Shopping Trolleys

[smithr 1]

So, I know this one's probably been done to death, but I searched and didn't find any mention of this.

 

A few years ago a colleague of mine showed me this neat 'key' that he had been given for releasing shopping trolleys. basically you can keep it on your keyring and insert it into the lock on the shopping trolley to release, and the great thing is you can pull it out after it's done it's job and put it straight back in your pocket. Search for "shopping trolley key" on amazon and you'll find them.

 

Doesn't work on the type with the little 'drawer' but works great at the places I shop. Anyway, love it, I always return my shopping trolley anyway and not having to retrieve my coin afterwards feels like FREEDOOOM!

 

Funny thing is though, I've noticed that the staff at the supermarket don't seem to care that the trolleys aren't chained together anymore so over the last few years more and more trolleys have remained 'free' without the need to use a coin, and amazingly, the trolleys are still where they should be, the supermarket is still in business, and the world hasn't ended!

 

Edit: Just realised this was probably what caused the pandemic. I apologise sincerely.

[MollyWolly 59]

They’re often for sale around check-out registers at big box stores. I have one from Globus Baumarkt and also one that was a promotional giveaway from the bank.
 

A quick Amazon search for “shopping cart coin” or “shopping cart chip” brings up tons of them in different styles. You can get the ‘key’ kind, but I recommend the ‘disc’ kind that works in the sliding drawer. 

[HH_Sailor 3,668]

It's Friday 

 

1 hour ago, smithr said:

...and not having to retrieve my coin afterwards feels like FREEDOOOM

 

my freedom costs more than these € 6 thingys from Amaz...

Go with the Globus freebie.

If it gets lost, go back to Globus and start over

[French bean 3,463]

I have loads, they're so common in gift bags at Christmas and promotional events  they're like a throwaway item.

[smithr 1]

I don't mean the chips or the keyrings for holding them, I mean the kind of key you can detach a trolley with without having to leave it in the trolley, hadn't seen them before but if we're talking about the same thing sounds pretty common outside of Dresden?

 

Anyway, the main thing I thought was interesting is that the local supermarket staff don't seem to care if they aren't chained together and they still end up where they should be so it seems the supermarkets needlessly complicating things.

[snowingagain 5,464]

Most people put trolleys back.  Local DM did not have locks but they soon changed their minds as people were leaving them all over the place.  An ALDI near here has trolleys that you cannot take out of the shop, so you have to fill your bags past the check out.  Perhaps preferable to having to have a coin?   Fine for me,  

[Chelski 1,481]

 

6 hours ago, smithr said:

Bollox, bollox, bollox... except

 

Edit: Just realised this was probably what caused the pandemic. I apologise sincerely.

 

Here we go again...

 

User: smithr

Joined:  27 Dec 2013

Content count: 16 (so average 2 per year... except  9 in the last 12 hours)

Rep: -1

 

Does anyone really care if they have to put a coin into a shopping trolly to release it? What you put in, comes back, so what's the problem?

 

I'm totally flummoxed where Ed Bob is digging up these zombies. Or more importantly, why? Other than clickbait.

[White Rose of Yorkshire 1,100]

Many years ago, a man was employed to keep the car park clean and collect and return the shopping trolleys to the supermarket entrance. then somebody came up with the idea of the chips and another unskilled job was gone. Same thing happend with the toilet lady or man when the toilets were cleaned automatically.

 

At my local Morrisions in the UK, the shopping trollys are situated outside the supermarket and are hosed down every evening. I have never seen anybody clean a supermarket trolley here and hate to think how many germs can be found on it.

[Fietsrad 432]

At the stores near me people are employed to collect carts from the car park, apparently they migrate there somehow.

 

At one store, that I try to boycott, the carts cost 1€ minimum not 50c😕

 

Some stores have smaller carts but only a few, most carts are too big. Apparently some genius devised carts that run better when loaded than when empty, to try to get people to buy more.

[LeonG 14,855]

At one Netto near me, they have the mechanism that slides out to put your coin in and it doesn't work for most chips so you need a 1€ coin.  Lets say I don't shop there a lot.

