Shopping Ethics

I did some shopping this weekend and found many of the stores and their parking lots in disarray. As I pulled into a space by linens+things on Saturday, I noticed that someone had left a cart in the space in front of me. I thought, “how lazy and inconsiderate”, so I pushed it to the store, even though I was not going in, and to my surprise, there were three more carts abandoned. One by a bush, the other in the middle of the sidewalk, and the final one was shoved in a corner. Why? So, I corralled the rest of them and put them in the line of other carts. Some people may think that it is an employee’s responsibility to do this, but really it mucks up the walkways and the parking lot for everyone else; and just because some stores have places in the parking lot for carts does not mean that it is the stores responsibility to clean up after their customers. I also noticed, in Belks, that someone had carelessly knocked bags over and did not pick them up! So, as I went around shopping I picked up what lay in my path and many times I watched people walk past the same mess that I walked by and not do anything. I was with my sister, her boyfriend and my fiancée and it seemed to be the theme of the day. We were all astounded. Later we all went to the grocery store and as we pulled into a space: there was a cart, so I jumped out and we took it for a cruise around the store before we unloaded our groceries and then I put it back where it belongs.

To me, the carelessness that I observed around town is a symptom of laziness and of disregard for fellow citizens, and it makes everyone’s life a little more unpleasant. What if everyone picked up after himself or herself? What a nice world it would be. I hope that by cleaning up as I go, whether I made the mess or not, made public spaces better for everyone, employees and customers alike.