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According to officials, as compared to other world cities, Toronto has one of the worst rates of shopping carts left in the parking lots:
9.97% Chongqing
9.86% London
9.69% Toronto
9.46% Pune
9.33% Addis Ababa
9.20% Madrid
9.09% Pyongyang
8.64% Bogotá
8.48% Wuhan
7.97% Yokohama
7.84% Cape Town
7.05% New York City
6.95% Karachi
6.94% Hanoi
This is a pet peeve of mine and I get really irritated when I see a cart left in the middle of a lot or next to a car. That said, my local Walmart rarely has carts left in the lot. There are stalls available that make it very easy to return your cart. It is a busy Walmart and there is usually an employee taking carts back inside.
I was in Tampa last year and was shocked at how many carts were left where the shopper unloaded it or placed in a grassy area. I think the stores were mainly Walmart and Target. I think people start noticing what other people do and decide to do the same thing. It seemed like the Tampa stores had at least 50 carts left like this. It is just a sign of laziness.
Here in Toronto the solution is simple. Vertical steel posts, 15 feet outside the exit doors, placed so close together that a cart cannot pass through them. Carry the bags to your car, folks.
That would be a disaster here in California. Since most cities here don't let stores give out bags anymore. Most people just load the groceries directly from the cart into the trunk of their car. With posts like that, people would not be able to buy more then three or four items at a time.
Anyway those posts sound incredibly inconsiderate to the customs. I would defiantly avoid shopping at a store like that. A better solution would be to make sure that there are enough customer service employees in the lot to immediately retrieve the carts.
Some drivers try to find a parking spot close to the entrance. I, on the other hand, always get a parking spot close to a cart corral! (even if it's far from the entrance). So easy for me to return the cart back.
In regards to paying a 25 cent deposit: Many people in need of money (kids, teens, adults) would patrol the lots looking for stray carts. It's an instant payoff. However, some could follow the shoppers to their car and solicit/guilt them to give them their cart, or forcefully take the cart away from a shopper. Then the customer might just take their business to a store without all the hassle.
Some drivers try to find a parking spot close to the entrance. I, on the other hand, always get a parking spot close to a cart corral! (even if it's far from the entrance). So easy for me to return the cart back.
In regards to paying a 25 cent deposit: Many people in need of money (kids, teens, adults) would patrol the lots looking for stray carts. It's an instant payoff. However, some could follow the shoppers to their car and solicit/guilt them to give them their cart, or forcefully take the cart away from a shopper. Then the customer might just take their business to a store without all the hassle.
Well, I spent a few minutes laughing at the picture of some pi$$-ant kid trying to take my shopping cart to get the quarter!! Many people DO need money, and they aren't bothering to take the 25 cent shopping cart - they just stick a gun in your face and take your wallet.
I shop at least three times a month at our local ALDI, with my quarter-for-the-cart and my own bags (ALDI doesn't give them away). I have only ever found one cart not returned. Frequently, after unloading my groceries, an arriving shopper will offer me a quarter to take my cart and save me the walk. And depending on my mood, I'll often refuse their money and just give them the cart. But no one has ever demanded it.
The people who don't return their carts to the corral are the very ones who would have a cow if a cart rolled into their car and left a dent, as it did to my son's brand new Altima.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,723,992 times
Reputation: 41376
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaaBoom
Because they can?
And there is no consequence.
Hell, I've done it myself on occasion, mostly when I'm in a hurry or when I had a bad ankle. At least when I've done it, I've put it somewhere that is low risk for another car to get hit with the cart.
I usually try to put the cart in a proper place provided it is not too inconvenient but I'm not perfect.
You're not actually surprised that there are so many inconsiderate people in the world, are you? I'm more surprised that there aren't people standing around in parking lots ramming shopping carts into people's cars just for the fun of it.
...and posting videos of it on YouTube.
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I imagine like anything else tectonic plates have a weight limit.
