Driving the big yelllow cart
We shop at Wal-Mart Super center for big grocery trips. It's cheaper but further away. When I have to go shopping by myself we go to Kroger. It's closer and they have the big yellow carts. This allows double seating in the front of the cart and room for all of the groceries in the basket. The big yellow cart is shaped like a race car and is equipped with two steering wheels. This keeps my children happy. When the children are happy, mommy is happy. The problem with the big yellow cart is that it's nearly impossible to maneuver. But I take it slow and most people are nice if I happen to get in their way. They will see my sweet, happy children, smile and go on. If they are over 60, then they will usually smile and start a conversation, but the point is, most people are nice about the big yellow cart.
Yesterday we went to Kroger. I drove the big yellow cart. Everyone was having a grand time. Until.................the checkout lane. There is exactly 1/8" of clearance space on either side of the big yellow cart and the checkout lane. I am well aware of this and have figured out how to line the cart up perfectly to get in. But it's not so easy. This has to be done backwards. You see, in order to put the groceries on the conveyor belt I have to be standing at the end of the cart. The children are left to fend for themselves by the steering wheels. So I maneuver the cart backwards into the lane, get the groceries up and all is still going well. The checkout guy (a teenish young man) is scanning and the bagger (another teenish young man) is bagging. While the items are being scanned, the bagger asks if I would like my milk in a bag. (Who actually says no to this question??) And I notice that he is putting my bags in an empty cart. Alarms start going off in my head. This will simply not work. Usually the bagger piles the bags at the end of the counter and places them back in the big yellow cart as I pay. I look at my two children and look at him and see if he is catching on. He's teenish. He has no clue. So I explain, "Would it be okay to put the bags back in the big yellow cart?" Still - no clue. I keep going, "So they can ride back to the car?" He is looking at me like I am insane, but now the checkout guy has given me a total and I have no more time to explain why it is a bad idea to push a cart full of groceries with Camille on my hip and Easton holding my hand across traffic in 30 degree weather. So now, I am thanking bagger guy (who is rolling eyes at me) as I slowly maneuver big yellow cart with 1/8" clearance across the remainder of checkout aisle. Now I have left the aisle completely because my hips are larger than 1/8" and the cart and I both couldn't fit in the small space. As I return, I thank checkout guy (who is also rolling eyes at me) for waiting as I move cart and still have to pay him the total. As I return to checkout guy, I am squeezing past the corner of the cart to get back to my purse. There is clearance behind me where the cashier stands in the neighboring aisle. Apparently, I was mistaken about the clearance. I hear a loud, "OWWW!". I look to see neighboring checkout guy (yep, teenish young man) rolling eyes at me. I paid quickly and left.
Is there a moral to this story? I'm not sure. If you can find one, let me know.
2 comments:
Never thought about backwards - may have to try that and I can vouch for the 1/8 of an inch. Even with one, I refuse to change carts. None the less, never loose sight of the fact that 98% of your trip was a success. There is a difference between assertive and agressive - you may need to exercise the later with the teeny bop-ers...
Not that I am HAPPY that this happened to you, but I am happy to hear that I am not the ONLY one this happens to:-) The first time I used one of these carts I had to attempt to reconstruct my body to get to the groceries to place them on the belt. Meanwhile, Andrew was selecting several pieces of candy from below (since you cannot see what the little hands are doing because they are hidden by the roof of this car). Not paying attention to what the teenager was doing at the END of the belt, I kept unloading. AFTER the fact, I looked up and realized he had loaded everything into another cart. Being in the same predicament as you, having a 3 year old and an infant in a carrier, I didn't say a word but started removing all of the bags over to MY cart. When the teenager looked up at me, puzzled, I told him I could not push the cart, carry a 3 year old and infant carrier all at once. He then politely began helping me shift all of the bags. I know another option is to ask them to help me out to the car but I still struggle carrying the car seat and holding Andrew's hand AND the diaper bag so I really prefer to keep them all in place until I get to my car.
Moral to the story?! Maybe...maybe not but at least now you know some other options next time it happens! AND, I'm sure it will :-)
Happy shopping!
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