Why do people leave shopping carts in the parking lot?

[rparmfamily]

That is the way it works here in Germany--except that the coind needed is one Euro (about $1.25 lately). It was a pain at first to make sure I always had a Euro on me--but I LOVE this system becuase you never see people abondoning carts all over the parking lot. DH and I have commented that they should do this in the U.S. many times. Funny how when there is money at stake people suddenly find they can manage to return the cart even if they have young children, etc

Maybe it's the Germans. The Italians didn't usually care LOL. We had to put about $.60 (L1 coin at the time) in our carts (at Auchan) and you'd still find them all over the carpark/lot,etc. This was southern Italy.

 

[mrsdon]

Its not up me to judge why people leave the carts in the lot
But I do HATE it when they do. It looks dirty, cluttered and nasty.

 

[Magic Mom]

So how did you get from the car to the store? And how did you walk around the store?

I walked.....very slowly.....in screaming pain.

 

[Mom2Nick]

For over 20 years my Shop Rite has had a lock system for the carts. All carts are locked together, to get a cart you have to insert a quarter into the lock. To get your quarter back you have to lock up the cart. I am not sure why more stores have not used this system.

 

[PattnFmly]

I always put my cart in the corral. I've seen the carts banging into cars on a windy day and denting them. I would hope that karma will keep that from happening to me because I always put mine back! When my kids were little, I would just be sure and park in one of the spaces right near the corral, that way I could still put the cart back but only be a few steps from the car. My store is really busy, and they need all hands inside, bagging and restocking shelves, not chasing down carts in the parking lot!

 

[aprilgail2]

Because they are rude and lazy.

Lazy? Stupid?
Think they are too good to take them back where they belong?
Am I getting close?
(can you tell that is one of my PET PEEVES??????)

Are you serious? So leave them to roll around the parking lots doing damage to cars that could possibly be owned by some kid that needs that car for traveling to college. I think I've heard everything now.

People just grasp at any silly reasons to justify them being to lazy to walk a shopping cart a few spaces to the corrals. And for the record- they STILL have kids collecting the shopping carts becasue they need them to take them FROM the corrals back to the front of the store where people take them from. People don't take carts from the corral to use, they take them from the inside of the store where they are stored, so kids are still needed to move them from the corrals to the stores.
When I had to return the cart when my daughter was an infant, I would either take her with me or put her in the car, start the car with my auto starter , lock the doors and return the cart.

 

[happygirl]

i make sure i push the cart as hard as i can into the car with the most obnoxious obama bumper sticker.

kidding.

 

[golfgal]

This is a job that many high school kids get and that is the real reason that I don't put away my cart. Some of these young people are doing this to save money for grauation or college. If we all put away the carts, the stores woldn't need them.

This is just silly. I would HOPE you are reading this thread wrong and don't consider putting a cart in a cart corral putting it away--which most people here do think is putting it away-not taking all the way back to the store.

It takes a special kind of lazy to leave the cart in the parking spot right next to the cart corral!

That really bugs me.

Yesterday at the grocery store, man and teenaged DD, parked next to the cart corral, left the cart in their parking spot --THAT is lazy.

I walked.....very slowly.....in screaming pain.

Why don't you ask for help taking your groceries to the car? They you wouldn't have to push the cart out at all.


I had a woman come up to me several years ago and say "I'll take your cart when you are done since you weren't going to put it away anyway" HUH??? I hadn't finished putting my stuff in my car and I ALWAYS put my carts away. When the kids were little I parked next to or near the cart corral so I didn't have to worry about leaving them in the car to put the cart away.

People can come up with every excuse in the book but it still comes down to being lazy or irresponsible. If you have young kids, park near a corral--you might have to walk a few extra feet but the bonus is that there are usually carts there when you park so you can load your kids into the cart in the parking lot. If you have an injury or can't return the cart, ask for help.

 

[mickeyboat]

Yeah, a cart thread. It has been getting boring around here, lately.

I always put my cart away - rain or shine, babies or toddlers, close to the car corral, or far away. Heck, around here it is sometimes impossible to push the cart through the slushy parking lot, but I still put it away.

We tell our kids to be considerate at home and put their toys away when they are finished. I don't want to set a bad example by not being considerate at the grocery strore.

Denae

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

This is rather funny to me, since I think about this topic regularly these days. Last year I posted on a shopping cart thread as one of the militant shopping cart returners, calling those who didn't return them lazy. I was definitely vocal in my opinion.

