I went to Aldi's. For those of you how don't know Aldi, it's a discount grocery store. They have a shopping cart system where each cart has a box on the handle, and attached to the box is a chain with a key on the end. The carts are secured to eachother by inserting the key into the box on the handle of the next cart. In order to get a cart, you insert a quarter into the box which releases the key from the box. When you return the cart, you grab the key from the cart in front of it and insert it into the box which releases your quarter.

So, I got out of my car and was walking towards the door. A lady had a cart that she was done using and she offered it to me. I handed my quarter out to her, and she refused it. I said, "Thank-you very much!" and put my quarter back in my pocket.

When I got my groceries and had finished putting them into my car, there was a family nearby just getting out of their car. They had several children and looked like they would need a cart. I offered the cart to them, and the lady said, "Thanks, but we don't have a quarter."

I said, "That's okay. This cart was meant for you."

So, because a lady was nice to me, I passed it on. And it just happened to be a family who really needed it.

By Yjja123 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 05:45 pm:

Way to go! Pay it forward is our family motto.

By Karen~admin on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 05:48 pm:

Good for you!

By Bobbie~moderatr on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 06:09 pm:

Wonderful thing to do, for sure.. Makes you feel good to boot...`

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 06:18 pm:

Good for you! I bet they appreciated it!

By Luvn29 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 07:13 pm:

That's so nice of you. I have to ask, though...

We live in a small rural area, and I've never seen this...not even when we visit Myrtle Beach.

Is this so that people will put the carts back where they are supposed to go, or do they have a problem with people taking them? I was just curious!

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 07:31 pm:

Yes, Adena, you will see it in many major urban areas - it is a way of getting people to return the carts to the cart storage areas instead of leaving them all over the parking lot (and relieving the store of having to assign staff to round up the carts from the parking lot and bring them to the pickup areas). Some stores in my area do it, some don't (and those that do usually have tokens available at the customer service desks that take the place of the quarter - my mom used to carry one in her purse). I do doubt that a quarter would keep someone from actually stealing the cart.

Lisa - passing it on is such a good feeling, isn't it.

By Mom2three1968 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 07:51 pm:

Awww Lisa, that was so nice of you and I bet that you felt great all day....!

By Reds9298 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 08:33 pm:

Wow! That's really neat!

I didn't know about the cart thing, but I'm glad you mentioned it because I've been thinking of trying Aldi's. I've never been there before so now I'll know what to expect with the carts.

By Hol on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 08:46 pm:

I saw that cart system in England years ago. I think it's a great idea. Our Walmart gives you a ticket good for a free snack from the snack bar if you walk in pushing a cart from the parking lot. I always do. Not for the snack, which I sure don't need, (tee hee), but to help out a little. I'd have to get a cart anyway, and this way, it's one less the parking lot guy has to round up. My DS Michael works at a local grocery chain here, and that's one of his jobs. He hates it if it is raining, tho they provide them with rain coats with reflectorized stripes on them.

That was a nice thing that you did. I LOVE rendering a kindness like that. It's just very sad that people are SURPRISED when you offer kindness nowadays. It used to be much more commonplace. There used to be a country song to that effect several years ago. Something about "passing it on".

By Luvn29 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 11:20 pm:

Thanks, I was kind of thinking that a quarter probably wouldn't keep people from taking them. Seems like a good idea, though we have "shopping cart corrals" all over the parking lots here to return them to. Most seem to end up in the right place, though some still end up as strays.

I used to love that song, Hol. I'd forgotten about it.