Many supermarket shoppers will be familiar with the heart-thumping race to pack their shopping bags while items being scanned by rapid-scanning cashiers pile up.
Now one man has taken his battle against “insanely speedy” checkout staff at Aldi to TikTok – and become a social media sensation.
Leroy Lupton, 33, started filming his duels with Aldi cashiers after noticing their “athleticism” at his local store. After initially recording the videos to show his friend at the pub, he started posting them on TikTok – in the style of retro video game Street Fighter.
His six videos, all filmed at his local Aldi store in Lancaster, have racked up more than 2m views, with many offering tips on how to beat the supermarket’s staff.
Lupton, a music teacher and producer, said he was inspired to film his encounters after being overwhelmed with groceries on one trip to his local store. “All of the items were flying at me and piling up, and I’m thinking this ain’t normal,” he told PA Media.
He initially speculated that perhaps one of the cashiers was “juiced up on energy drinks” or had “a few too many coffees” before realising the swift pace was consistent on each visit. “I’m thinking these guys are something else, they’re on a mission,” Lupton said. He realised he was not alone in his experience after chatting to friends about the cashiers’ impressive “athleticism”.
His most recent video, which has been viewed more than 1.3m times, starts with the familiar Street Fighter music along with the announcement: “Round one – fight!”
Lupton is then seen struggling to keep up as he fumbles with a flurry of rapidly scanned items, including a four pack of Stella Artois, a Pot Noodle and an Old El Paso taco kit.
The on-screen graphics say: “Dirty tactics right out of the gate from this cashier. He’d scanned four items before I got in position ready to bag.” He is defeated less than a minute later.
Commenters have offered tips on his “bag reload” – the Aldi-packing equivalent of a Formula One pitstop – and critiqued rookie errors, such as bagging the toilet roll instead of keeping it separate.
One viewer posted: “She sensed your inexperience. My local cashiers have no mercy for anyone, they fire goods at you like an industrial wood chipper.”
Lupton said he was refining his skills with the ultimate aim of defeating one particularly speedy cashier – “the final boss” – later this year.