The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

This poll is about leaving your grocery cart in a parking space after you're done with it (which includes hooking two wheels over a curb).
What do you think of it?

I put pretty annoying because if I want that parking space, I have to get out and push the cart aside.   I don't leave my cart in the stall.  I push it somewhere like on a median or on a curb where it doesn't interfere with parking.

I don't feel like my position is reflected.

I don't think it's a huge deal, but I also think it's kind of annoying and I only do it very rarely in specific situations.  I never leave it IN the parking space where a car would go, but sometimes I have to leave it up on the curb or something like that.  Can you clarify the situation?

I take my cart back 99% of the time. It's a little annoying when people leave them in parking spaces, but it's not that big a deal. However, that "shopping cart theory" that proposes an individual's moral character is determined by whether they return their cart is total bullshit.

And while I'm very much against people getting physical when they can't control their emotions. I find myself hoping that "Cart Narcs" retard gets an epic beatdown for harassing people and putting stickers on their cars. But then again, I think it's by design for likes, clicks, and follows. I think those videos are setup with paid actors.

I return my carts .. mostly because it's convenient, BJs has cart returns everywhere, Aldi gets you your quarter back and Big Y has very convenient cart returns as well.

I always return my cart to the store.  But I recognize that, if everyone did it, people would be out of a job.  So I don't care if others do it, but I try to help out where i can

I wasn't really addressing people who leave their carts randomly around the parking lot (but not in a space).

I intentionally separated "I do this myself" and "Pretty annoying," but I probably should have added an option for the hypocrites out there.  ;)

As for myself, I always always ALWAYS return my cart to the cart corral or hand it off to another person directly.  As in, I don't think I've ever left a cart around the parking lot in my life.

I'm guessing that the people who "have to" leave their cart around the lot are parents of small children?  (or just monsters)

To answer your question, in general I take my cart back.

As you said, there are kids....you load a baby in a car, it's somewhat weird to then leave that baby if the store is super far away.  (I don't have a baby.)

But in South Florida, we have rain in sudden storms that can be super heavy.  I'm not wont to tack a cart back up to the entrance if it's raining or lightning.  This is the one that affects me the most.

I suppose the other thing could be if the store has a culture of leaving carts around and having someone with a motorized buggy that goes around to collect them.  I usually still take my cart to the corral area, but I could see why one might be less likely if there were 50 other carts around and a guy driving to pick them up anyway.

In none of these scenarios would I leave the cart in a space, though, and I'm always annoyed if a cart is actually where the car is supposed to go.

I voted before reading everything. I  also am not accurately reflected.  I never leave it in a parking spot but will hike it onto a median.

You're allowed to change your vote.

2nd reason Aldi is the best grocery.  1st is they are inexpensive.

Love Aldi, and I tend to be very helpful there with carts.   If someone is wheeling their cart back as I'm getting out of my car, I'll just walk up to them, hand them my quarter, and take their cart.   As I'm taking my cart back, if I see someone heading to the carts, I'll offer them my cart in exchange for their quarter.

My grocery store (Fry's, brand of Krogers) has a spot on each row of the parking lot that is designated for cart return. No matter where I park, I am no more than 4 parking spots away, so I always put them there.

I do miss Publix though...not gonna lie.

Was listening to the radio on my way into work last week and they talked about this very thing and their take on it was that you could tell a lot about of person by watching what they did with their cart. They surmised that someone who always returned the cart was by nature a thoughtful and curteous person because there's absolutely nothing that forces you to return the cart. You are not going to be arrested. You are not going to be banned from the store. Basically whether you return it to the stall is totally about being curteous to the next person trying to use the cart, parking spot, the folks that work for the store that have to round them up, etc.

I pretty much think this is spot on. If you return them to the stall you generally are a curteous and thoughtful person. If not, not so much. Mind you, I'm not saying you're not a good person if you don't return them, but you're not as curteous and thoughtful as those that do. That's just my opinion.

I voted I don't think it's a big deal, but I've never done it myself. I always return the cart to the stall. 100% of the time.

Anyone ever grabbed another cart that was on your way to the stall and pushed it to the stall as well? I've done this on numerous occasions.

If there's a cart on my walk up to the store, I always push a cart up on the way, whether I need a cart or not. 

Those who say that they put their cart away 100% of the time, do you deal with inclement weather?  I think that's the big thing here.  We have sudden lightning storms where I'm just not keen on pushing a metal cart around.

That's the "shopping cart theory" I was talking about earlier that proposes an individual's moral character is determined by whether or not they return their cart. It's total bullshit and I disagree with it 100%. People just want to be offended over and complain about silly nonsense. If you want to take your cart back or not, I don't care. It has nothing to do with me.

I've had this discussion with people that I know and they all said that returning your cart reflects on your individual character somehow. However, one of them is a drunk that wants to fight and argue after a few drinks, another one habitually lies about mundane shit that doesn't need to be lied about, and another one has cheated on his wife with several random ugly hambeasts and sluts.

