I will, for the life of me, never understand how German culture is so orderly save for the complete and utter lack of queuing (forming lines). In the U.S., for all the "me first" stereotypes, we form lines (and take it very seriously) better than even the U.K. Meanwhile, in Germany? It's just a hot mess of animalistic opportunism.
In Australia, we now have a few "have a chat with the cashier" queues and cashier queues where they are quicker. The slower ones are mostly for older people who like to chat with the person scanning their items. It's a cute idea. Sometimes older people can be a bit lonely and speaking to someone at the supermarket is good for them.
My elderly husband loves to chat and engage with the cashier . Since retirement this is all new to him . I turn a blind eye , just want to get out of there, been doing the shopping by myself for 60 odd years and prefer to waste my time having a coffee while waiting for his nibs to finish his chats . Maybe he gets bored with my conversations , I’ve heard all his jokes again and again and not interested in hearing them once more - which upsets him no end - he seems to need the thrill of having a new audience instead of his unappreciative partner . Good marriage involves give and take I guess.
Sounds like a nice idea.. a little more civilised for the elderly shoppers. Saves the rest of us huffing and puffing when we get stuck behind them with a host of impatient children.. or just wanting to get the shopping done and get home to empty the washing machine.. 😂
@@hemus1421 I come from and live in Slovakia. And in the store when shopping, I behave comparably like in the video. So how we behave on the street, in the store, at work, and in general in life is more a matter of upbringing and intellect than nationality.
German here... 15 years ago I was in Ireland and visited a Spar market... the cashier was sooo slow for my taste. When it was my turn, she started to chat with me. She realized that I am a foreigner, so she asked where I was from etc. The cashier was also cute, so I enjoyed talking to her ;) But: It took her about as long to scan the 5 items on the conveyor belt as it takes a German colleague to scan the weekend shopping of a family of 6 from 3 shopping carts. I was on vacation in a “foreign” country, so I was very relaxed about this, also because the other customers weren't stressing. In Germany, this would have led to civil war-like scenes in the checkout area ^^
Portuguese living in The Netherlands and working in Germany. Do most of my groceries in Germany (mostly) Aldi and still cannot get used to the the lack of speed at the counter in other countries. German counters look unfriendly, but the speed at which they work is a marvel. On the other hands, the self-check counters in Dutch supermarkets are also quite nice. Especially as they don't require to place the items on a side basket to make sure you did indeed pass the right item.
@@jmsa2760 cashiers in Portugal take their time like everyone else. Whoever visits me here in Portugal, the first thing they do is to complain about how slow the cashiers are. But once you get used to it , you like it
Quite funny seeing a German get customer service. It's such a shock to the system. 😂 I'm also not sure why Germans are proud of how fast the cashiers scan in Germany. "ahhh yes great, all my items have been scanned inside of 30 seconds" completely forgetting that they have been queuing for the cashier for 15 minutes because there is only one checkout open. I'd much rather not have to wait in a queue and have someone not rushing to scan my items than the German version of customer service where you make people wait a long time then scan extra fast. German supermarkets vs the rest of the the world analogy...you want travel somewhere, there are 2 routes. Both take 15 minutes. First route you can take the country roads, a nice scenic route where you can see a nice view, some sheep grazing, horses galloping in fields and arrive at your destination relaxed. The other route is you sit on the Autobahn for 14 minutes in traffic that doesn't move because there is only 1 lane open but the last minute of the journey you can travel at 160kmph. That's the German supermarket model.
in Germany that cashier would have been fired simply... Those do not exist (or not any further than the current week, where his happened) It's like it is at the progaming section: You need to fulfill a special "hits per minute" quote, or you are out if you fail that too often and/or too heavily... But this is still ridiculous, I am good friends with a cashier, who has done that job decades and she is telling me, that this is still a ridiculous quote compared to her experiences, when she was trained in her younger years... and no, she is not from Aldi, but Penny (also a discounter everywhere in Germany) and formerly Plus market.
@@lukemulletSpeed is considered customer service, small talk is not. Waiting in the cashier line is considered the most annoying part of grocery shopping, so speed is key. If it takes too long, people simply are not coming back. Personally, if I see a line at the cashier, and there is no self check out, I don't even go and shop there. I choose a different store, I come back the next day, or I don't shop at all. And if the cashier starts small talk with me, I will avoid that store for at least a year. So it all depends on what you call customer service. We even have a supermarket where you get your groceries free if you are the fifth in line waiting. Of course they make sure that never happens. But that shows how important speed is, to the customer and to the store. It's their main priority.
At the discounter check out : 1. Always get a trolley 2. Put heavy items in first. 3. Separate items that need to be weighed (bananas, ginger, tomatoes, etc.) and place each of these after 3-4 items from other categories. This will give you precious seconds while they are being weighed.
@dutchgamer842 obviously, you pick up the heavy stuff and put on the conveyor belt first at the checkout. You really need common.sense explained to you? Think!
@@hapeheh7855 Yep, and I always bring two bags to keep frozen and cooled stuff separate. So I can put them in my freezer faster (and the stuff keeps the cold better if it's together).
At the dicsounter that tries to rush me: 1. Place your heaviest item on the conveyor. 2. Leave six or 11 inches between that and your second item. 3. Do this with each item you're purchasing. 4. Pack your bag in peace - nobody SAYS anything, they just glare at you!
I live in Ireland and am not German, but this pretty much describes my shopping habits right down to the 'logical order' in presenting purchases at the checkout! And I too am not a fan of self-checkouts!
i lived in berlin for 5 months last year. it was such an experience to learn about their supermarket etiquette. when Michael "forgot something", i just KNEW it was the pfand!!! 😆😆😆 I had such a great time in Berlin. Can't wait to visit Germany again.
I confess, I didn't think it was the Pfand (because I never buy botteld beaverages but I only drink tap water at home. So I usually do not have any pfand bottles or cans), I thought he had forgotten his shopping bags. :)
What's the other word for pfand? A bit longer, but I think easier to pronounce and a bit finer: Leergut (leer = empty, gut = property) Or use it as Leer-goods. That way it is also easy to remember... ;) I hope I remembered you to that, or educated you well for your next visit!
I am used to throwing PET bottles in garbage cans in my home country. Went to Germany for work and did the same, everyone staired at me like I was a crazy person. 😂😂
Yeah, I just dump everything in the trolley again, then take the trolley to my car, and transfer the stuff into crates in my trunk. ( And I'm really careful to *not* do any shopping on Saturdays, since those then to be the most crowded. )
Many supermarkets (especially smaller ones) don't have those stations. Just be prepared, when it's your turn at the cashier. I don't waste my own time to repack it a second time and save other people maybe a few seconds just to waste minutes of my own life. I am attentive, but my primary interest is to my goods and not to the time of anyone.
@@AlexandruHasegan there is an article today in the New York Times about this. The link doesn’t appear to work here, unfortunately. The article’s title is “Germans Combat Climate Change from Their Balconies,” if you want to search for it. Although it probably would take more balconies than there are on earth to combat climate change in this manner; but hey, we can dream.
Important to note that the voucher for „Pfand“ can be turned into cash again. You don’t have to use the voucher to shop in the store you returned your „Pfand“.
@@vyzantberlin2637Well they pronounced it correctly in English, if everyone pronounced words in the original way, we wouldn't have several languages at all
@@Oleksa-Derevianchenko here in Germany you can. The shop in which you swapped your Pfand for a voucher will cash out the voucher. It is not uncommon for some people to collect Pfand and cash it out to earn some extra money. There are even specifically designed trash cans with a Pfand shelve for people who don’t want/need their Pfand to leave it for other people to cash it out.
I’m from the Netherlands, and shopping is the same. Except for that bread, and we also turn in the drinking tins. I shop at the Lidl, it’s behind my apartment building. But I buy bread at the Moroccan bakery across the street, French oriented. A normal supermarket is a 10 minute walk. There is also the pharmacy. And 10 minutes on bike is a large shopping area with all kind of shops. My neighborhood was built in the sixties, when it was mandatory to have shops on walking distance from each house. Old fashioned 15 minute city.
That is so awesome. I married in Canada and I miss so much that way of life in Bavaria where I am from. Nice City-life everything around me and good products. Nothing like that here. Best wishes nach Holland...enjoy your special Life❣ 🌷🌷
No it's not the same at all generally in the Netherlands. We have self checkouts at Lidl and in every grocery store, most people use the self checkout besides you can use cash at self checkout anyways. What's a tin anyway? We only have refund on bottles, cans and beer cases. In most grocery stores the cashier makes smalltalk, Lidl&Aldi aren't supermarkets there discounters, AH&Jumbo, Plus etc the cashier behaves human, isn't acting like a robot and makes smalltalk
@@dutchgamer842 Tins and cans are the same thing. In English idiom (at least here in Australia) we tend to say "can" for drinks (but a can of beer is a "tinnie"), but for everything else it is up to personal choice. Tin of tomatoes, can of tomatoes; tin of tuna, can of tuna; absolutely the same things.
As a newbie in Germany, this video was both useful and entertaining and I even learned the correct pronunciation for EDEKA! I can't remember the last time I saw such a professional, pleasant to watch video on UA-cam. Kudos to you.
