by Dave, Front End Manager

As you’ve noticed, we’re in the process of phasing out the small, grey carts in the store. You may be asking, “Why are you replacing the small, grey carts with these larger carts?”

Well, we are a busier store than we once were and the small, grey carts are just not designed for the heavy use our members put them through. In the grocery industry, small carts are designed for convenience stores with much smaller loads than what our average shopper puts in them. All that heavier use is beyond the capabilities they are designed for and has resulted in bent wheel casings, bent support wires, and even warped frames on many of the carts. Ever wonder why so many of them roll funny?

To put it in perspective, the large, green carts we have are at least a decade old, and they are still going strong, while the small carts often struggle to last five years. We wanted a product that would last much longer and therefore be more sustainable.

The new carts aren’t perfect. They are a bit longer and have that funny bottom basket bump out in the front, resulting in a longer turning radius. You may not feel as nimble and be able to whip around corners quite as fast!

Even so, we present to you some of the features and benefits of our new carts:

• Stronger and more durable means less waste from replacing carts as frequently.

• Higher quality wheels and bumpers and more durable paint that’s more rust resistant.

• Child seats (parents will be able to grab any cart).

• Child seat doubles as a place to keep some items separate from others.

• Can accommodate up to two five-gallon water jugs.

• Larger rear basket for 6-packs, paper towels, juices, etc.

• Offset, double-basket shape makes it easier to use the larger bottom basket, both while loading loose groceries and once they are bagged. So, you can get chicken feed and your groceries in the same trip!

• Has extra bag hook, aka ‘purse hook.’ Use this hook to hang your bags so they aren’t stuck under your groceries when you’re at the checkout.

• The small carts are often over-filled and bagged items will not fit back into the cart, so customers have to go back for a green cart to fit all their groceries.

We’ve heard many positive comments about the new carts and some comments about wanting to keep the small, grey carts. Unfortunately, we can’t easily manage three sizes of carts. If you’ve noticed, they just bunch up outside since they don’t nest, which is why other stores don’t usually have two different carts sizes, let alone three like we currently have.

Of course, I am going to try and sell you on the new carts, because they fit our store way better than the small ones. Once you give them a chance, I really hope you’ll like them!