Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
61 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why do so many grocery carts have a wheel that's out of whack? (Original Post) raccoon Jan 2021 OP
Dude. coti Jan 2021 #1
I don't know the answer, but why do I ALWAYS wind up with said cart? True Dough Jan 2021 #2
+1000 catbyte Jan 2021 #6
Got 'ya one better...... MyOwnPeace Jan 2021 #8
I thought it was only one cart and I just keep getting it every time I shop. skylucy Jan 2021 #3
You left out the constant squeaking, clattering, grinding hlthe2b Jan 2021 #4
Reminds me... "Life is Like a Mop" coti Jan 2021 #20
Wheels wear out and break, just like anything else. Girard442 Jan 2021 #5
And the parking lots don't do any favors ether. n/t Lady Freedom Returns Jan 2021 #46
I think it is because some shoppers use the cart like a battering ram. Grammy23 Jan 2021 #7
That's part of it. Lady Freedom Returns Jan 2021 #34
They tire out? tavernier Jan 2021 #9
That's wheelie bad. nt JustABozoOnThisBus Jan 2021 #57
Don't spoke of it again. tavernier Jan 2021 #58
Because people shove them up over curbs and into the parking lot landscaping, lodge them there BusyBeingBest Jan 2021 #10
You caught me. Polly Hennessey Jan 2021 #36
It's wheel socialism DonaldsRump Jan 2021 #11
LOL. marybourg Jan 2021 #35
Indeed! The bad wheels all stick to the left! DonaldsRump Jan 2021 #42
Always test drive your cart before you commit ornotna Jan 2021 #12
I find the ones at Walmart with the orange handle are newer and work better. marie999 Jan 2021 #23
That's funny ornotna Jan 2021 #26
I often get one with awesomerwb1 Jan 2021 #13
Cart gnomes. n/t Pobeka Jan 2021 #14
Antifa is sabotaging them all to drive us crazy. nt Binkie The Clown Jan 2021 #15
They go woobly in the store but zip like a bandit in the parking lot to go dent your car! Ziggysmom Jan 2021 #16
Depends where you shop! LeftInTX Jan 2021 #17
Because dirt and gunk get into the wheels and eventually one of them jams. nt. Mariana Jan 2021 #18
Adding On... ProfessorGAC Jan 2021 #52
George Soros & the New World Order are behind it. CaptainTruth Jan 2021 #19
So no one will steal them. NightWatcher Jan 2021 #21
I'm not saying it's gremlins... JHB Jan 2021 #22
OMG YES! BumRushDaShow Jan 2021 #24
These replies are hilarious mdelaguna Jan 2021 #25
If you get a bad one and put it back the next one you pick is worse! njhoneybadger Jan 2021 #27
This OP made me LOL as it is to TRUE!! beaglelover Jan 2021 #28
They must be Republican wheels. ananda Jan 2021 #29
Like fruit cake, there is only one randr Jan 2021 #30
I've returned plenty of carts that have the wobbly wheel. Now shopping at a new Meijer store sarcasmo Jan 2021 #31
Cart Guy occupant Jan 2021 #32
But the CEO needed a new ski condo, so . . . marybourg Jan 2021 #38
He's a hero! StarryNite Jan 2021 #51
It's not the age old problem that you're describing, but I also suspect Chiyo-chichi Jan 2021 #33
You need to hire Bubbles, professional shopping cart repairman, to select one for you Brother Buzz Jan 2021 #37
Happens to me all the time. TrishaJ Jan 2021 #39
I think it is because Meowmee Jan 2021 #40
Because it's not a wheel, it's a caster Spider Jerusalem Jan 2021 #41
They are put there just in case you are really having a bad day and Marie Marie Jan 2021 #43
LOL Cetacea Jan 2021 #44
...and why do I aways wind up with one? spanone Jan 2021 #45
Lounge!!! USALiberal Jan 2021 #47
SOROS!!!! hatrack Jan 2021 #48
3 out of 4 cart wheels approve of this message nt backtoblue Jan 2021 #49
That's funny I just came from Walmart the cart I had was doing that nt doc03 Jan 2021 #50
entropy surrealAmerican Jan 2021 #53
It's the Democrats, Dummy. theneworiginal Jan 2021 #54
Nice post, Andy Rooney!! madinmaryland Jan 2021 #55
Because 1) most of the good ones have been stolen, and 2) the fresh veg NCjack Jan 2021 #56
The wheels are really OK... SeattleVet Jan 2021 #59
It's a motspur muriel_volestrangler Jan 2021 #60
It's a communist conspiracy, Mandrake! pecosbob Jan 2021 #61

True Dough

(17,313 posts)
2. I don't know the answer, but why do I ALWAYS wind up with said cart?
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 05:58 PM
Jan 2021

And, to make matters worse, I ALWAYS get in the slowest-moving checkout line!!

Don't shop with me. You've been forewarned!

Girard442

(6,081 posts)
5. Wheels wear out and break, just like anything else.
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 05:59 PM
Jan 2021

Once one wheel goes, people favor the better carts. After a while, they all end up with one bad wheel.

