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I don't think Aldi is purpusefully attempting to create a sense of community. To them it's all business...it's all about profit.
Yep, from the ALDI site:
"This 25 cent deposit ultimately saves our customers money because we don’t have to hire extra staff to collect grocery carts. To unlock a cart, customers have to insert a quarter, and this deposit ensures shoppers return their cart to the corral to get their quarter back."
Even if it's $1.50, the majority of people don't carry cash around, and especially not quarters. I don't understand how this is actually a thing anymore.
ALDI shoppers know they need a quarter, so they make sure they have one.
Not an issue for them... really!
Some people even have special coin holders, like this: https://www.amazon.com/quarter-holde...s%2C100&sr=8-4
As an aside, the parking meters I use regularly use coins, not an app. So I always have quarters in my vehicle.
I’m just wondering if shoppers at ALL Aldi stores give away their carts to others for free, and if they don’t care about their quarter, why don’t they just leave their carts in the parking lot like the typical Walmart shopper?
That's what I find curious. As another poster mentioned, lazy people leave carts in parking lots at ALL kinds of stores, not just Walmart. ALDI shoppers must be unicorns!
I just find it hard to understand how 25 cents is altering this behavior. The amount is trivial and lazy people are gonna be lazy regardless. Are there signs posted asking shoppers to return their carts to the corral, in order to keep prices low?
I don't see abandoned carts in the parking lot at our Aldi's. I do see people approaching others and offering a quarter when they are done loading their groceries in the car.
Maybe the fact that you have to give something to get one makes people more mindful of the value of having one available as you go in? I know it's my first thought when entering the lot and also when I leave.
I do know that most big business has a team of psychologists working for them on how to deal with various "people issues." Wouldn't surprise me if they were cognizant of the fact that this exchange could be incorporated into the group psychology of how the store works. Zero problems and efficiency equal more money for them.
And yes, someone could even be tallying the effectiveness and the local "customs" that have arisen because of the exchange. That is not far-fetched at all considering the amount of money big business spends exploring the psyches of their customers.
I think only Aldis could say how the psychology works in all stores.
The quarter thing works in large part because the carts are in decent shape. Imagine releasing a cart with your only quarter, only to find it has a wonky wheel. You would be an irritated customer.
The pay it forward idea is big in the south, and the handing a cart to the next user is an homage to that. It also can save a trip back to the cart prison. It actually works counter to the way Aldi's would like, since there can be loose carts that can damage cars. (If your car is damaged by a loose shopping cart in a store lot, generally the store is responsible for the cost of the repair - contrary to the signs that many post in hopes of staunching the flow of settlements.)
If there are more than two or three loose carts, chances are good that an enterprising youngster will return them and pocket a couple of bucks and an Aldi beancounter sighs in relief.
For the homeless, the choice is "do I take an instant quarter and find a cart from a different store, or see that quarter in front of me all the time, taunting me?"
I will say that Aldi messed up big time putting in self-checkout. The stores already run on minimum staff, and the system they bought is junk. I have literally designed P.O.S. systems from the ground up, and I could not figure out how it handled a produce item. I showed the item so it displayed on the screen recording my face, indicated I needed help, and nothing. The lone employee was manning a single checkout line that was eight people deep, going as fast as he could. I ended up getting double charged on an item I didn't even have. I now think a lot harder before I park in the parking lot there. If there are a lot of cars, I'm gone - outa-there. I know I'll have to deal with that crap basket system and zero help.
That's what I find curious. As another poster mentioned, lazy people leave carts in parking lots at ALL kinds of stores, not just Walmart. ALDI shoppers must be unicorns!
I just find it hard to understand how 25 cents is altering this behavior. The amount is trivial and lazy people are gonna be lazy regardless. Are there signs posted asking shoppers to return their carts to the corral, in order to keep prices low?
It seems to me that there is an “ethos” at different grocery stores that causes many people not to care if they leave their carts in the parking lot, or put them into the cart collection area. For example, at the Publix stores here, you hardly ever see a cart that hasn’t been put away. At the Walmart, they’re all over the place. They are in the same city, and presumably the same people go to both.
It’s probably not a social experiment because a lot of stores are like that in Europe, except it’s more like an euro coin than a quarter. The first time it happened to me over there, one of the cashiers gave me a plastic token to use, since I didn’t have a coin. So I guess they don’t want to discriminate.
There is no ethos it simply means that thoughtful people, once they shop there will often do the trade with another customer for their empty cart, and hand the quarter to someone - who in many instances pays it forward. I'd say it is common practice at most stores simply because frequent Aldi shoppers realize it makes logistical sense: time / energy/ inputting in holding area.
However, one of the Aldi near me also has a nearby transit station, which tends to get vagrants to stand by the cart corral trying to accumulate quarters for their bus ride. I don't mind it per se, but it can be a hassle as they 'pretend' to be helping and get in the way as the entry's (corner) and cart storage corrals (flanking the entry corner) is constrained.
Also, another dilemma that inconsiderate customers have done a few times is, rather than walking another extra 50 feet decide to push their cart to the enclosed low wall corral area, they then leave it, outside on other side or end of designated cart storage area, which at times has caused others to do so, creating a whole chain of a dozen or more carts on the wrong side of the holding corral. A few times I have helped an employee fix the situation as the mini 'cart train' then becomes a traffic hazard based on its tendency to snake toward the parking.
The issue is Aldi has a small footprint for the real estate parcel (if free standing) as well as their store to optimize real estate, and at times in poor parcel access situations, it can be a real pain. Especially, when the delivery semi's need to get to the loading area. In good weather months I will often times park in the rarely used adjacent business' parking lot and walk over the small median grass to get to Aldi and avoid the parking lot sitation altogether.
It usually works fine as I will carry about 3 bags and avoid using the cart unless I have something very heavy or difficult to manage and need the cart. In general (NE Ohio), over half the people will try to optimize time during busiest hours by doing the cart trade. I like Aldi set up because it allows mothers with children to give their children a participatory role in shopping which the children look forward too! During weekend times I see so many young children wanting to get the cart (quarter release). Makes me smile
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