carts are hard to keep track of for retailers. And yes they are expensive & vital to the retailer. I once drove by some women I saw walking w/a small cart. Thought to myself, That looks like one of our carts (the store I worked at used small carts). Turned around, approached the women, asking what they were doing w/the cart. They were coming out of a neighborhood, clearly they were using it to grocery shop, that's where they were headed. They said they'd been shopping at our store that morning & were bringing it back. I said, well, let's see what you bought then ladies, that's so big you had to steal the cart. Nothing. I said I'm taking the cart back now. They tried protesting, saying they don't speak English, etc. Their English improved rapidly when I said I was calling the cops!

Offered them 3 choices-
1. I call the cops
2. I take the cart now.
3. You ladies pay me $150 for the cart.

Put the cart in my hatchback & continued on my way. That particular store couldn't keep carts. I instituted a policy of no carts leave the store, customers may drive to the door & we will help them load their cars if needed.I put security buttons on them so the cart set off the alarms at the door. Never did solve the problem of the neighboring pizza joint sending their customers over to use our restrooms though......

Entitlement. Yuck.

There is business created by this guys drives around with their pickups and return the carts to the stores for a fee. I work in a University city and the kids never ever return carts. Coin carts work well in some areas typically where the average customer has a car. If nothing else this keeps the parking lot tidy. Go down the street to Wallymart where there are no coins on the cart and people can't be bothered to walk ten feet to a cart return. On the other hand a big retailer a few years ago replaced all of their carts that were not that old or in bad condition then turned around and laid off many of their employes. I was told each of those carts cost more then 800 dollars and they had hundreds.

I saw a Costco cart in a nursery school/restaurant back parking lot for over 6 months. I finally decided to call Costco to tell them the location, but I kept forgetting to do so for months. Finally, I remembered, and they picked it up right away.

Sometimes I return carts, even at some distance, and less than half of the time (seldom, in fact), do the ones that have the quarter to rent them until returned to the cart park still have a quarter in them, so it appears that many have learned how to retread their quarter without needing to use the specialized pushers on the next cart in the line.

A young man was unhappy once when I was pushing some ... as they pay him a certain amount to return them ... but the lady at the service desk at the store claimed that she pays no one to return them.

Once I tried to push a cart rfrom the edge of a parking lot, and a front wheel appeared to be jammed. So I lifted the front and carried it back to the store, told the check-out lady that they needed to repair it, as a wheel was jammed ...

... so she picked up a little gizmo about like the TV remote, held it down by the wheel, clicked it ... and the wheel turned fine. My introduction to carts that get cranky when wheeled too far from home!

Most stores around here have deals with some people to travel the community picking up stray carts, in trailer, truck, etc. for a fee.

ole joyfuelled ... not needing gas to push a cart back to the store.

I never thought about calling the store when I see one-great idea!