1y ago

I'm not a monster

91 comments

This is unironically how i judge if someone is a decent person. It costs you nothing, and requires minimum effort, and yet most people I meet just can't be bothered. I don't even work in retail, nor have I ever, but it just annoys the hell outta me that people are that inconsiderate. It's not like Sam Walton himself is asking you to put the cart away for him. When you don't do it some minimum wage employee has to chase them down. You're not better than them. You're capable of doing the minimal task asked of you.
As previously stated, I've met way to many people like this. Pox on the Earth. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
- Reminds me of shopping cart theory.
  
  Words of wisdom right there.
  
  No one will kill you, but I might call you a cunt-muffin to your face. And you can't even complain to anyone about it because when you tack muffin on the end it sounds sort of cute and you sound like even more of a cunt-muffin for complaining. Ya cunt-muffin.
  
  What if I’m in a rush? Also, as a customer, the carts and the people that gather the carts are part of the convenience of shopping quickly at the store. I return the cart when it’s not an inconvenience.
- I worked in retail as a college summer job and someone let their cart loose and it cracked a light on my car. The security tapes confirmed it. I was parked way off to the side with the other employees and the cart gained some momentum on its way.
  Another similar test is when someone changes their mind on buying something if they return it to its original spot or just dump it on a random shelf. This is another thing that I really hated dealing with in retail.
  
  Another similar test is when someone changes their mind on buying something if they return it to its original spot or just dump it on a random shelf.
  Bonus points on when it's something from the frozen food aisle they just stash randomly on some shelf to melt and spoil!
- I used to work in retail, and I looked forward to doing cart-cleanup because it meant I'd have a few minutes where I didn't have to deal with customers but I was still getting paid. Returning shopping carts was the least stressful part of my day and I wished I could do it more.
- I think the same word by word. Sorry, but I have to ask, are you dating someone? Somehow all the people I have dated don't give a F about returning the cart back and then it shows later on in bad mannerisms. I wonder, where do I find people that return their car back in its right place!
  
  No, I'm not in a relationship. Maybe it's because I've never met a woman who feels as passionately about this as I do lol
- are you a bot? I'm like 99% certain this comment has appeared in every askreddit thread on this, and there's been a lot of them

- lol

I argue that empathy, and the sympathy and compassion that flow from it, are the only things a person can be rightly judged by. It matters not one's wealth, race, skill, ambition, charm, etc. Those are nice to have and can make life easier, but they don't make a person better or worse. It only matters that they care about others, and anyone that cares about others and acts like it is a great person even if mistakes have been made.
If you think you're a loser because you don't have a girl/boyfriend and live with your parents or something but you care about others, you are a far greater person than Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or anyone like that to be certain.
- Well said.

They say that it's the ultimate test of selflessness, because it doesn't benefit you and there's no recognition for it.
But does it cancel out the selflessness if I'm now thinking that every time I return a cart? "If someone sees me, they'll know how selfless I am..."
- That's why shopping carts in Germany are coin operated.
  You only get your coin back, if you return the cart.
  
  I made a bypass tool so I can know that when I return them it's due to moral superiority and not base greed.
  
  While that is true they seem to die out. Older Shops still have the but during modernisation works, they usually get swapped out
  
  I just put in a washer and leave it in there
  
  Then one will never truly know if one is selfless or not as they now have an incentive to return it.
- It's a paradox for sure. I have this exact thought everytime I do something I think of as morally good. Then I'm bashing myself for thinking that way, and then I wonder if I need to become a monk or something to completely rid myself of that initial thought. Then I forget about it until it happens again.
- I had a teacher in highschool that presented the philosophical argument that no one ever does anything that is truly selfless. The argument was exactly what you mentioned, that if someone is doing something that appears selfless, they're actually doing it in hopes that someone notices and thinks more highly of them.
  This would have been an interesting rebuttal to the argument. If you return a shopping cart in an empty parking lot, does that make you selfless? Kind of like a modern version of a tree falling in a forest...
  
  I'm not doing it for the goodness of my heart or being selfless. I enjoy following the rules.I do it for me, not for the person using the cart next or the store employees. You can argue I'm kind of an asshole for it, actually.
  
  i don't think true selflessness exists, but i also think that is completely and utterly irrelevant.
  Everything is fundamentally fueled by selfishness, but it seems to be a fundamental truth of the universe that cooperation is optimal for an individual if they can achieve it.
  for example cooperation is the thing that allows us and animals like ants to be so hilariously more successful than other species, and on an ecosystem level everyone is cooperating since their chemical structures are compatible. If something were to evolve to use mirrored sugar (which is incompatible with the version of sugar molecules we use) then they'd have nothing but themselves to eat and thus promptly starve.
- But does it cancel out the selflessness if I'm now thinking that every time I return a cart? "If someone sees me, they'll know how selfless I am...
  Well, thank you for ruining my life.
- Honestly unless you believe there is inherent good in doing that (religion mostly, morality for some) then no. It doesn't make sense to work for free, to not have returns.
  If recognition is a form of payment then good on some people, though I personally think recognition can be a drug, and religion justifies my good actions for me much better.
  Point is keep on doing good, and maybe consider that the slightly tidier and cleaner space you leave was worth the effort. Surely someone would have seen you and thought "damn, I should do that next time"
  
  It doesn't make sense for the individual unless you consider that they live in a society. You would be annoyed to have to retrieve a wayward cart and by returning your cart you enforce the expectation and social pressure on others to do the same. I don't think it's selfless to treat your environment with respect, it's in your own best interest most of the time.
  
