I am a rule follower of the highest order. OK, maybe not the highest order. I have not formally studied rule-following or anything like that. Let’s call me a dedicated amateur. Either way, I think you can see where I’m headed.
My law-abiding ways mean that when I am finished using a shopping cart, I return it to the clearly-marked cart return location. Sometimes, I even feel compelled to clean up other people’s shopping carts, and generally straighten out the cart return. Maybe it’s neurotic, but I feel happier when the carts are lined up in an orderly fashion. It allows more carts to fit, and prevents errant carts from rolling around the parking lot and damaging cars.
Someone abandoned this cart at a local park
I’m sure you will be shocked (shocked!) when I tell you that not everyone is as diligent about shopping carts as I am. As much as it pains me to say it, some people abandon grocery carts in empty parking spaces, between parked cars and half-on, half-off walkways. Some people even remove carts from the parking area altogether and abandon them in ditches and parks. And still others bring their carts to the cart return area, but do not line them up properly with the other carts.
Where I live, many local grocery stores use coin systems to encourage proper cart handling. This system requires that you put a quarter in your cart to free it from the next cart in line in the pick-up area. Once the cart is properly stored in the cart return area, you plug it into the cart in front of it and it releases your quarter. Because most people want their quarter back, there are fewer errant carts left willy-nilly when this system is in place.
Photo credit – KQED QUEST on Flickr (some rights reserved)
As much as I approve of any system that feeds into my own personal neuroses, The coin system does have its flaws. For instance, sometimes I don’t have a quarter on me. And sometimes, the coin mechanism malfunctions and I either can’t get the cart out or can’t get my coin out at the end. And this one time I offered a guy my quarter for his shopping cart because it was easier than getting my own, and it turned out his cart didn’t even have a quarter, it had this weird bread tag thingy in it. Dude stole my quarter!
I will also admit that sometimes returning a shopping cart is a hassle. Inclement weather, screaming children, crazy parking lots and even the need to pee can make me feel like I would rather just drop my cart where it is and boot it out of there. But I don’t succumb to that urge. Because I don’t believe in abandoning the rules when it’s not easy to follow them. I would have to surrender all of my smugness if I did that. So I try to stave off issues by parking near the cart return, and shopping at the store with the underground parkade. That way I can glare at cart return violators with a clear conscience.
Photo credit – Paul Swansen on Flickr
I’ve found that the level of cart return obedience varies from store to store and geographical location to geographical location. For example, almost no one lines up their carts nicely at Costco. But at my local grocery store, people are pretty good. IKEA is hit and miss, depending on the day of the week and the season of the year. But the best stores, really, are the ones that have staff dedicated to managing the shopping cart situation. I like those stores. I feel like they get me, man.
So, tell me. Are you diligent about returning your carts? Do you return other people’s errant carts so you can sleep at night? Or do you think I just really need to take a deep breath and relax? I’d love to hear!
I think I would side with you on the grocery cart topic, as I tend to like rules and order, but your post made me realize I haven’t used a cart in about 2 years. I don’t have a car and I walk about 4 blocks to get to the grocery store. Because of this, I only use the hand baskets because I know if I can carry it through the store, then I can carry it all the way home.
People not returning carts is one of my biggest pet peeves. What, it’s going to take you two seconds out of your way to return your freaking cart? TAKE YOUR CART BACK YOU LAZY JERK.
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I can appreciate how you feel about the carts. I too, do not understand why people would take them from the parking lot – well except maybe the elderly. I regularily pass a retirement home that has carts parked in the lobby! Still, I don’t know why anyone would remove store property from the parking lot. I always park near the cart return so that I can load the kids into the van and return the cart afterward and still see my van, it’s really not that much of a hassle and I’m shopping with two kids!
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Amber, I sometimes think we’re twins, separated at birth. I think I also enjoy almost every one of your neuroses. I also line up other people’s shopping carts and get very annoyed when others break the shopping cart rules. Don’t they feel the sense of disorder that I do??!! Personally, I blame my four years of Montessori school for my slightly OCD habits. Those Montessori folks are all about order. Maybe Montessori should be compulsory so more people are like us?
I also tidy up the carts in the cart return area. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one!
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Well, I think that I’m getting ripped off with having to put a loonie in the cart!! LOL!
