I hear it now and then when I talk to people (even friends).
I've noticed it in the comments section of online articles and other blogs I read and comment on.
And it's even happening here occasionally, though I hope you've never seen it.
I'm talking about the rude, nasty, and sometimes downright disgusting comments you sometimes read or hear when you talk (or write) about shopping at Aldi.
I ran across a blog post today that asks the question, Why the prejudice against Aldi?
I don't really understand it either, but I suppose it's like so many other things in life - we humans tend to be prejudiced against things we don't understand, aren't familiar with, or just haven't been exposed to. It's really rather senseless, don't you think? Why should a simple grocery store and the people who choose to shop there be the object of such disdain, ridicule, bile, and hateful comments? I don't get it.
As far as this blog goes, I'm pretty vigilant about weeding out and deleting anonymous comments left by trolls and troublemakers. But it's possible that you've seen them here too if you happen to be reading the blog before I've had a chance to catch the comment and hit the delete key.
I'm learning it's a balancing act that most every blogger deals with - we want to encourage dialog among our readers, so we need to make it easy to leave comments, and at the same time, by doing that, we open up the blog to whomever decides to come along, drop off a nasty-gram, and slither away.
If you've run across any random nastiness in the comments here, I'm truly sorry. I try to run a tight ship - "no spittin' on the floor, keep your feet off the furniture, don't talk back your mother", and all that jazz. But at the same time, I don't want to discourage the interaction and exchange of ideas.
We're coming up on a small milestone here. Before the end of the year, this humble little blog will have had over 10,000 page views! In the blogging world at large, that's no big deal - heck, some blogs get that many views in a single day. But it's something I couldn't even imagine when I started doing this back in late July.
But unfortunately, with the increasing traffic and attention, come more troublemakers too, and I'm getting a little traffic from some pretty dubious sources. So to provide a better experience here for all involved, including myself, I'm going to be announcing some changes in the very near future. Most of them will be behind the scenes, and shouldn't really affect the way you view and interact with the blog. Others will have a more direct effect, so watch for the announcements in the coming weeks.
With the holidays upon us, it may take some time to get all the changes in place, but I'll let you know what's going on as it happens - hopefully it will be a smooth transition! I'm really quite excited by this evolution, and looking forward to adding some features that I think you'll enjoy and find useful.
Which brings up a good question - what changes or new features would YOU like to see...?
- Do you want more product detail?
- More pictures?
- Fewer pictures?
- How about video - does that interest you at all?
- More price comparisons?
- An audio podcast?
- Recipes maybe?
- Head-to-head taste-tests?
Feel free to add to the wish list in the comments, and I'll see what I can do...
And thanks for your support over these past few months - we're just gettin' started!
-Jeff the Aldi Shopper
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI've encountered some people who look at me with disdain when I speak of the great bargains and the love of Aldi shopping. Sadly, some equate Aldi's with sketchy people, long lines, and having to bag things yourself. It doesn't matter to me; I love the unusual foods and things you cannot find other places. If you go at the right time, there is no problem with the lines and there are no more sketchy people there than any other store. Aldi's rocks!
I have a couple of suggestions for the blog... Is there a way I can contact you directly with things I've tried that are not reviewed yet? I thought that would be a fun way to suggest things to post and it would also help keep the comments on-topic.
Also, you may want to enable comment moderation. I had to do it on the VanTrekker website. One person put something nasty about how badly I proofread (if I don't use bi-focals). Another put an obscene comment one time. If you moderate, you can review the comment before it gets posted. As often as you are on here, it would probably work out great for you.
I LOVE YOUR BLOG and enjoy being able to add a few thoughts here and there. Sometimes the Internet is doing crazy stuff and I have to log on as anonymous but will always put my name on any comments so you can see it's a legitimate goofball rather than a crank...
Take care and thanks for your blog! You've inspired me to eat more Aldi's which makes it more affordable to go out on Van Treks.
Bradford a.k.a "vantrekker"
1. Recipes: yes, please! :-)
ReplyDelete2. I'm against comment moderation. I'm part of a popular tech blog, where trolls are notorious. We delete comments as necessary, but in general I think that comment moderation can inhibit a dialogue from taking place.
3. Thanks, again, for the awesome work you're doing here!
Brad, the email address is: smartaldishopper@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear your ideas - thanks!
John, I'm really on the fence about comment moderation for just the reasons you describe. I certainly don't want to stifle participation at the very time traffic is picking up - I'm a firm believer in more communication, not less.
ReplyDeleteI participated in a couple of usenet groups back in the day that could get pretty hairy at times, but I know what you mean. At the same time, I don't feel obligated to provide a forum for that kind of destructive behavior. I really want to keep a family-friendly atmosphere here and stay on-topic.
Just not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I think recipes will be part of it!
I appreciate your input, thanks!
Hey Jeff!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work! I think that part of the prejudice about Aldi is simply ignorance. When ever I tell folks about Aldi, I always say that I think they actually "rent" the factories where brand names are made and that takes some of the stigmatism away.
Keep letting the folks know what is great at Aldi! It's obviously a great idea since your readership is growing!
I love a price comparison, so I vote for adding that to your blog. I'd also love to have you do a guest post for my blog sometime to help bring more traffic your way! Visit the Contact section here: http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/p/contact.html
Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Heather Bea, and I'll definitely be in touch through your contact form!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see recipes made 100% with Aldi products. And keep up the great work...we love your blog!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm thinking - thanks Michele!
