# Are Department Store Electric Scooters Monopolized by Non Handicapped Obese People? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 20, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106 "2008-12-20T19:45:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/101 "2008-12-27T07:44:27Z")
:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/102 "2008-12-27T12:45:07Z")
I am fat, and the only time I have used the scooters in the store was when I had a need. I was pregnant, and either under orders not to walk more than necessary, or pregnant and also very ill. Most of the time I am in a condition that I would consider using a scooter, I am not going to be shopping, but there were times late in my pregnancies where I needed stuff to get ready for the baby, so I was out and about. If the store had a wheel chair available, I would use that rather than the scooter, because scooters are damned inconvenient. They are slow and not easy to maneuver. I found that even when I was having difficulty walking, that I could roll myself in the wheel chair. And when I have had occasion to use a scooter, there was at least one ass staring at me and making nasty comments, sometimes directly to me, and some did more than comment. I was trying to buy baby wipes, nursing supplies, and such, and an asshole who felt it was his position to judge me put obstacles in my way in one place and another blocked my way and refused to move. I am sure he was confident in his ability to see that I was perfectly healthy and only riding the scooter because I was fat. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/103 "2008-12-31T17:57:05Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > They wouldn’t make shopping itself easier- at least not if the person on the scooter was alone. But do the stores provide any extra services to those using scooter/wheelchairs? I ask because someone I know once told me she rented one of those scooters on a trip to a theme park to avoid waiting on line- the park she went to had a policy of having visitors in wheelchairs/scooters ( and the rest of their party) enter rides through the exit and avoiding the line. An interesting question. And the person who rented a scooter to jump lines was a jerk. But I don’t think it applies here, or at least not commonly. The stores I was in when I was recovering from knee surgery provided scooters, but no other assistance. For getting things from shelves I couldn’t reach, I depended upon the kindness of strangers. For getting through the payment process, I hopped. Painfully. It’s not like they issue a lackey with the scooter, that you can order around. And you certainly don’t get preferential treatment at the checkout. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/104 "2009-01-01T01:57:59Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > They wouldn’t make shopping itself easier- at least not if the person on the scooter was alone. But do the stores provide any extra services to those using scooter/wheelchairs? I ask because someone I know once told me she rented one of those scooters on a trip to a theme park to avoid waiting on line- the park she went to had a policy of having visitors in wheelchairs/scooters ( and the rest of their party) enter rides through the exit and avoiding the line. This _is_ an interesting question, that I would be interested in seeing answered. But as a woman who has used a scooter perhaps a dozen or so times (post-op, pretty much) at stores but never at an amusement park or anything, I can tell you this: At no time, at any store I’ve patronized, have any special allowances been made for me and my scooter. In fact, I had a friend with lupus, who had to use a scooter in the grocery store, who often complained of the fact that there were only _two_ lanes in the grocery store that were wide enough to accommodate the scooter, and if one of them was closed (for whatever reason) she was stuck waiting extra-long for a cashier to be available. So, in her case at least, it was very much at _disadvantage_ to be in a scooter. Also, as **MandaJO** pointed out, IME, it’s much more difficult to shop _with_ a scooter than without one, not withstanding the fact that you don’t actually have to expend energy walking through the store. I agree that the OP should try major shopping in a scooter once, to see what a PITA it is. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/105 "2009-01-04T22:17:23Z")
Because of this thread I took a closer look at the sign on the scooter in the local Safeway. It said that it was for “our customers who would like a ride”. Need was not mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/106 "2009-01-04T22:33:59Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Well… sometimes I wonder which came first with the fat folks on the scooters- the chicken or the egg. > > My dad is a good example. He’s 300+ lbs, but the reason that he’s on the scooter is because he has Parkinson’s, and has a hard time walking well some days. Granted, the Parkinson’s has more or less caused him to put on some weight, but if you see him walk, it’s not the usual fat, arthritic guy walk, but this sort of odd shuffle that I’ve only seen in other Parkinson’s sufferers. I My mom had Parkinson’s too. Her shuffle was fine for as long as she could go, and then she’d involuntarily freeze. Sometimes she’d pitch forward so I’d always get her a “go cart” (our joke) for her safety. We’ve gotten looks from people who couldn’t see a physical disability and it irked me. ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106/107 "2009-01-04T22:52:54Z")
> [@Wiggie](#): > > It never once occurred to me that scooters provided by retail stores were intended for the permanently disabled, mobility impaired shopper. Because, see, those people would already own wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. I have no idea how common this is but I did encounter a man like this at a big box store. He had brought his own motorized scooter and needed help getting it back into the back of his van as he was leaving. He was obviously disabled, and obese (and parking in a handicapped space), but I assumed he was obese because he had to use a scooter to get everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-department-store-electric-scooters-monopolized-by-non-handicapped-obese-people/478106.md?page=5)