@@michellestella7477So chugging down liters of alcohol and getting drunk is considered 'beeing not boring' in your world? This is embarassing, and I am german.
@@nozee77 never heard anyone buying just one beer - especially in Germany.. most people buy a lot more and then have a stock at home but don't drink all at one go .. this is far from irresponsible...seems like the video just wants to send a message - don't have any pleasure in the new world..
And in Lidl in the USA the bagging area is divided into 2 lanes so after you've paid and you're still bagging, you're not holding up the next person from completing their transaction.
I actually complimented the Aldi cashiers in the US for having such a leisurely pace because shopping is so relaxing. They looked at me like I was mad. Obviously growing up in Germany my check out speed is not typical for the US.
As an American, seeing cashiers sitting down was a bit of a culture shock the first time I visited Germany. That said, I like the idea and think companies should allow it in the USA.
When I first went to Trader Joe's, I was a bit shocked by the setup. The cashiers stood the whole time, there were no conveyor belts, and they chatted with me while packing my groceries. It was so different from what I was used to. I felt more comfortable at H-Mart, where the cashiers sat and didn't make small talk, hahah. I felt especially bad for an older man working as a cashier at Trader Joe's. Standing for hours and walking around must be so tiring for him.
I live in the USA and I always try to organize my groceries logically at checkout. I’ve actually had cashier’s compliment me for how I line everything up.
I have watched the series and I applaud the producer for making each video informative, interesting and entertaining. I never knew German could be funny😂
If you are keen on "efficient shopping", Saturday won't be your day of choice. It's the day when office workers usually crowd the shops because that's when they have the time. So while many congregate there on Saturdays, it's not exactly by choice.
Bottle deposit is coming in the US. When the kids were younger they enjoyed getting $25 in cans we saved in large plastic bags. These days we donate them to local charity and youth groups
Love this. I've only been in Germany for about two months, but Aldi in Australia has prepared me well 😂 I had no idea how perfectly German my shopping technique is!
@@A0111.we have it in Greater Geelong! Hooray. I am sure it’s because part of Geelong was once called German town! (Many other local councils across Melbourne and regional Victoria have implemented it. I loved it when I was in Germany… and when someone was “begging” on the streets, they were often collecting unPfanded bottles! I LOVED grocery shopping in Germany. Yes, I am used to Aldi in Australia (which I hate shopping at) but the variety of sprudelwasser - pear flavoured lightly sparkling water was my fave - and the enormous, multi level ‘regular’ supermarkets and then the eye wateringly huge selection of ‘personal products’ in Rossmann makes Priceline look like a kiosk. And I have been using my own calico bags for groceries since 1987. I even take them overseas with me!
I'm Irish and most of that applies to any supermarket experience here also. The only things different are we use cards more to pay, and lots of self service checkouts.
Hi from Finland 🇫🇮 Same system here as in Germany. When we got Lidl here, the space for the scanned products was tiny as in this video. Finns absolutely hated them. Very quickly they were replaced with big roomy bins as in other stores here and now packing is a calmer process again.
Same here in Sweden as in Germany, Sweden and Finland. We love to recycle and use totebags 😊 If Im not wrong the same goes for Denmark and Norway. I like to shop when they have a self checkout, makes life so much easier! 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪
They got smaller in Canada too. I would rather not use self-check outs but now that they don't put your items into plastic bags they just shove your items down and start on the next person without giving you any time to bag your own items.
same happened in Denmark... we don't want stupid nonsense... Aldi had it too where you had like 20cm for your groceries and then they fell on the floor... yeah no thanks
@@LiLBitsDKYou're supposed to throw your items back into the trolley as they're scanned. Then you go over to the packing desk where you can take all the time you want to bag your stuff.
20 to 30 years ago German Aldi did not have scanners at their checkouts, instead the cashiers had to remember 4-digit codes for all the products in store and type them with one hand while handing the purchase with the other hand. They were ridiculously fast even back then but maybe they had problems finding personnel who could both type fast and easily remember hundreds of codes
What I found strange was the lady standing next to a shopper everywhere he would go, commenting his every move. We don't have that over here haha Interesting video. Informative and well presented!
First thing first. Never start the saturday's shopping in a supermarket But starting with planning meals the friday evening. Then diving in the huge city market in Toulon and coming soon (8h15 max) for choosing the best in fruit, vegetables, fish and bread. Then visiting good butchers. This done, driving to my supermarket and finishing the job. Priority to good products, good food and my local economy.
People seemed to have misread the "one beer" - this is a "Wegbier" (walking beer) so he survives from the shop to home. Of course, otherwise he is using a delivery service to get a couple of crates delivered, or more likely: he is living in Berlin on top of a 24-7 corner shop that sells beer.
@@diannebayley4644 Unless you are french. I live in Germany at the french border, and my partner LOVES Volvic water (mineral still water, not sparkly) like his life depends on it. Last year, someone told him that in the next french town, like 20 minutes by car, the Volvic water is dirt cheap. He's going there once a month to buy in bulks, and it really is so much cheaper. Unfortunately, unlike the german Volvic bottles, the french aren't part of the Pfand system. They end up in the plastic trash bin, and our amount of plastic trash has increased 3 times since he's buying them.
@@diannebayley4644 Nobody is forcing you to return the returnable bottles. If you have no sympathy for saving your environment from plastic and glass bottles or drinks cans, you can always throw them out of the window or put them somewhere where people with less money can collect them
You can (through some weird process) buy cigarettes at some supermarket tills which is very odd to me (from the U.K.). German petrol stations have a mind boggling amount of cigarettes and you still see cigarette machines. The worst things about visiting Germany are the need to have lots of cash and the amount of smoking. Those plus the weird shop opening times make it like visiting the U.K. in the 1970s. The non discount supermarkets like Edeka usually have very little fresh bread and you have to go to an in store bakery which slows your shop down and, for us foreigners, involves a lot of finger pointing.
Smoking has been greatly reduced in Germany. You will no longer find a restaurant or similar where you can smoke. I don't have a single friend who smokes anymore.
We now have Aldi here in California. The whole store plan has been moved from Germany including the the sittig cashiers and the packing stations. The Aldi attitude is you people love our cars and you will learn to love our shopping methods.
German check out etiquette - and yes, shown here perfectly. Organized deposit of items to facilitate quick loading into bag. mad dash to a newly opened lane and then politely let someone else go first with one item, unless that person is a Draengler and tried to push to the front - in which they and their one item can wait. Late for the bus or not!
Happened to me, someone behind me asked the person in front of me, could *they could move in front, as if I never existed. Some Germans are cheeky, perhaps it has something to do with the socialist entitlement. Another episode, I had two items the person behind me asked could she could move to the front of me with three. I carefully explained to her the socialism with a no.
@@horserous“socialist entitlement”?!? Asking the customer in front of you was bad manners. Or perhaps he or she simply suspected that your behavior was much worse, as your answer here clearly shows. Good or bad manners have nothing to do with socialism, but with upbringing. Or that person was just an imported Karen or Ken. And isn't this a wonderful invention and export from the USA?
I lived in Germany for about 5 years and I was very impressed with the supermarkets. I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices (at least 20 years ago!) and the FANTASTIC produce. In my opinion I would say that many Germans shop on Saturday because the stores close too early during the week! My wife had to make a mad dash after work to get to the market before it closed. The stores closed even earlier on Saturdays, but at least most Germans were off that day and didn't have to sprint to do their shopping. I don't think I ever bought bread at a market. Maybe it was great, but I much preferred my local bakery. Preferred it too much actually. I put on too many pounds from eating that otherworldly bread. Yum! One of the things I miss most about Germany.
Stuttgart, South Germany here. The official customer service check the ingredients of the products very strictly - and the cookies from Lidl and Aldi have the best results since 20 years - and I could give some sweets without regrets to my son. Now my son is 22 years old - the cookies are still his favorites. I prefer the chocolate. For many items is the quality at Lidls or Aldis much higher than of expensive bio labels (... but I can only speak about the situation here)... so it's funny to read, that you like the cookies and chocolate too ❤🎉
Well my mother and her family are from Schiedam, Holland. Oma made her own Speculaas and butter cookies so I know what is good and what is junk. Aldi and Lidl's cookies aren't Omas but they are very good. 🇳🇱🇩🇪🇺🇸
I lived in Gauting for many years. There was Penny, Tengelmann, the Bäckerei, and the Konditerei… all really close to each other. Penny was a challenge with self bagging.
When it comes to supermarkets, I don't think there is a better country than Germany. Been here for a few months and only recently got used to the low prices (due to low VAT). Please Germany, continue being wonderful ❤
Are you kidding?! Low prices were long ago. I can hardly afford my groceries. It's ridiculous how fast prices increase nowadays! Besides, in each supermarket you find the same items, no variety whatsoever. 🙁
@piarademacher4024 prices when up in every country and even more than in Germany. I have paid higher prices for groceries with a lower salary. I totally support your complain though because people deserve their life to improve year after year, not vice versa.
