Yes, the cart person is going to get the cart either way. You could choose to make their lives a little bit easier by putting in 10 seconds of effort, or you could belittle them, their effort and their pay.
As the saying goes, the true test of someone’s character is how they treat their inferiors.
You failed the test
To this day, for this reason, I have no problem leaving my cart in the lot. You know what sucked though? Bagging groceries. Endlessly. Or putting back things people abandon/don’t buy.
If you really want to do someone at the grocery store a favor, bag your own groceries and put things back that you don’t want to buy.
But don’t take away my carts.
I've been a burger flipper. It was a fine job for that time in my life, but my attitude towards that job is wildly different than my professional job. At the end of the day, the minimum wage job was a shift. I was paid to show up and put the effort into my shift. I largely didn't care if that was working the line, cleaning, moving stock, or yanking trash.
Further, other comments reflect my understanding of most people grabbing carts. It's something they tend to enjoy doing.
Bad dads use their kids as props to excuse their bad behavior