yes...agree....give me TK Maxx...I hate the clothes here...!
am going to try your Bergerac wine! we bought the steaks because the label made it look like 1.99! we were extolling the amazing flavour and tenderness when my husband fetched the bill...and we saw it was 7.99.. but considering it was the best steak we had eaten since we came here...3 years ago...it was worth it!
Grande Frais fab...fruit and veg...all good quality..bought some cherries when last there and they lasted 5 days...out of the fridge and were gorgeous....the same price as the market ones which were partly off when I bought them...had to throw half of them away...
Carol...we obviously have similar tastes.We always buy the Cremant de Limoux from Lidl too!We've also just started buying an extremely good Bergerac rouge 2011,priced at about 1.49 euros! We saw those American steaks in Tulle Lidl last Thurs but didn't buy them as they were expensive,but if as you say,one is enough for 2 people,then we might go back & buy some! We also start our shopping trips in Lidl & then move on to Auchan or Le Clerc.We do buy in Grande Frais occassionally,but the nearest 1 to us is in Brive which is about 45 mins away.I do love that shop tho'...everything looks,& is,SO fresh.
from my experience here...absolutely right Hilary....on the plants...I have bought kiwi plants, wisteria, honeysuckle, clematis..apple and plum trees and they were all dirt cheap and thriving...I bought an olive tree there last month...fantastic...3.99 and its bigger and healthier than the one I bought at a garden centre for 15 euros!......in the UK I use all the supermarkets...like M and S for most foods....use Waitrose for the unusual bits...Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda etc....though of this lot prefer Sainsburys. In France I have tried them all....both in the Dordogne and the Languedoc and frankly....weekly I go to Lidl first...get what I can there...then onto Grande Frais...for the best fruit and unusal veg and dried fruit...asian products...then off to LeClerc for the bits I couldnt do elsewhere....its taken me 3 years...but thats the weekly pattern now. I do some market shopping, but had some rubbish fruit that has gone mouldy overnight...so dont do that now. Yesterday I bought American large steaks from Lidl in St Cyp...not cheap...7.99 each..but each was big enough for 2 peeps....OH and I had them last night..they were superb...melted in the mouth..better than steaks from M&S and Waitrose...for what...£6 each??? fabulous value..hoping my Lidl in Bergerac has some in...oh..and we buy our Cremant de Limoux from Lidl for 3.99...the nearest fizz to Champagne..and as good as any fizzy in the UK we pay £10 for.....love Lidl!!!!
Well,we absolutely love Lidl!Their choice & quality of wine is excellent & amazingly cheap,for starters.So many 'wine snobs' we know have criticised us for buying wine in Lidl,saying it must be awful,but soon changed their minds when they have tried it! We also think their vegetables & fruit are better quality than alot of supermarkets,cooked meats & cheeses are also very good,along with various tinned/bottled/dry packed produce,which are half supermarket prices. As for the 'weekly crap' we have bought some excellent products over the years & my husband who does masses of D.I.Y. says to tell you that the tools he has from Lidl have been used continuosly & have not broken or fallen to bits!(that also includes electrical items)Paint,which is notoriously expensive in France is very reasonably priced & much better quality than you get in most brico outlets.On a final note I bought loads of cheap geraniums from Lidl & Aldi this year & my boxes & pots on our terrace & patio are a riot of colour!We are in (19) & shop at Lidl/Aldi in Tulle,Brive & occassionally in Limoges & all the stores are tidy & well stocked.I do,however,agree about the check out queues!!
yes, noisy children are one of the regular not so funny occurrences in lidl.
i was never allowed make noise, scream, or run about as a child, and cannot abide by it. I've actually dropped my basket and left on a few occasions.It just raises my blood pressure, and I just remove myself from what I see as a stressful situation.
Still, you get the odd well behaved child, smiling, or tugging at your sleeve to show you a flower.
that is impressive....I always offer people with a couple of items to go infront...but they are often taken aback...refuse and appear suspicious of my motives! maybe a different custom here and not common but in the UK common practice...especially if there is a child involved...one making a lot of noise...!
an oven, Carol, i don't think our store even has a mop bucket on wheels, lol.
I doubt it's a franchise, I feel like if it were, we'd see more of an actual owner, and a better work ethic like the local one where I grew up, and they also have a bakery.
something I like about the carrefour here is that if the cashier sees you only have one item, she calls you up to the till before putting the family sized trolley through. it's just... more personal.
are they franchises? our Bergerac store has just had an instore bakery installed...with baguettes at 49 cents...which are gorgeous...lovely cereal bread, croissants..pasties etc...and the store smells of baking bread all day...the baking oven actually in an aisle so you can see it baking... We are at our holiday place in St Cyp Languedoc...different experience in Lidl...but lovely one again yesterday...I had about 20 items and the mum and child behind me had one...I turned and offered her to go in front...and she accepted but the cashier had already rung through 2 of my items...the cashier said..oh...no problem...took the money from the mum....then continued with our purchase...magic!
wow. I wonder if moving to another area solely because of our lidl is an idea. The checkout has a really long loading area, so, before you're "checked out", you can (if the person in front moves alongside their shopping, and the person behind doesn't push you through the window with their trolley) load up in plenty of time before getting to the till, but then, the space for bagging is TEENY WEENY tiny, ridicule. They pile all our stuff up, making it imposible to touch or handle anything without a jenga-like game starting up, and oftentimes, ending in picking yer pack of bacon, screwdriver set, and cycling gloves up off the shopfloor.