Where I live in Canada, we must pay a deposit on plastic bottles, but in order to return one for 5 cents Canadian, we must drive them to a special recycling centre. It is sad, but it is not worth it unless you drink LOTS of bottled beverages. So most people don’t do this, they just toss them in their biweekly recycling pick up. Except for us. We live in an apartment that doesn’t recycle anything and there is no pick up. And there is no glass recycling in the city I live in either.
Here in our area of Northern California our Trader Joe's is like Aldi. All the stores we shop at require reusable shopping bags and items in bottles glass or plastic have a 5¢ 10¢ deposit depending on the size of the container. We also bring our own clean cloth bags for bulk items like produce, nuts, grains. bread. And clean glass jars or glass Pyrex containers for wet items from the deli, or meat section. Milk comes in glass bottles. All of this certainly fits our green lifestyle 🙂
There is a huge difference between Aldi and Trader Joe's. At Trader Joe's the cashiers don't hurriedly push your groceries onto the tiny holding area even causing some of them to fall to the floor without any apology. I love that Trader Joe's emphasizes sustainability, but Aldi's in Germany focus on speed not sustainability.
@@carlosrivera3260 Trader Joe's is a US chain store that was bought by Aldi NORD, former sister (or actually Brother lol) company of Aldi Süd, the later is known worldwide as just ALDI. Aldi Süd expanded into the international market directly with that name and the same rules and attitudes, and Aldi NORD chose to buy up existing chain stores and mostly leave many things as are, to adjust to the local situation.
Englishman here 🏴. I love German and Austrian supermarkets with their wonderful variety of foods. Their fresh meat and veg, but above all their bread. So much nicer than our supermarkets. My favourites were Billa, MPries, Kaufhof and Edeker but in Vienna I can spend hours in the lovely old Julius Meinel supermarkt ❤ Germany and Austria.
damn, I remember my first time at a German counter in Kaufland. Like I was a new recruit in an Army bootcamp. The one at the counter is a 68 yo Grandma with purple hair and a nose ring.
These speed rules apply until there’s some old grandma in Berlin who just wants to talk to the old lady at the checkout about returning something she bought two weeks ago. Be prepared to stay there for 10 minutes waiting while they argue. 😂
In Brazil we usually take our take time in the checkout. It was a very stressful experience to me when I had to go to the supermarket in Europe because you have to go really fast.
@@ProjectExMachinathat is exactly what I do in Germany and also try to do it in Spain because it makes me very nervous and stressed to have to pack my groceries fast and badly. I try not to pay before having all my groceries in the bag but it is hard, in Spain sometimes I have had to tell the cashier to slow down.
To me, the goal of checkout is to get out of there! The customer should go at their own pace, but cashier speed is the key. I prefer the US/European pace; sitting in long lines at a Brazil checkout because all the cashiers are chatting and moving slowly is super frustrating.
I place my goods back into the shopping cart every time. I haul groceries home in a small granny cart and they need to be packed a certain. I've carried washable bags everywhere for the last 15-18 years now--long before the 7¢ local bag fee became the norm.
Mostly accurate. But of course I wouldn't be German if I didn't have a couple of corrections: - The preference for cash is a generational thing. Michael looks like he's a millennial, so he'd probably prefer paying by card (but very often self-checkouts aren't operating because the shop is lacking the personnel to monitor them) - The cashiers at EDEKA and other "regular" supermarkets are comparatively slow. If you want the highspeed experience, go to a discounter, especially Aldi. - Michael would never just buy a single bottle of beer when doing his weekly shopping. Though seeing as he lives in a city, he's probably getting his drinks delivered and this is just for funsies.
Worst thing about literally EVERY supermarket I have visited outside of Scandinavia: There is barely any space to bag the groceries. This always causes unnecessary waiting as the cashier must stall Customer 2 until Customer 1 has picked up all their items.
By now the Aldi cashiers even ask you to hurry up! After this happened to me I asked them if it weren't an appropriate idea then to put a sign in their window that seniors who are not meeting their standards in speed are no longer welcome at their market. I got no answer from the cashier, but applause from the people behind me! Btw, needless to say I no longer put my feet in Aldi supermarkets, right? 😏
Most of Australia now has a very similar setup, except that the machines for getting the deposit back on your bottles and aluminium cans are less conveniently located and not as numerous. Aldi is the catalyst.
I've lived in Germany for over 30 years. Every time my mom comes over, I cringe at going shopping. She has no clue about foreign currency, which slows things down for the impatient customers behind us (she is so cute and kind and won't let me pay!). She also always asks if they take American Express (90 % NO), and asks the same question the next day at the same checkout. Having to pack one's own groceries is incomprehensible to her. (And to be fair, I embarrassed her in Canada more than once, because I forget and start packing myself!) I love my mom. 🤗
In Hungary this is 100% percent accurate, since we also shopping (mostly) in supermarkets with German ownership. 1. LIDL + ALDI cashiers are the fastest ever in the world (maybe they are under influence by their policy) also, SPAR has the slowest cashiers. 2. It is highly logical to put hard / bulky / boxed items first, not like many people put like tomato or eggs first, then the anvil to the top. 3. When new queue opens, we ran for our life to beat everyone else to be the first in the new queue, sometime to realize, the cashier is still in the locker room.
Just a little thing: Spar is not german owned. The original one is from the netherlands, and Spar in hungary was founded by Spar-austria as far as i read.
Im from England where the shop assistants packed the shopping for me . Being slower and older now, the checkout here in Germany can be stressful; but only if I play the game. Sometimes I just take my time and act like a civilised person and to my suprise, nobody gets annoyed .
German here, living in Australia. I go to Aldi for Christmas treats like Lebkuchen, Marzipan, Stollen and Adventskalender, but they also have good pickles sometimes and mini gherkins. I like the self checkout now because you can be slow. 😊🐢
In Sweden you pay a 10 cent deposit per soda bottle. Not plastic bottles for olive oil, shampoo and similar. It works very well and it does reduce plastic waste.
I also love putting things in order - first the heaviest and then the lightest! hahahahahah! In Brazil, there is a custom to buy vegetables and fruits at small markets that take place near the neighborhoods, two to three times a week, as, in addition to being closer, they are fresher products! However, large supermarkets also sell it.
1:07 It's amusing that she mentioned that hard discounters in Germany offer "a more no-frills shopping experience." In Canada, the largest hard discount supermarket chain is called No Frills.
Check out would stress me out. No matter how fast I try to be... I'm never fast enough for the cashier. Thank God for self-checkout. Minimal chat and I can go at my pace. I dream of being as grocery efficient as a German. Hoping to visit within the next 6 months.
Several years back, at Aldi tgey did not have scanners but the cashiers put all the prices by memory into the cash desk. And you never were quick enough to store your goods away. The cashiers were incredibly fast at it. It was amazing!
You must place the goods tactically on the checkout belt. Distribute deposit vouchers or goods that have to be weighed by the cashier between the other items. This gives you time to put things away. 😁 If you want a less ‘stressful’ shopping experience, you can go to normal supermarkets. The cashiers there are not quite as fast and the area for the purchases after the checkout is larger. In discount supermarkets, the lack of space after the checkout has been specially designed so that people have to put their goods in their shopping trolleys more quickly. But that's where I'm really German. If I can keep up with putting things away or even have to wait for the cashier, I often think to myself ‘I wonder if that could be done quicker’...😴
Foreigner in Germany. Use the Pfand receipts and the bread packets tactically to slow down the cashiers! Also pay by card because it takes time to confirm sometimes, giving you extra time to pack your things
There should be a sign on checkouts, like on the buses : " do not talk to cashier " . If someone is lonely, they can go to social club, church, mcmillans coffe event or charity shop to chat. People shopping are busy people, most of us coming back from work and want to buy grocery quickly cause we are starving and still need to make a meal at home 🤪
From the USA... ❤ the plastic recycling deposits station..The whole bread slicer..Shield between customers from cashier ..We have then in some stores, (especially Convenient store)..❤
This is surely just a ‘Wegbier’. He must have at least a whole crate of beer at home. For the non-Germans: ‘Wegbier’ is a German expression for a beer that is drunk on the way to another place. Usually when you're on the way to a pub anyway.
In Germany, discounter are usually smaller than supermarkets in the USA, but in large cities you often only have to walk a few hundred meters to the next discounter. You only have to go further for exotic things. Supermarkets/discounter are allowed in residential areas. So yes, you can easily go shopping on foot (in large cities). Because it's so easy, I shop groceries several times a week (2-3 times). Notice while cooking that something is missing? No problem, except on Sundays and public holidays. You have many opportunities to buy beer in particular: supermarkets/discounters, gas stations, beverage shops and small shops (e.g. Spätis in Berlin). So no need to store beer.
@@schnelma605 Yes! Here in Weissensee, I have an Aldi, Netto, Edeka and Lidl all within about 500 metres - and actually the first three of those are within about 200 metres! Spoiled for choice 😁
I could just make a deal with a brewery or a beverage market. They deliver whatever i order to my door and take the empty bottles with them. Plus - there is a place to buy beer around the clock wherever a gas station is!
