Lidl — Local services in Middletown

After all the hype around the opening of this store and hearing how it was a cross between Whole Foods and a discount discount grocery store, I had high expectations. The first thing I noticed was there are no prepared food stations. So don't go there expecting to walk out with a meal you can eat right away. Regarding pricing... prices on things like bread, milk, eggs, bacon were better than prices at regular grocery stores and in some cases better than sale prices at the grocery store. However, there were many other things about the same price as a grocery store and there's less variety. And there were things that were more expensive than at the regular grocery store. So if you are in 2 hopping from store to store to get the best price on different products, then add this to your list. If you prefer to conserve gas I wouldn't make this my only go to store.

Regarding quality... Since I went there primarily to check it out and I didn't have a set grocery list I picked up some a few odds and ends including cashews, a jar of roasted peanuts, and a bag of bulk pistachios. I also picked up a few things from the bakery. Pistachios were starting to go stale. They were little on the mushy side and not crunchy the way they should be. The bag of cashews was a great price, but they were very blah tasting, so I seasoned them and roasted them in the oven for 15 minutes... big improvement. I found the same was true for the dry roasted peanuts. I enjoyed the Cherry donut, but my husband did not care for it. He doesn't care for cake like donuts. The Mini chocolate pastry was disappointing. It totally fell apart when I bit into it and went all over the floor, so all but one bite went into the trash. The one bite did have chocolate in it but it wasn't very chocolatey. I always give every place to shots, so I will give it another try before I pass...

Prices are affordable however very low in-house stock., for example if a product is advertised in your local weekly circular that's on sale from Sunday through Friday limited 4 per customer the store may sell out on Tuesday of that week and the Lidl corporate office warehouse located in the State of Virginia won't re-order more of that product to finish out the advertising deadline date. The bottom line is if you don't get there on the day the sale starts you're out of luck and the store don't offer ring checks or substitute another item for the sale advertised price. "This is not good practice". If I drive 15 minutes to come purchase a advertised item on sale for that week an it's only the second day of the sale and product is sold completely out and won't be available before the sale date ends that's not good practice, you're drawing customers in your store for a advertised item with a very little amount in stock. "SHAME ON YOU LIDL". That's why everyone chooses to shop at their local Walmart stores. Lidl you are short changing your customers. I'm recommending that Home Office in Virginia requisition enough supplies for popular sale items so that every customer will have the same affordable opportunity to take advantage of the sale items without running out before the sale end date. "HELLO NEWS FLASH" This is 2019 and online shopping is beating you to the punch. That's why grocery stores are closing their doors because they can't keep up with the demands. Thank you for taking the time out to read my review. I'm a customer that witness this bad experience. Sale item too...

I guess I went there with very high expectations and was a bit let down. I had never been there before and will probably not go back. Their produce is just a tad cheaper than Giant or Acme without the variety. Their meats are surprisingly cheap, which was nice. Their store brand products are similar or higher in price than say, Dollar General, and if you're getting things like coffee, teas, toiletries, etc, or wouldn't make much of a difference.

I wasn't too impressed overall with the store, and I had a bit of a negative experience. Aside from the staff being a bit too apathetic and making it seem like you, the customer, is sort of always in the way, I found a nice but slightly dented roasting dish in the clearance bin, without a tag or price or anything. I didn't mind that it was dented, I assumed that's why it was on sale. I was so excited and got all the ingredients to roast a chicken but when I asked for the price, I was unable to buy it because it had no tag. The cashier didn't even try to ask a manager or anything to find out a price. It was a little odd. I've worked in retail forever, and if that were ever the situation, I'd always call a manager for confirmation on the price. You really shouldn't have an item for sale if you cannot actually sell it. So now I have a chicken to roast without anything to...