Sir, or Madam, have you any idea...

[NateTheChops]

Dear Customer. Have you any idea how much damage this cart pusher would suffer if I let it run straight over you? None at all.

Our electronic cart pushers have basically crapped the bed. One is dead and the other is only working in short bursts, so that if I take it out once every hour I can at least get a decent amount of carts in. But the bottom line is that when the guy came to look at them, it was a lot of blame shifting, a lot of "this battery is bad and it's going to be expensive to replace it."

So imagine me in 80-90 degree heat hand pushing seven or eight heavy carts at a time across a busy parking lot. And busting ass to get them all in the store or along the wall by closing. That's been the last three and a half weeks for myself and my fellow cart attendants.

As I've said before, one of my major pet peeves is people who cannot watch where they are going. I don't how many times I've had the (Fully working) cart pusher going at bunny rabbit speed and have had to desperately yank the row of carts to a stop because someone bolted in front of it.

This incident happened yesterday. I had the pusher out and it was running at a reasonable speed. A woman carrying her baby and with two small children in toe, literally darted right in front of me just as I was leading the carts into the corral. She didn't even look up or say sorry.

So you have this woman who is stick thin. I'd be surprised if she's more than two hundred pounds. And add to that a precious baby in her arms and she decided to take a chance that I might not be able to stop the pusher.

Yeah. I could full well have killed someone and their child yesterday.

[EricKei]

Dear Customer. Have you any idea how much damage this cart pusher would suffer if I let it run straight over you? None at all.

Well, come now, Mister Dent. We've got to have cart pushers...

[Beckpatton]

There's such a thing as cart pushers? As in machines not people? (that people operate, of course I don't think they collect and shift the trolleys themselves!)..

Never seen it.

I have seen many a moron dart in front of someone pushing a whole roadtrain of trolleys. Can't be stopped easily, and would definitely cause serious injusry. People can be so stupid! Me, I stay well clear! I know how much it hurts to have just one run up your butt and scrape your legs. I don't want to take my chances with 20!

[NateTheChops]

There's such a thing as cart pushers? As in machines not people? (that people operate, of course I don't think they collect and shift the trolleys themselves!)..

It's mostly high volume stores that use them and with both machines on their death beds I can understand why. My store is connected to a mall and there are no slow days, so constantly filling up the cart areas quickly is always a chore.

[hinakiba777]

First, I hate stupid people who just jump out in front of anything without looking. This is how people get hit by cars, forklifts, and many other very heavy pieces of machinery.

Second, you have a mechanized cart pusher?! LUCKY. I have never seen one in my life. Mind, I'm from a small town but still. I have seen store standards at the local wallyworld push 20 carts through the snow without any aid. I'm a little jealous. Though it is sad the machines are on their last legs.

[Gizmo]

First, I hate stupid people who just jump out in front of anything without looking. This is how people get hit by cars, forklifts, and many other very heavy pieces of machinery.

I get shocked looks when I approach the edge of a road to cross and realise I can't get across clearly and *stand back* away from the edge of the road to make sure people know I'm not going to cross before they pass me.

I also get shocked looks for stepping out of the way of people coming towards me or trying to get out of a driveway. (I'll step back against a wall or into a driveway/gateway so they can pass clearly rather than having to play the "you first.." game).

Apparently its not done to plan ahead or be clear anymore!

[Draper Mel]

Those cart pushers are great, as long as the cart collectors aren't lazy or call off. There was one store I used to go to in Indianapolis where I was surprised if I didn't have to go out into the lot to get a cart. More often than not there were none in the cart area.

Here's my favorite traffic issue...not. It drives me crazy!

People, usually middle aged women, who stop in the middle of traffic to let me out of a driveway (if I'm driving) or let me cross the street (if I'm walking). I'm talking about places that have no stop sign or signal. These people think they're being nice, but someday they're going to do that and get rear ended.

I'll wait. I'm supposed to. It's not a big deal.

[rose_metal_nz]

Here's my favorite traffic issue...not. It drives me crazy!

People, usually middle aged women, who stop in the middle of traffic to let me out of a driveway (if I'm driving) or let me cross the street (if I'm walking). I'm talking about places that have no stop sign or signal. These people think they're being nice, but someday they're going to do that and get rear ended.

I'll wait. I'm supposed to. It's not a big deal.

OMG I have the same thing! I'd rather wait, and follow traffic rules, than you stop "nicely" thanks

[siskaren]

Here's my favorite traffic issue...not. It drives me crazy!

People, usually middle aged women, who stop in the middle of traffic to let me out of a driveway (if I'm driving) or let me cross the street (if I'm walking). I'm talking about places that have no stop sign or signal. These people think they're being nice, but someday they're going to do that and get rear ended.

I'll wait. I'm supposed to. It's not a big deal.

OMG I have the same thing! I'd rather wait, and follow traffic rules, than you stop "nicely" thanks

Oh my God, I've often wondered if I was the only one who got irritated at people who try to be nice to me rather than follow the rules of the road! Nice to know I'm not as weird as I thought I was!