Imagine trying to judge someone's character on something that doesn't matter whatsoever. While simultaneously cheating on your wife with some of the worst looking slam pigs you can find, just to get your dink wet. Just LOL

I agree that you really can't tell much from shopping carts. However, the way you talk about others sure can...

Cry more

While cart return is not 100%, it is a very good predictor of whether the individual is selfish and self centered or if the person cares about others.  Other indicators are how they treat low paid service workers, if they willingly follow health guidance during a global health crisis, willingness to be inconvenienced for others safety, etc.

Nonsense

Anyone gonna tell me what this is a reference to?

As I said a few posts above. I've had this conversation with quite a few people about if you can judge someone's character or how good of a person they are if they return their shopping cart or not. Almost all of them had something negative to say about people who don't return their carts.

Meanwhile, they all engage in negative harmful behavior toward others. The quote you referenced, while it is the most extreme example, is about one of those people. He cheats on his wife with some of the nastiest looking women I've ever seen. People aren't very congruent in their views and spout bullshit for moral superiority.

There is no reasonable metric that you can judge someone for simply not returning their cart. It's simply bullshit.

Person who engages in multiple acts of anti-social behavior, denies that anti-social behavior is anti-social behavior. 

Not returning your cart is anti-social? LMFAO

Yeah. Rain or shine, I put the cart back in the stall.

Meh. Chances of getting struck by lightning are pretty small. Don't think they are really raised much by me pushing around a cart, especially the one cart that I'm pushing when there are hundreds of other cars and carts around? Most of the carts these days are mostly plastic anyway. Not worried about it.

I can see what other people have said about leaving a child in the car unattended and that I could see, but I honestly don't think I've ever been in that situation with just me and a small child. If that was the case, I might be inclined to leave the cart in that case, but that's about the only case I can see.

Hey Pappy, where do you live?

Here, we have regular lightning storms and metal carts for our main grocer.  We have plastic cards at places like Target and Walmart, though.

I think metal carts are still prevalent in the vast majority of grocery stores.  And I doubt that a metal cart with plastic/rubber wheels is at significantly more risk of being struck by lightning.

As I said, I can understand if you have a small child and it's inconvenient to manage securing the child in a carseat and then leaving them there to return the cart.  I would probably be trying to park close to a cart return if I felt that way, but I'm not a parent and I understand that even 20 feet might be worrying.  But "it's raining" is not what I would call a valid excuse, especially since you are making more work for someone else to go get this cart in the rain. (And if you think that a metal cart presents extra risk during a lightning storm, you damn sure better not be putting your small child in this cart when going to or from your car.)

I park next to or within a few spaces of the cart return area almost every time I go shopping. Therefore my cart is returned easily with no fuss. But on another note, since when did anyone need a "valid excuse" to not return their cart? I mean, there are no laws or punishments for not returning your cart. And most people who don't return their carts probably don't give a fuck what anyone thinks. So I don't get the "valid excuse" angle.

pondwater, you've made it crystal clear that You Don't Think It's A Big Deal where people leave their carts.
Others disagree.

You're not really advancing a position by filling up the page with "How dare you judge someone else?!" posts.  We all recognize that grocery cart returns are not the ultimate measure of our society.  You say there is "no law or punishment" for not returning your cart, but if I want to judge someone else as inconsiderate and anti-social for not doing so, there is also no law or punishment for me denouncing them.  Freedom works both ways; you have the freedom to make your own choices, and I have the freedom to criticize your choices.

P.S. Just to avoid the "And I have the freedom to criticize people who are being judgmental" vortex: if you want to make an argument for leaving your cart wherever you want, then make that argument.  But arguing that we shouldn't judge people for not returning their carts Because Freedom is a waste of time.  Yes, we all recognize that people have the Freedom to leave their carts laying around, and other people have the Freedom to criticize them for not returning their carts, and yet even more have the Freedom to criticize the critics, etc.  This is obvious and conveys no information worth discussing.

People are being criticized for leaving carts laying around because it's selfish and unnecessary.  Their "freedom" to do so is not in dispute, and is beside the point.

Holy overreaction Batman. Damn son, stop being so emotional. The point is that no one that leaves their cart laying around gives a shit what you or anyone else thinks. Therefore, you and others are just complaining to complain. And about something that absolutely no one can do anything about. What's the end game?

I don't care what they do and it's not my problem. Nor is it your problem. Nor is it a problem in general. Mind your business and do better...

I think not returning your cart to the store, or a collection point, is just pure laziness.  I mean it would take one or two minutes.  The only thing worse is people that park in the fire lane right in front of the store when there are parking spots not more than 20 yards away.

That I can agree with. I see that all the time, usually dudes in jacked up trucks blaring their Bro Country. They should be towed away

I've used the fire lane to drop off someone who is going into the store.  But then I will circle the parking lot until they come out. 

It started to rain while I was leaving the grocery store and I intentionally left my daughter in the car to wheel the buggy to the front, while thinking about this thread.

