Walmart Trip -- grrrr.....
 

My main gripe today is rude people who use the electric carts Walmart has for the disabled and immense. I want to be careful how I word this because I absolutely do not want to offend people who have a genuine need for the electric cars in Walmart and are courteous to others. I thank my lucky stars I can still motivate on my own two legs when others cannot, but today's Walmart trip just left me fuming!

For one thing, there was a woman waiting in the front of Walmart because there were no available carts. Our Walmart seems to have an abundance of them but here she was, dropped at the front door, with portable oxygen and no cart for her to use. She had obvious breathing problems and would not be able to trek around our SuperWalmart. I am guessing at least half of the carts were occupied by people who just didn't want to bother walking around the store, so I felt bad for this lady having to wait for a cart.

As I shopped, I had to constantly wait while others blocked the aisles with those electric carts, drove right in front of me, and were oblivious to anyone around them. Not all, I saw a little old lady smile and let someone go before she turned into an aisle so there was a bright spot. But most seemed to be huge people who occasionally got off their carts like there was nothing wrong and otherwise acted like the world owed them a right-of-way. This was all sort of business as usual and besides the poor woman waiting at the entrance, I really did not give it much thought.....until I left.

I am standing waiting for traffic so I can cross the parking lot to my car. A mini-van with a nasty-looking, behemoth woman at the wheel, cuts hard in my direction to turn down one of the lanes. I am already as far over as I can get, there is no side walk in the parking lot. There is plenty of room to the side of me for a car or even two to pass! I scrunch over as far as I can get into my cart, which is at the curb, and the woman still brushes against me with her filthy mini-van! I holler, "For crying-out-loud, lady!" Which she answers by calling me a "female dog" and telling me to get the he// out of her way. I can hardly believe this! So, I am leaving the parking lot in my car and I see her lumbering out of her mini-van into one of the electric carts in the parking lot. She is huge! I am still fuming so, stupidly, I say, "Lady I was already at the curb when you almost ran me over!" Now I have still refrained from any cussing or name-calling -- the worst I called her was "lady," a term she in no way resembles. But she let's go with the foulest mouth you ever heard and says to shut up or she will kill me next time and that is so cleaned up, you won't believe it. People everywhere and she is using her full vocabulary of dirty words.

How can anyone act like that? I was standing still, waiting to cross a road and as far off the road as I could possibly get! She almost runs me over, wipes her van's dirt on me and she cusses me! I am embarrassed by the encounter and don't say another word. All the way home I fumed and thought of all the things I could have said. But I guess I am glad she left me dumbstruck. I would have hated sinking to her level. But still..... I feel like I left something completely undone. The Good Lord above is helping me out though.....it started raining hard just as I got the last of my groceries in. So, she should be getting really soaked about now. Is it evil to be grinning so big? :D Ah, what goes around comes around.........:D

I'm sorry you had such a bad day! I agree with you that what comes around goes around.

Last time I visited my local Walmart, there was an older man in one of those carts, and granted he probably needed one, but he just kept going up and back the same isle, blocking me every single time from the item I needed. He was at one end, so I went around to come in the other end. On the way there, I could hear the backing up beeps *beep beep beep* and by the time I got to the other end, there he was blocking that end... so I ran around again to go in the other end and by the time I got there he had pulled forward again and was blocking that area again. All I did was mumble to myself "geez" and he looks at me and says "respect your elders young lady"... I was appalled... I just walked away, but I felt like giving him a piece of my mind.

Jeez you had quite a day it seems!
Im sorry you had such a bad time at wal mart and then almost getting smushed my some mean person in a mini van ! Glad you didnt sink down to her level :)

Yeah I feel yah on this one. I often bring my grandfather to Walmart, Costco, etc, and we either have to wait or I end up bringing in his wheelchair that doesn't have a basket which means I have to push him and a cart at the same time, only to see lazy people roaming around the store in the carts. The one that really upset me was at the Grocery store where I saw teenagers racing around the aisles clearly being stupid.

Another thing I dislike is when I'm returning or getting the cart for my grandfather the dirty looks I get as I am traveling about a mile an hour to and from the car. It's often too far for my 90 year old grandfather to walker his way from the front door to the carts.