[kiplette 8,800]

Yeah, we got keys mid lockdown after one too many shopping trips without a euro for the sodding trolley, and those drawers that don't fit them are such a pain. I have about 15 little plastic chips but they are worse than socks in the wash. There must be a dimension out there full of the things.

[smithr 1]

On 2/4/2022, 9:17:47, Chelski said:

Here we go again...

 

Does anyone really care if they have to put a coin into a shopping trolly to release it? What you put in, comes back, so what's the problem?

 

I'm totally flummoxed where Ed Bob is digging up these zombies. Or more importantly, why? Other than clickbait.

 

Sorry mate, looks like I turned over the wrong rock, so I'll just f off and leave you to it.

 

The problem btw, is that it's just another pointless hoop you have to jump through especially if you find yourself without the requisite coin/chip, and I'm glad to have found a solution.

[catjones 1,716]

When I came to germany and saw this phenomena, it made no sense to me.  I assume, because I've only lived in cities, that most people shop by foot in their neighborhood and a take home cart was a lazy transport.  Trouble is; lazy people don't return the carts when done.  They just wait til next shopping day.

I don't get the coin thing.  Wouldn't a simple exit barrier (too small for a cart) like at airports be a solution or is that too uncomplicated?

You don't see this as much in the suburban shopping centers or big boxes because people drive their cars.

[pmd 685]

10 minutes ago, catjones said:

When I came to germany and saw this phenomena, it made no sense to me.  I assume, because I've only lived in cities, that most people shop by foot in their neighborhood and a take home cart was a lazy transport.  Trouble is; lazy people don't return the carts when done.  They just wait til next shopping day.

I don't get the coin thing.  Wouldn't a simple exit barrier (too small for a cart) like at airports be a solution or is that too uncomplicated?

You don't see this as much in the suburban shopping centers or big boxes because people drive their cars.

 

The coin thing is only for people bringing their trolleys to their cars and not returning them to the trolley collection point. 

 

A couple of years ago, I noticed an Edeka shopping trolley abandoned. I was 5 minutes away from the store, went in, went up to the floor manager and told her - not a single word of thanks, she just looked at me and shrugged. It was still there the next day.

 

[Wyrsa 14]

1 hour ago, catjones said:

Wouldn't a simple exit barrier (too small for a cart) like at airports be a solution or is that too uncomplicated?

 

In Germany the carts are almost always outside of the store, because unlike the USA europe does not have space to spare for a place to for the carts inside the store really... It took me awhile to figure out it is literally the europe has no land to waste problem. 

 

Lazy people would circumvent the barrier by going through the car entrance to the lots. So it wouldnt do much.

 

2 hours ago, smithr said:

 

Sorry mate, looks like I turned over the wrong rock, so I'll just f off and leave you to it.

 

The problem btw, is that it's just another pointless hoop you have to jump through especially if you find yourself without the requisite coin/chip, and I'm glad to have found a solution.

 

It is not a pointless hoop sir. The idea was to give a material tangible reason to not be an ... to other people. No random karen leaving their cart behind a car here, even if it is a plastic little chit that you have that is on the back of every "parkshiebe" you want your thing back. It is like Pfand on bottles, that is actually a very good way to ensure proper recycling. (Lets not get into how "mülltrennung" works though, that's a can of worms)

 

Also... thanks to all that inflation... you'll probably have a 50cent, 1€ or 2€ piece handy. If you don't have one... go into the store, ask, they will probably have a plastic thing for ya. 

[fraufruit 42,667]

I love the system. In the U.S. where they have acres of parking, nothing is more annoying than finding a place only to discover a shopping trolley is sitting in it because some asshole was too lazy to put it in the convenient trolley parks that are everywhere. You don't even have to take them back to the building. They come collect them all.

 

I've always had a keychain here that holds a chip or a Euro coin. Never get caught out without one.

[john g. 37,776]

Just now, fraufruit said:

I love the system. In the U.S. where they have acres of parking, nothing is more annoying than finding a place only to discover a shopping trolley is sitting in it because some asshole was too lazy to put it in the convenient trolley parks that are everywhere. You don't even have to take them back to the building. They come collect them all.

 

I've always had a keychain here that holds a chip or a Euro coin. Never get caught out without one.

You never know when you need to spend a penny!😀