I live in Grand Prairie Texas which is a suburb of Dallas. I do most of my shopping at Target super center which has grocery as well as other stuff and it's right around the corner from us. My wife goes "big" grocery shopping, not sure what type of carts they have, but I agree with Spider here, I don't really feel the cart is something to worry about.

Honestly, I think it's a dog act. I wouldn't shoot anyone for it, but it's selfish and pathetic - and it deserves to be called out.

Seriously, you wheel a cart all the way out to your car, and then you can't be bothered to take it back to the return station? It's lazy and it's selfish. It may not exactly change the world, but it will make someone else's life a hell of a lot easier if you use a little self motivation to make the effort to do it.

OK, I mean...this might seem pedantic, but I do think there's a difference.  We have major lightning storms on a somewhat regular basis and our leading grocery store, Publix, has metal shopping carts.  You just can't be pushing around metal carts in a lightning storm.  It's not to excuse bad behavior and you can wait to go back out to your car, some people will go to the car and load it from the curb...there are options.

But.. I just don't think that people in California or Dallas can view that particular issue with any sort of perspective.

Not comparable.  One is rude and inconsiderate but legal, the other is illegal and potentially could cost someone their life.

It sounds like you pushed this metal cart out to your car 5 minutes earlier during the same lightning storm, so you didn't think it was that risky.
If your kid was sitting in the cart at the time, you have zero argument here.

The lightning storm wouldn't have been there when you pushed the cart out earlier.  Also, I don't put my kid in the cart.  But the kid thing is a different issue.

That's not really how it works.

In general, when things are storming, you gotta minimize your time around metal and your time out in it.  Also, the weather changes fast.  I'm not trying to be dramatic; it's just how it is living here.  You have to run to you car quick, wait for a slight break in the storm and go quickly where it's raining but not a deluge, etc.

Again, there are options to avoid it, I'm just giving a situation where you might find someone ditch a cart for their safety.

I mean, I suppose if you're referring to a lightning storm that just started the moment you got to your car or whatever, then I guess?  But I feel like the majority of carts that are left behind are not because of this, and I'd even go so far as to say that the majority of carts that you have left behind were not because of an instant lightning storm that sprang up right as you got to your car.

This just seems like a "Well what if it's nighttime and my wife is shopping alone and there's a sketchy guy hanging around the corral?" contrived situation.  Sure, if it will put your life in danger to do so, then don't return the cart to the corral.  You have your pardon.  ;)

BTW, I was at Wal-Mart earlier today, saw this, and thought of y'all:

(http://viperbeam.com/forum/carts.jpg)

Two of the people who left carts here definitely thought they were putting them "out of the way," and the third probably also thought they weren't really blocking any parking.

I personally tried to pull into this spot and had to back out to find another one.

I don’t leave my cart.  Outside of special circumstances, I always wheel it somewhere appropriate.  I was just giving cover to a reason that people here might abandon a cart

We don't have lightning storms in Dallas? I mean OK, maybe we don't have them as often as Florida or anyplace else, but that's not really the point because we do have lightning storms in Dallas when it's raining and I've returned the cart to the stall when it was both lightning and raining regardless of what the cart was made of.

Does the grocery store prevent you from using the carts when it's storming out? If they don't it's obviously not THAT big of a problem. You're reaching.

https://www.iii.org/article/lightning-safety-10-myths-and-the-facts

You're not really any more likely to be struck by lightning pushing a metal cart in a parking lot than you are walking up your driveway. If lightning happens to be in an area, you are at risk the rest is pretty much dumb luck so unless you stay home when it's lightning out, then it's not really an excuse.

Yeah and I think that's fine, when my mother was still alive I'd pull up, help her out and into the store to get a cart, then immediately go and move the car.  Same thing when she was leaving I'd bring her out and have her wait by the door while I go and get the cart and pull up to pick her up.

It's the young people that pull up and park in the fire lane because "they're only going to get two things"; and the boyfriend who may drop off the girl and just sit there blocking the entrance so everyone has to go around them - just pull into a spot while you wait.

I don't know how many times a person has been struck with lighting while pushing a shopping cart, but I'm thinking it's close to non-existent.  If you have that much fear you should wait in the store for the storm to pass.  Typically lighting strikes the highest point in the area, so a lighting bolt would be aiming for you more than it would the shopping cart.  Not to mention it would be more likely to hit a light pole in the lot, than a person pushing a cart.  But anything is possible, I know of a runner who was jogging on a track during a small storm and he was hit by lighting, it blew one of his sneakers right off his foot when it went through him.

I think too much of my lightning concerns are being litigated in this thread.

I don't make a habit of being out in lightning in general, and I've never had to deal with pushing a cart in lightning.  I was simply trying to outline a reason someone might abandon their cart.

And even in that situation, it isn't necessarily because the cart is metal or even lightning (although that's part of it).  In Florida, we sometimes have to run to the car real quick in the rain (or lightning) while you're getting poured on and standing in water.  In general, it's acceptable to do whatever you have to in order to reduce your time in those conditions.  That's all.