I have tried bringing his cart from home to the store, but even breaking apart his 150lbs+ cart is still heavy for me. Though this seems to be the only way to make sure he has a cart.

Thats why I stay away from walmart! I always end up leaving angry because of the amount of stupid and rude people that seem to gather there.

I did forget one detail......the lady that almost ran me over and cussed me better than any sailor I knew "back in the day," had a Christian "fish" emblem on the back of her van! How ironic, huh?

I have one too, and am far from perfect, but I don't run over people and cuss them a blue streak.

My mom really could use a cart too. Her arthritis is so very bad. But she always says it would make her feel guilty if there wasn't one for people who really were handicapped. So, she leans hard on a regular cart and tries to make the best of it.

I don't know if the Wal-Mart here let's the carts outside the store, I know Target doesn't. So far everyone seems to make it to and from their car without one. There doesn't seem to be more than 2 or 3 per store either. I know I have encountered a few people driving them like tanks in the store and I prayed they didn't drive their own car to the store. If so I didn't want to be around when they left! If they drove the car like that cart it's gonna be bad! Did the woman park in handicap parking? Sounds like she might need to be reported for wreckless driving/aggressive driving what if you were a child, she may have run you over! I know police will talk to her if she is still there when they arrive or contact her if you give her plate number and description to them. Then it is up to the police if they want to write her up or not. I know this because our son pushed a shopping cart with his pickup truck in the parking lot of a grocery store and someone in the parking lot called the cops on him. Not even the store manager found anything wrong with what he did just the person who called. Don't know what they told the cop by our son was written up.

Under her Christian "fish" emblem you should have left a note saying "just kidding". :yelrotflm

Unfortunately that doesn't just happen at walmart. Seems a growing number of people have a sense of entitlement and like the world owes them something. I have seen people misuse those carts so many times. My husband needed one when he crushed his foot in an accident and it needed to be reconstructed. He was always too proud :rolleyes: to use one though. I seen a girl, probably 19-20 years old cruising walmart in one a few weeks back. She would stop, hop up, get what she needed off the shelf, and hop back on and go. They AREN'T for people with a pulled muscle or something, they are for the DISABLED. That gets me about as mad as the people who order a "therapy dog" tag or certificate, with no training or anything for their dog to actually be one, just so they can bring their dog to every store.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I dont go to a walmart unless I have to because of the people that for the most part shop there. My Husband wont go in one period. I want to because I heard they are going to upgrade their merchandise to attract a higher clientelle but the people that shop there. When I do go I go to pick up a specific item and leave. I dont shop around. Its too bad rude people give walmart that reputation

Same here, don't shop there unless I have to then I get in and get out. It's a shame to feel that way but it's just the way it makes me feel.

Oh Deb, I am with you there!!! I despise Wal-mart... I hardly ever go there. I have heard horror stories about how they treat their employees. The stores are usually filthy and filled with class-less scum. I would rather pay more money and go somewhere else. People in general are so tasteless and make me crazy. I have a short temper for bad driving, and Wal-mart is filled with them.

This is one of my HUGEST pet peeves!
I was in Tucson caring for a friend of mine who had a stroke. She lost the use of her left side. She insisted on going to WalMart to get her medications so I would park in the handicap parking space if I could find one not occupied (by non handicapped cars) of course. Then I'd go to fetch a cart for her. The first trip there with her, a KID was PLAYING on one near the entrance and I politely asked if he'd get off so I could let my friend use it because she can't walk. His MOTHER came hauling over all cocked up like she was going to punch me! She screamed at me NOT to tell her child what to do and then told the kid he could drive it around the store. There were no other carts. Talk about fumed! I went to the manager and told her to get me a cart, we'd be outside waiting. She took it from the boy and brought it to us. It was appalling though, the way people behave.

Here's my Walmart story.

