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Why are shopping carts always broken?

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Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#241

Post by FinnKuhn »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #218
trymas wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You use it next time you come to store.

I understood the point of the carts like this to be to encourage people to return them to the proper place in order to get their coins back. Does it still serve this purpose when they give you a token like this, or, just have they like ended up with carts with this mechanism they don't really want and would be happy enough with carts without it too? I'm not following the point of it.

still works because it is easier to return the cart and take the token with you for your next shopping trip than it is to get a new token every time you go shopping. Additionally it probably also to do with the culture in some part

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#242

Post by Detrytus »

asdaq1312512 wrote: post #240
jmclnx wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For # 3 -- Back the, some people would not bother returning the carriage to get their coin. They just left them where their car was and moved on. You saw this was decades ago :) For the plastic tokens, almost no one in the US (at least were I live) would deal with these plastic tokens. I very much doubt that would be accepted. Also we have deposits on bottles, most people here just toss the in the trash, not botherin…

> Also we have deposits on bottles, most people here just toss the in the trash, not bothering to return them. It doesn't mean the system can't work. It means the deposit is way too low.

The system does work, if you count the homeless people who would take bottles out of trash and return them, treating it as a steady income source. At least that's how it used to work in my country. Homeless people were recycling even before recycling became cool :)

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#243

Post by evanjrowley »

dwighttk wrote: post #173

This kinda sounds like out of touch big city reporting or something… I’ve experienced broken carts, but not often enough to say “man, those things are always broken”

The article picture is from the Costco in Wheaton, Maryland. That particular Costco is built into a shopping mall, Westfield Wheaton Mall, which is in the process of being sold. The Costco was the main business keeping the place alive. This part of Maryland is between Baltimore and DC, and for whatever reason, everything in between is kind of run down in general. There seems to be a cultural apathy around here that results in social malaise, like shopping carts not being cared for, etc.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#244

Post by prmoustache »

emiliobumachar wrote: post #219
prmoustache wrote: post #131

My understanding is that most carts aren't broken but something is stuck in the bearings/bushings that allow the wheels to rotate on both axis. Just desmantling the wheel once in a while, cleaning it and regreasing it would do the trick. It is just that shops do not care nor are willing to pay someone to spend the 15 to 30 minutes[1] every day to it takes check and fix them. [1] if they were checked daily, most of th…

I'd classify that as "broken, but easily repairable". Maybe I'm a spoiled desk jockey, but if I'm "dismantling" anything that size and weight, I ain't just cleaning it.

I wouldn't call a bicycle that has a draggy old bottom bracket or wheel hub as broken.

In need of service yes.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#245

Post by chimprich »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #147
DavidPeiffer wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach. You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrup…

The impulse has to be to eat the tablets or whatever's on hand. Going all the way to the shop to stock up on tablets does not strike me as impulsive. So IMHO this restriction is an attempt at limiting the stock people have at home . Although I would argue this is none of the shop's business and, as far as I can gather, this is not a legal restriction.

> So IMHO this restriction is an attempt at limiting the stock people have at home

Correct. But this isn't a bad thing - it means people are less likely to have a large supply of dangerous pills at hand if they get a sudden urge to kill themselves or attempt a cry for help during a depressive episode.

> Although I would argue this is none of the shop's business

In practical terms it appears that this actually does reduce suicides and poisonings; it's a significant reduction in suffering in the world.

The cost is a very small and temporary limitation on personal convenience. It's surely worth it. See also seatbelt laws.

> and, as far as I can gather, this is not a legal restriction.

It is in some countries, but the legal obligation is on the vendor, not the individual. If you are confident that you do need a larger cache of tablets then you can do that yourself with only minimal extra inconvenience.

I think it's an elegant solution. Suicides are reduced, but the state doesn't overrule individual decision making on what their needs are.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#246

Post by mikestew »

chupchap wrote: post #46
al_borland wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally ha…

> alcohol Please tell me it's not the drinking kind?

It’s changed now, I’m sure, but growing up in Indiana there were two places to buy hard liquor: liquor store, and the drug store. And the drug store was often cheaper.

I’ve always wondered what convoluted logic lead to passing such a law in 1889, or whenever they thought it was a good idea.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#247

Post by DinoCoder99 »

catchnear4321 wrote: post #221
dwighttk wrote: post #173

This kinda sounds like out of touch big city reporting or something… I’ve experienced broken carts, but not often enough to say “man, those things are always broken”

this is an ad. of sorts. you are to be upset at grocers, for not paying for high quality wheels. (go on now, get upset at the right people. this was expensive, relatively.) cnn is news entertainment. > While the rubber wheels cost twice the price of the standard polyurethane ones, Diaz said P&H Casters’ natural rubber wheels can last for about a decade, barring mistreatment from customers. In a busier store environme…

I'm more pissed that supermarkets removed baskets so you HAVE to push around a behemoth that squeals and drags to the right

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#248

Post by blagie »

whiterknight wrote: post #237
blagie wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can blame one middle manager. You can't blame a million middle managers. If all middle managers are doing something wrong, that's a problem of org design. The same is true across the board. One corrupt congressman? Bad apple. 100 of them in a government? Something is wrong with the way the system is set up. One bad teacher? Bad apple. Most teachers are bad? You're looking at some issue with hiring practices, trai…

When almost everything is broken the organizational problem is in society.

Capitalism and democracy are the worst forms of economic and political management, except for all the others we've tried.

(Footnote: I still think there may be better ones out there worth trying. But I much prefer this to warlords roving the land, or being a serf in a fiefdom)

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#249

Post by tecleandor »

lloeki wrote: post #190
tecleandor wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seem like that's common in continental Europe. In Spain in a "droguería" you would find something quite similar to a DM: cleaning supplies, some chemicals, personal hygiene and cosmetic products and the like. A "drogaria" in Portugal probably would a bit more similar like a hardware store, but also in the theme...

> Seem like that's common in continental Europe. Yeah, it's a very historical thing dating back from times of Marco Polo, the Silk Road, and the likes. In France we have "pharmacie", "droguerie", "épicerie", and "quincaillerie". - "pharmacie" is the regulated medical thing, historically it was "apothicaire" (apothecary) - "quincaillerie" is where you get hardware ("quincaille") like screws, tubes, metal parts, and wh…

That would be more or less the same than in Spanish:

- "Farmacia" for the regulated drugs

- "Quincalla" is cheap hardware that you could find on a flea market or maybe a corner-shop. Old terms for places that would sell that kind of stuff would be "quincallería" or "chamarilería", but today you would probably go to a "bazar".

- And, as I anticipated, the "opens till late and has a bit of everything" store would be a "bazar", although sometimes is referred using the nationality or origin of the managers (usually from South Asia or China, at least on Spain)

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#250

Post by pionar »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #216
Cheer2171 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any major metropolitan area. Walgreens has dozens of 24 hour pharmacies in the Chicago metro area: https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-phar...

Today I learned another reason that despite appearances Baltimore is not a "major metropolitan area". I'm not being sarcastic, it really doesn't have the economy of one. But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access.

I live in suburban Detroit, and there's a few 24 hour CVS and Walgreen's near me.
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