Actually, I return my carts, except at Costco, because, hmmm, I don’t really know why, but I was never so happy as when I bought a “coin” that hangs on my key-chain for the cart. Now, I don’t have to worry about spending my “shopping loonie” on something else, and not having a cart at the store, with three kids to shepherd while attempting to make it through my list.
But I don’t straighten out the carts. That’s not my compulsion.
I SHOULD be more diligent with my cart returnage, but, oh, I’m not. Honestly, it depends on my mood. On the weather. On the kids. MOSTLY I return my cart. But sometimes, I just don’t.
Now, I DON’T shop at the store that requires a quarter to release a cart, because I find it so objectionable that the store assumes NO ONE will return their carts; its so very negative.
And our IKEA puts up barriers all along the parkinglot, so you actually have to drive your car up to the front & unload your cart at the door. Talk about making things difficult with children. But then, its in Philadelphia, so I guess I understand the greater need to keep shopping carts from walking away.
Interestingly, at WholeFoods, I always return my cart. Not sure why. Maybe I’m in that elevated sense of self-righteousness mood from shopping there already. Or, its because there always seem to be cart collecting guys lingering. And glaring.
kelly @kellynaturally’s last post … The Most Peaceful Time of Day
i’m still getting useed to not using the carts with the cute bus or firetruck cab thingy at the front, which btw don’t need precise parking or take quarters
PS: i do return my trolley, i don’t feel the need to re-stack other people’s trolleys – i save that energy for my eggbox
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I usually return my carts. OK, so my HUSBAND usually returns the carts while I sit in the van and watch him. But there are times, when I really gotta go (you hit that one on the head!), when I will push my cart up on the little curb island, quarter and all, and leave it there, making sure it can’t roll away.
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I so get this post. I cant’ stand people who don’t return carts. I also think (not so secretly) people who don’t return their carts tend to be the loudest complainers when a cart not returned hits their car or blocks their spot.
Anyway, my kids are so getting it from me. They’ve been known to yell (loudly) when they see someone not putting a cart away properly.
Anyway, one store by us Aldi – uses the quarter system. We used to live so close to one it’s where we did most of our shopping. I cant’ tell you how many times people would just give me their cart and tell me to keep my quarter. I’m not sure if it’s because I had young kids or they didn’t want to take the cart back or if they were just super nice, but that always made my shopping trip seem so lovely and so I would pay-it-forward whenever I could =)
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I’m diligent only when I’m diligent. Sometimes, I just don’t give a rats.
But one time, with one of those coin-operated cart systems, I let my neurosis totally take over. I have a thing about not taking money from anyone, at ANY time (I mean in terms of stealing). I once went back through the line at Walmart because the lady forgot to charge me for a 10 cent notebook. To me, it’s just asking for bad karma. So this one day at the store with the coin-operated carts, I took a cart that already had a quarter in it. I figured when I put the cart back, I’d leave the quarter with it. But then on my way back to drop off the cart, somebody asked me for my cart and shoved a quarter in my hand. I was standing there trying to (without looking crazy) explain that I didn’t want the quarter because that cart already came with a quarter and it was bad karma, etc etc. The guy thought I was nuts, and left me with now TWO extra quarters in my hand. So… I took them both back to the cart system and loaded them into a couple carts.
Then I had to explain to my husband why I was talking to some dude about carts, and what took me so long. I’m afraid I’m just all kinds of crazy. My husband, btw, is totally the kind of person that would have kept the 10 cent notebook, and the two quarters. This drives me insane.
I am not that het up about shopping carts (except for the ones that shock me when I drive them through the store) but I am glad there are people like you and your commenters in the world. The Feminist Breeder, especially, made me snorfle out loud.
Only recently have I started shopping with a cart – because I usually walk to my close grocery and use the hand basket. But since both kids have started wanting to walk to the store – and who am I to discourage walking? except when it means I have to corral them in the store AND carry the hand basket – I have become more well-versed in shopping carts.
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The thing I hate most is when it’s crowded and someone leaves a cart in a parking spot, and then I think we are going to get that spot but when we go to pull in we realize there’s a cart in it. I mean, a little consideration? Please? We always see to it that our cart is returned to its proper place, and we usually line it up right, but never rearrange an existing mess. I have taken someone else’s cart out of a parking spot before and put it away, though.
