Coming up on my local news... Why people are...

[lsyorke]

I doubt the common sense and decency our parents and grandparents experienced will make a comeback, therefore I'm grateful any time I see real-life examples of people doing the right thing without expecting something in return for doing the right thing. It's so rare now that an insurance company even made a commercial about it.

Hear, Hear!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

When their choice does damage to something expensive that I work very hard for and own, then yes it does make me indignant! Are you telling me that if you have a car that's less than a month old, you're going to be happy with the person who didn't put a cart away properly and left a nice little dent in your door?

I don't know about anybody else, but when I buy a car it has to last me a good long time. I can't just go out and buy new ones whenever I feel like it, so I want to take care of the ones I've got and keep them looking decent. The three dents I have in my doors are from cart damage.

No, I'm telling you there are much more important things to be indignant about. I'm shaking my head in amazement at the "fall of Western Civilization" attitude about this issue when there are so many bigger issues.

Neither DH nor I have ever had a car damaged by carts.( I've had plenty of cars damaged by other people slinging their car doors open with abandon.)

Maybe it's a regional difference. Like I said--no cart corral at my Publix at all, and I've never seen anybody bring a cart back to the store. However, when my parents lived in South Florida, at their Publix you literally could not take the cart out the door--it was gated in a way that made it impossible to take a cart out. And at another Publix locally (in a poorer part of town where I would see people pushing their Publix cart home with their groceries), the store has an electronic device that triggers the wheels to lock if you bring the cart past a certain point outside.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Again, it's important enough that a Boston news station investigated it and aired the results.

I suspect that local TV stations "investigate" things like carts not being put in cart corrals because it's a nice, easy "soft news" kind of item that people will find entertaining and amusing. If they tried to really investigate the tough issues, like people smoking around kids, they'd come up against a stone wall. Nobody would admit to it, nobody would want to talk about it, and nobody would want to watch it.

In fact, I would venture to say thabt there are HUGE issues in the Boston area that are way more newsworthy than grocery carts but much tougher for the media to address and therefore, the tough issues tend to get side-stepped.

 

[bicker]

No, I'm telling you there are much more important things to be indignant about. I'm shaking my head in amazement at the "fall of Western Civilization" attitude about this issue when there are so many bigger issues.

I think you're missing the nuance, though, that this seemingly innocuous transgression is an indicator of a deeper, and bigger, issue. If people won't even go a few steps out of their way to be conscientious and responsible, then surely they won't put themselves out even further, even for proportionately bigger issues. As a matter of fact, an argument can be made that the "little things" are really the last to go. Once people no longer take the three extra steps needed to do what a good person would do, then just imagine how far we are from getting those people to do the big, important things, like contributing to society for the common good, making personal sacrifices to aid others, performing public service without engaging in corruption, etc.

 

[Mom2Nick]

No, I'm telling you there are much more important things to be indignant about. I'm shaking my head in amazement at the "fall of Western Civilization" attitude about this issue when there are so many bigger issues.

.

With that logic nobody should ever complain about anything unless you have determined that is is THE most important thing to be indignant about.

 

[lsyorke]

No, I'm telling you there are much more important things to be indignant about. I'm shaking my head in amazement at the "fall of Western Civilization" attitude about this issue when there are so many bigger issues.

But this is the one subject that the OP has chosen to talk about.

If you want to talk about "bigger" issues, then you are free to start a thread about them.

 

[lillygator]

To gather them from the cart corrals. Not to chase them all around the parking lot wherever the wind happens to send them.

To me, it's all the sense of entitlement. It just blows my mind, the sense of entitlement of people these days. Even if it WAS someone's job to chase carts all over the place, why not help someone out by putting it where it BELONGS? You really don't have an extra 30 seconds in your day to return a cart?

actually most all the grocery stores here do not have cart corrals.

 

[mamacatnv]

Must have been a slow news day. Really, do the reporters have nothing better to do.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I think you're missing the nuance, though, that this seemingly innocuous transgression is an indicator of a deeper, and bigger, issue. If people won't even go a few steps out of their way to be conscientious and responsible, then surely they won't put themselves out even further, even for proportionately bigger issues. As a matter of fact, an argument can be made that the "little things" are really the last to go. Once people no longer take the three extra steps needed to do what a good person would do, then just imagine how far we are from getting those people to do the big, important things, like contributing to society for the common good, making personal sacrifices to aid others, performing public service without engaging in corruption, etc.