I had maybe 10 small items in my cart and I was in the clothing section. The aisles weren't very big and I wanted to look at something about 15 feet away. So, I parked my cart in an inconspicuous out of the way place and walked the 15 feet to look at the item. When I returned I noticed a women pushing an empty cart. When I got to where I left my cart, there were all my items SITTING ON THE FLOOR. I whirled around and said, "Excuse me, but that is my cart". She said, "No it isn't" and I said, "Yes, it is and you took my stuff out and put it on the floor" to which she said, "Well I guess you are just sh!t out of luck" and hurried away. I was so dumbstruck, I couldn't reply. So, I had to pick up my stuff and walk to the front of the store and get another cart. I was sooooo mad :mad:

Then, just this week I had about 50 items in my cart - I mean it was FULL. I had been all over the store in many different areas and picked up LOTS of stuff. I was in the bedding area and trying to pick out a foam mattress pad. I parked my basket in the aisle right behind me. It took me about 5 minutes to pick out my mattress pad. When I turned around MY BASKET WAS GONE! Now, it wasn't unloaded this time, just GONE. I think one of two things happened - someone pushed it away thinking it was their cart because there was a cart there with some things in it and no one was around. OR a Walmart employee might have thought it was a return cart and took it to put all the things away. If that's the case, it would have taken him/her a couple of hours to do that!! (and I hope it did!) All in all, it took me another 45 minutes to run around the store and re-pick up all my things.

I think I just have the WORST luck with Walmart carts!!! :(

Some huge people are lazy and want a chair. Others need it, whether they are big or not. My Dad is overweight and last December he was hospitalized for 3 weeks because he had multiple pulmonary embolisms. To this day, he can not breathe. He can't walk 20 feet and not be out of breath. I go to his house 8 hours each day to make sure he has food because he can't stand long enough to make himself dinner. He is a Veteran and goes to the VA for his health treatments. II also take him to ALL of his Doctor appts. 2 months ago I took him to an appointment to see about getting motorized chair. They said, he just needs a wheelchair. I said how in the He// is he supposed to push himself and carry an oxygen tank?!?! I was ticked off! After the guy leaving for a few minutes, he came back and said he had approved him for a chair. He got it a week ago and it is still sitting on the back of his car. It is a mental thing for him that he doesn't want to be seen in it because he is overweight. I told him, who in the he// cares what people think!! If it allows him to get out in public and not be depressed, screw what people think.

There are a lot of people who dont want to be in those chairs. They would rather have working legs or the ability to walk a few feet with a breath. Those kind of RUDE people make me sick--those are the people he is feared he looks like. Breaks my heart to see my Dads health failing.

Oh man this has happened to me before, but I saw the employee take my cart away and was able to stop them (I was away from my cart maybe 3 mins, but I was in the next aisle). I guess lots of people go to walmart, fill up their carts, then decide they don't want anything and abandon their carts all the time. :rolleyes: Most likely they just roll the full cart back up to customer service (I use that term loosely) ok fine, the returns counter, and the return counter clerks have to sort them all out and put them back on the shelves.

Oh! The other day me and bf went to walmart and there was the cuuuuutest pom tied up in front by the redbox dvd rental machine! How could anyone leave a cute pup like that in front of a place as ghetto as walmart!!! We petted him and said hello. When we came back out, miraculously he was still there!!!:eek: I was sure someone would have dognapped him! He was so friendly, anyone could have just undone his lead and walked off with him!

Sorry to hear about your Pops. Clearly he does not want to be classified in the same category of "human" that OP had to deal with. Hope he will get better. (((hugs)))

I know exactly what you mean. It is a shame so many who really need the chairs don't use them because they do not want to be lumped in the same category as some of those rude shirkers, when the carts are their for their use. Large or small, anyone with a need should be able to use the carts without feeling their pride is taken away. Hope your dad will relent and use the chairs. My mom is the same way though. She should use a chair and save her back, hip, and knees. It is hard to see them suffer.

I also try to remind myself that many have invisible illnesses but sometimes .... well, today, you just had to be there!

If they gave the food away free, I wouldn't shop at WalMart:thumbdown

haha ! I'm with you there - I just made my first trip to WallyWorld in 2 years only because I have my son living with me and $$ is very tight - I didn't have a bad experience at all but that is only because I was there at the buttcrack of dawn - Anytime after noon... I think all the wally weirdos and their cousins are there....

Debra - I would have been fuming too.....it amazes me how many truly rude people are out there

My mother should actualy be using one of those carts but she refuses because she says she would be ashamed to use it while she's still capable of using the 2 good legs God gave her. She's exhausted by the time we get ready to leave but she still refuses.