  Oh, I make sure they see me.

I worked at grocery stores for 7 years in my late teens and early 20s. People who don't use cart corrals deserve nothing.
- They deserve a fine

So do I if I want my money back
- Sadly Aldis in my location has a terrible selection so it's barely worth shopping there most days
  
  German or American? I've always wondered how the German Aldi Süd compares to what we got in the US. Does Aldi Süd have the aisle of shame? They've got Aldi Christmas sweaters next week, it's so weird.

Grocery store owner: "Looks like customer altruism is ramping up again, time to lay off some more employees!"
- If they could find a way to apply the same "self checkout" solution to cart return, you know they would in a heartbeat!
  
  Self driving carts, probably too expensive

And I'm European
- I’m sorry for your affliction.
- We'll pray for you. /s
  
  Bless your heart.
  
  I think that was just Paris

I bring loose carts into the store on my way in, usually don't use a cart since I bring bags
- Me too. I find it really odd seeing people walk past a loose cart to go inside and wrestle one loose from the corral.
  Plus, I'll take the cart that's baking in the heat and UV every time. Yet another way the pandemic changed me permanently.
  
  Why is that odd to you? I think that's very normal and expected behaviour for the average wild human. If you look closely, you can even see them mouth breathing

It wasn't until I moved and had a Wegmans that I pretty much never see a cart outside of their sheds. The couple times I have seen it was at the "entitled rich people" location. Wegmans has enough cart returns around that you have absolutely no excuse. They even put the reserved spots for pregnant and those with children right next to the returns so it is easier for them.

You need to check out the cart narcs on YouTube!! They record themselves calling people out on not returning their carts, and the petty reactions from the lazy bones. They even have hood magnets for the unrepentant!! https://youtube.com/@CartNarcs
- They've gotten some pretty unpleasant reactions, too. Like guns pulled on them.
  
  And those people should not have guns.

actual marriage material
- Honestly, that's probably not a bad litmus test. New first date recommendation: take them shopping and see if they return their shopping cart or not. Could save a lifetime of misery!

I still feel bad about the one time I didn't return a shopping cart.
A creepy guy was hitting on me and wouldn't take no for an answer, didn't feel safe to go anywhere but in my car and the fuck out of there.
- That's on the dude, not you. As a larger guy who has never not returned a cart in his life, I'd have done the same lmao

Better than crack.

Putting the cart in the corral is a little pleasure for me if there aren't too many carts in it. I stand back a little and push it in and watch it go with glee like a small child.

Ah the good ol shopping cart litmus test

Image Transcription: Twitter
Han Solo Cup @paminski
I may not be perfect or very good or adequate, but I return shopping carts to their appropriate location.

I would like to offer a different take on this, even if I’ll be downvoted to hell for it…
So, using Walmart in the US as an example:
They hire people to push carts from the cart returns back to the building and those people are also responsible for snagging the stragglers as well. By putting the cart back in the correct place you are reducing the amount of work that an hourly employee has to do during their shift, thereby reducing their potential hours and potential pay.
For me, it’s the same reason I hate the self checkout, because I’m not getting a discount for running a self serve register but Walmart is saving money by not paying an employee to do it.
I get how using a self checkout is nice because I don’t have to deal with a human, but the human I no longer have to deal with is another potential employee that was getting a paycheck…
- Of all the takes, this is one of them.
- The problem with this take is that you are assuming there is a potential job or hours there to begin with that never existed in the first place and never will. Walmart has always had 15 checkout lanes and only two cashiers, even before self checkouts were a thing.
  I guess you have a private chauffeur because you wouldn't want that person to not have a job due to you selfishly driving your own car around.
  And how many porters do you employ to carry you around all day. I know you wouldn't want to cost any of them their jobs by walking around on your own two legs.
  
  I wasn’t going to respond to this thread again because honestly I was just trying to get people thinking about the little guys, but people are taking it to the extreme, so sure I’ll bite.
  There was a period when I was younger where I was barely making minimum wage, was on food stamps and WIC for my wife and newborn. I was lucky that I got out of that situation, but not everyone gets lucky.
  When I look at the direction the future is heading with self serve kiosks, self checkouts, automation systems everywhere you look… I can’t help but worry about the people that are being replaced for the sake of corporate profits.
  If we had universal basic income, I would say bring all of that stuff on. Since we don’t, my sympathy lies with the workers, not the corporations.
- I dRoP mY LiTtEr oN tHe fLoOr So SoMeBoDy HaS a JoB!

91 comments