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff, there are always people who want to spoil the party..... I tried your idea of adding the Southwestern Bean soup to rice and add a salad for dinner. I added toppings to the 'rice and beans' and it was good!
ReplyDeleteAs far as predjudice against Aldi, I hear it all the time, UNTIL the person actually shops there. Our Aldis range from great to ok, as far as cleanliness, friendliness, check out people THROWING THE GROCERIES IN THE CART, (they all do it to a degree and it drives me crazy). But the quality of the veggies and the price and taste of the cereal converts most of the friends I have, and then they, too, branch out and try different things. I am seeing WAY more SUVs, luxury cars and NONbeaters in the lot too. The stores are bigger, cleaner and better organized today and it just takes word of mouth to get people in the door
Whoops, I am having a problem with leaving comments on the blog, it won't take my google address...but that's ok, I have to remember to just sign my name...but that was about it for my comments...I think when people actually get in the stores and try it for themselves, some of the Aldi haters will go away. But ALL haters??!!!? That is just how they roll, making life unpleasant for all of us, just because......Rosie
ReplyDeleteHey Rosie - always good to hear from you! Glad you liked the soup and rice idea, I thought it worked pretty well too.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a couple of interesting points that I might try expanding on in future posts -
One is the perception issue. Like you say, once someone actually tries the product, they usually agree that it's a good value. Getting people to simply try it is the hard part. Like Heather Bea was saying, it's simple ignorance.
Another is consistency. The condition of the stores, cleanliness, and the quality of produce in particular, seem to vary GREATLY from store to store. In a perfect world, you and I ought to be able to go into any Aldi in the country and see the same level of cleanliness and same quality of products, no matter where the store is located. This is an issue all chain stores face of course, not just Aldi, but they've got some room to improve here.
Now, about those cashiers and how they toss the items back in the cart! Yikes! That seems to be a universal problem, and it rubs EVERYONE the wrong way. I got some insight into this by becoming friendly with a few of the staff where I shop. What I learned deserves a post all it's own, and I've got some tips I'll share too - stay tuned for that!
Thanks again Rosie - talk to ya later!
I've been reading your blog for quite a while without commenting, but this topic caught my attention! I don't understand the rancor towards shopping at Aldi. I actually had a lady say, "Aldi? Oh, you mean that cheap store with the "off brands". I was shocked! I've been shopping Aldi since they opened and I am a die hard fan of their concept.
ReplyDeleteAs for the blog, I love it! I enjoy reading what you have to say about the products and I like your ideas on the recipes. Great! Keep up the great work and I will enjoy any changes you make as long as you don't go private and start limiting your viewers. I hate when that happens!
TinyTex
I hear ya TinyTex!
ReplyDeleteComments like that lady made really make you realize the power of marketing doesn't it? She probably doesn't know that most of Aldi's products come from the very same manufacturers that make those national brands that she's used to buying. She may not mind paying more to pay for the big brand's advertising budget, but I sure do!
And thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you're finding useful info here, and I think the changes I've got planned will make the blog even more valuable to all us Aldi shoppers...
Come back and comment on anything, anytime - I'm glad you're here!
I stumbled across your blog by accident a few weeks ago but have read the whole thing and find it entertaining and informative. I do the vast majority of my shopping there (I am lucky to live less than a mile from the brand new store they opened in Springfield, IL--it's large, spacious, and very clean) and they're right, I save anywhere from 45-55%. I've had a few misses, but most of them are good buys. Never hear my husband or kids complain! :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent, cjay! I'm glad Aldi is working for you - it feels good to be saving that kind of money doesn't it? I'll tell ya, it's made a real difference in my budget...
ReplyDeleteThose new Aldi stores sure look nice. I'll have the opportunity to tour a couple of the new stores in Florida this February, and I can't wait! The stores where I shop are at least 10 or 15 years old - so I'm quite eager to step into one of the new ones!
I live close to aldis and I love shopping there I would love you to include all your suggestions I just am catching up on emails so hope that you can include these even one at a time.
ReplyDeleteJust mention to the snobs who turn their nose up at Aldi's the connection to Trader Joe's, "Boy Oh Boy" does that information ever change their attitude.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that too! I've also noticed how many more people are shopping at the Aldi where I shop. It used to be that I could go at certain times of day, and be one of only 2 or 3 people in the store - these days, it's ALWAYS crowded, no matter when I go!
DeleteI just found this blog, some good stuff. As for the ranting about how bad ALDI is, it's no worse than my local grocery chain. The prices and cleanliness are great, the products they sell are just as good or the same thing as the national brand. Whenever someone laughs at me for shopping there, I just laugh back and say I'm not forcing you to shop or eat the food there, I like saving money without the hassle of hunting, clipping or remembering to carry coupons, etc. so this store helps me do just that.
ReplyDeleteAs for "cashiers throwing groceries into the cart," I have two stores I frequent the most with three others a little further out I've shopped at in the past and NONE of them throw the groceries in the cart. They are hired to move fast by sliding the groceries off the conveyer belt, onto the scan pad, and into your cart but they never throw the stuff.
Why does Aldi advertise specials that are sold out when the store opens on the first day of the offer. Yes it gets people to go into the store but they are so angry at being cheated they dont stop to shop.
ReplyDeleteI just ignore the catalogue now and never shop there