So…I happen to work in the Supermarket industry and I can tell you that all the suggestions, while theoretically good, would not work for the location in question. As a couple people pointed out, locking the wheels at the corner would prevent people from being able to take their purchases to the car – which may be parked a block away. It works well “out of town” because there is lots of room for a parking lot but not in an urban area. Besides, the cost of implementing that type of system would be immense. The way they work is with a strong magnet that has to be placed at the borders that activates the wheel lock, meaning that the sidewalk would need to be ripped out and the magnets installed all around the store. Furthermore, those types of wagons are significantly more expensive and the store would need to replace all the wagons they currently have, which would be very expensive.
The other idea of using the quarter method….again, the cost of replacing all the wagons would be expensive, but more importantly, the backlash from the customers would be overwhelming. People feel entitled to convenience. Either they would not bother for the quarter or they would complain how the store “DARES” to charge for a necessity. I have had customers in my store request to take the wagon home with them, promising to return it. When I asked that they leave their credit card or driver’s licence as a security deposit so that I can be assured they would return the wagon I received a horrified look. “Why should I leave my card? Don’t you trust me?” The simple answer is no. Hundreds, if not thousands of wagons are lost by grocery stores in Brooklyn each year (not an exaggeration) and what is the harm in leaving a card if you plan to return? I believe that the coin operated carts would work the same way – except they cost a lot more to replace when lost.
Yes, the store has employees that go around to collect the wagons but many are left more than a block away. These unattended wagons also get taken by random people and are never recovered. I have heard of good Samaritans calling in about a wagon they found….a couple of miles away from the store, or used by a building Super to cart his tools around, or by a construction crew using them to move their trash…etc. Many are never recovered or are found broken beyond repair.
Finally, while I appreciate the brainstorming about how the store can spend more money (without increasing the price chas veshalom), I wonder what happened to the concept of personal responsibility? When did people decide that something they borrowed from another Jew (that is what wagons are) does not have to be returned to its owner? When did they decide that their own convenience is more important? I guarantee you that if there is a price mistake for $.10, they come running back for their money, why then do they not care about someone else’s property?
It is a very sad state of affairs that adullts, Frum Jews, do not have this basic concept.
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