Something in the Prius chat list reminded me today about coin-operated shopping carts in Canada. I had to try for a while before finding the right combination of terms that would pull up an appropriate web page like http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/foodshops/supermarkets.htm
Never before had I realized how hard it is to find info about shopping carts on Google due to the fact that nearly every single online storefront has such a term on their webpage. I wonder what other words have become nearly unsearchable by themselves due to the proliferation of the World Wide Web.
I asked my brother about what it was like to shop in Paris, and apparently the places he went didn’t have carts at all, didn’t bag your groceries for you, and they certainly didn’t have a convenient lot outside of the supermarket for you to park your car. Ah, America…
Wow, that’s harsh. 1 euro for a cart? A euro is worth more than a buck, right? Expensive cart. I think I would opt for a basket — or do they charge for those as well? It’s like the shopping bags in the mall that you have to pay for! Why would any one pay for a bag from the dispenser when any store they shop in would gladly give them a bag for their purchases, and even an extra one if you ask for it! Weird.
I think you get the coin back when you return the cart. Well, at least the Canadian ones did. =]
OMG. Dong would be over the moon if he heard about this system. He used to work at Acme Market back in NJ, and part of his job was to go out and collect the carts. According to him, he had to cross a busy highway and run hither and yon to get the carts and bring them back to the store. In sleet, in hail, fighting off grizzlies, etc. He gets very emotional when he talks about it.
I’m glad this article struck such a chord with my readers. =]
In Taiwan, they were going to start charging $ for plastic bags (probably an environmental move, since it takes effort to ship trash to some poor village in Guangdong…) I don’t know if they actually went through with it though.
haha! deceptive! It looks like kenneth has all these comments, when in reality he’s writing half of them himself!
here they don’t bag your groceries, and if you don’t have a car (like me) you gotta carry them home with you. i solve the bag problem by taking my own, though…(also means i can be lazy and not take out the trash as much). paying for a cart is hardcore, though. oh well, if you can afford to buy $200 worth of groceries, you can afford $1 for a cart to push them around in.
Hey Kenneth, this entry rocks! Thanks for your insightful thoughts.
but what you have yet to tell us is…how did you find anything useful in a net search on shopping carts?! inquiring minds want to know!