LIDL: What are they like to work for?

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Interesting thread...on one page we have people comment on the poor experience of the working environment (hours worked etc) worked and on the other those commenting on how cheap they are compared to competitors........perhaps it is because one is directly related to the other
Hardly rocket science if the likes of Lidl/Aldi legitimately get the best out of their employees and thereby effect efficiencies that lead to lower prices and better competition compared to others in the market?
 
We did. Much of their own brand stuff is awful. Never again. But then again, what do you expect for the price I suppose.
I totally disagree that Lidl/Aldi food products are generally "awful". As far as I know the NCA survey which was pretty comprehensive and rigorous would agree. I suspect that some of them are even probably produced on the same lines as big brand products.
 
I suspect that some of them are even probably produced on the same lines as big brand products.
But even if that is true, in a small number of cases, I doubt they are made from the same materials or to the same specification. There are so many factories in the far east producing stuff now, you know.
 
We did. Much of their own brand stuff is awful. Never again. But then again, what do you expect for the price I suppose.
Own brand apples, oranges, onions, turnips, grapes, potatoes, salad stuff etc? I find their fresh fruit and vegetables to be consistently better than the larger chains.
I also find their Bord Bia approved meat to be the same as Tesco or Superquinn Bord Bia approved meat. We don’t buy much processed food so don’t really know how they compare.
 
But even if that is true, in a small number of cases, I doubt they are made from the same materials or to the same specification. There are so many factories in the far east producing stuff now, you know.
Cabbages are made of cabbage. They are not produces in factories in the Far East.
 
But even if that is true, in a small number of cases, I doubt they are made from the same materials or to the same specification. There are so many factories in the far east producing stuff now, you know.
I don't recall many of their food products having been produced in the far east!

Anyway - if you don't like their products (across the board) and are happy to pay higher prices elsewhere then that's your right. But to tar much (most?) of their stuff as awful is simply not true in my opinion. Obviously some others agree with me.
 
Interesting thread...on one page we have people comment on the poor experience of the working environment (hours worked etc) worked and on the other those commenting on how cheap they are compared to competitors........perhaps it is because one is directly related to the other

+1 I so agree with you
 
Hardly rocket science if the likes of Lidl/Aldi legitimately get the best out of their employees and thereby effect efficiencies that lead to lower prices and better competition compared to others in the market?

Thats why so many posters have said that they are such a good firm to work for so:rolleyes:.....where do I sign up...........
 
This thread is about what lidl are like too work for not the quality of products they sell..

My expeirience from working for them is as per my first post on page one...a very bad one.

Saying that my experience from shopping from them is a good one.

They cheap of the cheap products can be bad, but many of the products they sell are of good quality, the fruit and veg is as good as you can get anywhere, and I know that as I worked in the shop as well as tested the fruit and veg when it comes into the main warehouses...they are very strict on quality.


If you shop in lidl you don't buy everything from them but i'd buy a lot of products from them that are simply much better value.

Shopping around saves you money... Just doing all your shopping in one shop isn't a good idea for your pocket, even if it saves a bit of time.
 
Thats why so many posters have said that they are such a good firm to work for so:rolleyes:.....where do I sign up...........
Not sure what your point is but as I said earlier in the thread I seem to have seen a lot of the same faces working in my local Lidls and Aldis for years at a stretch. Presumably they are able to hack it and find something beneficial in working there. They don't seem oppressed to me and I find them more polite, helpful and friendly than many of the staff in my local Tescos and Dunnes Stores.
 
Wow, there are more posts here about the quality of food then about employment conditions.

Maybe if you worked for 2-3 years and left you can work for another supermarket chain that demanded less hours.
You'd learn a lot in your time in Lidl or Aldi but once you can't do the hours anymore then I'd imagine other supermarkets would love to hire you

Offtopic: By far the friendliest and most helpful staff are in M&S. Maybe they are under strict instructions to be like but it's nice to see. They also seem to be a bit older than the teenagers you meet in Tesco or Dunnes.
 
Not sure what your point is but as I said earlier in the thread I seem to have seen a lot of the same faces working in my local Lidls and Aldis for years at a stretch. Presumably they are able to hack it and find something beneficial in working there. They don't seem oppressed to me and I find them more polite, helpful and friendly than many of the staff in my local Tescos and Dunnes Stores.

The point is that your view that they extract legitimate hours from their employees is not backed up by other posters, and also that aspect doesn't really seem to bother people as long as they get tins of beans for 20p...
 
I know one manager who is with them for the last 3 years and one for 1 year. Both agree the working hours are long but they are extremely well remuniated and both for the moment are happy there. I don't think they abuse their staff at all as implied by the post, I don't know where you came up with that.

The point is that your view that they extract legitimate hours from their employees is not backed up by other posters, and also that aspect doesn't really seem to bother people as long as they get tins of beans for 20p...
 
I know one manager who is with them for the last 3 years and one for 1 year. Both agree the working hours are long but they are extremely well remuniated and both for the moment are happy there. I don't think they abuse their staff at all as implied by the post, I don't know where you came up with that.


Why dont you go and read the comments of the posters on the first page of this thread..............(indeed as I cited in my initial post)
 
Why dont you go and read the comments of the posters on the first page of this thread..............(indeed as I cited in my initial post)
You mean the single negative first hand experience that was posted:
I got a job with lidl as a systems engineer. During the initil period your required to work in all sections of the industry, such as the shop and warehouses and all that.