Grammy23

(5,810 posts)
7. I think it is because some shoppers use the cart like a battering ram.
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:02 PM
Jan 2021

They are kamakazi shoppers and the carts are tough but after being banged into each other hundreds of times they get out of whack. When I pull out a cart and it goes lump lump or is wonky, I go back for another one. Life is too short for that sh*t.

Lady Freedom Returns

(14,120 posts)
34. That's part of it.
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:19 PM
Jan 2021

Especially kids that think banging them together.
And parking lots that are in bad shape don't help.

BusyBeingBest

(8,058 posts)
10. Because people shove them up over curbs and into the parking lot landscaping, lodge them there
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:02 PM
Jan 2021

instead of putting them into the cart corrals.

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
11. It's wheel socialism
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:03 PM
Jan 2021

If there weren't wheel welfare, wheel health care, and wheel unemployment insurance, along with wheel economic stimuli, these wheels would learn to take care of themselves and not depend on others.

Damn' socialist wheels!


(of course)

awesomerwb1

(4,268 posts)
13. I often get one with
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:06 PM
Jan 2021

a wheel that hardly spins or a cart that pulls HARD to one side(this one pisses me off the most).

LeftInTX

(25,440 posts)
17. Depends where you shop!
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:08 PM
Jan 2021

I never have a problem at HEB

I do have problems at WalMart and Target

It's all about maintenance

ProfessorGAC

(65,111 posts)
52. Adding On...
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:46 PM
Jan 2021

...because they go outside, water displaces the lubricant in the wheel bearings, eventually.
Doesn't take long for rust to seize the bearing.
We never see the carts with 4 bad wheels, because when the staff can't move them, they scrapped to use the metal to build new!
The wheels might be romvable so they can be replaced. I never checked.
But, I'm certain that scrapped grocery carts become new shopping carts.

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)
21. So no one will steal them.
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:10 PM
Jan 2021

I knew someone who had a small store and said that smooth carts disappear, wobbly or noisy ones last forever. Shoppers complain but they still shop there so why bother or repair.

BumRushDaShow

(129,228 posts)
24. OMG YES!
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:15 PM
Jan 2021

And as some posted up thread, the ones that squeal and squeak all loud, which is embarrassing when you are walking down an aisle. And then it'll suddenly start shuddering when a wheel gets stuck, forcing you to push the thing so that it slides (not rolls) forward, so you can keep moving.

sarcasmo

(23,968 posts)
31. I've returned plenty of carts that have the wobbly wheel. Now shopping at a new Meijer store
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:16 PM
Jan 2021

Brand new cars, no wobbly wheels.
 

occupant

(166 posts)
32. Cart Guy
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:17 PM
Jan 2021

Having worked in the grocery business all my life, I recall 30 yrs ago we had a cart guy. Yup, a guy in a box truck used to come by once every 3 months or so and he fixed the carts. He changed broken wheels, fixed cracked handles and smoothed out any rough spots, then he powerwashed 'em all. It was awesome !

Chiyo-chichi

(3,583 posts)
33. It's not the age old problem that you're describing, but I also suspect
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:18 PM
Jan 2021

that the relatively new "anti-theft wheel locks" that many stores have these days kind of lock up when they shouldn't.

Meowmee

(5,164 posts)
40. I think it is because
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:24 PM
Jan 2021

One, they aren’t well designed, two, they get a lot of use and misuse, and three they are not maintained well etc. The worst for me are the noisy wheel ones that go bump, bump etc. and the ones that verge to one side. I ditch them for a new one. Costco and Wholefoods seem to have the best carts. One Bjs in our area just replaced all of theirs with a new design which has a smaller higher front seat area which I don’t like because I put large boxes of cat food there so as not to have to lift them too much. They also seem to be wider. I think the plastic Target carts are the best but they seem to get noisy wheels quickly.

 

Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)
41. Because it's not a wheel, it's a caster
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:27 PM
Jan 2021

A wheel rotates around a single axle; a caster is a wheel mounted in such a way that it also rotates around its vertical axis. This is easily knocked out of alignment and wobbles.

Marie Marie

(9,999 posts)
43. They are put there just in case you are really having a bad day and
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:29 PM
Jan 2021

you thought things couldn't get worse...

theneworiginal

(302 posts)
54. It's the Democrats, Dummy.
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:51 PM
Jan 2021

I read it on the internet on Cart-Anon. They hate shoppers' freedom. Damn Liberals.

NCjack

(10,279 posts)
56. Because 1) most of the good ones have been stolen, and 2) the fresh veg
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 06:59 PM
Jan 2021

and fruit manager has taken the rest of them into receiving area, where he loads them with stuff to be put out for sale. If you bribe that manager, you can get his worse shopping cart.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,336 posts)
60. It's a motspur
Tue Jan 12, 2021, 07:18 PM
Jan 2021
Motspur
(noun)
The fourth wheel of a supermarket trolley which looks identical to the other tree but renders the trolley completely uncontrollable.

source : The Meaning of Liff

http://meaningofliff.free.fr/definition.php3?word=Motspur&lang=en

Courtesy of Douglas Adams
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why do so many grocery ca...