I haven’t been to an Aldi in the US but the ones I’ve been in Europe have all been very barebones and the atmosphere reminded somewhat of communist grocery stores from when I lived in USSR.

Funny notice when I first came to US and visited Trader Joe’s I immediately wondered if it was owned by Aldi (it is). The concept is very similar (one product of each, no choice of brands) but executed very differently. Whereas Aldi is trying to be as cheap as possible, TJ seems to cater to urban hipsters. And yes, personnel is much friendlier too!

Also, in the Netherlands Aldi had the reputation of “Walmart” of employers. Many stories of poor working conditions like timed bathroom breaks, etc.