Grocery cart damages

On Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:55:34 GMT, "ameijers"
> wrote:

>I've only seen the gate thing in bad parts of major urban areas, and not in
>many years. If you shop alone, who watches your cart while you get the car?
>No way am I leaving 75 bucks of pre-bagged groceries sitting, with people
>walking by. Way too easy a target of opprotunity.

When I lived in Central Illinois, there was an Eagle grocery store
which had a conveyor belt system much like the luggage conveyors in
airports. You would drive up in your car, the belt would bring your
groceries out of the building, and the attendant would load them into
your car.

Tush Smells Bush Kills!!!!!!!!!!! wrote:
> zeez wrote:
> > Tush Smells Bush Kills!!!!!!!!!!! wrote:
> > > Bill wrote:
> > > > "Tush Smells Bush Kills!!!!!!!!!!!" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I have a great idea for this. Stores should charge a quarter for the
> > > > > use of the cart. Then refund the quarter when you return the cartto a
> > > > > designated stall. Most are such penny pinchers, they would definately
> > > > > return the cart. Some may even grab other carts.
> > > >
> > > > Yes, but it's a pain to have to have a quarter to get a cart. I
> > > > guess if you shop there all the time you know to have it
> > > > available, but if not, you end up with a hand basket, or have to
> > > > go get change, or shop elsewhere.
> > >
> > >
> > > Which is probably why none of the major stores in LA has instituted it.
> > > They don't want to inconvenience shoppers because if they don't have a
> > > quarter, they'll simply walk 50 ft to the competitor next door.
> >
> > On that note, many supermarkets in So Cal have a device built into the
> > shopping carts
> > that locks one of the wheels if you try to take it out of the perimeter
> > that the shop owner
> > has set up.
>
> Yeah, they have it at some Smart & Final stores.
>
>
> The electronics side of the system works simaler to the
> > "invisible fence"
> > systems used to keep a dog in the yard without a physical fence.
>
> I don't know about that. Don't dogs wear collars that shocks them if
> they go over the invisible fence? I believe they can still go over it
> if they're in hot pursuit of a car or an animal.

The dog is shocked. It can go through the invisible fence. It just
doesn't want to get shocked. But when they are chasing things, they
often go through it anyway.

Supposedly the carts have brakes and the invisible fence triggers the
brakes. If you really want to steal the cart, just pick it up and
carry it across the invisible fence.

>
>
> This
> > was supposedly
> > done to prevent theft of shopping carts. I wonder what people think of
> > the system, and if
> > they had any problems with it. It would **** me off if the mechanism
> > tripped while in
> > the middle of the store with a cart full of groceries. On the other
> > hand, if it was set up correctly, at least it would prevent runaway
> > shopping carts (me imagines the specticle of the mechanism tripping
> > while one of these carts are flying down the parking lot unattended
> > at 15+MPH
> >
>
> Wouldn't really matter at the Smart & Final store, since carts don't
> lock up until the entrance/exit of the parking lot.

In theory, the brakes could be fitted with a speed detector. So they
get applied when the cart is going too fast. They could also put the
invisible fence around parking spots. If you are parked legally the
invisible fence will protect you from dings. OTH if you park across
two spaces, then you are vulnerable to dinging. Since these ideas
would cost money to implement, they are unlikely to move forward.

>
>
>
> >
> > >
> > > I think a better idea would be for the cashier to ring up the 25¢
> > > "cart fee" at the cash register. Then they can get the quarter back
> > > once they return the cart. Or charge 24¢ then they can feel good about
> > > earning an extra penny.

Matthew Russotto wrote:
>>
>>The cart is chained to the cart in front in the cart stand. To release it, you
>>must put a local coin worth ($1-$2) in a slot. To get your coin back, you return
>>the cart to the cart stand and plug it back into the cart in front.
>
> The first supermarket to implement it would lose businesses to other
> supermarkets who did not.

It would attract the people who are sick of getting trolley dents in
their car, though.

"Old Wolf" > wrote in
oups.com:

> Matthew Russotto wrote:
>>>
>>>The cart is chained to the cart in front in the cart stand. To
>>>release it, you must put a local coin worth ($1-$2) in a slot. To get
>>>your coin back, you return the cart to the cart stand and plug it
>>>back into the cart in front.
>>
>> The first supermarket to implement it would lose businesses to other
>> supermarkets who did not.
>
> It would attract the people who are sick of getting trolley dents in
> their car, though.
>
>

If such machines returned a deposit,kids [or winos]would be returning
abandoned carts for the deposits,and there would be zero carts left in
their parking lots.
People would be pestered by the kids [or winos]for their carts. 8-)

It's also better for the shoppers,as they are virtually guaranteed carts
being there for their use.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

begin quotation
from Clark W. Griswold, Jr. >
in message >
posted at 2005-11-18T15:35
> laura bush - VEHICULAR HOMICIDE > wrote:

>>What system is that?

> The cart is chained to the cart in front in the cart stand. To release
> it, you must put a local coin worth ($1-$2) in a slot. To get your
> coin back, you return the cart to the cart stand and plug it back into
> the cart in front.

When we had two Auchan hypermarkets were here in Houston, they had this
system, except using a US quarter as the dollar coins weren't yet in
wide circulation. Surprisingly enough, both of them have since closed,
and none of the other retailers adopted this system.

--
___ _ _____ |*|
/ __| |/ / _ \ |*| Shawn K. Quinn
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|___/_|\_\__\_\ |*| Houston, TX, USA