Aldi vs. Save-A-Lot

Okay, so today I visited a Save-A-Lot grocery store for the first time. I have to admit that I was not that impressed. I have been shopping at Aldi forever, and I love their store. The prices are great, as well as the quality of their food. I live about 35 minutes from Aldi, but make the trip once a month to stock up on all the staple items that are priced well. In my opinion the trip is totally worth it. However, I had heard some things about Save-A-Lot, so I wanted to give it a try. I printed some coupons from the web-site, and set out on my "grocery mission".

When I walked into the store, I was a little disappointed. I know that stores like Aldi and Save-A-Lot cut down on their operating costs with the way that they merchandise and shelve their stores, as I said I am very familiar with Aldi. With that being said, the Save-A-Lot that I visited left a lot to be desired. It seemed dark and a little dirty. As I walked around the store, I got the items that I had coupons for, but noticed that the other items were priced higher than they are at Aldi.

When I got to the register, the cashiers were standing in a group up front talking. Granted the store was not very busy, but there were several things that needed improvement in the store. Coming from a retail background, I know for a fact that there is always something to do, even if it is dusting the shelves. While checking out, I handed the cashier my coupons and to my surprise she did not know what to do with them. They accepted the coupons and were very nice, but since the coupons were from the store web-site, I was shocked that she did not know how to put them into the system.

So, what did I learn from my experience today? I know for a fact now that I like Aldi way better than Save-A-Lot. I know that each store is different, and I am sure there are some wonderful Save-A-Lot stores outthere, however mine is not one of them. I think that Aldi has better prices, and a better store in general.

Do you have any thoughts on the issue, please share them by leaving a comment on the post.