I don't think I'm missing the nuance. I think you're missing MY nuance. I actually have no problem with the fact that the grocery cart issue is a pet peeve of many people. What floors me is people slinging words like "lazy" and "rude" and going on from there to the "that's what's wrong with society" attitude that seem to endorse in your post above.

I kind of lean in the other direction. If we are going to complain about "What's wrong with society" I would say it's that people are more interested in their very personal, individual, somewhat trivial issues rather than looking at the big picture. People will go on and on about carts not being put back in the proper place, but often don't want to address the bigger societal issues because "they're none of my business"....or maybe because people don't care about the big issues?

In other words, I don't agree that small things like not bringing the grocery cart back to the corral lead to the big societal ills. I think if we addressed the big things, like child abuse, the amazing toll of traffic deaths,homelessness, etc., we would become a kinder, gentler society where we would not all feel the need to call people "lazy" and "rude."

But vent away....I vent as much as anybody...I just don't agree that grocery carts are a big issue OR that they lead to big issues.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If they tried to really investigate the tough issues, like people smoking around kids, they'd come up against a stone wall. Nobody would admit to it, nobody would want to talk about it, and nobody would want to watch it.

This thread is about carts, so it would probably be a good idea to start a new thread about smoking around one's children, if you feel it needs to be discussed. I'm not saying it doesn't, but why throw this thread off-topic unnecessarily?

However, comments like "nobody would admit to it", "nobody would want to talk about it", etc., are disingenuous. In fact, the reporter investigating shopping carts didn't ASK anyone what they do with shopping carts; the cameraperson caught various shoppers on camera. No wiggling out of the truth, ya know? So if your issue were being reported, again, people would be caught on camera. Really hard to claim you acted or didn't act in a certain way when the evidence is on film.

In fact, I would venture to say thabt there are HUGE issues in the Boston area that are way more newsworthy than grocery carts but much tougher for the media to address and therefore, the tough issues tend to get side-stepped.

You'd be venturing in the wrong direction. Boston does have more newsworthy stories and the media DOES report on them - extensively. The shopping cart story aired just before the end of the 7 AM Sunday newscast.

 

[Sparx]

my fiance worked at walmart for a year, pushing shopping carts. it is a hard, thankless, painful job, but if he (and men like him) didn't work there, i can guarantee that none of you would shop there.

people are so blind to everyone around them that they odn't even realize most of the time that people actually move the shopping carts from the corrals to the inside of the store. they do it from 7 am till 12 am, m-f every day that walmart is open. in the freezing cold, in the blistering hot, no matter the weather, they are out there working. the stores don't provide them with water, either. so if they want something to drink, they have to go inside and buy it themselves. they get a 1 hr lunch and usually 2 15 minute breaks.

cart pushing is a hell of a hard job, even if people are being semi intelligent about where they put their carts. usually there is 1-3 cart pushers, and two entrances where carts must be provided, constantly. they can typically only move around 10 carts at a time (safely, any more and its very easy to lose control of them, and they could hit a car) and even though they are so careful not to hit a car, people in cars do not share the same courtesy. i cannot count the times he was almost hit by a reckless driver who was in too much of a rush to realize there was a human standing in front of their car.

not only is he supposed to move the 40-50 carts that end up (PER SIDE) of the cart corral, he is supposed to catch all of those stray carts that people are too lazy to walk an extra ten feet and put in a corral.

just because someone gets paid to do it doesn't entitle you to be rude.

when you leave your cart out of a corral, you are risking damaging someones car but you are also risking the life of the car pusher when he has to go out of his normal routine to get carts, and sneak between cars and ends up walking in front of one, especially at night.

i don't care if your kids are in the car. why did you put your kids in their carseat before unloading your groceries? have them walk with you to put your cart away.

i don't care if its far away. there are many cart corrals in every parking lot, and i am sure you can find a parking space next to one, if thats such a big deal.

how can you walk around a store for hours and buy a ton of stuff, then stand and unload it and then suddenly not have the energy to put your cart away?

it is sheer laziness, and there is no excuse.

