Carts go in the "Cart Corral,"

[Scurvy]

And let's go ahead and clear up one thing. There is no such thing as a "hike" to a cart corral. Even if it is all the way on the other side of the lot, it still isn't a "hike". No able bodied solo person shopping should have any problem walking to return a cart. No matter where the cart corral is located. If you don't take the cart either to the corral or back to the store and you are an able bodied solo shopper, then you are just lazy. Pure and simple. There is not a single able bodied person who would be physically harmed by the "strenuous" task of walking a few aisles through a parking lot.

Now see, here's why you shouldn't assume:

Ask a bagger heck we hardly have cashiers( 1 or 2 plus 6 self check outs) never mind baggers . I almost always put my cart back. The exception being they don't have a cart return or it's 6 miles away.

I'd say six miles counts as a hike. BellePrincessBelle, you must have huge stores if the parking lots are big enough for the cart return to be six miles away from your car.

Lovetoscrap, I think my new catch-all excuse is going to be "I forgot my pants." I just don't see how anyone could argue with that!

 

[MNFootballMommy]

Don't forget this part though: The "job security" created by 'cart leavers' costs money--paid for by increasing the costs in the store. Think of the Budget Boarders!!!

 

[stevenpensacola]

Along with putting trash in the trash can. I've seen people throw stuff on the ground and a trash can is steps away.

...or smokers who throw their cigarette butts out the car window...how can they think this is not littering? My favorite...the morons who dump their ashtrays in the road while sitting at a red light.

 

[NikitaZee]

Well, I have to confess - I don't always return my cart to the cart corral. I do most of the time, but when I don't its definitely because of one of the reasons in lovetoscrap's great post. I really am a good person though. Sorry!!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I thought of the Dis the other day while grocery shopping with DD. She is 10 and not impaired in any way...normally.
I emptied the bags into the back of my car and right after I removed the last bag she placed the cart in the back of another car. I looked at her like she had grown a second head. I used one of her famous "Seriously???!!!!" lines. I got the old and she moved it to the cart corral. Apparently it was too cold for the princess.
We straightened that out!!

 

[Fantasmic23]

What? You mean the carts don't have a homing device that automatically pulls them into the cart corral/return if you shove them away when you're done?

Right? Come on ... It's 2011 already. The Jetsons LIED to us!

 

[LBIJim]

I have never been to an Aldi's so I have to ask-- does paying 25 cents really prevent people from leaving the cart around? I assume they get that back when they return it? Are lazy people really so concerned about their 25 cents that they think "You know, it is raining and I have a baby with a cold that is throwing up and I am pregnant with a broken leg and there is a guy that looks like a serial killer walking towards me with a knife but DARN IT, I want my quarter back!" ?????

Maybe I am just not desperate enough but if my only motivation for returning the cart to the proper place was 25 cents I would be leaving it blocking the car next to me (if I were a lazy, inconsiderate person).

Never been to an Aldi's, but several ShopRites in this area have the quarter deposit for the cart. In most cases, yes, people do return them. But there are occasionally one or two left wherever. Sometimes on a Friday night in summer I might make $1.50 or so returning abandoned carts!!

The true lazy entitled ones think 25 cents is a small price to pay for whatever excuse they can dream up.

Forget supermarkets.....the absolute worse is Home Depot. People leave those huge platform carts big enough to move a house all over the place.

Jim

 

[LBIJim]

There is one store where I shop that I rarely put the car in the corral. Two corrals in the entire parking lot, and the parking lanes are separated by planters. So depending on where you can find a parking spot, to put the cart away, you have to traverse over 1/2 the lot to put the cart away. Sorry, call me lazy, but I'm just not doing that.

OK, you're lazy.

Jim

 

[LBIJim]

Maybe if I summarize we could avoid the debate?