This goes right along with people spitting gum out on the sidewalk or wherever they please, which I think I’ve blogged about before. HATE!!! I bet it’s the same people who leave their grocery carts rolling around in the parking lot. LOL.
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Hilarious!! Why does this not surprise me about you?
I’m a pretty good cart returner. I have been known to leave it somewhere other than the cart corral if I am wrangling a screaming toddler. Or maybe during a thunderstorm. (That’s rare though, as I tend not to shop during thunderstorms.)
It’s funny that people where you live are less inclined to be cart-polite at Costco – I think our Costco is pretty neat here, although I’m comparing it to Walmart, which, let’s be honest. . .
Dionna @ Code Name: Mama’s last post … Discipline or Misdemeanor
Ms Tidypants here. Yes, I return carts, and realign them, too. I have been known to leave quarters in the returned cart for the next person, and, yes, it does make me feel good. As to gum, omg, don’t even go there! Spitting it out? I can’t even stand talking to people who are chewing. (Did I ever tell you about the wedding we went to where most of the wedding party were chewing gum? It took me months to recover!)
As to being a full-fledged member of Neurotics Anonymous, well, yes, I do admit to having a few quirks in this area. If the rest of the world would behave itself, I would be a lot happier.
I believe in following the rules, except when they are blatantly wrong. Then I believe in Civil Disobedience and having the courage to take the consequences without whining.Them’s my rules!
I love that Marcy said she would break the wrong rules but then take the consequences – I feel the same way, but it bugs me when people think they should be able to break the rules or the law and then not face consequences. Surely you know me well enough, Amber, to know that I ALWAYS return the cart. I also love reading about other people’s neuroses.
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I too tidy up shopping carts, and will take them all the way back to the store if no cart corrals can be had. I’ve returned them from local bus stops too, when I’ve had one of my “irritated citizen” moments. I HATE it when people take them off property, or abuse them (kids yahooing down hills, trashing them in parks etc). Don’t they realize that each of those carts costs the store almost $200 to replace, and that translates directly into cost increases for us, the consumer? Hmmm? Hmmm? Ok, likely not.
There is a local retirement home here that has a contract with the local grocery to come by with a truck once a week and pick up the carts folk use to take their groceries home. They are always neatly lined up under a wee portico on the side of the building, ready for pickup. I think that is ok. Respect is still shown.
My other pet peeve is stores who won’t fix the child restraints in their carts!! Argh! I hate having to get three or more carts out of a stack before I find one that has a working seatbelt! Seriously folks…..
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It’s amazing how you can write such interesting (and funny) posts about so many topics. I’ve always returned carts even before the coin systems were implemented just about anywhere in this country. Not really because I believe in rules, but because I believe in taking care of other people’s property and especially of public areas. Dumping carts in a park (or anywhere else) is shameful.
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I am VERY diligent about returning my cart.
I used to work in retail, and we were reminde how expensive each cart was almost everyday (and being sent out around the parking lot and beyond to gather all the carts was no fun in the rain — they were counted carefully at the close of every shift). I don’t want to be responsible for raising the overhead of my favourite stores!!!!
I refuse to use the coin-carts and will load myself down with 2 baskets instead. Because I often don’t have the right coin, or they are so worked-over that they are crappy carts (and I can’t choose which cart I want, it has to be the next on the chain).
In the “bad” mall in town, there is a NEW system! No coins! There is a radio strip embedded around the circumference of the parking lot, the carts roll freely up to that line, but if it’s crossed SLAM! a brake locks the wheels and a bar keeps it from being rolled on the unlocked wheels. To get it any farther it must be DRAGGED…. not fun. I parked just outside that line ONCE, it was EXTREMELY annoying, but I don’t hold a grudge because it’s a super way to keep their carts!
*pol’s last post … Preserving Summer
I worked retail for years. So yes, I return my cart properly. I know what the staff has to deal with, and I try not to be ‘that’ person.
