What I learned from a job interview at an Aldi supermarket and why I will never shop there
All cashiers must be available to work between the hours of 6am and 11pm, 7 days a week.
This is a strike against me because I rely on public transportation. Because of the distance I would have to travel, it is a 1.5-2 hour ride, requiring me to take 2 different buses to get there. I would have to catch the first bus at 4am, when that bus isn't even running yet. The 2nd bus I would have to catch doesn't even start running till 6am. I would be late for work by the time I stepped on it.
And even if I could get there at that time, if there is a possibility I would be scheduled to work till 11pm, that would mean I would be a female waiting for a bus, alone in a rough neighborhood known for it's gang activity, after midnight. I would be an easy target for a mugging and/or rape. I would have to be nuts to put myself in that situation.
All cashiers must be capable of spending long hours on their feet doing very fast paced physical work, capable of lifting 45lb boxes.
This is the other 2 strikes against me. When you walk into an Aldi supermarket and see that their cashiers sit on their butts in chairs while they are ringing up your groceries, it is very misleading. They do not sit there all day doing that.
They also do all the stock work, all the heavy stock work, involving a lot of heavy lifting. Aldi does not hire a stocking crew like other supermarkets. They don't hire anyone except cashiers and they make their cashiers do EVERYTHING.
And they run with a skeleton crew, with the least amount of people possible per shift. They work their cashiers to death. Burn them out, throw them away, hire more to replace them.
I only applied for the job because the cashiers were sitting and I thought that their cashiers were just cashiers. I have problems with my feet and can't spend long hours standing without causing myself a great deal of physical pain that would require a long recovery time. I can take a sit down job where the most standing I'd do would be on my commute back and forth to work. Perhaps when I was younger I could have handled the heavy lifting part of it, but not at my age. I'd probably throw my back out on the first day.
So unless you can spend 8 hours a day on your feet, running around like a chicken with your head cut off, lifting heavy boxes, this job is not for you.
They also prefer their cashiers to have extensive retail experience and managerial or supervisory experience, preferably in retail. (this one wasn't a strike against me.)
And unlike other supermarkets, they are non-union. I do not believe the supermarket cashiers union would ever allow their members to be treated this way.
So, now you know how Aldi keeps their prices low, and why they pay their cashiers $4.50/hr over the minimum wage, to start. The manager even admitted that this is the reason for their low prices. I wonder how many of the cashiers they hire even last the 3 months required to start receiving benefits, without their bodies falling apart.
Now, my husband took the trip there with me, since I did not think I'd ever be able to find the place on my own. He is much more familiar with the bus routes and that area than I am. Before we left the place, he insisted on buying a bag of pork rinds, because they were so cheap and he didn't have any more at home. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to get into an argument with him, but I will never shop in one of their stores. I wouldn't feel right about it. Not until they are unionized. Those cashiers need it.
To be perfectly honest, I think if you are working in an Aldi store and making less than $20/hr, you are probably being cheated.
