JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for July 27, 2015

Yeah, then every cart would be neatly arranged, and not invading parking spaces… – And not halfway down the block…

It’s too bad prizes and other incentives have to be offered to get people to do what should be done — out of common courtesy and because it’s just the right thing to do.

Don’t put the cart herders out of business

Aldi stores don’t have that problem. You have to put a quarter in to get a cart. You get your quarter back when you return it.

Our local supermarket has copies over its cart areas. Each one has the words PLEASE RETURN CARTS HERE. A few years ago letters started peeling off, so the copies were now saying PLEASE RETURN ART HERE, EASE RETURN CAR HERE, and PLEASE TUNA HERE, and other curious requests.

Try shopping at a different time and/or day.

I’ve seen exactly this scene too many times to count. I’ve watched people wrestle with a cart to get it up over a curb and park it in the garden instead of walking 20 feet to a “cart corral”. People can be soooo selfish and lazy!

I like the way they do it in the UK. Each cart has a coin mechanism. You put your Pound in the slot and that unlocks it. When you’re done, you have to latch it back in order to get your Pound back. (or just leave it in the middle of the lot and some enterprising youth will earn ’emself a quid!)

I was a ‘cart boy’ for two summers back in college. Every Sunday we had a ‘cart count’, where we had to search all four corners of that intersection to assemble the carts. Amazing how the carts found themselves across the street. Now there’s some kinda device that locks the wheels if the cart crosses that yellow strip at the periphery of the lot.-Also: many a vacant parking spot (which is like gold) is filled with carts. Oy Vey !! Yes, Costco, I’m talking about you.

I have son finally got hired as front loader at Dillon’s/Kroeger though part time. One complaint just like on JS strip customer’s do not put carts where to go. He picked a great place to work at always busy. He also helps sack customer’s purchase.

Save-A-Lot also requires you to put a quarter into a cart in order to detach it from carts in front of it, and to put the cart back on, you get your quarter back. They haven’t had long checkout lines so far since I moved closer to them, and they do require us to bag our own groceries, but Save-A-Lot is more likely to have two checkout lanes open than Aldi is.

You can find plenty of carts in the creeks next to the big apartment complexes.