We used to have deposits on glass pop bottles in the past, we used to collect them, take them back to the chip shop, either walk away with the money or buy chips
Same, in Australia. Well, South Australia never got rid of it, but other states did. Thankfully, my home state of Victoria is in the process of bringing it back - but I doubt we'll ever see the lovely German tradition of leaving Pfand bottles next to bins for the needy to collect. I see far too many struggling Aussies digging about in public bins for bottles 😿
German grocery shopping seemed a lot like American shopping to me. More in common than different. One thing I liked a lot that WAS different was the bread slicer. Very cool !!!
There's worlds between Aldi and Edeka checkout speeds/rushing. In Aldi you're rushed to pack. Even already processing the next while you're still packing the rest. In Edeka, not. At least in my experience, my Aldi and Edeka.
I never understood why people can get stressed when being at the checkout. I always take my time to neatly pack my bag. The handy thing is, there just is no space at the register, so when I pack the bag slower as the cashier is scanning the items, after a couple the cashier naturally has to stop because there is no more place for her to put any more items. This completely regulates the speed and works great. Just chill, relax and take your time to bag your items.
My partner and I live in Málaga. Malagueños chat with the cashier while the items are being scanned, only get their cards to pay AFTER everything is ready ( nobody pays cash ! ) and slowly pack while chatting after payment. It is a slow process but there is plenty of precious social contact. So different from Amsterdam where we used to live.
In the US you go to the grocery store in pajamas and slides, while going down the isles you drink a soda and eat chips, you put items back on the wrong shelf, you do self checkout for the biggest discounts, you leave your shopping cart behind the car parked next to you and your recycling items next to your car door as you leave.
I'm in North Carolina, and I have never seen anyone shop in Pajamas. People always speak to you. One thing I really like is no one ever leaves a cart in the parking lot. It always goes to the little cart area even if you have to walk all the way across the parking lot.
WARNING: DO NOT watch people of Walmart. Your eyes will burn and you won't be able to unsee it/them and your vision of the US will be kind of factual. But, most Americans are decent good people!!! It's vile and disgusting and I can't believe anyone, especially women want to be seen. One lady had "streaks" in the back of her barely there shorts or maybe it was her pajamas. It doesn't matter. America is a culture shock and mostly not in the best way and I'm American.
In the UK our eggs are not refrigerated either, as it just isn't neeeded. Like our Aldi and Lidl the packing is super fast but since I had a stroke and move slowly these days, the staff are super nice, thoughtful and patient, bless them. :)
I was amused with Clare's fly-on-a-wall description of Michael's routine and how organized Germans are. Here in Montreal we have basically the same thing except the cashiers don't sit and people are less worried about their private info at the self-check. Carrying a 2nd bag into another store might get you looks of suspicion. Also, a lot of people don't even bother to go to a Lidi type store and just pay the crazy prices.
Have an Aldis in our area. They can scan your items faster than you can do it yourself. Also we got used to bringing our own totes and have and "Aldis quarter" in each car for the shopping carts
Haha good video 😊 I think you forgot to tell that Germans buy crates of beer. Our supermarkets are quite similar to yours. We have plastic, glass bottles machines, which give you a voucher. Here it's popular to scan your own items. Every market has a place for that.
I love this video. It captures the German way of doing shopping in supermarkets. And it is very funny and entertaining. Please make more of these kinds of videos.
Decades ago, I used to have to bring the bottles to the fresh meat counter and give it to the lady behind the counter who'll then give me cash in return. Now they have machines for that. 👍👍👍
In Sydney Australia, our Pfand is called Return and Earn. The machines are the same, but they are not inside the shop, they are generally in outdoor locations such as carparks, often in odd locations. I think more people would use them if they were inside the supermarket like in Germany.
The return system in NSW is really broken. They have actually removed some really big ones near me that had parking and big bunkers for the empties - now there are 2 tiny machines - about the size of a snack/drink vending machines - hidden behind some garden boxes at the local big shopping center, and they fill up within a few hours of being emptied so you can't use them, no parking either. It seems to just be being used as a way to collect extra revenue because you can't find working return machines.
I'm not fine with the 2 arguments why self-checkout options are not used in Germany!😂 First it's not allowed to use them, when you have more than about 7 items (I've already been reprimanded for it😅). Then scaning bread-rolls) from the in-store baking shop is a nightmare. Most important, if you buy alcohol. you wait endless for a staff with the age rating card. So with bread and beer I'm therefore 10 times faster at a usual checkout. And this is the most important german lifelesson: don't waste time in the supermarket...while you have to cut your green (cause its saturday!).🎉
Jesus, the "abandon all sense of order" when a new cashier is open, it is 100% accurate 😂
"Human Nature"...
I will, for the life of me, never understand how German culture is so orderly save for the complete and utter lack of queuing (forming lines).
In the U.S., for all the "me first" stereotypes, we form lines (and take it very seriously) better than even the U.K.
Meanwhile, in Germany? It's just a hot mess of animalistic opportunism.
In Brazil we also love queues, once I got in a queue just to join another. 😂😂😂
plus the new queue hardly ever moves faster than the original with less people in it, gotta be smart 😉
@Summer99696 Right? In my country, disrespecting the queue will earn you the bombastic side eye and the insults of the people right next to you XD
In Australia, we now have a few "have a chat with the cashier" queues and cashier queues where they are quicker. The slower ones are mostly for older people who like to chat with the person scanning their items. It's a cute idea. Sometimes older people can be a bit lonely and speaking to someone at the supermarket is good for them.
My elderly husband loves to chat and engage with the cashier . Since retirement this is all new to him . I turn a blind eye , just want to get out of there, been doing the shopping by myself for 60 odd years and prefer to waste my time having a coffee while waiting for his nibs to finish his chats . Maybe he gets bored with my conversations , I’ve heard all his jokes again and again and not interested in hearing them once more - which upsets him no end - he seems to need the thrill of having a new audience instead of his unappreciative partner . Good marriage involves give and take I guess.
Sounds like a nice idea.. a little more civilised for the elderly shoppers. Saves the rest of us huffing and puffing when we get stuck behind them with a host of impatient children.. or just wanting to get the shopping done and get home to empty the washing machine.. 😂
In NL the Jumbo supermarkets ( second largest group ) have the same chat-check outs.
What a sweet idea!
@@tdb7992 I love that idea! Most of our supermarkets in my part of the USA are self scan. I hate self scan!
I think im a german from another country. Everytime I see a Video like this one I realize that they do exactly what I always did my whole life.
Me too… although I was born there.
I'm doing ok. all right
Was about to comment this as a Bulgarian. It’s literally the same experience
@@hemus1421 I come from and live in Slovakia. And in the store when shopping, I behave comparably like in the video. So how we behave on the street, in the store, at work, and in general in life is more a matter of upbringing and intellect than nationality.
@@hemus1421 Eurochad energy
German here... 15 years ago I was in Ireland and visited a Spar market... the cashier was sooo slow for my taste. When it was my turn, she started to chat with me. She realized that I am a foreigner, so she asked where I was from etc. The cashier was also cute, so I enjoyed talking to her ;)
But: It took her about as long to scan the 5 items on the conveyor belt as it takes a German colleague to scan the weekend shopping of a family of 6 from 3 shopping carts.
I was on vacation in a “foreign” country, so I was very relaxed about this, also because the other customers weren't stressing. In Germany, this would have led to civil war-like scenes in the checkout area ^^
Portuguese living in The Netherlands and working in Germany. Do most of my groceries in Germany (mostly) Aldi and still cannot get used to the the lack of speed at the counter in other countries. German counters look unfriendly, but the speed at which they work is a marvel.
On the other hands, the self-check counters in Dutch supermarkets are also quite nice. Especially as they don't require to place the items on a side basket to make sure you did indeed pass the right item.
@@jmsa2760 cashiers in Portugal take their time like everyone else. Whoever visits me here in Portugal, the first thing they do is to complain about how slow the cashiers are. But once you get used to it , you like it
Quite funny seeing a German get customer service. It's such a shock to the system. 😂
I'm also not sure why Germans are proud of how fast the cashiers scan in Germany. "ahhh yes great, all my items have been scanned inside of 30 seconds" completely forgetting that they have been queuing for the cashier for 15 minutes because there is only one checkout open. I'd much rather not have to wait in a queue and have someone not rushing to scan my items than the German version of customer service where you make people wait a long time then scan extra fast.
German supermarkets vs the rest of the the world analogy...you want travel somewhere, there are 2 routes. Both take 15 minutes. First route you can take the country roads, a nice scenic route where you can see a nice view, some sheep grazing, horses galloping in fields and arrive at your destination relaxed. The other route is you sit on the Autobahn for 14 minutes in traffic that doesn't move because there is only 1 lane open but the last minute of the journey you can travel at 160kmph. That's the German supermarket model.
in Germany that cashier would have been fired simply...
Those do not exist (or not any further than the current week, where his happened)
It's like it is at the progaming section: You need to fulfill a special "hits per minute" quote, or you are out if you fail that too often and/or too heavily...
But this is still ridiculous, I am good friends with a cashier, who has done that job decades and she is telling me, that this is still a ridiculous quote compared to her experiences, when she was trained in her younger years... and no, she is not from Aldi, but Penny (also a discounter everywhere in Germany) and formerly Plus market.
