Normally, I use this column to share information with you about typical home and farm problems or to inform you about different things that are happening in the county. Today, I am so frustrated that I want to use this opportunity to discuss one of my pet peeves and to encourage you to join me in trying to improve the situation.

Last night I went to one of the large shopping centers here in Lumberton. There is no need to tell you which one, because I know from past experience that what happened to me could have easily happened at any of the other shopping centers in any town in the county.

As I drove into the large parking lot, I headed down one of the traffic lanes to find a parking place. To my delight, there was an empty space not too far from the front of the store. Just as I started my turn into the parking space, I quickly saw why there was no car there. Someone had left a shopping cart right in the middle of the parking place.

No problem, just keep driving and find another parking space. So I circled around and headed down another traffic lane. Up ahead was what appeared to be another empty parking space. This one was a little farther from the front of the store but still fairly convenient. As I started my turn into this parking space, I encountered not one but three grocery carts abandoned by thoughtless shoppers.

At this point, I was not too frustrated, because I have become somewhat accustomed to the fact that there are too many people in Robeson County who just don't care about others. It's kinda like the littering problem we have in the county. Just throw the trash out the window and let someone else worry about it. Just leave the shopping cart where you finish with it and let someone else worry about it.

So I circled around and drove toward the rear of the parking lot. I'm not one of those who keep circling until I find a parking place right at the front door. I don't mind parking toward the rear of the lot or leaving the more convenient spaces for the elderly, those with physical problems, or the harried mother with several children in tow in addition to a week's worth of groceries. Besides, walking is good exercise.

Toward the rear of the lot were plenty of empty parking spaces. No grocery carts around, so I headed toward three empty spaces and pulled into the middle one. Now I was parked so that there was no vehicle on either side of mine.

I was still somewhat contented and strolled into the store to do my shopping. As I passed another abandoned grocery cart - in the middle of a parking space - I started pushing it as I went. I was going to need one when I got in the store anyway, so why not take this one. Besides, in a few minutes, someone would come along and have the same problem I had just experienced.

It didn't take long to do my shopping, so I headed back to my vehicle. I left the shopping cart in the store, since I only had two small bags of groceries and really didn't need a shopping cart for such a small load. When I got to my vehicle is when I really became frustrated. Right up beside my shiny, red Blazer was a shopping cart that obviously had been abandoned by a thoughtless shopper, and the wind had blown it across the parking lot. And behold, a ding in the side of my Blazer where the shopping cart had collided.

Still fuming, I got into my Blazer and just sat there for a few minutes. I was pondering why would people be so thoughtless to just leave shopping carts where they finished with them.

Was it a physical hardship? I don't think so, because as I sat there, I began to notice what was happening in the parking lot. A middle-aged couple placed their groceries in their car, and he casually pushed the cart between the two cars in front of his.

Was it extremely inconvenient? Several rows in front of me, a young woman struggled to unload enough groceries to feed an army. I sympathized with her briefly, and then she gently pushed the cart just far enough away from her car so she would not hit it when she backed out. This made no sense to me since she was only three spaces away from the metal pole contraption that was placed in the parking lot for empty grocery carts.

I want to congratulate Aldi's grocery store for their shopping cart system. I have never seen a shopping cart abandoned in their parking lot. All shopping carts are neatly lined up right at the front door. If you want one, place a quarter in a little slot to release the cart. When you return your cart, you retrieve your quarter. It did not cost anything to use the cart, just kinda like a deposit. I guess once you unload your groceries, if you don't want to take the cart back, you can just abandon it in the middle of the parking lot. I would be willing to bet that it would not stay there very long before someone would push it back to the front of the store and retrieve your quarter.

Another thought--I have never seen an Aldi's employee gathering shopping carts from the parking lot and struggling to push them back to the store. Less labor cost, less operating expenses, maybe that is one of the reasons they can sell groceries cheaper than most other stores.

If you have read this far, I appreciate your letting me share my concerns with you. Now, let me encourage you to join me in doing something about the problem of abandoned shopping carts. They take up parking places and cause needless damage to vehicles.

We can develop better shopping habits, and we can encourage our friends and relatives to do the same. More than anything, we can set good examples for others. We can demonstrate that it is not proper to abandon our shopping cart when we finish with it.

When you go shopping, if there is a cart in the parking lot, take it with you. Even if it is in the metal pole contraption, take it with you. You will need it once you get in the store, and it is no more difficult to walk pushing a cart than walking without a cart.

If you purchase only a few items, leave the cart in the store. Why push a cart all the way back to your vehicle if you can easily carry what you have purchased?

If you push a cart back to the parking lot, by all means put it in the proper place when you finish with it. That is what those metal pole contraptions are for.

Above all, let's start a campaign to get all stores that use shopping carts to adopt Aldi's technology. Complain to the store manager and write a letter to the company headquarters. I personally have written to the headquarters of a major grocery chain suggesting they adopt Aldi's system. I did receive a polite reply, but they said they would not change. I bet if enough of us would complain, some changes would be made. Suggest to your friends and relatives in other towns to do the same, since I see the same problems no matter where I go. Complaints from more people and from more locations, may cause these companies to reconsider and change their system.

If abandoned shopping carts were not a problem, we would have less problem parking. More importantly, we would have less damage to our vehicles.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 5/6/02