Then they hand you the ticket, and both the cashier and the person behind give you a dirty look for still being there, even though you're still playing jenga with your items that have not yet fallen to the floor.
i once had a cashier push my little pile of shopping in a way that had a bottle of cheap and cheerful bordeaux fall to the floor, smash into peices, splatter all over old lady in white pants behind me. A scene was made, and I was the person being accused from all sides. Lady in white pants told me she was taking my details and either sending me her pants to clean, or the drycleaning bill, lol, and cashier was none too happy at having to stop checking people out, and start sweeping the floor.
it was hilarious, and, yes, I suppose I can be thankful to lidl for brightening my day with that, and many, many other comical moments, like the queue skippers, the old couples fighting over whether or not they really should buy those red apples, the people who go through the receipt with the cashier and question the prices of everything.
It's a rather funny place, really.
Now Zoe you know I like a good moan about France.....but I have to say, our Lidl's...yes...plural...one in St Pardoux and one in Bergerac...both easy access for us are stonkingly good! much better than the local ones I have in the UK. When we first arrived after a few weeks of trying out the various supermarkets (and being truly peed off at the lack of cashiers everywhere we went...) I went into the St Pardoux store for some art paper and pencils...and ended up with a loaded trolly...I love their veg...love the german style pickled herrings etc...so had a huge trolly...as I approached the one open till my heart sank...Oh cr*p I thought....remembering how in Lidl UK they shoot stuff off the end of the conveyor belt and you are supposed to have juggler type skills to catch and bag at the speed of light. Anyway...with a heavy heart and heavier trolly....I arrived at the (empty) till....the cashier arrived...looked at my trolley and shouted to a colleague who scuttled out of the back of the shop and set up in the next till....my till was closed...just for me and the next words she uttered left me semi concious....'can I pack for you?'....I gave her my bags, and she packed everything, we did things at a normal speed....the best ever shopping experience I have had in France....so sorry Zoe, you have the thin end of the wedge...we have super Lidl!!!
Agreed, Finn, the beers are good, I often "run to lidl" for beer on a saturday, because if I come home sonday, and happen to want a beer, there is a panic, and I have to either settle for whiskey, or go out.
Funnily enough, the Perlenbacher here is a LOT cheaper than the same sixpack in Ireland. I nearly toppled over when I saw the same products, but all more expensive, on my last visit to the Rock i call home.
A friend of mine is supervisor in our local LIDL - they always have staffing problems.....poor pay, limited prospects, horrible shifts etc. So they are usually understaffed in this particular branch and it may the same problem throughout the chain?
Evening, Damaris,
it is interesting you mentioned the time of year affecting the pricing, as I noticed my teabags, and the bacon go up in winter (because of the influx of Brits for the ski season)
As for breakneck speed.. I'm afraid that's a great downfall here in Thones. They scan your products like they are about to die of boredom and premature old age. I get better service in Carrefour.I also get a bit of banter from the Carrefour cashiers.
Hi Zoe,
Reading your post, it sounds like you are particularly unlucky. I have shopped in Lidl here in La Baule, (44500), where I am currently working and the staff are frankly excellent.
There is always some kind of mess in the shop as they are constantly restocking whilst running around helping people out (with a smile) and jumping on the tills as soon as there is a queue of more than 5 people.
Likewise, the Lidl that I go to in Lourdes, where I actually live most of the time, is larger but just as well run. Staff are also helpful, polite and happy to help.
Not that I am defending poor service, (I also work in the tourist/hotel trade) as there is no excuse for sloppy work ethic but Lidl stores are generally hopelessly understaffed and the employees are expected to adhere to strict guidelines and get stuff out whilst rushing people through the till at breakneck speed. I prefer LIdl service to that of Carrefour where I find staff to be borderline rude sometimes, particularly when I want to pay using my restaurant tickets etc. (I have even had one cashier refuse to take a second ticket by swiping the same one twice and telling me that only one of them goes through!!)
With regard to prices, I find they vary from region to region, how touristy the area is, and consequently the time of year. For example, it is a well known fact that Monoprix in Lourdes puts its already exhorbitant prices up for the summer season when all the tourists come through. L'Eclerc here in the North-West is considered one of the cheapest places to shop whilst Auchan is the most expensive. In Lourdes, L'Eclerc is seen to be the most expensive and the least trustworthy by the locals.
Excellent response, it is so annoying when staff do that and it happens far to often. That's when i really wish my French was better so i could tell them what i think!
There's one woman in particular at our Carrefour who always annoys me as she scans your shopping and doesn't put it on the moving belt she just leaves it at the top, i used to lean over to reach it but i've stopped now and i deliberately stand at the end and just look at her then when she notices it's all piled up she eventually starts to push it down. Small victories but it make me feel better!
What a superb counter (from you, that is, not the one in the shop!). Shucks, I wish I could think on my feet like that - not 10 minutes after I've left.
"Like"
Sadly I suspect that your FAB response will have been completely wasted on the cashier! But I bet it felt good saying it! :-))
LIDL is a weekly shop for us in Pontivy. We buy the carbonated water in there because it is the lowest sodium we have found at a good price, we also buy the sheeps cheese and toilet rolls and bin bags. We have found that there is also a good Hatherwoods range from time to time which we buy items from. The fruit is not always good but our local LIDL in Brislington (we lived not far from this) is very good indeed and the staff are lovely and tills were always manned well.
I walk out of Leader Price many times having left my shopping on the floor in the basket in disgust. In fact it is sad but true that I have found most staffing levels lately in most food emporiums (sniggeringly typed) to be ranging from "could not care less" to downright rude. We remain polite though because we should but the other day I just left the whole lot of shopping on the counter when a young woman cashier decided to chat to her friend for 4 minutes without even so much of a glance. She complained when I left and I said perhaps her friend could help her put it all back.
Could well be Nick.