@@lukemulletSpeed is considered customer service, small talk is not. Waiting in the cashier line is considered the most annoying part of grocery shopping, so speed is key. If it takes too long, people simply are not coming back. Personally, if I see a line at the cashier, and there is no self check out, I don't even go and shop there. I choose a different store, I come back the next day, or I don't shop at all. And if the cashier starts small talk with me, I will avoid that store for at least a year. So it all depends on what you call customer service.
We even have a supermarket where you get your groceries free if you are the fifth in line waiting. Of course they make sure that never happens. But that shows how important speed is, to the customer and to the store. It's their main priority.
At the discounter check out :
1. Always get a trolley
2. Put heavy items in first.
3. Separate items that need to be weighed (bananas, ginger, tomatoes, etc.) and place each of these after 3-4 items from other categories. This will give you precious seconds while they are being weighed.
A trolley isn't that a tram in San Francisco?
How would you put the heavy stuff 1st, when usually produce or bread is in the 1sr part of the store?
@dutchgamer842 obviously, you pick up the heavy stuff and put on the conveyor belt first at the checkout. You really need common.sense explained to you? Think!
frozen and cooled seperated as well :)
@@hapeheh7855 Yep, and I always bring two bags to keep frozen and cooled stuff separate. So I can put them in my freezer faster (and the stuff keeps the cold better if it's together).
At the dicsounter that tries to rush me:
1. Place your heaviest item on the conveyor.
2. Leave six or 11 inches between that and your second item.
3. Do this with each item you're purchasing.
4. Pack your bag in peace - nobody SAYS anything, they just glare at you!
The whole point of being organized at the checkout is to be FASTER than the cashier. It is my favourite game and I win 7/10 times.
i was just scrolling down to actually write this :D i do play the same game and oftentimes, cashiers say "hey, relax!!" :D
@@kiwi_kirsch😂😂
I hate it and its stressig me Out so much 😭 (and i am german)
I live in Ireland and am not German, but this pretty much describes my shopping habits right down to the 'logical order' in presenting purchases at the checkout! And I too am not a fan of self-checkouts!
Never lost. They are slow in Germany.
i lived in berlin for 5 months last year. it was such an experience to learn about their supermarket etiquette. when Michael "forgot something", i just KNEW it was the pfand!!! 😆😆😆 I had such a great time in Berlin. Can't wait to visit Germany again.
I confess, I didn't think it was the Pfand (because I never buy botteld beaverages but I only drink tap water at home. So I usually do not have any pfand bottles or cans), I thought he had forgotten his shopping bags. :)
nah I thought he forgot his 1 euro coin (or a plastic token) for the shopping cart
What's the other word for pfand? A bit longer, but I think easier to pronounce and a bit finer:
Leergut (leer = empty, gut = property)
Or use it as Leer-goods.
That way it is also easy to remember... ;)
I hope I remembered you to that, or educated you well for your next visit!
I am used to throwing PET bottles in garbage cans in my home country. Went to Germany for work and did the same, everyone staired at me like I was a crazy person. 😂😂
@@deep.space.12 1 Euro to get the shopping trolley.. and do we get tht 1 euro back at the end of shopping in Germany?
Pro Tip - Never try to pack stuff into the bag, always use a trolley/basket and just dump everything in there and pack at the Packing station.
Like in the rest of the world
Exactly! I've always done this and it amazes me to see how few people ever think of or do this.
Yeah, I just dump everything in the trolley again, then take the trolley to my car, and transfer the stuff into crates in my trunk. ( And I'm really careful to *not* do any shopping on Saturdays, since those then to be the most crowded. )
Pro=Tip, up your game.
Many supermarkets (especially smaller ones) don't have those stations. Just be prepared, when it's your turn at the cashier.
I don't waste my own time to repack it a second time and save other people maybe a few seconds just to waste minutes of my own life. I am attentive, but my primary interest is to my goods and not to the time of anyone.
Yes, another Average German video! Love these for the information and the humor.
We’re happy to see you back here 🤗🤗
@@dweuromaxxwait, I just learned that Germans can have their own solar panels that simply plug in to an electric socket! How cool is that?!
@@jdvannoy99 can you elaborate please? You make me curious.
@@AlexandruHasegan there is an article today in the New York Times about this. The link doesn’t appear to work here, unfortunately. The article’s title is “Germans Combat Climate Change from Their Balconies,” if you want to search for it. Although it probably would take more balconies than there are on earth to combat climate change in this manner; but hey, we can dream.
@@jdvannoy99 Nice! I saw the article.
Thank you 👍
It's nice to see that the 'let the shopper with 1 or 2 items go ahead of you' kindness is global 😊
I always do that and I'm in the US. It only takes a second to be considerate and polite. Bonus, it's FREE!
Important to note that the voucher for „Pfand“ can be turned into cash again. You don’t have to use the voucher to shop in the store you returned your „Pfand“.
Right. An she can't even pronounce lidl. No mention of rewe, penny or netto. Self check outs are"out". Cash is still king.
@@vyzantberlin2637Well they pronounced it correctly in English, if everyone pronounced words in the original way, we wouldn't have several languages at all
@@vyzantberlin2637 I think it's time for you to change your pills.
Wait... The vouchers can be just cashed out??! 😮
Maybe not in Slovakia, where I've first experienced this kind of a deposit system.
@@Oleksa-Derevianchenko here in Germany you can. The shop in which you swapped your Pfand for a voucher will cash out the voucher. It is not uncommon for some people to collect Pfand and cash it out to earn some extra money. There are even specifically designed trash cans with a Pfand shelve for people who don’t want/need their Pfand to leave it for other people to cash it out.
The Cashiers in Edeka are probably the most relaxed... It's mostly the Discounters that have no chill
I’m from the Netherlands, and shopping is the same. Except for that bread, and we also turn in the drinking tins. I shop at the Lidl, it’s behind my apartment building. But I buy bread at the Moroccan bakery across the street, French oriented. A normal supermarket is a 10 minute walk. There is also the pharmacy. And 10 minutes on bike is a large shopping area with all kind of shops.
My neighborhood was built in the sixties, when it was mandatory to have shops on walking distance from each house. Old fashioned 15 minute city.
That is so awesome. I married in Canada and I miss so much that way of life in Bavaria where I am from. Nice City-life everything around me and good products.
Nothing like that here. Best wishes nach Holland...enjoy your special Life❣ 🌷🌷
Actually, we also have to return the drink cans in Germany.
No it's not the same at all generally in the Netherlands. We have self checkouts at Lidl and in every grocery store, most people use the self checkout besides you can use cash at self checkout anyways. What's a tin anyway? We only have refund on bottles, cans and beer cases.
In most grocery stores the cashier makes smalltalk, Lidl&Aldi aren't supermarkets there discounters, AH&Jumbo, Plus etc the cashier behaves human, isn't acting like a robot and makes smalltalk
Thank you for all the info now I know where you live exactly. Prepare a nice meal this evening, I might show up. 😂😂
@@dutchgamer842 Tins and cans are the same thing. In English idiom (at least here in Australia) we tend to say "can" for drinks (but a can of beer is a "tinnie"), but for everything else it is up to personal choice. Tin of tomatoes, can of tomatoes; tin of tuna, can of tuna; absolutely the same things.
As a newbie in Germany, this video was both useful and entertaining and I even learned the correct pronunciation for EDEKA! I can't remember the last time I saw such a professional, pleasant to watch video on UA-cam. Kudos to you.
Hi @Undisclosed86467! Thank you so much!
One beer? Must be a fun Saturday night for him...
Michael is a responsible German
@@dweuromaxx you misspelled boring
That is call a" weg beer". A warm up for the night 😂
@@michellestella7477So chugging down liters of alcohol and getting drunk is considered 'beeing not boring' in your world?
This is embarassing, and I am german.
@@nozee77 never heard anyone buying just one beer - especially in Germany.. most people buy a lot more and then have a stock at home but don't drink all at one go .. this is far from irresponsible...seems like the video just wants to send a message - don't have any pleasure in the new world..
The checkout speed at Aldi in the USA is not joke , they literally throw your items at the basket 😂
And in Lidl in the USA the bagging area is divided into 2 lanes so after you've paid and you're still bagging, you're not holding up the next person from completing their transaction.
@@ryandifrancesco lot of supermarkets in Germany do have these "split bagging areas". So someone can be slower while bagging
Pesky German standards 😂
I actually complimented the Aldi cashiers in the US for having such a leisurely pace because shopping is so relaxing. They looked at me like I was mad. Obviously growing up in Germany my check out speed is not typical for the US.
4:45 Wow! They got Blake Lively for this skit!
As an American, seeing cashiers sitting down was a bit of a culture shock the first time I visited Germany. That said, I like the idea and think companies should allow it in the USA.
Is there an advantage for the customer if the cashier has to stand the whole time?
The fact that cashiers are allowed to sit down should be a basic human right!
@hansmayer7652 not really tbh
It may help to improve customer service too!
When I first went to Trader Joe's, I was a bit shocked by the setup. The cashiers stood the whole time, there were no conveyor belts, and they chatted with me while packing my groceries. It was so different from what I was used to. I felt more comfortable at H-Mart, where the cashiers sat and didn't make small talk, hahah.
