Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Shopping Cart Dilemma


One of my pet peeves is when people leave their shopping carts all over the parking lot. Can't they walk their lazy bum a few more yards and put it in the correct place?

A few weeks ago I had a moment of shopping cart dilemma as I was leaving the store. Keep in mind that I'm a weakling and it's hard to carry the baby in his car seat for too long. I already started the car to cool it down and strapped the baby in. How do I get the cart back in the corral? Do I leave the baby and rush the cart back or do I become like all those other people and leave the cart by my car? After contemplating for a few seconds, I looked over at a guy parked next to me. He pushed a cart to his car, unloaded the case of beer, jumped in his car and drove away (with probably not a second thought as to the cart he just left in the WRONG place). I felt like reprimanding a total stranger so I finally made a decision. Pushing as fast as I could, I left my car running and the baby in the car. The cart was returned to the CORRECT place.

I would like to say that I've come up with a plan to prevent future shopping cart dilemmas but I'm still unsure as how to do it the right way. Do I leave the baby in the car unattended or leave the cart in the parking lot? Maybe, I just need to start working out so I can carry the heavy car seat from the shopping cart corral to the car. OR even better...maybe I won't go grocery shopping anymore.

13 comments:

The Leo said...

Easily remedied: Keep the baby in the shopping cart (Assuming you have one of those baby carriers that snap on the cart) with the brim down so he doesn't get too much sun, unload the groceries, take the shopping cart back and carry BM to the car in the carrier. The only problem is you're going to have to be hot in the car for 5 minutes.

Greg and Torrey said...

girl, i feel you... i've learned to park next (or as close as i can get) to the parking corrals so that i don't have to worry about the kids in the car, and trying to get the cart back where it belongs. hope you find the answer you are searching for, my dear friend!

Jamie said...

I don't have a baby, but I share your disdain for people who don't return the carts to the right place, so I always park as close to a corral as possible.

Brittany said...

Just wait for someone who is parked right next to the cart return to leave and park next to it. you make me laugh.

The One said...

I park next to the corral too. That way, on the way in, I'm close to a cart too. I don't like carrying that huge carseat all the way inside the store either. Or I bring the Hayden helper to put the cart away for me.

Mike and Gin said...

Wow! I am glad I read your blog, I am learning so much about parenting. Things I have never thought about!

I will give you a call soon, I am here. Get ready for some sushi!

Lifes Great Adventures said...

My pet peeve is how Wal-mart doesn't have hardly any cart racks then it leads to the problem of carts everywhere in the parking lot. I hate parking next to the cart stalls because I worry that one of those carts is going to hit my car and ding it. My other pet peeve is when we purposly park far away so people don't door us and then there is all these open spots closer up and yet they park really close to us in the back and door us. I hate being doored- so I feel your pain for pet peeves. It will be interesting to see how things like this with the carts come up when we have a little one to worry about. Good luck.

Lifes Great Adventures said...

My pet peeve is how Wal-mart doesn't have hardly any cart racks then it leads to the problem of carts everywhere in the parking lot. I hate parking next to the cart stalls because I worry that one of those carts is going to hit my car and ding it. My other pet peeve is when we purposly park far away so people don't door us and then there is all these open spots closer up and yet they park really close to us in the back and door us. I hate being doored- so I feel your pain for pet peeves. It will be interesting to see how things like this with the carts come up when we have a little one to worry about. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I hear you loud and clear. Why not write a cordial customer complaint to the headquarters Preferably the President or someone with power that might consider how important this is to new parents with the baby carrier and etc. Maybe they could find a remedy . Such as curbside pull up delivery of the goods or an automated track or designated spots for parents w/babies.(With cart returns close by.) Or give money back to you when the cart is returned to the proper place. Heaven only knows we all give them plenty of our money.Love, G>R.

P4 said...

Alright my dear friend...I don't have a kid and I must admit I don't 100% of the time return my cart to the right place, but I don't just leave it in the middle of the parking spot. That drives me nuts! When you can't park some where because there is just a cart in the spot. But don't hate me for this comment...my suggestion...leave the cart. Like I said, not in the middle of the parking spot or somewhere where it could roll to unsafety, but maybe next to the curb where you are parked or something. They get paid to collect carts. I know that sounds really bad and I wouldn't want to run all over the parking lot collecting them, but with the new things they have to push/pull the carts these days they need a little extra work to keep them busy. And it isn't because you are lazy...you're watching out for you and your kid. Sorry I'm horrible I know, but what if I promise to always return my cart from now on in replacement for you not doing so! He He! Good luck!

Jed said...

That is DEFINITELY one of my pet peeves as well. I think, "Um...you just walked all over the store and pushed your cart all the way out to your car, but now you can't walk the 45 feet over to the corral to put it away???" Drives me crazy.

By the way, you look great and have a gorgeous family :).

Rookie Dad said...

Some good solutions here, but really I think all you need to do is to work on your long-distance shopping cart accuracy. I've found that with a little practice I've been able to consistently hit the corral with the cart from about 90 feet.

Oh, and I prefer the stores with wide corrals. WalMart sucks.

Tandy said...

Welcome to the club... and then imagine doing it with 3!! Oh, the joys of motherhood! I have to say that Damian is really bad at leaving the carts, and I think he gets a little peeved at me when I get back out of the car to return the cart! Oh, well! Needs to be done, right!??! I have to say that I'm pretty quick at it now, though... with 5 years of practice, I almost have it down to an art. The best way to do it is to just wait a few minutes or so and park right next to one of the cart stalls! Prevents a lot of anxiety!