On the topic of rule following (which I am a fan) I am particularly anal about Handicap spots. I seem to have the terrible luck of regularly running into some fool or another parked in a handicap spot without a tag, and when clearly not handicap. I mean common young 20 year old girls who passed by me to get into their illegally parked car yesterday, do they have no shame? I can’t seem to keep this particular neuroses to myself. If its questionable (ie old guy w/no tag) I say nothing. Otherwise I tend to be the person who reminds them that people can see them breaking the rules. Over the years I have calmed down a little (see: fiery teenager who mouths off) Now, after years of hearing all sorts of comebacks and slurs thrown my way by those (dare I say it?) criminals, I keep it simple and offer them a way out. I give an ‘Excuse me, you may not have noticed, but your parked in a handicap stall’ Generally people get sheepish (busted!) and go to move their car, other will swear at me and keep walking. At least they know I know.
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Oh my! You are a much better citizen than I am. I sometimes leave my shopping cart at the front of the store. GASP! I think you’ve inspired me to be more considerate!
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I return my carts. Always. Even at Costco. I’ve found some Costco’s are worse than others. I went to the Surrey one and had a hard time finding a parking spot because they were all filled up with forgotten carts. The Costco in Richmond tends to be better in that regard but makes up for it in being the most insanely busy store.
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Okay, I guess I need to be taught in the “way of cart returning” because when I have my two kids in the car and have just buckled them in, I cannot walk across a parking lot to return the cart with the kids in the car. My mama instincts will not allow it. So I ditch the cart right there in front of my car, leaving it in between the parking spots. Oh yes I do. Is this because I live in Los Angeles and parking lots are crowded, crowded, crowded with people? I imagine if I lived in a quiet place I wouldn’t be as worried about leaving them in the car for a few moments alone. However, if my husband is with me I’ll return the cart 100% of the time. Even in the rain. So my excuse is that babies trump cart return.
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I’m mostly good about returning my cart. Not because I’m a rule follower, but because I feel sorry for the people who have to go round up the carts in extreme heat, or rain, or snow, or busy parking lots. I don’t want to be the reason that poor guy is trying to gather abandoned carts around careless drivers while soaking in sweat.
Plus, I totally hope I’ll get a little good karma back for it.
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Not returning carts is a pet peeve of mine, but I only return mine and make it straight. I always attempt to park next to or across from the cart carrel. If I’m not able to park by one, then the kids go with me to put the cart back. The only times I don’t is when I have to park way out (because it’s that busy), they have no carrels in the back, and it’s seriously bad weather. Then the safety and health of my kids come first.
Only a quarter? that’s 25 cents right??
Here it is at least a one dollar coin, often a 2 dollar coin…. I’m not sure many Aussies would bother to place their trolleys neatly back in the right place for just 25 cents. But I always do!
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At Target, the guy who collects the carts from the parking lot has this engine that powers them along as he guides a long chain of carts back into the store. I’m always fascinated by how tidy they look all lined up.
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If I’m parked next to a cart coral, I’ll put it there, but if I’m parked next to a curb, I’ll tilt it up so it’s stuck on the curb so it won’t roll and hit a car or take up a parking space. I think I’m ideologically consistent – I don’t mind if a cart hits my car in the parking lot; I bring one in from the parking lot with me instead of getting a “new” one. I’ve also worked as a bagger/cart-bringer-in before, and I don’t mind when they’re not in the coral. Someone once scolded me by saying, “What if everyone left their cart by their car,” and I jokingly replied, “Then there’d be one in every spot for the next person to bring in.” That would only work in parking lots that are all curbs, of course. Otherwise, it would get chaotic pretty quickly. I’m a rule follower in other areas (I use my turn signal so consistently I’ve been known to accidentally use it when the road simply curves). But shopping carts isn’t one of those areas.
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I always return my shopping cart. Failing to do that would simply be uncivilized!
I always return mine but not others. I do live in the city afterall
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I always return my shopping carts. It’s a huge pet peeve with me. However, whenever possible, I also ride my shopping cart. I am a very mild mannered, quiet sort of person who prefers napping to most any other hobby, except for cart riding. I have become an expert at sliding my right foot along at high speeds, creating a rudder affect. I can get quite fancy. It gets the heart rate up, and can get a few smiles from other shoppers. I am 46 years old, and hope to do this for many years to come. I give back by returning my cart faithfully, and returning two to three carts to the store on my way in. It’s my own little neurosis, and I like it.
I was very glad to find your post. Makes me feel not so alone in this world!