I felt especially bad for an older man working as a cashier at Trader Joe's. Standing for hours and walking around must be so tiring for him.
I live in the USA and I always try to organize my groceries logically at checkout. I’ve actually had cashier’s compliment me for how I line everything up.
It's always interesting seeing how other people live their lives. That bread cutting machine is awesome!
It is you do Not need to Cut your bread at home
We could not have that here too dangerous!
Wish we had that here
@@enjoystraveling Any where you can buy fresh baked bread, you can ask to have it sliced, they just don't trust us to operate it.
@@symptomoftheuniverse3862its just starts if the door is closed.
And its locked during the process
I have watched the series and I applaud the producer for making each video informative, interesting and entertaining.
I never knew German could be funny😂
If you are keen on "efficient shopping", Saturday won't be your day of choice. It's the day when office workers usually crowd the shops because that's when they have the time.
So while many congregate there on Saturdays, it's not exactly by choice.
Yep, I'll try to avoid the afternoons of Friday and Thursday, too.
Bottle deposit is coming in the US. When the kids were younger they enjoyed getting $25 in cans we saved in large plastic bags. These days we donate them to local charity and youth groups
Common in the US. Not coming. Spell check is weird!
Love this. I've only been in Germany for about two months, but Aldi in Australia has prepared me well 😂 I had no idea how perfectly German my shopping technique is!
I wish we have bottle recycling machines somewhere near shops here in Australia.
Well that sounds great. Greetings to Down Under, and I award you the first class shopping medal with ribbon for "foreigner efficiancy"! :)
@@Herzschreiber 😂 thanks, I think!
@@MikeStevens yaay I delivered some laughter..... bucket list for today closed.😇
@@A0111.we have it in Greater Geelong! Hooray. I am sure it’s because part of Geelong was once called German town! (Many other local councils across Melbourne and regional Victoria have implemented it.
I loved it when I was in Germany… and when someone was “begging” on the streets, they were often collecting unPfanded bottles!
I LOVED grocery shopping in Germany. Yes, I am used to Aldi in Australia (which I hate shopping at) but the variety of sprudelwasser - pear flavoured lightly sparkling water was my fave - and the enormous, multi level ‘regular’ supermarkets and then the eye wateringly huge selection of ‘personal products’ in Rossmann makes Priceline look like a kiosk.
And I have been using my own calico bags for groceries since 1987. I even take them overseas with me!
I'm Irish and most of that applies to any supermarket experience here also. The only things different are we use cards more to pay, and lots of self service checkouts.
Hi from Finland 🇫🇮 Same system here as in Germany. When we got Lidl here, the space for the scanned products was tiny as in this video. Finns absolutely hated them. Very quickly they were replaced with big roomy bins as in other stores here and now packing is a calmer process again.
Same here in Sweden as in Germany, Sweden and Finland. We love to recycle and use totebags 😊 If Im not wrong the same goes for Denmark and Norway. I like to shop when they have a self checkout, makes life so much easier! 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪
They got smaller in Canada too. I would rather not use self-check outs but now that they don't put your items into plastic bags they just shove your items down and start on the next person without giving you any time to bag your own items.
same happened in Denmark... we don't want stupid nonsense... Aldi had it too where you had like 20cm for your groceries and then they fell on the floor... yeah no thanks
@@LiLBitsDKYou're supposed to throw your items back into the trolley as they're scanned. Then you go over to the packing desk where you can take all the time you want to bag your stuff.
20 to 30 years ago German Aldi did not have scanners at their checkouts, instead the cashiers had to remember 4-digit codes for all the products in store and type them with one hand while handing the purchase with the other hand. They were ridiculously fast even back then but maybe they had problems finding personnel who could both type fast and easily remember hundreds of codes
What I found strange was the lady standing next to a shopper everywhere he would go, commenting his every move. We don't have that over here haha
Interesting video. Informative and well presented!
First thing first. Never start the saturday's shopping in a supermarket But starting with planning meals the friday evening. Then diving in the huge city market in Toulon and coming soon (8h15 max) for choosing the best in fruit, vegetables, fish and bread. Then visiting good butchers. This done, driving to my supermarket and finishing the job. Priority to good products, good food and my local economy.
People seemed to have misread the "one beer" - this is a "Wegbier" (walking beer) so he survives from the shop to home.
Of course, otherwise he is using a delivery service to get a couple of crates delivered, or more likely: he is living in Berlin on top of a 24-7 corner shop that sells beer.
That was my guess, but thanks for confirming it. Americans definitely don't know about street drinking in Europe unless they've seen it first hand.
Try that most places in the US and you'll be instantly arrested. But a "Weg-Coke" is perfectly OK. (Or, nowadays, bottled water or a sports drink.)
In fact, he lives in Frankfurt - you can see cars with a F - license plate at the beginning ...
Yep in australia we call them travellers.
I’m from the US state of Oregon. We’ve had a bottle and can deposit law for the last 45 years. It reduces waste and roadside litter. We love it.
The world should adopt the plastic bottle deposit/refund system!
Become part of the EU and you'll be forced to!
@@diannebayley4644 Unless you are french. I live in Germany at the french border, and my partner LOVES Volvic water (mineral still water, not sparkly) like his life depends on it. Last year, someone told him that in the next french town, like 20 minutes by car, the Volvic water is dirt cheap. He's going there once a month to buy in bulks, and it really is so much cheaper.
Unfortunately, unlike the german Volvic bottles, the french aren't part of the Pfand system. They end up in the plastic trash bin, and our amount of plastic trash has increased 3 times since he's buying them.
@@diannebayley4644 Nobody is forcing you to return the returnable bottles. If you have no sympathy for saving your environment from plastic and glass bottles or drinks cans, you can always throw them out of the window or put them somewhere where people with less money can collect them
The world should prohibit plastic bottles and return to re-using standard glass bottles for everything - no fancy Coke bottles, please.
The world should get rid of all plastic bottles!
You can (through some weird process) buy cigarettes at some supermarket tills which is very odd to me (from the U.K.). German petrol stations have a mind boggling amount of cigarettes and you still see cigarette machines. The worst things about visiting Germany are the need to have lots of cash and the amount of smoking. Those plus the weird shop opening times make it like visiting the U.K. in the 1970s.
The non discount supermarkets like Edeka usually have very little fresh bread and you have to go to an in store bakery which slows your shop down and, for us foreigners, involves a lot of finger pointing.
Smoking has been greatly reduced in Germany. You will no longer find a restaurant or similar where you can smoke. I don't have a single friend who smokes anymore.
The way this video made, I love it. Good job. 😊
We now have Aldi here in California. The whole store plan has been moved from Germany including the the sittig cashiers and the packing stations. The Aldi attitude is you people love our cars and you will learn to love our shopping methods.
We have Aldi in Ohio, too.
Aldi in South Carolina and Ohio have added self checkouts. Aldi says it's an experiment.
While Walmart in Germany was a complete failure.
We Germans like our anonymity while shopping, we don't
want to be greeted at the entrance.
I'm with you. I'm not German. I live in the USA and I find it extremely annoying having people greeting me at the Walmart. @@frankfahrenheit9537
Wait, aren’t cashiers in the US normally sitting down? Do they stand up all day?
German check out etiquette - and yes, shown here perfectly. Organized deposit of items to facilitate quick loading into bag. mad dash to a newly opened lane and then politely let someone else go first with one item, unless that person is a Draengler and tried to push to the front - in which they and their one item can wait. Late for the bus or not!
Happened to me, someone behind me asked the person in front of me, could *they could move in front, as if I never existed. Some Germans are cheeky, perhaps it has something to do with the socialist entitlement. Another episode, I had two items the person behind me asked could she could move to the front of me with three. I carefully explained to her the socialism with a no.
@@horserous“socialist entitlement”?!?
Asking the customer in front of you was bad manners. Or perhaps he or she simply suspected that your behavior was much worse, as your answer here clearly shows. Good or bad manners have nothing to do with socialism, but with upbringing.
Or that person was just an imported Karen or Ken. And isn't this a wonderful invention and export from the USA?
@@horserous ´socialist entitlement´? You must be American? Do you even know what socialism means?
I lived in Germany for about 5 years and I was very impressed with the supermarkets. I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices (at least 20 years ago!) and the FANTASTIC produce.
In my opinion I would say that many Germans shop on Saturday because the stores close too early during the week! My wife had to make a mad dash after work to get to the market before it closed. The stores closed even earlier on Saturdays, but at least most Germans were off that day and didn't have to sprint to do their shopping.
I don't think I ever bought bread at a market. Maybe it was great, but I much preferred my local bakery. Preferred it too much actually. I put on too many pounds from eating that otherworldly bread. Yum! One of the things I miss most about Germany.
The "Pfand" system is so great.
It took a long time to develop that properly. A very long time. Before it was total chaos.
@@boink800 I've used to live in Germany in the end of the 90s and it worked really well, maybe later went wrong but that time was really good.
Pennsylvania, USA here. Lidl & Aldi do very well here. I particularly like their cookies and chocolate.
Pa here too, and I love Aldi and Lidl. I think it’s a different pace of the regular markets we have.
