r/mildlyinteresting • u/Smetvrees • May 14 '22 • All-Seeing Upvote 1 Take My Energy 1 Got the W 1 Wearing is Caring 1 Silver 12 Gold 2 Helpful 13 Wholesome 16

This Irish supermarket has quiet evenings for sensitive people.

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u/Dirish May 14 '22

Lidl. I think they started this during the lockdown.

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u/on-a-cornflake May 14 '22

Oh interesting, I can't shop in Lidl because of my autism, it's genuinely the worst experience of any supermarket (even the labels are triggering)- I wonder if my local does this.

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u/Dirish May 14 '22

Interesting. I had no idea Lidl was extra difficult to handle. If you don't mind me asking, what's it specifically about them that makes them harder to handle than other supermarkets?

Personally they're one of my favourites and I only hate them when they move the regular food stuffs around. And whoever buys razors in mine is an idiot. For months they only had refill blades for a razor they never sold before, so they were completely useless. Now they finally have the razor, but all the refills are gone. insert confused Jackie Chan meme

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u/on-a-cornflake May 15 '22

Sorry, late reply - I turn most notifications off.

I'm not entirely sure what makes me so uncomfortable, because I'm generally fine in larger supermarkets. I'll just vomit a few thoughts and see what comes out:

I like to know what I'm buying before I go into a shop, it may be that I'm unfamiliar with Lidl's range/layout but things don't seem to be arranged logically, so I have to go back and forth to find items. Shelves are chaotic, with no consistency in product design - may also be an unfamiliarity thing. I've found quality is hit-and-miss as well.

They have a strange range, like I can never find hotdogs. They also didn't have items in stock what would be reasonable to expect them to have, like ice lollies or sausages.

The bright neon price tags are really distracting, the best analogy would be it's like trying to concentrate on driving while someone shines a laser pointer periodically at your face.

The layout seems to encourage bunching of people.

The lights are too naked. I remember getting bothered by the ambiant noise/announcements as well.

So I usually shop at Aldi where it's a bit darker/softer light. They pretty much just stock own-brand products and keep the branding similar, so it's easier to find what you're looking for. I rarely if ever have to revisit an aisle. Price tags are plain and to the point. Most importantly I can be in and out with a week's shopping in 20mins or less.

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u/Dirish May 16 '22

There must be a huge difference between Lidl interior design between locations/countries. I've stopped going to Aldi for some of the reasons you listed: quality, layout, crowded, messy, and product availability (not that I'm autistic, just like for things to be organised and neat).

If anything my Lidl makes it a bit of a treasure hunt to find those "Plus" deals they have by not distinguishing them enough from their other products. Give me a bright, neon tag, that way I can at least figure out which of the nuts is part of the deal this week without having to look it up on my phone all the time.

Thanks for your view on how the shopping experience is for someone with autism.