart grocery app and at a return visit to Aldi I compared the prices. There were literally only like 3-5 items that were cheaper than Walmart and Johnson's.. and that's saying a lot because I always thought Walmart and Johnson's were a bit pricey.

I'm guessing with the updates to the store came increased grocery prices. And seeing as I have to drive 25-30+ min just to get to an Aldi store.. well it's just not worth it for milk, bread, gravy and such.. because those were basically the only items cheaper than Walmart (and those were all only cheaper by literally a few pennies aside from the milk which was about 30 cents cheaper).

I'll drive 10-15 min to the local Walmart or Johnson's and pay that little bit more for those few items to save on the bulk of my other items (pantry stock: canned and boxed goods, snacks, etc..). Also, Aldi doesn't carry very much of a canned good or boxed selection anyhow.. never have.. and what they do carry isn't any cheaper than Walmart or Johnson's.

So I'm adjusting my rating to compensate for the continued limited selection of canned goods, etc.. and for the increase in prices (which I'm sure a lot would admit they started going to Aldi because they had...