Stuttgart, South Germany here. The official customer service check the ingredients of the products very strictly - and the cookies from Lidl and Aldi have the best results since 20 years - and I could give some sweets without regrets to my son. Now my son is 22 years old - the cookies are still his favorites. I prefer the chocolate. For many items is the quality at Lidls or Aldis much higher than of expensive bio labels (... but I can only speak about the situation here)... so it's funny to read, that you like the cookies and chocolate too ❤🎉
Well my mother and her family are from Schiedam, Holland. Oma made her own Speculaas and butter cookies so I know what is good and what is junk. Aldi and Lidl's cookies aren't Omas but they are very good. 🇳🇱🇩🇪🇺🇸
Watching this as a German, that has this exact experience every other day
I lived in Gauting for many years. There was Penny, Tengelmann, the Bäckerei, and the Konditerei… all really close to each other.
Penny was a challenge with self bagging.
Ha they sound like friends of yours.
When it comes to supermarkets, I don't think there is a better country than Germany. Been here for a few months and only recently got used to the low prices (due to low VAT). Please Germany, continue being wonderful ❤
Are you kidding?! Low prices were long ago. I can hardly afford my groceries. It's ridiculous how fast prices increase nowadays! Besides, in each supermarket you find the same items, no variety whatsoever. 🙁
@piarademacher4024 prices when up in every country and even more than in Germany. I have paid higher prices for groceries with a lower salary. I totally support your complain though because people deserve their life to improve year after year, not vice versa.
I am a german and I can say this is the most accurate description about the german shopping experience. TÜV sagt Video hat bestanden!
Where I live in Canada, we must pay a deposit on plastic bottles, but in order to return one for 5 cents Canadian, we must drive them to a special recycling centre. It is sad, but it is not worth it unless you drink LOTS of bottled beverages. So most people don’t do this, they just toss them in their biweekly recycling pick up. Except for us. We live in an apartment that doesn’t recycle anything and there is no pick up. And there is no glass recycling in the city I live in either.
I love shops in Germany and Austria.. I often fly there with empty suitcase for shopping...!
Here in our area of Northern California our Trader Joe's is like Aldi.
All the stores we shop at require reusable shopping bags and items in bottles glass or plastic have a 5¢ 10¢ deposit depending on the size of the container.
We also bring our own clean cloth bags for bulk items like produce, nuts, grains. bread. And clean glass jars or glass Pyrex containers for wet items from the deli, or meat section. Milk comes in glass bottles.
All of this certainly fits our green lifestyle 🙂
Trader Joe's is owned by Aldi
Trader Joe's IS Aldi
There is a huge difference between Aldi and Trader Joe's. At Trader Joe's the cashiers don't hurriedly push your groceries onto the tiny holding area even causing some of them to fall to the floor without any apology. I love that Trader Joe's emphasizes sustainability, but Aldi's in Germany focus on speed not sustainability.
Except three times the price of Aldi!
@@carlosrivera3260 Trader Joe's is a US chain store that was bought by Aldi NORD, former sister (or actually Brother lol) company of Aldi Süd, the later is known worldwide as just ALDI. Aldi Süd expanded into the international market directly with that name and the same rules and attitudes, and Aldi NORD chose to buy up existing chain stores and mostly leave many things as are, to adjust to the local situation.
Englishman here 🏴. I love German and Austrian supermarkets with their wonderful variety of foods. Their fresh meat and veg, but above all their bread. So much nicer than our supermarkets. My favourites were Billa, MPries, Kaufhof and Edeker but in Vienna I can spend hours in the lovely old Julius Meinel supermarkt ❤ Germany and Austria.
damn, I remember my first time at a German counter in Kaufland. Like I was a new recruit in an Army bootcamp. The one at the counter is a 68 yo Grandma with purple hair and a nose ring.
These speed rules apply until there’s some old grandma in Berlin who just wants to talk to the old lady at the checkout about returning something she bought two weeks ago. Be prepared to stay there for 10 minutes waiting while they argue. 😂
In Brazil we usually take our take time in the checkout. It was a very stressful experience to me when I had to go to the supermarket in Europe because you have to go really fast.
You don't. Just do not pack things immidetly. Throw them back into shopping cart, pay, move away, and pack in a relaxed manner.
@@ProjectExMachinathat is exactly what I do in Germany and also try to do it in Spain because it makes me very nervous and stressed to have to pack my groceries fast and badly. I try not to pay before having all my groceries in the bag but it is hard, in Spain sometimes I have had to tell the cashier to slow down.
@@TheHolyActivistif you are such in a hurry do not shop, it is not others fault.
To me, the goal of checkout is to get out of there! The customer should go at their own pace, but cashier speed is the key. I prefer the US/European pace; sitting in long lines at a Brazil checkout because all the cashiers are chatting and moving slowly is super frustrating.
I place my goods back into the shopping cart every time. I haul groceries home in a small granny cart and they need to be packed a certain. I've carried washable bags everywhere for the last 15-18 years now--long before the 7¢ local bag fee became the norm.
Mostly accurate. But of course I wouldn't be German if I didn't have a couple of corrections:
- The preference for cash is a generational thing. Michael looks like he's a millennial, so he'd probably prefer paying by card (but very often self-checkouts aren't operating because the shop is lacking the personnel to monitor them)
- The cashiers at EDEKA and other "regular" supermarkets are comparatively slow. If you want the highspeed experience, go to a discounter, especially Aldi.
- Michael would never just buy a single bottle of beer when doing his weekly shopping. Though seeing as he lives in a city, he's probably getting his drinks delivered and this is just for funsies.
The deposit for plastic bottles needs to come to Asia as well, it'll work so well and reduce so much plastic waste here
Worst thing about literally EVERY supermarket I have visited outside of Scandinavia: There is barely any space to bag the groceries. This always causes unnecessary waiting as the cashier must stall Customer 2 until Customer 1 has picked up all their items.
By now the Aldi cashiers even ask you to hurry up! After this happened to me I asked them if it weren't an appropriate idea then to put a sign in their window that seniors who are not meeting their standards in speed are no longer welcome at their market. I got no answer from the cashier, but applause from the people behind me! Btw, needless to say I no longer put my feet in Aldi supermarkets, right? 😏
@@piarademacher4024 😂
Love the bread slicer where u can pick the thickness
I think must bakeries will do that for you.
No, there were the three buttons! L for thin, M for medium, R for thick.
This nicely sums up my Saturday ❤
Very nicely done video
Most of Australia now has a very similar setup, except that the machines for getting the deposit back on your bottles and aluminium cans are less conveniently located and not as numerous. Aldi is the catalyst.
Ah, great, I was looking for this since you said it is comming in your last response. Thanks a lot for it 🤩
Next: The Average German & Hiking? 🙃
ditto!
I've lived in Germany for over 30 years. Every time my mom comes over, I cringe at going shopping. She has no clue about foreign currency, which slows things down for the impatient customers behind us (she is so cute and kind and won't let me pay!). She also always asks if they take American Express (90 % NO), and asks the same question the next day at the same checkout. Having to pack one's own groceries is incomprehensible to her. (And to be fair, I embarrassed her in Canada more than once, because I forget and start packing myself!)
I love my mom. 🤗
In Hungary this is 100% percent accurate, since we also shopping (mostly) in supermarkets with German ownership.
1. LIDL + ALDI cashiers are the fastest ever in the world (maybe they are under influence by their policy) also, SPAR has the slowest cashiers.
2. It is highly logical to put hard / bulky / boxed items first, not like many people put like tomato or eggs first, then the anvil to the top.
3. When new queue opens, we ran for our life to beat everyone else to be the first in the new queue, sometime to realize, the cashier is still in the locker room.
Just a little thing: Spar is not german owned. The original one is from the netherlands, and Spar in hungary was founded by Spar-austria as far as i read.
Im from England where the shop assistants packed the shopping for me . Being slower and older now, the checkout here in Germany can be stressful; but only if I play the game. Sometimes I just take my time and act like a civilised person and to my suprise, nobody gets annoyed .
Respect the man for leaving his barber in the midst to film this video
German here, living in Australia. I go to Aldi for Christmas treats like Lebkuchen, Marzipan, Stollen and Adventskalender, but they also have good pickles sometimes and mini gherkins. I like the self checkout now because you can be slow. 😊🐢
In Sweden you pay a 10 cent deposit per soda bottle. Not plastic bottles for olive oil, shampoo and similar. It works very well and it does reduce plastic waste.
I also love putting things in order - first the heaviest and then the lightest! hahahahahah!
In Brazil, there is a custom to buy vegetables and fruits at small markets that take place near the neighborhoods, two to three times a week, as, in addition to being closer, they are fresher products! However, large supermarkets also sell it.
1:07 It's amusing that she mentioned that hard discounters in Germany offer "a more no-frills shopping experience." In Canada, the largest hard discount supermarket chain is called No Frills.
1:30, some states have this here in USA and I’ve lived in a couple of them. As a low income American, I wish this was more wide spread.
Check out would stress me out. No matter how fast I try to be... I'm never fast enough for the cashier. Thank God for self-checkout. Minimal chat and I can go at my pace.
