An absolute basket case

THOSE who shop at the Lidl supermarkets nearby will have experienced their recent total makeover.

These are the two stores about 300m from each other at Seven Sisters (SS) and Stroud Green (SG) Roads. Practically all their product lines have been shuffled around and about.

In the bigger SG store, the only kind of basket now available to shoppers is a large cart on wheels that one tows around. Obviously intended to encourage punters to spend more by filling it up.

The route to the checkouts is now tucked away and is hidden behind a huge Wall-of-Booze. The new layout appears intended to keep people in the shelving area for as long as possible.

• Once in the cramped SG scanning zone, frustration continues:
• Some shoppers are likely to bring their own bags and the notice about placing Your basket (ie. Lidl's Trailer), may confuse some
• The sign indicates that their unwieldy contraptions need to be lifted up onto the only-just-wide-enough platform alongside the scanner
• Good luck if you are not strong and your trailer is heavy!
• Once having paid, in order to open the SG exit-barrier you then need to scan your receipt (operates like an Underground ticket barrier)
• Finally, SG have done away with their previous, useful packing-shelf

Not all of these changes have been thought-through, or are customer-friendly.

Although altered, Lidl's new checkouts are still better than the execrable checkouts at SatansBusy, which in the last few months, has also had a makeover (wisely, Satansbusy ditched their massed ranks of posters shouting GREAT PRICES on either side of the middle aisle. Unwittingly, these were more truthful than intended).

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Lidl's smaller SS store has also had a makeover, but at least they retain the handy-sized hand baskets.

This week, I pleaded with the (helpful) SS manager not to do away with their sensible baskets. He said that they were told not to hold more than 20.

The art of the deal: I suggested that if he would keep regular baskets available, then I would switch my "business" to his branch. 

We fist-bumped and it was a Deal, a trade deal concluded at better than Trump speed!

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PsuperMarket Psychology—Lidl and Aldi have been undermining the business model linked below, but here is the past (supposed) slight embarrassment of buying supermarkets' own premium brand and the utter shame and humiliation of buying budget economy value-lines.

Excellent analysis by a possible Trump-refugee: 

Girl Gone London .

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