Now that I live in Santiago...well, I'm a shopping cart abandoner . There are teenagers here with orange vests that run around collecting the carts. There are no corrals to place them in. I take my life in my hands just getting from the escalator to my car with the cart (I usually park in an underground parking lot), so I push it over against the nearest pillar so that it doesn't run away and leave. The boys collecting the carts are very efficient, so I know it won't be sitting there long.

That being said, if I managed to get a space close to the escalator up to the store, I'll return the cart to the corral there (getting many strange smirks from the boys in orange) or I'll push it directly to one of the boys if I see them. It's definitely a cultural thing here.

On a somewhat related note, though, I still insist on emptying my own tray into the garbage at the food court, even though that's not the done thing. I just can't bring myself to leave it there!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I return mine.. the 2 grocery stores I shop at the most you put a quarter in for the cart and get it back when you return the cart. Best thing they could invent. I have less carts slammed into the side of my car.

I dont buy having kids an excuse for not returning it.. If I have my little ones near me I always park near the cart return.. Even if its one was out in the parking lot or way off to the side.

 

[delilah]

Because the cart corral is totally full, perhaps?
This is frequently the case with our Meijer store. I walk it over to the nearest cart corral, and, if it is full, I leave it in the space just outside.

I am one of those who consider it lucky to see a random cart in the lot to bring inside with me when I do my shopping.

Then I can stash my purse and reusable shopping bags in the cart, and be good to go.

 

[hildasmuriel]

I don't have much to add to this thread but I LOVE that you call them 'cart corrals'. It is so much better than the UK version - trolley park. I feel the need to start a campaign for the British to start calling their shopping trolleys 'carts' and to store them in 'corrals'
My next campaign would be to make sure all the lazy buggers return their trolleys

 

[joviroxx]

I don't have an issue with people not putting their carts away unless they don't put it out of the way. I can't understand, if they are right next to the corral, why they just don't push it in, but as long as its not blocking the parking space or flying around, it doesn't bother me all that much. JUST GET IT OUT OF THE WAY

 

[Mkrop]

If I had my kids with me I always parked as close to a corral as possible, so putting the cart back was no big deal. I can only think of a hndful of times their was a legitmate reason for not putting the cart back.

 

[lucas]

I go to 3 different Publix stores and 1 Winn Dixie in Boca Raton. None of them have "cart corrals."

Although 1 Boca Publix does have valet parking.

 

[Lanshark]

Because they are too lazy and inconsiderate to return them or at least get them away from other cars and make sure they are secured. When my children were infants I always parked next to a corral so I could take my child from the cart and return it to the corral without going more than a few feet from the car. In the area I live in most stores have plenty of corrals. Most stores have "bag boys" who will take your groceries to the car if you have no intention of returning the cart.

 

[Magic Mom]

Why don't you ask for help taking your groceries to the car? They you wouldn't have to push the cart out at all.



People can come up with every excuse in the book but it still comes down to being lazy or irresponsible. If you have young kids, park near a corral--you might have to walk a few extra feet but the bonus is that there are usually carts there when you park so you can load your kids into the cart in the parking lot. If you have an injury or can't return the cart, ask for help.

Because Walmart doesn't do that, and frankly, I wasn't thinking that far ahead, I was just trying to get in and out and go home.
But it's OK, I'm certain my karma wasn't affected and God has forgiven me, even if some nosy judgemental b's in he parking lot haven't.

 

[mjkacmom]

Because they are lazy slobs that think the world revolves around them. I had three kids with me at times and still managed to keep the carts out of the parking lot. I would leave my cart full of food in the parcel pick spot, walk the kids to the car, load them up, drive all of us to the pick up area, then load the groceries. All while my kids were warming up in the car. Kids are no excuse for being lazy.

Well, considering I have never even heard of a parcel pick spot, I have left carts when I had my kids in the car, and the corral was far away. Our shoprite has at least 2 kids working parking lot duty, and many times, they take my cart as soon as I'm done loading my van. Our Costco has very few corrals, so I leave my cart (never blocking a space).

 

[TangaroaTiki]

I return mine.. the 2 grocery stores I shop at the most you put a quarter in for the cart and get it back when you return the cart. Best thing they could invent. I have less carts slammed into the side of my car.

Yes, the quarter thing has made the parking lots safe for parking your car It's rare that I see an abandoned cart now