Lidl

This Lidl is like the countless others: big, ever-​changing stock, sterile, and filled with minor annoyances.
There’s something about Lidl I just don’t like. Yes, I occasionally shop here, but I avoid it when possible.
The Lidl in Clonee is handy enough, in that there’s an Aldi just a few meters away. You can get twice the misery with minimal effort — I like that, if I’m going to suffer it may as well be convenient.
It’s a decent sized Lidl and it has the a good variety, plus the bits and bobs advertised in the weekly.
It’s also sterile and unfriendly. I’ve been here quite a few times. I keep to myself and I don’t ask questions nor for help. That said, I have ears and the staff here are just generally unfriendly. Most look miserable. The first time I came to this Lidl it was about 6:30 on a Sunday. They close at 7. I was standing in the queue when an older couple entered. This German employee ran up to them and told them they’d have to leave, because the store is closed. But it wasn’t closed. The doors were not even locked or shut, it was 5 to 7. They protested, saying they just wanted a two bottles of wine and it wasn’t even 7. The employee became unusually hostile, yet relented with a stern and contrary face. She warned them that they were only allowed these two bottles and then they’d have to leave, they could not grab anything else. I saw them take the bottles and go to the queue. Bizarre. In this economy, you’d do well to encourage people to shop. But then this is Lidl after all.
Today, the entrance door security alarm was broken and kept alerting a non-​existent person back to the cashier. I could see a man try to fix it, failed, and then subsequently gave up. So the entire time shopping you could hear this siren followed by recorded instructions.
I also dislike how there are barriers across the unused checkout queues. I can understand the necessity for anti-​shoplifting, but the barriers are ridiculous. If you opt not to buy something, there’s no easy way out of this store. Your only option is to slide past people in the queue, which can be quite awkward as you’ll notice most of the shoppers queuing are actually using their designated space.
Another particularly annoying element about this Lidl is that the only trolly rack is by the door. So after you take your goods to the parking lot, which isn’t miles away, you then have to trek back to the door. Now, that might seem like a lazy complaint, and in many ways it is, but it does tend to rain in this country and it’s just an unnecessary annoyance. Why not have a trolly rank somewhere convenient?
Will I go back? Probably not for awhile. It’s a shoddy experience and their prices just aren’t cheap enough to entice me to suffer through it.