I can't return the cart because:

I have a small child, toddler, baby, high schooler, college age child, homeschooled kids, public school kids, quadruplets, my mother, father, aunt, cousin and I can't leave them alone in the car while I return it, they could be kidnapped, run away or die of heatstroke/frostbite. It is too hot or too cold. I am disabled, my back hurts, my feet hurt, I broke my leg, twisted my ankle, broke my arm, have a headache, have a cold, have a migraine, am throwing up, need to go to the bathroom. I might get kidnapped, shot, stabbed, raped or murdered on the way to the Cart Return. I am late for work, an appointment, picking my child up from school, catching a plane, curing cancer. They put them too far away from my car. I can't find the place to return them. The cart return is full. It is not my job, that is what they have employees for. I am morally opposed to putting things where they belong. I took the cart in from a parking place so I am just putting it back where I found it. Someone else left the cart in my parking place so I have every right to do it too. There were already a few carts around the space so I just added mine. If you don't want your car scratched by a cart then shop somewhere else. If the store didn't want the cart left in the lot they would have someone to take my groceries out for me and take the cart back.

It's been a while so I hope that I covered it all.

ETA: Oops, forgot:
I am pregnant, TTC, just had a baby, thinking about becoming pregnant. It is raining, snowing, sleeting, hailing, windy, leaves are falling. I forgot my coat, sunscreen, mittens, hat, shoes, pants, umbrella.

I'll add more as I think of them.

Excellent post lovetoscrap!!! One of the best I've ever seen.

Jim

 

[LGH1946]

The worst people leave their cart in the middle of a handicapped parking space so the people have to get out of their car to move it so they can get parked!!

 

[luvmy3]

I'm so glad this thread is still here because I just got home from the grocery store and had to share what I witnessed.
When I came out and was unloading my car, a man and a woman came up to the car next to me and she unloaded the cart while he sat in the car. I finished just about the same time and walked my cart to the cart corral which was literally one space over and ahead, so 2 spaces over and 1 ahead of this woman. She left her cart in the middle of the parking spot next to her car. I really wanted to say something like "real nice" but I didn't because she looked like she could kick my *** and wouldn't hesitate to do it

 

[DWGal210]

Pet peeve of mine, as well.

And regarding getting help to your car - I go to plenty of stores where they don't automatically help
you to your car, and if I've asked, they'll help. If I have lots of stuff, big bulky items, etc - "Would someone please be able to help me with these items?". Problem solved. I don't do this every time, certainly, but I have asked before & someone was always happy to help.

 

[MIGrandma]

I don't understand people who refuse (for whatever reason/poor excuse) to take their cart to the corral. One time recently I had just pulled into a parking space, and the lady behind and to the left of me was just finishing putting her groceries in her car and rather than walk the few steps to put her cart in the corral she actually pushed it up against the bumper of my vehicle. I watched her do it from my rearview mirror, thinking she might have gotten close but not actually touching my bumper. But when I got out and I saw it was right up against my bumper I grabbed the cart, turned it around and shoved it into HER front bumper. There was no other vehicle to my left, so with the cart in front of her car she couldn't just pull through and leave. She had to back out. Gave me just a tiny bit of satisfaction!

Then another time I saw an elderly man give his cart a shove, rather than putting it in the corral which was right behind him. The cart went quite a way down before hitting another car right in the door. I wanted to say something to him, but knew it would do no good so I just shook my head.

A agree with those who say it's just pure laziness to not put your cart in the corral. Heck, there is one grocery store I occasionally shop at that has NO corrals at all. I walk my cart back into the store. It takes me a minute to do that, and I don't even care if it's raining, I'll still do it just so it's not in the way of the next customer, or being grabbed by the wind and thrown into someone else's car. If someone is not handicapped and they can push a cart all around the store and push it to their car and unload it, they can take the time to return it to the corral.

