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Why don't people return their shopping carts?


Claire.

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It's not their job. They feel they have done the store a favor by choosing that store over other stores and don't owe anything more than to pay for the goods they bought. Plus they don't work there and don't feel like they should do any 'work' for the store, they're the customer.    

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I put them back. I bagged groceries for a year right when I got out of high school. I know how annoying it is to find buggies all over hell and creation. 

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Aldi is a store where you have to deposit a quarter to use the cart.  The quarter is refunded when you return the cart.  Aldi has very few if any carts outside because it's a free quarter to someone who finds an abandoned cart.

What about the people who remove the cart from the store's parking lot and take it several blocks away?  I see the homeless do this a lot.

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9 hours ago, little_dreamer said:

Aldi is a store where you have to deposit a quarter to use the cart.  The quarter is refunded when you return the cart.  Aldi has very few if any carts outside because it's a free quarter to someone who finds an abandoned cart.

What about the people who remove the cart from the store's parking lot and take it several blocks away?  I see the homeless do this a lot.

Some stores here take a loonie to free the cart.  And to some it is a hassle.  There will be homeless who offer to take the cart back and make quite a bit.  You will also see people giving the returning cart customer a coin so that they can use the cart.  This saves the first customer from walking all the way to the cart barn and the second customer does not have to fight to get the coin in the holder.

When I was in Grand Cayman years ago, you would see trucks driving around to gather the carts.  Most people did not have cars, so they would walk the groceries home in the carts and then park them by the driveway for pickup.

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10 hours ago, maxcred said:

It's not their job. They feel they have done the store a favor by choosing that store over other stores and don't owe anything more than to pay for the goods they bought. Plus they don't work there and don't feel like they should do any 'work' for the store, they're the customer.    

And when the wind blows a stray trolley into their car, damaging it, or the car park they want is full, how do these self important people behave.

Do you think they realise it's the fault of other self important people or do they blame the over worked under paid staff who can not possibly be policing the car park 24/7?

Edited to add one of the most disgusting things I regularly witness is a disabled car park littered with trolleys so it is un usable.

Take the trolley back, it's nice to be respectful and courteous.

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12 hours ago, Claire. said:

Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?

While some supermarkets are better than others, it's probably not unusual to find a few stray shopping carts littering the parking lot to the dismay of shoppers who may think that a parking spot is open, only to find that it's actually being used by a shopping cart. It seems like a basic courtesy to others: you get a cart at the supermarket, you use it to get your groceries and bring them to your vehicle, and then you return it for others to use. And yet, it's not uncommon for many people to ignore the cart receptacle entirely and leave their carts next to their cars or parked haphazardly on medians. During peak hours, it can mean bedlam. Where does this disregard come from?

Read more: Scientific American

They didnt have discipline and consideration for others  beaten into them as children :) 

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On Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 4:19 PM, freetoroam said:

Pure and utter laziness,

This sort of attitude is what turns a town into a slum.

if they can not have the decency to return the trolley the supermarket has supplied them to enable them to carry their shopping in...then they should not use them. If they move the trolley from the trolley point, then out  of respect to the s/m and other shoppers, they should return it to where they took it from.

People who are lazy with returning trollies and disrespectful to others...will be the same with other things...eg, driving on the roads, disposal of rubbish , and curtosy to their fellow man.

They want to live in  a community with others...then they should do it in a civilised and respectful way.

Or go live in a cave where they belong.

Maybe people who lived in caves were more respectful of others?

Great advice you give us.

My favorite part of the article is the experiments and then the final sentence.

Quote

We have a greater influence over seemingly mundane situations than we realize.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/why-dont-people-return-their-shopping-carts/

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This is a pet peeve of mine. It's rude, lazy, and inconsiderate behavior, not just to the other shoppers who need a place to park or whose car may be damaged, but to the employees who have to gather up those carts. I bagged groceries in high school, and let me tell you, it's a rotten job, especially in bad weather. If it's too cold or rainy for you to take a whole two minutes to return a cart, think about the bagger who has to spend what feels like an eternity gathering these carts thanks to someone's laziness.

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7 minutes ago, Future ghost said:

If it's too cold or rainy for you to take a whole two minutes to return a cart, think about the bagger who has to spend what feels like an eternity gathering these carts thanks to someone's laziness.

Think?  Thinking is not one of their strongest points, unlike being lazy and inconsiderate, which are top of their list.

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It's simply deliberate ignorance for any slew of selfish reasons. I worked in a grocery store for quite some time and working in service for the general public like that opened my eyes to just how many jerks are out there. I think we have all been a jerk customer or annoying customer at some point but there are some people you get to know as "regulars" who are just jerks for life.

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19 minutes ago, F3SS said:

It's simply deliberate ignorance for any slew of selfish reasons. I worked in a grocery store for quite some time and working in service for the general public like that opened my eyes to just how many jerks are out there. I think we have all been a jerk customer or annoying customer at some point but there are some people you get to know as "regulars" who are just jerks for life.

You are so correct as I also noticed this problem with people. There were so many rude people out there it drove me to find a job that didn't require dealing with the general public. It's actually kind of sad to have to see the bad side of humanity on a daily basis, and makes a crappy job so much worse to go to every day.

Maybe it should be a requirement that people work in the service industry for a certain amount of time to see what it's like to be on the receiving end of all that rudeness every day. Maybe society as a whole would learn to treat others with kindness and respect. But......nah, who am I kidding.:(

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4 minutes ago, Future ghost said:

Maybe it should be a requirement that people work in the service industry for a certain amount of time to see what it's like to be on the receiving end of all that rudeness every day. Maybe society as a whole would learn to treat others with kindness and respect. But......nah, who am I kidding.:(

I think in many cases people become more aware of certain occupations having worked in them. In some cases people are helpless though. I recall a few people that worked in the store that were as picky, annoying or rude as any other customer off the streets.

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In my area you have to put a pound  coin in them. If its got a cash lock thing do like I used to do. Shove them together and take the cash bus fare.

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On 4/27/2017 at 4:23 PM, Claire. said:

Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?

While some supermarkets are better than others, it's probably not unusual to find a few stray shopping carts littering the parking lot to the dismay of shoppers who may think that a parking spot is open, only to find that it's actually being used by a shopping cart. It seems like a basic courtesy to others: you get a cart at the supermarket, you use it to get your groceries and bring them to your vehicle, and then you return it for others to use. And yet, it's not uncommon for many people to ignore the cart receptacle entirely and leave their carts next to their cars or parked haphazardly on medians. During peak hours, it can mean bedlam. Where does this disregard come from?

Read more: Scientific American

Not returning your shopping cart provides job security for the young and or mentally challenged. 

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Yesterday it was beautiful out so I sat in my car for lunch.  A teenaged boy took the groceries out his cart and then left the cart.  I yelled at him because it was starting to roll towards my car.  He 'adjusted' it so it wouldn't roll.  The receptor for the carts was two parking spots away.  If I wouldn't have gotten in trouble for saying something I would have confronted his mother, but that would be negative publicity for my company

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