Yahoo Finance 10 Aldi Items That Have the Most Customer Complaints
There’s a lot to love about Aldi, from everyday low prices that help you save money to the hassle-free shopping experience the store offers. But even Aldi isn’t exempt from customer complaints.
Although Aldi doesn’t actually have an online customer review option for its products, shoppers have made their dissatisfaction known on other sites, like Reddit. From questionable quality to prices that might not be quite as low as they seem, here are the Aldi items with the most customer complaints.
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Sugar-free Coffee Creamer
Aldi sells many zero-sugar coffee creamers, such as Barissimo Zero Sugar French Vanilla Coffee Creamer. While it might be low-cost, it’s not as much of a hit with the average customer.
On the r/aldi subreddit, in a 2023 post, several customers said they tried out Aldi’s sugar-free coffee creamers and did not have a pleasant experience. One user said, “That stuff is nasty,” while another added that it was “absolutely awful.”
Only a few customers actually said they enjoyed the flavor, so it may very well be up to personal taste.
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Deli Meats and Cheeses
If you need to buy inexpensive deli meats and cheeses, you might want to consider other places besides Aldi — like Target or your local Kroger store. On a more recent subreddit post, several dissatisfied customers noted that Aldi’s selection of deli meats in particular was subpar or even “disgusting.”
“I’m pretty sure that the pre-packaged sliced luncheon meats you get from Kroger and Publix are sliced in-store,” said David Bakke, budgeting expert at DollarSanity. “That’s not the case with Aldi — since they don’t have a deli section — which makes sense, because these meats simply have no freshness aspect to them at all.”
While cheese didn’t have as many negative reviews, one particular Reddit user said that they have to quickly remove any sliced cheese they get from Aldi and put it in a new package to avoid issues of quality or mold.
Apples and Bananas
When it comes to produce, Aldi can be hit or miss. Unlike other stores, it doesn’t put quite as much of a guarantee on its fruits and vegetables being fresh or even of the greatest quality. So, even if the price is low, you’ll still want to be careful about what you add to your cart.
On Reddit, one Aldi customer said they bought apples once, only to find out that half of them were already brown inside. Someone else added that their produce went bad after just two days of buying it.
Fruit going bad quickly, or already being partially rotten, seems to be a common issue with bananas, too. A few Aldi customers said their bananas either ripened too quickly after purchase or that they were already mush inside.
Onions
While vegetables tend to last longer than fresh fruit, onions at Aldi have also developed a bit of a bad rep with customers.
On the subreddit, user Steve539 said, “Bagged onions. Gave up after three bags. They always seem old, and flavor is lacking, and I am not very picky, but the onions just plain suck, in my opinion.”
Others mentioned that their onions started growing mold within a week or so. One particular user followed up on this by saying that they purchased a bag of onions without realizing that one had already gone bad and spoiled the whole bag.
Brookdale Corned Beef Hash
Corned beef hash might not be a major hit with the younger generations, but it’s got its place. One Reddit user said they purchased it for their kids only to discover how fatty and greasy it was. Someone else followed up by saying that it tasted unhealthy and a bit like sludge. Another user said it was “the worst canned food product I ever purchased in my entire life — and I’m 73.”
At Aldi, canned corned beef hash costs $2.99.
Chicken Breast
On the r/frugal subreddit, people who’ve shopped at Aldi also frequently complain about the quality and price of the raw chicken breast. One user said it is “plagued with something called woody breast. It’s a revolting, ‘crunchy’ texture. I’ve gotten woody breast from literally every store and many, many restaurants.”
Another user noted that the chicken breast they’ve gotten from Aldi has a “gnarly texture,” while someone else said their looked like it had “thin noodles” on the inside.
The quality can be hit and miss, but that’s not the only thing to watch out for when it comes to Aldi’s meats.
“This may be more on a case-by-case basis, because Aldi can definitely boast some great prices sometimes. But usually the best time to take advantage of Aldi’s prices is if your go-to products aren’t on sale anywhere else, and you don’t have a warehouse club membership,” said Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst at DealNews. “Shopping elsewhere will typically mean more choices and a better selection, in addition to better unit prices on whatever proteins you’re contemplating picking up.”
Mama Cozzi’s Pizza
Aldi sells refrigerated pizza — like the Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen brand — for relatively low prices, starting at about $7.39. But just because the price is low, doesn’t mean customers are happy.
On the r/aldi subreddit, one person said, “[Mama] Cozzi Pizza in the refrigerator section… used to be great and cheap. Now it tastes like cardboard.” Other recent Aldi customers added that even the frozen pizzas at Aldi have gone downhill of late.
Hard Taco Shells
Aldi sells taco shells for cheap. For example, the Casa Mamita Crunchy Hard Taco Shells only cost $1.65. The low price, however, might not be enough to justify the poor taste and texture.
“Their corn hard tortilla taco shells aren’t very ‘hard,’ they actually fall apart, and there’s not much corn taste to them,” said Bakke. “They actually don’t have much of a taste at all. The Kroger store brand is a much better option.”
Yogurt
If you need to buy yogurt, you might want to check out somewhere besides Aldi.
“I’m actually an Aldi fan in addition to being a budgeting expert, but I tried and moved on from their yogurt selection,” said Bakke. “It’s competitively priced but the quality just isn’t there. It’s runny and not very flavorful, and yes I did try multiple flavors.”
Paper Products
Last but not least, many of Aldi’s paper products — like the toilet paper and paper towels — have poor customer reviews.
“The toilet paper and paper towels may seem like a good deal at Aldi, but customers report the products are pretty thin and flimsy,” said Ramhold. “That leads to using more each time, which means you’ll go through it faster and just end up having to replenish stock sooner. Because of that, it’s best to skip these items at Aldi and try to purchase from warehouse clubs or big-box stores instead.”
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