More and more sellers at Lidl, Aldi & Co. are reporting hostility in their everyday work. The situation is made worse by the corona pandemic.
Berlin – Since the beginning of the corona pandemic (* FNP reported) we have seen sellers more often than before. Especially since for all citizens shopping in discounters such as Lidl and Aldi or in supermarkets is one of the few highlights during the lockdown routine. In the first lockdown in 2020, salespeople were still considered to be system-relevant heroes who could not be imagined without, employees at Lidl, Aldi, Edeka & Co. are now experiencing the exact opposite of the previous recognition: hatred, ridicule and contempt. The hostilities directed against them range from insults to death threats.
There are currently more and more voices from the ranks of salespeople in Germany who report on their difficult everyday work during the corona crisis. Between unrestrained hamster buyers and frustrated discount store customers, the employees of Aldi, Lidl & Co. see themselves as a projection screen for various negative feelings regarding the corona measures.
Lidl saleswoman accounts: “Since I’ve been working in retail, I’ve hated people”
As reported by stern.de , these bad experiences have left lasting marks on a 24-year-old Lidl and former Fressnapf saleswoman. “The customers behave like the last anti-social. They are rude and greedy. I’ve hated people since I’ve been in retail, ”she told the news portal. Even though she offered them help, some men answered her with sentences like “Oh shut up”. And that’s probably still relatively harmless compared to what happens to other discount store colleagues in their everyday work. According to stern.de, a supermarket seller reported that he had even received death threats. A drunk customer yelled at him: “I’ll still find you, I’ll take your life, I’ll kill you! ‘”
Another saleswoman was frightened when she received a call from an angry customer. “He said I should ‘take the fucking flamingo back’ now, or I’ll be ‘sorry.’” Before that, his wife and daughter had turned up at the textile discounter to exchange an inflatable flamingo ring – but without a receipt. “I would have taken it back, but I didn’t have a serial number or anything else to scan. I even took the daughter behind the cash register and showed her that. ”Also disparaging remarks concerning the affiliation of the supermarket employees to a social class as well as a lack of manners are the order of the day at Lidl, Aldi & Co.
And although many employees of discounters like Lidl are insulted almost every day, there also seem to be customers who are in a positive mood, as one employee told zdf.de. “They bring present baskets for the staff or a packet of coffee – sometimes it’s a smile that stays on despite the mask and motivates.” (Zülal Acar) * FNP is an offer from IPPEN.Media.
List of rubric lists: © Tobias Hase / dpa