I dream of being as grocery efficient as a German. Hoping to visit within the next 6 months.
Several years back, at Aldi tgey did not have scanners but the cashiers put all the prices by memory into the cash desk. And you never were quick enough to store your goods away. The cashiers were incredibly fast at it. It was amazing!
You must place the goods tactically on the checkout belt. Distribute deposit vouchers or goods that have to be weighed by the cashier between the other items. This gives you time to put things away. 😁
If you want a less ‘stressful’ shopping experience, you can go to normal supermarkets. The cashiers there are not quite as fast and the area for the purchases after the checkout is larger. In discount supermarkets, the lack of space after the checkout has been specially designed so that people have to put their goods in their shopping trolleys more quickly.
But that's where I'm really German. If I can keep up with putting things away or even have to wait for the cashier, I often think to myself ‘I wonder if that could be done quicker’...😴
Foreigner in Germany. Use the Pfand receipts and the bread packets tactically to slow down the cashiers! Also pay by card because it takes time to confirm sometimes, giving you extra time to pack your things
@@6023barath Good tip. The casier have to Count the Bread Rolls
@@6023barath Mit karte bitte.
There should be a sign on checkouts, like on the buses : " do not talk to cashier " . If someone is lonely, they can go to social club, church, mcmillans coffe event or charity shop to chat. People shopping are busy people, most of us coming back from work and want to buy grocery quickly cause we are starving and still need to make a meal at home 🤪
Checkout from supermarket is the most stressful touch point 😂
From the USA...
❤ the plastic recycling deposits station..The whole bread slicer..Shield between customers from cashier ..We have then in some stores, (especially Convenient store)..❤
Keep them coming. Love from India 😊 Great work with the Average German series DW.
The only problem here is that the Edeka cashiers (like Rewe) are actually well paced - its Frau Netto & Frau Aldi you have to be ready for
😅😅😅
One beer only ? Does he go shopping daily ? Without a car he probably goes more often.
This is surely just a ‘Wegbier’. He must have at least a whole crate of beer at home.
For the non-Germans:
‘Wegbier’ is a German expression for a beer that is drunk on the way to another place. Usually when you're on the way to a pub anyway.
In Germany, discounter are usually smaller than supermarkets in the USA, but in large cities you often only have to walk a few hundred meters to the next discounter. You only have to go further for exotic things. Supermarkets/discounter are allowed in residential areas. So yes, you can easily go shopping on foot (in large cities). Because it's so easy, I shop groceries several times a week (2-3 times). Notice while cooking that something is missing? No problem, except on Sundays and public holidays.
You have many opportunities to buy beer in particular: supermarkets/discounters, gas stations, beverage shops and small shops (e.g. Spätis in Berlin). So no need to store beer.
@@schnelma605 Yes! Here in Weissensee, I have an Aldi, Netto, Edeka and Lidl all within about 500 metres - and actually the first three of those are within about 200 metres! Spoiled for choice 😁
@@schnelma605 i was going for buying a box of 20. And to follow the clichee, you need at least 2 per day.
I could just make a deal with a brewery or a beverage market. They deliver whatever i order to my door and take the empty bottles with them. Plus - there is a place to buy beer around the clock wherever a gas station is!
In Australia we also like Aldi. We are not scared of self service. The thing I noticed is that Germany has greater choices.
We used to have deposits on glass pop bottles in the past, we used to collect them, take them back to the chip shop, either walk away with the money or buy chips
Same, in Australia. Well, South Australia never got rid of it, but other states did. Thankfully, my home state of Victoria is in the process of bringing it back - but I doubt we'll ever see the lovely German tradition of leaving Pfand bottles next to bins for the needy to collect. I see far too many struggling Aussies digging about in public bins for bottles 😿
@@MikeStevens All the Nordic have the same system.
Denmark is the pioneer country. It's not German per se. :)
German grocery shopping seemed a lot like American shopping to me. More in common than different. One thing I liked a lot that WAS different was the bread slicer. Very cool !!!
I needed that laugh, Tack, Thank you, I mean Danke Schoen😂
Austria we say: Zack, I guess even the beeping has regional dialect😀
I love Germans!!! Thank you for being who you are you are beautiful! California kid here!
I went shopping once and found this photo printing machine, so awesome!
They’re pretty common in drugstores :)
That normal since a few years ago in my country in big supermarkets especially auchan
Great as always!😂😂
There's worlds between Aldi and Edeka checkout speeds/rushing. In Aldi you're rushed to pack. Even already processing the next while you're still packing the rest.
In Edeka, not.
At least in my experience, my Aldi and Edeka.
I never understood why people can get stressed when being at the checkout. I always take my time to neatly pack my bag. The handy thing is, there just is no space at the register, so when I pack the bag slower as the cashier is scanning the items, after a couple the cashier naturally has to stop because there is no more place for her to put any more items. This completely regulates the speed and works great. Just chill, relax and take your time to bag your items.
Just like Lidl and Aldi here in the UK. I love the bottle back for credit idea, we could be doing that here.
My partner and I live in Málaga. Malagueños chat with the cashier while the items are being scanned, only get their cards to pay AFTER everything is ready ( nobody pays cash ! ) and slowly pack while chatting after payment. It is a slow process but there is plenty of precious social contact. So different from Amsterdam where we used to live.
Michael would feel absolutely at home in Ireland - I really can't see any differences
Well done! This video was both entertaining and educational. 👍👍
In the US you go to the grocery store in pajamas and slides, while going down the isles you drink a soda and eat chips, you put items back on the wrong shelf, you do self checkout for the biggest discounts, you leave your shopping cart behind the car parked next to you and your recycling items next to your car door as you leave.
I'm in North Carolina, and I have never seen anyone shop in Pajamas. People always speak to you. One thing I really like is no one ever leaves a cart in the parking lot. It always goes to the little cart area even if you have to walk all the way across the parking lot.
WARNING: DO NOT watch people of Walmart. Your eyes will burn and you won't be able to unsee it/them and your vision of the US will be kind of factual. But, most Americans are decent good people!!! It's vile and disgusting and I can't believe anyone, especially women want to be seen. One lady had "streaks" in the back of her barely there shorts or maybe it was her pajamas. It doesn't matter. America is a culture shock and mostly not in the best way and I'm American.
In the UK our eggs are not refrigerated either, as it just isn't neeeded. Like our Aldi and Lidl the packing is super fast but since I had a stroke and move slowly these days, the staff are super nice, thoughtful and patient, bless them. :)
I was amused with Clare's fly-on-a-wall description of Michael's routine and how organized Germans are. Here in Montreal we have basically the same thing except the cashiers don't sit and people are less worried about their private info at the self-check. Carrying a 2nd bag into another store might get you looks of suspicion. Also, a lot of people don't even bother to go to a Lidi type store and just pay the crazy prices.
Have an Aldis in our area. They can scan your items faster than you can do it yourself. Also we got used to bringing our own totes and have and "Aldis quarter" in each car for the shopping carts
Aldi quarter 😂
"tote".......means in german "dead woman" or "a dead ......"..........kitchen is a prison..........and gift is poison in german
We have those here in Australia but it's an aldi $2.
If you really want a unique grocery shopping experience, go to Auburn, California.
Haha good video 😊 I think you forgot to tell that Germans buy crates of beer. Our supermarkets are quite similar to yours. We have plastic, glass bottles machines, which give you a voucher. Here it's popular to scan your own items. Every market has a place for that.
I love this video. It captures the German way of doing shopping in supermarkets. And it is very funny and entertaining. Please make more of these kinds of videos.
With the Pfand, they reinvented the wheel. I was doing the same as a kid in the 90s.
Decades ago, I used to have to bring the bottles to the fresh meat counter and give it to the lady behind the counter who'll then give me cash in return. Now they have machines for that. 👍👍👍
The recycling machines are the greatest!! The pfand is large enough at 0.25euro that most people do bring back the bottles. Smart system
In Sydney Australia, our Pfand is called Return and Earn. The machines are the same, but they are not inside the shop, they are generally in outdoor locations such as carparks, often in odd locations.
I think more people would use them if they were inside the supermarket like in Germany.
The return system in NSW is really broken. They have actually removed some really big ones near me that had parking and big bunkers for the empties - now there are 2 tiny machines - about the size of a snack/drink vending machines - hidden behind some garden boxes at the local big shopping center, and they fill up within a few hours of being emptied so you can't use them, no parking either. It seems to just be being used as a way to collect extra revenue because you can't find working return machines.
In the US you can usually choose between sliced and unsliced loaves. And any bakery will slice your bread upon request
I'm not fine with the 2 arguments why self-checkout options are not used in Germany!😂
First it's not allowed to use them, when you have more than about 7 items (I've already been reprimanded for it😅). Then scaning bread-rolls) from the in-store baking shop is a nightmare.
Most important, if you buy alcohol. you wait endless for a staff with the age rating card. So with bread and beer I'm therefore 10 times faster at a usual checkout. And this is the most important german lifelesson: don't waste time in the supermarket...while you have to cut your green (cause its saturday!).🎉
I mean, for the alcoholic stuff they could scan an ID - like the cigarette vending machines do.
My monthly visits to Edeka were the best days of my life.