Grocery shopping may be a hated chore for some, but it’s no reason to leave considerate behaviour at home. Grab your cart and proceed with caution and courtesy.
- Grrrrrrrrrrrrr! You finally find a parking spot and there it is – a grocery cart.
Returning the cart is expected and courteous behaviour.
- General rules of the road apply to shopping carts too.
Stopping in the middle of the aisle (or road), thereby blocking passing on either side is inconsiderate driving, whether it’s a cart or car.
- At the end of an aisle, when tuning to enter the next aisle, anticipate another shopper. I’m often amazed at people who act so surprised that someone else is shopping.
- If your child accidentally rams the cart into someone’s heels, make sure they sincerely apologize. Accidents happen, but it is still important to take and teach responsibility.
- Ah, children. Please, please, don’t allow a child to use the shopping cart handle as a teething ring.
- A shopping cart is for shopping. Leaving empty coffee cups or other trash in a cart is also inconsiderate. Walk those extra two steps to find a trash receptacle.
These may seem minor frustrations but we all know what happens when little things accumulate. Each seemingly small act of inconsideration is a whittling of overall civility.
I visited a well-known tourist village a while ago. It was off-season and one of the local artisans expressed his pleasure that life was back to normal now that the crowds had departed. He said, “We return our shopping carts here.”
I know from Tweeting on this subject that shopping cart etiquette touches another etinerve. We’re happy for you to vent your cart frustrations here, maybe even some solutions.
Returned shopping carts, not abandonedin the parking lot.
Controversial question here…. If you find an empty card in an aisle and there is no one in sight, is it up for grabs? Please reply as it’s causing quite a stir in the office. Thanks.
We’ve all encountered this Melody. Just as we’ve all turned around to look at something, turned back, and our shopping cart has vaporized. Very frustrating!
My answer to your question is a very cautious yes. I would make certain that no one is around, that some harried mother hasn’t run after an escaping toddler. Even then, if not far from the cart collection, I would pick up a new one. So, yes, it is up for grabs as long as you’re sure it has been abandoned.
I would like to hear how your office was split on this.
Thank you for your response! This will be another fun discussion.
Some thought the empty cart is fair game – if no one is in sight. We’ve all grabbed a cart before at the front of the store and end ended up not using it for one reason or another. The key thing is- it’s an empty cart. No one has marked it as theirs.
Others felt it was stealing. They would come back to their cart with the item(s), only to find it missing. And boy did that evoke some emotions.
Thanks again for responding!