There’s a reason Aldi staff are so quick at scanning shopping

Ever tried to pack your bag as fast as an Aldi checkout employee scans your groceries?

Yeah, we try and fail almost every time. In fact, Aldi is the subject of countless memes and message board threads on the subject, with frequent shoppers offering advice on how to keep up (bring a huge IKEA bag and dump everything in it, apparently) and lamenting the pressure to play to 'beat the cashier' every time they do the big shop.

I wish I could get over the mistakes in my life as quickly as Aldi staff scan my shopping.

— Space Raider Head (@RossGFC88) April 13, 2017

But now that we've discovered why they're so lightning fast, it all makes sense. It turns out Aldi workers are miles faster than their rivals (a whopping 40%, actually) because the German supermarket chain cleverly give all their products multiple barcodes. The barcodes system means that no matter which way they hit the scanner, the price is registered - no fumbling around required. While the supermarket admits that faster packing helps keep their cost low, they have revealed that their staff members are trained to slow down if a customer is struggling with the pace. We'll never give in though. Game on.