 

[Scurvy]

No, I'm telling you there are much more important things to be indignant about. I'm shaking my head in amazement at the "fall of Western Civilization" attitude about this issue when there are so many bigger issues. .

Of course there are more important things to be indignant about - but there almost always are. In another post you mentioned that you don't like people to tie up their dogs. But really, why do you care? There are bigger issues to worry about. At least they aren't starving the dogs or beating them. Or using them for dog fighting rings. Or perhaps it doesn't make it less bad to tie up a dog just because other people are doing worse things to other dogs. It doesn't make it okay for you to damage my car just because there are worse things going on elsewhere.

Neither DH nor I have ever had a car damaged by carts.( I've had plenty of cars damaged by other people slinging their car doors open with abandon.)

That's great! I have had my car damaged by carts before. Should I not care about that just because it hasn't ever happened to your car? Or should I just shrug it off because it could have been worse?

What if someone hit your car with theirs in a parking lot and drove off. There are much more important things to be upset about, so I suppose if that happened you wouldn't care. After all, it could be worse. And of course if someone did do that to your car suppose I shouldn't care about it, since it hasn't ever happened to my car.

Maybe it's a regional difference. Like I said--no cart corral at my Publix at all, and I've never seen anybody bring a cart back to the store. However, when my parents lived in South Florida, at their Publix you literally could not take the cart out the door--it was gated in a way that made it impossible to take a cart out. And at another Publix locally (in a poorer part of town where I would see people pushing their Publix cart home with their groceries), the store has an electronic device that triggers the wheels to lock if you bring the cart past a certain point outside.

Maybe it is regional. Every Publix I've been to did have a cart corral.

Are there things that are more rude than failing to return your cart to the coral? Of course. Does that mean that it usn't rude to fail to return your cart? Of course not.

 

[MushyMushy]

actually most all the grocery stores here do not have cart corrals.

Then I would imagine the argument doesn't apply to stores with no cart corrals. I've never been to one that doesn't have them, but I believe they are out there.

 

[GeorgeG]

Nothing defines the bottom-line reason for today's attitudes more than this statement. B&S's mom shouldn't think I'm just picking on her - I simply see this attitude every day in every situation, not just the shopping cart return one:

Sorry, but my "X" is more important than your "X".

My time is more important than yours, therefore I'm going to

• Cut you off in traffic
• Not hold the elevator door for you if I see you running for it
• Talk on my cell phone when we're having a meal
• etc..

My car is more expensive/important than yours, therefore I'm going to

• Take up two parking spots instead of one so I don't get dings in my doors
• Drive like a maniac on the highway because if I get into an accident I know I'm not getting hurt

Children are our future, therefore my children are more important than you. So I'm

• Not going to control them at restaurants and movie theatres. They CHILDREN! They need space to explore and grow!
• Going to allow them to cut in front of you at buffets and take the best of everything while they're messing up the food and utinsels for everyone else. They have to learn how to do things themselves, right?
• Going to teach them to scan our groceries while there's a line waiting behind us. Again, it's a learning experience and you're expected to have patience. If you're running late then that's your fault; you should have planned for this.

Until we as a people start to respect others, using our imagination to put ourselves in other people's shoes, there will always be this attitude of putting ourselves and our needs above everyone else like a child would. Unfortunately, the "me first unless it's convenient for me to be second, then I expect a pat on the back for allowing someone else to go first" attitude has been encouraged by parents, teachers and society since the 80's.

I doubt the common sense and decency our parents and grandparents experienced will make a comeback, therefore I'm grateful any time I see real-life examples of people doing the right thing without expecting something in return for doing the right thing. It's so rare now that an insurance company even made a commercial about it.

I think you nailed it. Our society is deteriating at record speed.

 

[Fintastic]

ITA with this...the "I have kids" excuse does not fly with me at all. I generally don't grocery shop with another adult, so I always have kids with me; sometimes a baby when I am babysitting. I load the kids in the car, load the groceries, then walk the cart back to the corral. What harm is going to come to the kids when I step away from the car for 5 seconds? I don't get it?
It's pure dirsregard for others and laziness if you ask me.

