Aldi Shopper Gets Cursed Out, Called “Socialist” for Kind Shopping Cart Gesture

An Aldi shopper who was trying to give a nice gesture to a fellow store patron was met with vitriol, she says.

Ray (@heyyyyitsray) posted a viral TikTok video sharing her experience at the store near the cart carousel. Anyone who's shopped there and used one of the brand's shopping carts knows that the retailer expects guests to place a quarter in a dedicated slot embedded into the cart's handle.

And it seems that a single quarter is the root of Ray's bizarre encounter with the fellow Aldi shopper.

A text overlay at the beginning of Ray's video hints to viewers that they're in for a tale related to her recent visit to the German retail chain. "Storytime: Grocery shopping at Aldi."

At the start of the video, Ray can be seen laughing into the camera. She records the video from her car, where she says, "What just happened?"

Next, her camera cuts to footage of the exterior of an Aldi store. She says, "I'm at the Aldi, right? When I got my cart because you put your quarter in, there was already a quarter in there. I'm like OK, so when I go put my cart back, I'm either gonna leave it there or I'm just gonna give it to someone and tell them to keep the quarter." she says.

After seeing a fellow shopper approach the store, Ray decided to try and be nice to them and offered a quarter. This way, the shopper could use the cart. The TikToker presumably thought she could help and save someone the trouble for having to fish through their purse so that they could find a quarter themselves.

"So, this really sweet looking old lady comes up and I said, 'Hey do you need a cart?' And she's like, 'Well, yeah.'"

Ray then says that the woman, holding a coin, reached out her hand to her, probably so that Ray could ready a cart for her to use in her own shopping.

"And she goes to hand me a quarter and I said," Ray tries to unsuccessfully stop herself from laughing at this point in the video. "I said, 'No that's OK, keep your quarter and pay it forward."

Apparently, this was the wrong gesture to make to this particular woman.

Ray then adopts a judgmental look on her face as she shares the "sweet looking old lady's" response. "She's like, 'OK, you f--king socialist." Ray, shocked at simply retelling the story, covers her mouth with her hand and begins chuckling to herself, which then transitions into full blown laughter that causes her to lean forward.

The video then cuts to Ray, still laughing, but now with tears in her eyes. "I was just trying to be nice. I'm a f--king socialist. That's fine, that's fine! I did not expect to be called out like that on a Wednesday. Oh man ... All right," she says, still laughing as her video comes to a close.

TikTokers who responded to her video had a variety of opinions. One chalked it up to folks gratuitously showcasing anger toward strangers due to their old age. "Old people are mean for no reason," they wrote.

Another thought it was a strange insult to append to someone who is actively engaging in consumerism. "Socialists at Aldi, thats a new one."

Someone else thought of a rejoinder that Ray may've wanted to hit the old lady with in that instant. "I’d ask if she uses her social security checks bc they are only for socialists."

Another joked: "So I guess you met my mother in law."

While someone else quipped, "This just in: Kindness = Socialism."

Apparently this kind of life advice from elders in the grocery store is a common phenomena, as someone else in the comments section of Ray's video shared their own anecdote that delineated a similar interaction.

"I was in the dairy section once and I told an older couple to go ahead when they went to grab milk. The lady said 'you're never going to make it anywhere in life with that mindset' I was baffled."

But there were others who mentioned they found it odd the shopper had misconstrued Ray's kindness as a representation of her political beliefs.

"Confusing kindness for political ideology says a lot about people," one penned.

Someone else penned: "Basic human kindness is political now!"

Personally, I'm not a fan of Socialism after seeing what my family went through during Socialist leadership in Albania, but I'd appreciate it if someone at Aldi gave me a quarter for a cart, and I wouldn't swear at them.