 

[Owlpost23]

My favorite spot in the parking lot is right next to the cart corral.If I can then pull through to leave,and not have to back up,it is INDEED a happy day!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't understand people who refuse (for whatever reason/poor excuse) to take their cart to the corral. One time recently I had just pulled into a parking space, and the lady behind and to the left of me was just finishing putting her groceries in her car and rather than walk the few steps to put her cart in the corral she actually pushed it up against the bumper of my vehicle. I watched her do it from my rearview mirror, thinking she might have gotten close but not actually touching my bumper. But when I got out and I saw it was right up against my bumper I grabbed the cart, turned it around and shoved it into HER front bumper. There was no other vehicle to my left, so with the cart in front of her car she couldn't just pull through and leave. She had to back out. Gave me just a tiny bit of satisfaction!

Then another time I saw an elderly man give his cart a shove, rather than putting it in the corral which was right behind him. The cart went quite a way down before hitting another car right in the door. I wanted to say something to him, but knew it would do no good so I just shook my head.

A agree with those who say it's just pure laziness to not put your cart in the corral. Heck, there is one grocery store I occasionally shop at that has NO corrals at all. I walk my cart back into the store. It takes me a minute to do that, and I don't even care if it's raining, I'll still do it just so it's not in the way of the next customer, or being grabbed by the wind and thrown into someone else's car. If someone is not handicapped and they can push a cart all around the store and push it to their car and unload it, they can take the time to return it to the corral.

While I will agree with you that if the corral is a reasonable distance it makes sense to put it back and most of the time I do- there are certain times that I simply will not. Like when the supermarket doesn't plow and I can barely push my cart to my car. I am not doing to the Hercules Olympics to get the cart back to the store when I was barely able to push it to my own car.

 

[MIGrandma]

While I will agree with you that if the corral is a reasonable distance it makes sense to put it back and most of the time I do- there are certain times that I simply will not. Like when the supermarket doesn't plow and I can barely push my cart to my car. I am not doing to the Hercules Olympics to get the cart back to the store when I was barely able to push it to my own car.

Well, if you were able to push a full cart through the snow to your car you could certainly push a now empty cart back. Maybe the reason the snowplow wasn't able to plow the lot correctly was because of those loose carts that those like you didn't return to the corral.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Well, if you were able to push a full cart through the snow to your car you could certainly push a now empty cart back. Maybe the reason the snowplow wasn't able to plow the lot correctly was because of those loose carts that those like you didn't return to the corral.

I suppose that is true but after all that I am tired and after cursing the store there is no way I am putting that much effort into bringing the cart back!

 

[pixiewings71]

You know, I have no issues returning carts to the cart well (which is the correct term according to my 6 years at Target lol), however why do stores that have HUGE parking lots, HUGE stores and HUGE crowds have only 2 cart wells that are placed up near the front of the lot....there are people who will HAVE to park very far out and with NO cart well to put the cart in, those people are more likely to just put the cart wherever. I will say that 99% of the time I do try to park next to the cart well to make it easier for me to return the cart, but at the new Super Wal-Mart it is not always possible to do that. My suggestion is to have more cart wells available to those who have to park farther out in the lot.

 

[VAfamily1998]

My biggest pet peeve about the carts is when people leave garbage in them!

It seems most grocery stores/Target/etc. around here have a Starbucks in them. It's so gross when people just leave their empty Frappaccino cup/half eaten muffin, etc. in the cart
Also at Costco when people will leave all the little sample cups/spoons, etc in the cart. Gross!

 

[sbell111]

I used to be one of the people who couldn't imagine a scenario where a cart couldn't either be returned to the store or put in a corral. Since then, however, a few of lovetoscrap's excuses befell me. I found myself with two terrific children, now 14 months and two months.

Recently, I was at the grocery store with my kids, pushing their stroller as I pulled the cart. When I checked out, there wee no baggers, only checkers, so I helped bag my own groceries and then pulled them out to the car. It was freezing cold, so I first put the kids in the car and then the stroller and groceries.

Now I had a problem. I found myself with with the kids in the car and the store and corrals way too far away for me to comfortably leave my kids. Luckily, a stranger was walking by and agreed to take my cart. Had she not wandered by, I would have left the cart next to a nearby lamppole and gone on my way.