Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
Here’s the Trending team’s main character of the week.
Many grocery chains and restaurants have been accused of employing shady business practices, such as shrinkflation, so it’s a refreshing change to learn that not all corporations are bad.
Even during economically-trying times, and as financial experts warn of a possible looming recession, some stores are still giving back to customers.
Enter Aldi, a family-owned discount supermarket chain akin to Kroger or Tom Thumb. After one customer bought Greek yogurt from the store, which she says was “nasty” and “watery,” she says she decided to return it.
It was then that the woman, named Ivy Reynolds (@ivisreynolds), says she learned about Aldi’s “twice as nice” return policy. In a recent video, Reynolds says learning about the store’s policy made her not want to shop anywhere else.
“If you’re not shopping at Aldi, you need to rethink your life,” Reynolds says in her video.
What’s the policy?
Affectionately referred to as the “twice as nice guarantee,” Aldi essentially gives two perks to customers needing to make a return. First, as long as they have a valid receipt, shoppers will get their item replaced with no questions asked. In addition, they’ll get a free refund.
Aldi says it does this because it’s “so confident in our products.”
“If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with the quality of any product, we will gladly replace the product AND refund your money,” the website reads. “To receive the ‘twice as nice guarantee,’ the product packaging and any unused product must be returned to your local Aldi store manager.”
There’s really no catch beyond that. Yes, you must have a valid receipt to make a return. But even if you don’t, Aldi’s website suggests that you can still make a return and receive a gift card in the form of store credit.
Secondly, this policy doesn’t apply to all Aldi products. Only food products are eligible (i.e., no alcohol, national brands, or non-food items).
Customers are wary of bad actors
While commenters were thankful that Reynolds publicized Aldi’s return policy, some expressed unease that grifters or thieves would take advantage of it.
In some cases, people went as far as to ask Reynolds to remove her video from TikTok. (That hasn’t happened yet, though. As of Thursday, Reynolds’ video was pinned to her page and had amassed more than 759,200 views.)
“People will abuse this and ruin Aldi,” one viewer commented. “Please. I love them and don’t wanna see them go under.”
One self-identified Aldi worker confirmed that certain customers take the policy for granted. “Unfortunately, so many people take advantage of it. It’s crazy,” they wrote.
But it doesn’t look like this policy is going away anytime soon. Aldi superfans suggest that this policy has been in place since the store began selling its own brand products, a core part of Aldi’s business model.
So while customers shouldn’t take advantage of this policy, it is good to see that some stores are confident enough in their products to make such an offering.
Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
