For reasons I can’t fully explain, people’s failure to return their carts bothers me more than it probably should. But then I realized I can do something about it.
I really want to like this article, but I don’t care for the example of the old man.
It’s not the only example that’s lacking any sense of nuance or empathy, but it’s probably the worst. I say this as someone who has never left a cart out. I even used to put other people’s away if they were on my way. I can be a rule-follower to a fault.
Anyway.
I’m not old, but I’m physically disabled such that I don’t use carts anymore. It’s just too hard, too exhausting, too painful. I almost never buy more than I can carry in a basket.
If I did push a cart (especially full) out to my car, me still being well enough to return it is extremely questionable. I’d likely have to sit and recover a bit before doing so. Being disabled this way can be a lot like just being really old. I’ve come to empathize with them so much more these past few years.
You could argue that we should ask for help from staff in that scenario, but how often do you see grocery store staff who aren’t busy with something? It’s probably less of a burden on them to gather that cart up whenever they gather the rest of the carts that haven’t been returned.
But definitely “fuck you” to the lady who left her cart in the middle of a handicapped spot.
This was almost a decade ago, but when I was a bagger we would help people unload their groceries into their car fairly often. It wasn’t at all weird to ask for help from staff. They have other things to do but other than the cashier it’s almost always non-urgent and a lot lower priority than helping out a customer. Then we would just take the cart back when we went back inside. Grabbing a wayward cart along with others isn’t much of a hassle either but they can roll into people’s cars if they’re just left on pavement.
My husband has cerebral palsy. When he lived by himself he never returned the carts. Because he physically could not. He used the cart as balance to get to the car. If he took it back, he’d have nothing to use as balance to get back to the car.
But how’d he get inside with no cart? He wasn’t taxed yet from walking and shopping and could get to the carts to use as balance. He also hoped other people would leave a cart out nearby so he could grab that.
These days we go in, grab an electric for him, and we return that for him once he’s in the car.
Exactly! I can’t comment as to their health or medical condition, but I have seen that exact scenario more than once. Someone relying on the cart to hold themselves up, that is.
I really want to like this article, but I don’t care for the example of the old man.
It’s not the only example that’s lacking any sense of nuance or empathy, but it’s probably the worst. I say this as someone who has never left a cart out. I even used to put other people’s away if they were on my way. I can be a rule-follower to a fault.
Anyway.
I’m not old, but I’m physically disabled such that I don’t use carts anymore. It’s just too hard, too exhausting, too painful. I almost never buy more than I can carry in a basket.
If I did push a cart (especially full) out to my car, me still being well enough to return it is extremely questionable. I’d likely have to sit and recover a bit before doing so. Being disabled this way can be a lot like just being really old. I’ve come to empathize with them so much more these past few years.
You could argue that we should ask for help from staff in that scenario, but how often do you see grocery store staff who aren’t busy with something? It’s probably less of a burden on them to gather that cart up whenever they gather the rest of the carts that haven’t been returned.
But definitely “fuck you” to the lady who left her cart in the middle of a handicapped spot.
This was almost a decade ago, but when I was a bagger we would help people unload their groceries into their car fairly often. It wasn’t at all weird to ask for help from staff. They have other things to do but other than the cashier it’s almost always non-urgent and a lot lower priority than helping out a customer. Then we would just take the cart back when we went back inside. Grabbing a wayward cart along with others isn’t much of a hassle either but they can roll into people’s cars if they’re just left on pavement.
My husband has cerebral palsy. When he lived by himself he never returned the carts. Because he physically could not. He used the cart as balance to get to the car. If he took it back, he’d have nothing to use as balance to get back to the car.
But how’d he get inside with no cart? He wasn’t taxed yet from walking and shopping and could get to the carts to use as balance. He also hoped other people would leave a cart out nearby so he could grab that.
These days we go in, grab an electric for him, and we return that for him once he’s in the car.
Exactly! I can’t comment as to their health or medical condition, but I have seen that exact scenario more than once. Someone relying on the cart to hold themselves up, that is.