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Comment by bluedino | Hacker News Reader

I already checked out my own groceries. I'll just leave it in the parking lot for someone who works at the store to retrieve it.

The real problem is the people who take them 3 blocks away and don't return them. More stores are using those wheels that lock up using various technologies when they are taken outside of the store property.

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I have gone ice skating a lot in the past. Many people rent the skates from the establishment. I don't think I have ever seen anyone, after skating, just leave their rented shoes by the lockers/benches when the switch back to their own shoes. They always return the rented shoes to the desk, even when there is a short lineup at rush hour.

It's very strange that people think the same courtesy should not be extended to shopping carts.

You don't rent the cart. What if you had to clean your own table at Applebees?

We do that in Sweden if the kids made a mess. Same in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Netherlands and I'd assume Japan and Korea as well.

What's so bad about it? We had a great meal at [place], might as well help the overwhelmed person working minimum wage by giving them some breathing space.

Put the cart back man.

If I go to a fast food restaurant, where you order and collect at the counter, and where I don't see the staff cleaning the tables between customers, I do wipe down my table with the provided napkins.

This satisfies the golden rule. I want the person on the table before me to do a reasonable effort to keep the table clean. And I will do it for the next person.

>What if you had to clean your own table at Applebees?

Halve the price, don't force a tip, and give me some cleaner. I'll do it.

by the way, I do try to do my best to wipe off excess sauce and put large crumbs onto the plates. I'm not going to leave my table oozing with ketchup. It's the same logic of cleaning up before professional cleaners come in.

No the problem is people who leave them in thr parking. Unless you return it you’re making everyone else pay for returning _your_ cart. Plus of course making the parking harder to use in the meantime.

Just return the cart.

You could say you create a paid job by not returning your cart. The downsides I see is that free wheeling carts can cause accidents (eg during wind) and create annoyances such as blocking parking spaces. We could probably find some more arguments on both sides. Personally, I consider the downsides to outweigh the pros, which is why I consider it to be the right thing to return it.

On the other hand, it can be convenient to grab a loose cart that's near your parking space, instead of having to un-jam a cart from the 50 that are stacked inside each other at the front of the store.

The relevant element to me is less the rational construct behind my actions but what the social contract and environment expects of me. I can violate those rules but then have to live with the consequences. In cases such as this I prefer peace over conflict. It’s a small price to pay for me to return the cart and what I gain is not to cause unhappiness in those around me and thus in myself. This is reason enough for me to do it. In other cases, I might want to demonstrate that I do not agree, but I try to be conscious in what fights I want to invest my energy in.

> I'll just leave it in the parking lot

Do you mean leave it in one of the designated areas? Or are you just leaving shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot?

I'm with 4chan on this one. The actual problem is people like you.

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