Things to love and hate about Aldi

Probably like a lot of other people, I have mixed feelings about Aldi.

Firstly, things I don't like:

(a) the credit card surcharge (in general I regard these as being a tax-deductible cost of doing business which should not be passed on to consumers); and

(b) the checkout system. This requires you first to empty your entire trolley onto the conveyor belt. The cashier then passes the goods over a scanner at lightning speed onto a small area (the size of a postage stamp (well actually around the size of an A4 sheet of paper) on the other side of the scanner. There is not enough room to pack the goods into bags, and instead you are required to put the goods back in the trolley in a haphazard fashion as fast as you can in order to avoid the postage stamp becoming overwhelmed. You then need to wheel your trolley over to a packing shelf, take all the goods out of the trolley again and re-pack them into bags to take home. This is exhausting just thinking about it, let alone doing it!

The check-out system might work wiith minimum inconvenience for a few things, but it definitely does not work for a full-sized 'shop', where a full trolley can take up the whole conveyor belt and take a lot of time to re-pack. I tried this once, but never again!!

Moral of the story: if you want to do all your shopping at once and have it neatly packed in bags when you exit the cash register, do not go to Aldi. Go to one of the other supermarkets, which still have people who will help you pack as well as self-service checkout machines (which I also hate, but for different reasons, as their programming is inflexible and they 'chuck a hissy fit' if you put your own bags in the packing area if you have not pre-selected this option, and expect you to pack at superhuman speed, saying repetitively "please take your goods" when you are nowhere near ready to do so!).

Anway, the good things about Aldi are its goods and prices (and the weekly specials wilth all sorts of cool things).

I have previously sung the praises of the Aldi Expressi coffee range, but today I will just mention a couple of other things which are well priced and good quality.

The first is the Bakehouse premium bread range. It comes in a similar range and presentation to the much more expensive Helga's range, but tastes just as good.

The other is the Brooklea Joi creamy light probiotic yoghurt range (Strawberry, Mixed Berry and Peach Mango). For me the pick of the range is the Mixed Berry. It is flavoursome, creamy without being too sweet, and has that lovely slightly 'bitey' tartness familiar to berry lovers. It actually has stawberries, raspberries, bluberries and blackcurrant juice in it. At $3.59 for one litre, this sure beats the competition.

A bouquet for Virgin Australia (Melbourne to Perth)

I recently flew to Perth and back within twenty four hours (for work purposes) with Virgin Australia.

Travelling economy on this occasion was more pleasant than most. Although the flight was about two hours late in leaving Melbourne (allegedly due to bad weather over the past couple of days) and the in-flight entertainment system was not working, it was a pleasant surprise to be offered complimentary beverages and then a hot evening meal (which was reasonably nice). I commented on this and was told that it is standard practice on transcontinental flights. The flight attendants were polite, friendly and helpful.

It was also nice that an announcement asking people to raise teir seats to an upright position was made when the meal was about to be served.

The return flight the next day left on time (and arrived early), the (free) entertainment system was working, and we had the same crew and same food and beverage service. It was nice to be remembered by the friendly flight attendant from the previous day!

Well done to Virgin for making our long trip as pleasant as possible.

In praise of Vistaprint ...

(Updated 09 January 2014 - addendum added.)

www.vistaprint.com.au

I was first introduced to Vistaprint a few years ago by my sister and since then have benefited from their discounted and/or free offers on customised printing, including address labels, business cards, calendars, rubber stamps and fabric/clothing items such as T-shirts.

Their service has always been prompt and the products have received exactly what I have ordered and of good quality. Where these items were gifts they have been appreciatively received. I had a problem with my most recent order at midnight on a Friday night due to being unable to submit a voucher code for a discount, and after I discovered that customer service is normally open until 10pm on weekdays (impressive in itself) I sent an email using the facility provided, which gave a promise to reply within one business day. I was even more impressed when I received an apologetic personalised email on Saturday morning stating that the problem had been resolved and a credit would be provided.

You rarely see such a high standard of customer service and Vistaprint are to be commended for this. I for one will continue to be a loyal customer!

(Vistaprint is represented internationally and also has websites for many other countries.)

As an example, here are pictures of some stickers that I ordered (either free or A$1.49 each!).

Addendum: I did have a problem with one faulty calendar, which was not discovered for some months after delivery. At first Customer Service declined to do anything, citing the period of time that had elapsed, but I wrote back stating that the calendar was still current and citing consumer rights with regard to goods that were not fit for purpose, etc. and then another customer service representative wrote back in a very conciliatory fashion and arranged for the calendar to be replaced free of charge. In the end they were very charming and helpful, which is to their credit, and means that I will remain as a happy customer. However, perhaps the moral of the story is to check everything carefully on delivery so that any issues can be dealt with promptly.