My contract was that I would work from 8 until 6 every day.

My first day I was required to arrive at 7am, I was given a brief intro and then instructed to drive to the shop to start work there...I didn't end up finishing until 11pm.

So 1st day was from 7am to 11pm....not a good sign and barely got a break in that time also.

2nd day was 9 until after 11 also...after 2 weeks of working in the shop I had to go work in the warehouse....which they refused to tell me what my working hours would be after me asking

They just told me that I had too work until the manager decided it was enough.

So started in the warehouse at 6am didn't get to finish until 10pm that night.

Next day was the same.

I felt I was being totally abused and basically once you work in lidl you have no life outside it.

Sure they offer a nice salary and you get to drive around in an audi, but its really like making a deal with the devil. And it also feels like that.

I would recommend staying away from them.
along with a few other second or third hand anecdotal ones?
My Oh works for a large supermarket as management and certainly does not have a hand off job, far from it in fact, he already has accrued about 16wks hols which there is no time to take off.

I interviewed somebody who had done a stint at their head office (Kildare?) and found it to be a very tough environment.

Speaking from experience don,t go near them!!!

I know someone who worked there as a trainee manager. They said you could replace the 'ID' in their name with "HE", jumble the letters, and have a far more descriptive name!

From their point of view, the money and benefits seemed good on paper, but the "required" hours bordered on the illegal (depending on how you interpreted the Working Time directives.).

As you can probably tell, they hated it, which may have jaundiced their view!

I know of one position I think based in their HQ which had a relatively good salary but required you to be on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year (so I was told by someone who interviewed for it) to be able to up and head off to any of their stores around the country. Oddly enough the last I heard was that they had no takers for the job. You also needed to speak excellent German so that limited the field somewhat too. No idea if its been filled since.

I have a relation working as a manager for Lidl. It's certainly not for someone looking for the easy life. While he's been there a lot of people have come and gone - mostly people who expected a hands-off management role - it's very different to being a manager in the other supermarkets and that comes as a shock to some. Working in the shops is very much hands on for all members of staff; including lifting and moving boxes of stock. Days are long but they are rigorous about not breaching their legal requirements on maximum working hours. Lidl are not the only employers that don't pay overtime or give time in lieu - I've never worked for anyone that gave either of these. All said it's not for you if you're afraid of hard work, but someone prepared to roll up their sleeves and get on with things can do well.

My Brother worked as a store manager in Lidl for 2 years and his best mate worked as a district manager for the same length of time. In the end it wore both of them down, the long days, rotating weekends, bank holidays etc. Although they were well remunerated (district manager more so), they found it stressful enough at times.
They both say that it would amaze them if any other company in Ireland has a higher turnover of staff. It wears you down in the end. They reckon that morale and job satisfaction are non-existent, and that even the fairly high level of remuneration will not make employees stick around too long.
 
along with a few other second or third hand anecdotal ones?

So the point you are making is that what people tell their partners, wives, brothers, other relatives, friends about their working conditions in situations where they can talk in a candid way isn't a valid basis for getting an insight into the working conditions and environment of a company?

So, lets assume that is the case, why do people, such as the OP, when they are deciding whether to apply to a company or researching for a job interview with a company seek out those who are or know people who have worked for the company. Indeed, you would imagine that they draw conclusions from the information that they glean.

Indeed, if I were to extend your point to its logical conclusion, then askaboutmoney.com would not work as nobody would believe or act on the anecdotal information that they receive from those who are total strangers to them.
 
So the point you are making is that what people tell their partners, wives, brothers, other relatives, friends about their working conditions in situations where they can talk in a candid way isn't a valid basis for getting an insight into the working conditions and environment of a company?
No - I just pointed out that there was a single instance of a first hand account and then several second or third hand anecdotal accounts of negative working experiences earlier in this thread. It's up to the individual to judge how much weight to give to these when drawing conclusions about how good/bad Lidl might be as an employer. Personally I wouldn't really jump to too many conclusions/generalisations based on that sort of evidence. That's all. Others - especially those who might have other objections to or grudges against the company - might take a different view.
 
So the point you are making is that what people tell their partners, wives, brothers, other relatives, friends about their working conditions in situations where they can talk in a candid way isn't a valid basis for getting an insight into the working conditions and environment of a company?

So, lets assume that is the case, why do people, such as the OP, when they are deciding whether to apply to a company or researching for a job interview with a company seek out those who are or know people who have worked for the company. Indeed, you would imagine that they draw conclusions from the information that they glean.

Indeed, if I were to extend your point to its logical conclusion, then askaboutmoney.com would not work as nobody would believe or act on the anecdotal information that they receive from those who are total strangers to them.

That is so true.

From what I have read on this thread, first hand, second hand or third hand, I know Lidl would not be somewhere I would like to work. There only appeared to be one positive posting about working for them.

In their defence, I dont think its just Lidl. I worked in retail management in a past life. At that time, the hours were long (often did 8am -9.30pm) and awkward, the pay was okish for its time (before Celtic Tiger), but you lived and breathed the company. At one stage, I worked for 31 days on the trot (Monday to Sunday) without a day off.

The company is now defunct, but some of the people I worked with stayed within the Retail Sector and still work under similar conditions.
 
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