I’m convinced there are two types of people in the world:
- Those that take the grocery store cart back to the cart corral
- Those who don’t
It’s a seemingly small choice we make after a long hour spent making decisions and navigating distracted shoppers with big, rolling pieces of steel.
But it says a lot. About who we are and what we believe is important enough for us to spend time doing.
Those who take back the cart consider it part of their responsibility…they got the cart from a neatly stacked and packed line of carts near the front door and they’ll return it to the designated spot. Grateful they didn’t have to carry their groceries around in their hands, a back-pack or make small trips collecting only what they could carry at a time, returning the cart is a simple act of responsibility, respect and gratitude.
Those who don’t take back the cart consider it someone else’s job…someone the store has to pay to collect the carts strewn haphazardly across the parking lot taking up viable parking places. Taking the extra few steps to put the cart in the spot the grocery store thoughtfully assigned in an area that takes up the space of a potential, valuable parking place is just too much to ask. Their act of rebellion, oversight or apathy tells us that they are just too busy, too important to finish the job.
So, instead of a simple fifteen-minute task to collect the carts from the cart corral left there by everyone who used one, grocery stores have to hire a person to spend an hour at a time to navigate the hot pavement and collect the mess we leave behind.
Which are you? Do you tend to finish what you start?
Or…
Do you let someone else clean up?
I love this. I found myself at one point doing both but doing 2 more than one. I’ve put a stop to it because I need to be set a good example for others and be appreciate. I love making sure I put my cart back where I got it from. It makes me thankful that I had the cart to use with my heavy items and it allows an opportunity to say thankful to their person who’s cleaning up the carts in the parking lot. I feel that when I help and say thankful it can brighten their day.
Love this! What is it with people who can’t take a few steps to return carts to the rack provided and save a fellow shopper’s vehicle from damage?? It only takes a few minutes to respect your fellow shoppers. I wonder if these are the same people who leave their dog’s feces on sidewalks and hiking trails for someone else to pick up. . .or worse, step in, OR. . .seep into our water supply. . .