I used to work at a supermarket that was part of a larger strip mall (supermarket at one end, Ames at the other, & a bunch of small shops in between). Not only did our carts get stolen and taken to the other side of the lot they also rolled out onto the roads and into traffic. :eek:
Dude, you need to step back and chill out. 
Not every problem in society is solved by legislation. Nor are our preferred situations always what society prefers.
I’ve already said I take the cart where it needs to go to avoid going walkabout in the parking lot. I am not, therefore, one of those “assholes” who leave them free. And I agree totally with what A. R. Cane said. By the same theory, every parking space should be widened by law to avoid the possibility of door dings, an equally silly notion.
Yes, it’s a location issue. I was taken aback when, during my recent trip to Asheville, NC, there were hills in the parking lots. That is, the parking lots would change elevation in several places, so it wasn’t all downhill or all uphill, but there were actual hills which weren’t smoothed out before things were paved. Folks there are just used to walking hills. Me? I made a mental note not to wear my chunky heeled boots when I visit my friends in Asheville, 'cause chunky or no, three inch heels are not fun on hills, even if they are paved over.
Here in the glacier smoothed part of the world, I agree, it’s not such an issue. But I can see why people in those bumpy states make so much noise about renegade carts.
Still, I don’t think legislation is the answer, and I do think the coin deposits are the best answer so far. So you’ve got to remember to carry a quarter around with you? Boo-frickin’-who. Once upon a time, you had to remember to carry cash with you to take the bus, or use a toilet. It just becomes one more habit.
I’m the last guy that wants anything solved by legislation. Hence the title of this thread: Why don’t more grocery stores follow Aldis lead? The stores should be taking care of this with the very simple solution Aldi uses.
But it seems that some are defending doing nothing about the problem. The most common defenses being “it doesn’t happen to me” and “I always put my cart back”. So do I, but I’ve still been victimized by those who don’t!
I would love to see either the store, or better yet, the last person who used the cart, nailed for any damage the cart caused. Nailed big time! If someone had to pay for damage plus a fine, I wonder how much of an inconvenience putting a deposit on a cart would be to them after that, and how hard it would be for them to return said cart.
People like that!
So sue the owners of the parking lot for damages. Small claims court, you should be able to win. If you really think it’s worth all that.
See, the beauty of our free-market system is that someone like you can shop at Aldis because you like the concept of deposit-secured carts, whereas someone like me can avoid them like the plague for the exact same reason. But I wasn’t the one who suggested legislating the change, was I? :dubious:
The store I work for has the pay-to-use trolleys, it keeps the carpark very tidy and I rarely have anyone complain about their car being scratched while parking here. Not too far away is a large supermarket where you don’t have to pay to use a trolley, it’s amazing just how far spread out those buggers can get. I even see the occasional one abandoned down at the bus depot, a good 300m away.
The large supermarket doesn’t seem to care. Am I expected to take the bloody things back when they’re left in our carpark? Well, obviously, yes (maybe I should throw them in our skip instead?). I really wish they would change their policy. I don’t think we need bother the lawmakers though.
FTR, I’ve been working there for four months now and I’ve only seen three trolleys abandoned. It felt like stealing to keep the £1 coins, so I dropped them in the donations box.
I’ve yet to see one of these newfangled electronic trolleys with automatically locking wheels. It sounds like an rather expensive solution when the pay-to-use trolleys seem to work well enough.
As for not having the right change for a shopping trolley, some charities over here sell a plastic token for £1 which you can keep on your keyring. This fits the trolley coin-slot and so can be used over and over again.
MJinks talked about abandoned trolleys. I sure there is a law that makes the supermarket owners responsible for the collection of any of their trolleys found off-site. I think they can even be fined of they fail to round them up.
The supermarket chain Waitrose has a different solution to ensure their trolleys don’t go astray. The wheels have special grooves on them, and all the exits of the car-park have a sort of cattle-grid which prevents you pushing the trolley across it. That seems to work.