Aldi tells till staff: Scan 1,000 items an hour or face the sack
Whistleblower’s claim after he quit over ‘one every 3.5 seconds’ target
IT claims to get you through the checkout queue 40 per cent quicker than its rivals – and there seems to be a good reason Aldi’s till staff are so speedy.
A whistleblower claims the chain’s workers face the sack if they fail to scan at least 1,000 items an hour.
Former deputy manager Andrei Ignatescu said those who miss the target, which equates to an item every 3.5 seconds, are hauled into performance reviews with managers and can be ‘let go’ if it happens three times.
But he said some customers were angry at not having enough time to bag their shopping. Mr Ignatescu accused bosses of knowing the figure was ‘unrealistic’ but said it was used to pressure staff into working at breakneck pace.
‘Staff have to meet a target of scanning a minimum of 1,000 items per hour,’ said Mr Ignatescu, who worked at a store in Ely, Cambridgeshire.
‘We all got performance reviews and deputy managers would get told if they were not keeping up.
‘If you don’t hit these targets, you are shown your actual speed and have a performance review meeting with managing staff. If this happens three times you can be let go.
‘I had to be fast and many customers were not happy about it. Sometimes customers would swear at me because of how fast I was going.
‘I told the managers this but they didn’t listen. They don’t care because they can easily find other staff.’
The chain has previously stated its tills were 40 per cent quicker than those of its rivals, a key factor in driving down costs for shoppers.
The 28-year-old said: ‘They expect you to be like a robot.
‘My colleagues felt the same as me… but they needed the money.’ The quota was written on a sheet on the staff canteen wall, according to Romanianborn Mr Ignatescu, who lives in Ely with his pregnant fiancee.
Monthly performances were also displayed, he claims, effectively naming and shaming those who were least efficient. Some struggled to reach 800 items per hour.
He said: ‘Achieving a speed of 1,000 items an hour is a challenge because it depends on how the customer reacts.
‘They don’t come to see a race, they come to do their shopping. Aldi says the com‘What
‘They do it to keep pressure on’
pany loses money if you don’t keep to this target.
‘They want to have fewer staff on the tills because they want staff out stocking shelves and on the shop floor.’
Mr Ignatescu quit his job three weeks ago because he ‘couldn’t handle it any more’. He now works in construction.
No one he knows was sacked for under-performing but he was aware of one colleague who was ‘told to be careful’. He said: they demand is unrealistic but they do it to keep pressure on staff. I took some days off because of the stress.’
Earlier this year Aldi – which pays a minimum of £8.53 per hour, the highest rate in the supermarket sector – became Britain’s fifth biggest supermarket by market share, overtaking Co-op.
The firm says that it keeps costs down by stocking a limited range of products and selling items that come in ‘shelfready’ packaging.
Customers have spoken online about the speed of the supermarket’s checkout staff.
One said: ‘Reckon there should be some kind of counselling for after you’ve been through the checkout at Aldi to recover from the speed.’
Another commented: ‘I’m close to an anxiety attack every time I shop at Aldi due to the insane speed.’
Asked about till targets, the company said: ‘This former employee never raised any of these matters during his time with us and his claims are unrepresentative of the views of our 29,000 colleagues.’
It said 85 per cent of staff felt Aldi was a great place to work.