Shopping Cart Solutions

[L3ft1isM]

I have been growing increasingly aggravated with the sight of shopping carts around the city. I see them at bus stops turned on their side and used as benches and scattered among the downtown areas.

It wouldn

[EngineerNole]

I'd like to see cops actually arrest people for theft when they take the carts with them. I understand some people are poor and don't have cars, but that doesn't matter. The bottom line is that these carts belong to the store and are being literally stolen. Stealing is a crime.

[facilities man]

Very simple solution. Take a dollar deposit for the cart and even those who are too lazy to take the cart back will have someone return it for the dollar.

[pip]

i'm thinking shopping carts on the future downtown publix won't be able to leave the store, and only allowed into the parking garage. maybe these shopping carts would be smaller than the usual too. i've been wondering about how the downtown publix is going to be setup with regard to parking. will the first floor ground level parking be for publix parking? and is one floor of parking enough. otherwise we'd have shopping carts having to take elevators and such. not sure what the plan is. anyone have any ideas?

[Topher1]

^ I have no insight regarding these specific plans, but urban big-boxes all over the world (including several Publix stores in Miami Beach) employ shopping cart escalators... Usually they're adjacent to regular escalators and are sloped with grooves to lock wheels in place.. Also, in Miami Beach, the parking generally happens on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the structure...

[DelGreco]

Very simple solution. Take a dollar deposit for the cart and even those who are too lazy to take the cart back will have someone return it for the dollar.

Good idea....this definitely works. We have something similar in Europe. All carts are attached via chains that tie into a small coin operated device on each cart. This small device accepts

[mrh3]

Good idea....this definitely works. We have something similar in Europe. All carts are attached via chains that tie into a small coin operated device on each cart. This small device accepts

[DelGreco]

Correction: Largest U.S. Coin is the Susan B. Anthony Dollar which is readily available at banks everywhere. God forbid you break a $10.00 for a single ride metro ticket. You will be blessed with eight to carry around like a pocket of gold coins.

Of course, there are half dollars as well, but how many people have either one of these coins in their pockets. Maybe I am off base, perhaps the US Mint decided to copy the Euro and put more $1 dollar coins in circulation lately! See....following the footsteps of Europe is good!

Go US! (I hope they beat the Czech Republic in soccer....they are playing now!)

[bulldogger]

Of course, there are half dollars as well, but how many people have either one of these coins in their pockets. Maybe I am off base, perhaps the US Mint decided to copy the Euro and put more $1 dollar coins in circulation lately! See....following the footsteps of Europe is good!

If you use any government vending machine, change is given with $1 coins. It's not that uncommon considering they are used in just about every US Post Office throughout the country.

Besides, Publix could have change machines. People use change machines at all laundromats, video arcades, etc. We, Americans, are used to them conceptually. Instead of quarters, the machines could spit out $1 coins. The Publix manager would have to make sure the machine is stocked up with coins from a daily bank run, though.

[facilities man]

If the U.S. could get people to switch to $1 coins it would save Billions of dollars. A typical dollar bill lasts in circulation for about 6 months to 2 years. A coin lasts from 10 to 30 years. The cost of procucing each is close.

[L3ft1isM]

I don

[bulldogger]

And what exactly are the homeless people supposed to do when they are dumpster shopping?

[JFW657]

I like the deposit idea, but it should be more than $1. More like $10.

As far as using devices attatched to the carts, those things cost a lot of money, and that cost is of course passed on to the customer.

[corpkid]

Has anyone ever wondered why on earth we are unable to produce a machine that can return bills for change?

Seriously, I'm in Boston right now and have a friggen pocket full of $1 coins from my "T" ride this morning. (and why doesn't Boston use a card system like NYC or Atlanta?)

Ugh!

[neoanderz]

Does it really matter that much if we use $1 coins? Can't the machine just accept 4 quarters? Or maybe even a dollar bill like vending machines do?

[radiostatic102]

Has anyone ever wondered why on earth we are unable to produce a machine that can return bills for change?

