Aldi

It’s the biggest Aldi I’ve seen, which is probably because I’ve stuck with city-​centre shops up til now. Wow!
Very briefly, for those who are new to the ethos of Aldi. It’s no-​frills shopping: items are placed on shelves in the same cardboard boxes they were shipped in. There’s no music and very little in the way of helping customers out. In exchange, prices are noticeably lower than anything you’d find in another comparably-​sized store. They have almost everything– food of all types is covered, a big frozen section, cleaning products, a bit of pet food, health and beauty, and other bargains are taken care of twice weekly with the Special Buys. Cash or laser card are the only payments accepted.
Given Tallaght’s reputation, I found this Aldi really civilized, but I could see evidence of not-​so-​nice customers — broken pieces, smashed chocolate Santas, cracked-​into six-​packs. Still, I was happy to see some special offers from many weeks ago still available.
All in all I had a pleasant experience, though I did feel a little bit watched over by the security officer. Was that because he suspected me, or because he wanted to make sure my armful of groceries wouldn’t topple?