Ask Lemmy

If you shove it in the cart corral then it will either slot in correctly or be positioned for it. Unless you're one of those assholes who shoves the mini-cart in the normal-cart line.

I kind of like it. There’s something satisfying about giving my cart a shove and having a bunch of carts line up together with loud crashing noises

I fucking hate it when people don't return their carts, and yes I always slide them in and condence the stack as much as possible. I used to have to do carts while working retail, and I would have to pick up so many carts that people just left on the curb or even in parking stalls. Some of them wouldn't even return them when right next to the corral, and instead just block an entire parking stall.

The worst was working carts in the 100°F+ heat. I had to take breaks every 15 minutes or so just to avoid heat stroke, and while resting I would see these people just leaving carts in the places I had just cleaned up. Infuriating.

As a European it feels so surreal reading the stories of Americans not returning the shopping carts

Generally yes. I don't really point it out to people if it's like... 2-3 carts in the corral, and they don't fully stack them. Long as they're in there. I've seen a massive pileup outside of one once, had to be about 10-15 carts? Couldn't return a cart even if you wanted to. Ended up pushing them all together. I used to be a cart pusher, I know how bad it sucks, plus those loose carts can cause damage if the wind kicks up

I always slide the cart in. It's rather satisfying when it slides and chucks against the cart in front, sort of like an acknowledgement of the attachment.

I believe I desperately need some new hobbies, on a side note.

No, it's best to leave your cart in the carpark where it blocks cars, to incentivise taking the bus.

Of course it is?!

Yes, it is common courtesy to return your trolley appropriately.

I've only really seen the system abused when visiting countries like the USA, shoppers seem feral over there.

Some supermarkets here require a token to use. That token is returned on the complete restacking of your trolley

It does well enough at training our population.

In Germany, everyone does it. Yes, I think it is common courtesy. It is a matter of basic respect to others.

It's not like it's difficult or a lot of effort. You specifying it against "just in the area" - maybe you have more space for carts, but if you already move it into the designated area, I don't see that aligning it could be significantly more effort or time investment.

Not mine, credit to Portuguese Geese

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_cart_theory

I think if you're going to go through the trouble to return your cart to the cart area then yeah, slot that bad boy into the stack the way it's supposed to go. Otherwise it's like those people who pick up their dog's poop and just hang the bag on a tree branch for someone else to put in the trash. Either do the thing, or don't do the thing. Doing it halfway just makes a different kind of mess.

I found out a new (new to me at least) bit of cart-return etiquette last year when I was using the handicap parking spaces for a couple months following ankle surgery. Grocery carts double as walking aids for a lot of people with mobility issues while they're at the store. Many people with those issues will purposely leave their carts in the handicap area as a courtesy for the next person with mobility issues so they can have it right away and not have to struggle all the way to the cart area. So there's at least one instance where not returning your cart doesn't make you a horrible person.

Yes its common courtesy. Its lazy and disrespectful to just toss your cart however and just expect that the store's minimum paid staff should deal with your mess

I usually organise them when I bring mine back to fix other people's laziness.

Story time: in the mid 90s an IKEA store opened near by, the trolleys required a £1 coin, people would just either forget about the £1 as no where else was doing it at the time, or just think I can't be arsed taking the trolley back. Cue teenage me, every time we went to IKEA I would come out of the carpark with between £10-£15 before my parents demanded I get in the car. It then evolved in to people connecting multiple trolley so only one person lost a £1, eventually they had a guy in vehicle and trailer pick them up after removing the coin lock from all the trolleys.

As someone who worked at more than one grocery store where the manager scheduled more people per week if someone needed to constantly be on cart duty (e.g., during the winter, because folks were less likely to put their carts back during the cold), I often don't put my cart back in the correct spot. I do so because at the stores I worked at, that would help people who want more hours be able to make a case for those hours to the manager. I often had to do so when I wanted more hours, and I was the person who did the carts. I never do this when cart duty is otherwise hard (e.g., late at night, in the cold, in the summer heat, etc.)---in those cases, I always bring my cart back inside of the store and put it completely away.

So, yes, but there are sometimes reasons to do something besides what's courteous.

Of course it is. Not just for the workers but for the exact reasons you've stated.

It’s annoying when people don’t stack them in the corrall, but the people who just hook the front wheels over the curb where they parked are literally Hitler. They can’t be bothered to even make it to the cart corral, and take effort to push the wheels up. They deserve untold pain.

The only time I don't return the cart to the corral is when I'm taking my elderly mother to the store, and we park in the handicapped spots. I always leave my cart near there, because older, handicapped people often like to grab a cart in the lot, and use it like a walker to get to the store.

Likewise, when we arrive, I jump out and grab the nearest cart as she's getting out of the car, and I can wheel it over to her. It's nice when someone has left a cart in the handicapped zone.

This is a handicapped thing, you have to be part of that world to know about it.

I think bringing the cart to the corral is the bare minimum, and generally people will try to get away with the minimum for most tasks and social obligations. If you don't at least bring it to the corral you're deranged, but beyond that I'd rather a job is done half-assed than not at all.

If I get to the corral and there's two or three loose carts I'll stack them with mine. If there's six or seven I won't fix them all but I'll still be as neat as I can.

If the store has different sized carts, this is always a bigger problem. People generally are uncoordinated at figuring that out.

My grocer has one of those schemes where the carts are unlocked by putting a coin in them, and you get the coin back when you return the cart. It works pretty well for keeping things tidy.

Pretty cunt move not to fully return the trolly tbh!

The ultimate litmus test

Yes, but it's a minor thing. Like, if that's the moral line you won't cross you better be some sort of ascetic saint, lol. Some people are just anal about these things because of their neurodivergence (I'm one of those, although it's mild), and as such it's important not to randomly harass someone for it... I'd just put it in its place and forget about it. 🤷

It is viewed as antisocial behaviour to leave your cart on the parking space, where I am from. I always put my cart back in the shortest row of carts. I like to make it as conveniant as possible for the people working at the supermarket.

Common social courtesy, but...

Last time this was posted there was someone arguing that we were all basically brainwashed by social pressure into doing free labor for shitty corporations.

I think they're probably right but I still return the cart, just like I still tip at restaurants.

I actually prefer not to stack it completely but just put in the beginning of the lane (which are separated by metal bars) so the next person doesn't have to go all inside the lane to take their cart (they can be several meters). It's still tidy in its lane and the next person bringing back a cart can just push mine forward with theirs.