[Pagan]

Those cart pushers are great, as long as the cart collectors aren't lazy or call off. There was one store I used to go to in Indianapolis where I was surprised if I didn't have to go out into the lot to get a cart. More often than not there were none in the cart area.

Here's my favorite traffic issue...not. It drives me crazy!

People, usually middle aged women, who stop in the middle of traffic to let me out of a driveway (if I'm driving) or let me cross the street (if I'm walking). I'm talking about places that have no stop sign or signal. These people think they're being nice, but someday they're going to do that and get rear ended.

I'll wait. I'm supposed to. It's not a big deal.

OMG I have the same thing! I'd rather wait, and follow traffic rules, than you stop "nicely" thanks

Oh my God, I've often wondered if I was the only one who got irritated at people who try to be nice to me rather than follow the rules of the road! Nice to know I'm not as weird as I thought I was!

I was beginning to think I was alone, too! The other day, I was at a stop sign and had some woman on the cross street, that didn't have a stop, stop and wave me through. Could not get her to go! And this wasn't any sort of a busy intersection. In the well over 10 years I've been going through it, I've encountered traffic I had to wait for maybe 20 times? Stupid idiot.

[hinakiba777]

Oh my God, I've often wondered if I was the only one who got irritated at people who try to be nice to me rather than follow the rules of the road! Nice to know I'm not as weird as I thought I was!

There is a fine line between being curteous about this stuff and just ignoring the rules of the road. Like I live on a highway, and the amount of people who slow down or stop at my driveway so I can go by is baffling. It's a 90km/h zone. Just drive, I will get out of the driveway in a minute. Them slowing down is so much worse, because people will try to pass them on the inside, or the outside and some day that is just going to create a huge accident.

If I stop to wave you through and you don't take it, I go. I have been in cars with friend who will sit for almost a full minute going back and forth with another driver waving each other to go through first.

Also, just curious, is it really stupid that when I am crossing a crosswalk, if it looks like a car is not slowing down enough and i'm already in the crosswalk, I stop dead and watch them? It's just from anectdotal experience that when I do that, they are forced to slow. And the one time I thoguht the guy was coming on too quick and i just kept walking, I got clipped.

[Shalom]

Does your cart-pusher have a horn on it?

If not, maybe it's time to install one.

Local to me, the only place with a cart-pusher is the bulls-eye, and theirs has a flashing yellow light on a stalk sticking up from the handle, but there's nothing at the front of the train (nor could they easily install such). I don't know if there's a horn, because I've never done anything to make the operator want to honk at me.

[dalesys]

Does your cart-pusher have a horn on it?

Needs to be a Grade 3 horn, though.
1 => gentle hint
2 => Firm Reminder
3 => LIQUEFY!

For the front of the train: Horn + battery pack + wireless receiver that fits a charging holder on the main pusher body.

[Gizmo]

Also, just curious, is it really stupid that when I am crossing a crosswalk, if it looks like a car is not slowing down enough and i'm already in the crosswalk, I stop dead and watch them? It's just from anectdotal experience that when I do that, they are forced to slow. And the one time I thoguht the guy was coming on too quick and i just kept walking, I got clipped.

Apparently it is! I get people furious with me because I don't trust they are able to stop in time and step back to wait for them to pass and then they wave me across...and get annoyed since I can't see their hand signals because there is too much reflection on the windscreen!

[Jetfire]

I get shocked looks when I approach the edge of a road to cross and realise I can't get across clearly and *stand back* away from the edge of the road to make sure people know I'm not going to cross before they pass me.

I also get shocked looks for stepping out of the way of people coming towards me or trying to get out of a driveway. (I'll step back against a wall or into a driveway/gateway so they can pass clearly rather than having to play the "you first.." game).

Apparently its not done to plan ahead or be clear anymore!

I do the same thing when I'm walking. If I'm approaching an intersection, or a driveway of some sort and I see traffic, I'll stay back and I'll even turn my back to the traffic to keep someone from trying to wave me through.

I'll also step into the parking lot to go around waiting traffic if they are already across the sidewalk waiting for an opening (if there isn't much parking lot traffic; or I'll wait otherwise)

I find if I don't do that we get into the classic "You go first" routine that wastes everyone's time.

People stopping in the middle of the road to let you go can be bad too. But what's worst is when the person stopping had no traffic behind them (meaning you could have gone out as soon as they passed) but because they stopped, the Indianapolis 500 has started up and there isn't a break in traffic for minutes.

The few times I'm driving, I basically try to be aware of my surroundings. If I have traffic behind me AND the light ahead of me is yellow/turning red, I may stop short to let someone out of a driveway, but only if it would be safe for everyone to do so.


Back to the OP; only the WalMarts here have cart pushers and they get used a lot. I'm sure when Target comes in next year they'll have one too; but the Grocery stores don't have pushers (other than muscle pushers). I can't remember where I've seen them but I could swear I've seen some of the cart trains where the front cart had a clip on flasher to help alert people. If there aren't any of those, there should be.