This Grocery Store Habit is Driving Hudson Valley Shoppers Insane

There’s a heated debate brewing in grocery store parking lots across the Hudson Valley, and it has a lot of people wondering what the heck is wrong with some folks.

If you do the grocery shopping for your family anywhere in the Hudson Valley, you already know there’s one decision that says a lot about the type of person you are. It happens the second you finish unloading your groceries into your car.

Grocery Cart Etiquette in the Hudson Valley

Do you return your cart to the cart corral?

I’ll be honest, I’m the type of person who goes out of their way to bring the cart back. Once I’m done shopping, I’m walking it over to the corral so it’s not taking up a parking spot or rolling around the lot. It just feels like the right thing to do.

And I’m not alone.

Plenty of shoppers say it drives them crazy when people don’t return their carts. Just ask anyone who’s had a cart slam into their car, or anyone who’s tried to pull into a spot only to find a cart sitting right in the middle of it.

It’s a small thing, sure, but for a lot of people, it’s enough to make their blood boil.

At least, that’s what I thought. That was until having a recent conversation with a listener who completely flipped the script.

Don't Return Them?

He called into the Wakin' Up With CJ and Jess Show and said it actually bothers him when people return their carts.

His reasoning?

“If you bring the cart back to the corral, you’re doing someone else’s job,” he said. “If people keep doing that, you’re putting that person’s job in jeopardy.”

Yeah....let that sink in.

At first, I tried to see his point, but listeners were not having it. Messages started pouring in almost immediately.

“This man’s cart logic is ridiculous!” one person wrote. “I’ve never been more bothered by someone talking about shopping carts,” said another.

SEE ALSO: Why Do Some Hudson Valley Grocery Stores Charge for Shopping Carts?

Even a retail manager chimed in, saying,

“I’ve been a retail department manager for years. Yes, people are paid to gather carts—but they’re supposed to collect them from the corrals, not chase them all over the parking lot. The corrals are there for safety.”

 

And honestly, that might be the best point of all.

One comment may have summed it up perfectly:

“The greatest test of integrity is returning the cart. There’s no penalty if you don’t, and no real reward if you do. It’s purely a test of character.”

 

So...what type of person are you?

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Do you return your cart to the corral when you’re done, or leave it wherever it lands? Let us know through our station app above.