Seriously, I'm in Boston right now and have a friggen pocket full of $1 coins from my "T" ride this morning. (and why doesn't Boston use a card system like NYC or Atlanta?)

Ugh!

They have one in the Casselberry Publix, I think. I know I saw one around there somewhere...

[Topher1]

(and why doesn't Boston use a card system like NYC or Atlanta?)

Ugh!

The Boston T is slowly converting to a card system... Some stations have made the upgrade and many are still upgrading.

I was just up there over Memorial day weekend, and purchased a fare card at the Quincy Center station on the Red Line. Out of the 6 other stations I used during the trip, only one other was equipped to use the fare card... It'll be a nice system when fully implemented, but really annoying now...

[Tim3167]

This is odd timing but there does happen to be an agenda item on the June MPB agenda requiring businesses that use shopping carts to use a retention system.

June MPB Agenda

[mrh3]

Does it really matter that much if we use $1 coins? Can't the machine just accept 4 quarters? Or maybe even a dollar bill like vending machines do?

I had a friend once that would make all of his daily purchases in $1.00 coins. Of course he also rode a retro bike and wore tweed jackets, so it was more of a fashion statement that anything, but definitively distinctive. Anyway, Americans, slaves to convenience that we are will, find coins cumbersome. They are too heavy. If the U.S. Mint made a serious push to circulate the $1.00 coin, it would take the $1.00 out of circulation. I can hear the boos, jeers and hisses now!!!

[Tiburon1724]

It wouldn

[L3ft1isM]

It's the store's fault when people are ignorant and irresponsible and take the carts? I'm a store manager and we simply do not have the payroll, times or means to do this. Sometimes the district manager will use her time and van to do it, but it's a losing battle. It's frustrating and costly to us too; carts are not cheap! It's the class of people too - at our stores in areas such as Bay Hill, Dr. Phillips it's a non-issue, but in our Pine Hills location we now simply tell customers asking for carts that if they wouldn't steal them all we might have some for them to use. I don't think the wheel locking mechanisms work too well because I know Wal-Mart Supercenters in the city of Orlando are required to use these yet I still see the carts all over the place. That said, I don't think there's a solution because it's not practical to have police chasing these people over shopping carts either.

Well, I'm asking for suggestions. There has to be one.

We've already heard of what is working in other areas, anything would be worth a try.

I say we eliminat carts all together. People can bring their own! I'm serious.

[sunshine]

They can use shopping cart, just make sure that it cant get out of the store or to the car park.

[neon9]

Well, I'm asking for suggestions. There has to be one.

We've already heard of what is working in other areas, anything would be worth a try.

I say we eliminat carts all together. People can bring their own! I'm serious.

I like the deposit idea. I work on Lee Road and there are shopping carts everywhere from the Sav-a-lot and other places near by littering bus stops, swales and retention ponds. It's really crappy looking. If you go to the same store all the time, which I am assuming that most people do, you could sign up for a shopping card (like many people already have) and wouldn't even need to leave a deposit.

I guess people would still sometimes take them home, but then maybe they would actually TAKE THE CARTS BACK TO THE STORE WITH THEM!

[demon]

I like the deposit idea. I work on Lee Road and there are shopping carts everywhere from the Sav-a-lot and other places near by littering bus stops, swales and retention ponds. It's really crappy looking. If you go to the same store all the time, which I am assuming that most people do, you could sign up for a shopping card (like many people already have) and wouldn't even need to leave a deposit.

I guess people would still sometimes take them home, but then maybe they would actually TAKE THE CARTS BACK TO THE STORE WITH THEM!

In the grocery store in my neighborhood there are also many carts left by the bus stop. The simplest solution I can think of is simply have the bus pick up people in front of the store. That way carts aren't taken off property & it's easier for the store employees to retrieve them.

[19hs69]

I'm not quite sure but I believe that one of the local areas has a shopping cart law (similar to litter) which forces the businesses to be proactive in keeping the carts on their property. Perhaps Orlando or Orange County could create such a law?? I thought of getting a trailer and collecting all the carts along the road then charging the stores for the return of their carts. I wonder how much cash I could make?