I agree. I load the groceries, I load DD, and she's perfectly safe locked in the car for the few seconds it takes me to return the cart to the corral. I agree that it's horrible to leave your kids alone in the car, but common sense needs to prevail once in a while. The car is never out of your sight. The temperature in the car is not going to hurt your kids in the five or six seconds they're sitting there before you return. Using your kids as an excuse just signals laziness.

 

[Fintastic]

I see you live in MA. Spend a summer in Louisiana and tell me you'd leave your kids in the car while you return a cart.

And yes, I lived in southern Louisiana for nine years, and I still left DD in the car for a few seconds to return the cart.

 

[LoraJ]

Then I would imagine the argument doesn't apply to stores with no cart corrals. I've never been to one that doesn't have them, but I believe they are out there.

Even when a store does not have corrals in the parking lot, I bring my cart back to the store.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

I always take mine to the corral. I can't stand finding the only close by parking space and seeing a cart sitting in it.

A funny story about carts left outside: I work at a small retail store. We don't have cart corrals, but nearly EVERYONE brings their cart back inside, even the disabled people, those with kids, those in a hurry. Small town manners, I guess. Once in a while, there's a cart that gets left in the lot or by the side of the building. Sometimes I've had to chase them in the parking lot during a thunderstorm which is kind of embarassing. But, the worst was when I got a call from a lady advising me that one of our carts was sitting on top of a minivan in front of our local movie theater. At first, I thought she was prank calling, but I went and checked it out as the theater was in walking distance of my store. Sure enough, a cart was sitting on top of a minivan. And me, being kind of a little thing, wasn't sure how to get it down without hurting the car as I couldn't find the owners. After some manipulation and tricky manuevering I managed to get the cart down, without hurting the minivan.

So, just remember, next time you leave your cart in the lot, it might end up on top of your minivan!

 

[MushyMushy]

I always take mine to the corral. I can't stand finding the only close by parking space and seeing a cart sitting in it.

A funny story about carts left outside: I work at a small retail store. We don't have cart corrals, but nearly EVERYONE brings their cart back inside, even the disabled people, those with kids, those in a hurry. Small town manners, I guess. Once in a while, there's a cart that gets left in the lot or by the side of the building. Sometimes I've had to chase them in the parking lot during a thunderstorm which is kind of embarassing. But, the worst was when I got a call from a lady advising me that one of our carts was sitting on top of a minivan in front of our local movie theater. At first, I thought she was prank calling, but I went and checked it out as the theater was in walking distance of my store. Sure enough, a cart was sitting on top of a minivan. And me, being kind of a little thing, wasn't sure how to get it down without hurting the car as I couldn't find the owners. After some manipulation and tricky manuevering I managed to get the cart down, without hurting the minivan.

So, just remember, next time you leave your cart in the lot, it might end up on top of your minivan!

Oh wow, can you imagine if someone had been walking nearby! They could have been hurt!

That's another thing too. Once those carts build up some momentum, they're going to hit hard if something or someONE gets in their way. A while back I saw someone just leave their cart at the curb in front of Target and it was a really windy rainy day, plus the Target was on the top of a hill. That cart went flying and I hauled my fat butt out of the car in the wind and rain to go after it because all I could think of was if some kid was in the path. Do people truly not think of consequences like that? It probably wouldn't have hit a kid or even a car, but why would you take that chance just for a matter of your own convenience? I'd feel horrible if my actions (or I guess laziness) caused damage to someone's vehicle or, even worse, a person.

 

[mnrose]

I always thought more stores should do what Aldi stores do.
Aldi charges a quarter to get a cart and when you return it you get the quarter back. You never see shopping carts litter the parking lot and I think its because people want their money even if it is just a quarter.


Not only do I return my cart to the corral, but will grab one that is just sitting in the lot to get it out of the way.

Aldi's has hit on the perfect solution. Not only do you have to return the cart to it's proper place, it isn't even in the parking lot...but next to the store. And, yet, for a measly quarter, people do it. I find that amazing. Seriously, if you are THAT lazy, WTH would you take it back for a quarter. But, I've never seen cart left anywhere but it's proper place at that store.

I wish all stores would adopt the same policy, and save us all the money they no doubt charge us via higher grocery prices.