No offense to anyone BUT we live in a society where lazier and lazier people are taking over. The foul mouthed, dirty, sponges on society. And it really seems that the squeaky wheel has become the foul mouthed wheel. And they are breeding the next generation JUST LIKE THEM! Spoiled Bratty children who climb on tables, throw food and scream to the top of their lungs in restaurants when they don't get their way. Kids who will punch other children in the toy aisle to get the thing they want. 5 year olds who don't know what milk is but can cuss in foulest terms. And God forbid you should say anything! It's getting worse and doesn't look like it'll get better anytime soon.

As someone who travels to WDW a lot . . .I know exactly where you are coming from!

There are people who really need them . . .then there are people who just want to be first on rides, buses, etc . . .

There has been a huge increase in the use of ECV's since our first trip in 1999 . . .I cannot believe the amount of people who are using them . . .

i boycott walmart. their practices irritate me. i'd rather spend a few bucks more at target.

i wander why they didn't make an announcement that someone was waiting for a scooter? maybe the people abusing them would realize someone was waiting and return one.

I went to Wally World the other day for the first time in forever. I was looking for a shower curtain that I couldn't find anywhere else and yep it was there and at a decent price. So I bought it but man their parking lot was crazy with people driving across the lot instead of down the lanes. Now I know how my friend was hit broadside in one of their parking lots, she was hit hard enough it totaled her car! Her and her kids were ok but I no longer think that was a fluke I can see where it could happen alot! As for food, a friend in WI swore awhile back they had a cheap steak that was really good. Our stores are not Super Wally's so I never tried it. As for the carts...just because a person is overweight or doesn't have a limp or crutches or is young doesn't mean they don't need the cart. Alot of illness or handicaps are not visable. Our daughter and I both had to use the carts and both hated it! When it was my turn she reminded me of everything I said to her when she had to use it. Nothing like a kid with a great memory to put you in your place! lol

My electric shopping cart story(ies) from the other side
 

Debra, I can feel your aggravation at the rude people in the electric shopping carts. I feel much the same about rude shoppers in general. What I have come to realize is that people, in general, are so focused on what they are trying to accomplish that often they don't "see" the people around them. The super-sized lady sounded like a very rude individual that felt like she was "entitled" and you were not. :eek::mad::thumbdown

I was injured in 11/07. A horrific accident that left me semi-crippled, but with very few outward signs of impairment. Because of the injury it is very difficult for me to complete a weeks worth of shopping "on the hoof". When I am able, I walk, but other times I ride. What I have found is that the stores are not really handicap friendly. The isles aren't quite wide enough and the endcaps make it almost impossible to see at the end of an isle. Granted, it is hard for a cart pusher to see as well, but the carts are harder to manipulate.

Personally, I try to be a very polite cart driver/shopper giving way to walking shoppers, but I have found that many cart pushers will hurry up to get in front of me and then stop to look at products and WILL NOT move over or push their carts a bit ahead so I can go around. Kids who are allowed to push carts by their unthinking/uncaring parents are the worst. People make rude remarks when I get up out of the cart to reach an item on the top shelf, rather than offer to help. The store employees are the worst. With their motorized skids of merchandise, they will NOT yeild to shoppers, walking and/or riding.

Since I know both sides of the issue, I go out of my way to try to assist carted shoppers. If I see someone struggling to reach something I ask if I can assist. Sometimes I am rebuffed, but most of the time the driver is very appreciative.

On the ligher side: I will also say that it takes some practice learning to manipulate the carts. When I first started driving one, I was visiting Patty58 in Texas. We were shopping in a Target store, a whole rolling rack of bras got hung up on my cart and I drug them around until they finally came unhooked. It was absolutely hilarious. :lol tears

I helped a lady at Target pick out photo frames once because she couldn't reach more than a few. She was very happy she didn't have to settle for what she could reach but actually got one she wanted.

This isn't as funny as the rolling rack of bras, but our daughter was 12 when she had to use "the cart" as we called it. She went down a narrow isle to look at books and magazines and was afraid to back up. So I watched her try to turn around and she just keep bumping the front and back over and over as she kept trying. I know it was mean to laugh and not help her but God it was funny to watch! I finally told her there wasn't enough room she'd have to back out, I thought she was going to cry. I couldn't do it for her as she couldn't stand or walk without crutches and we left them at the service desk. So I had to keep everyone out of the isle till I talked her through backing out. She NEVER went down that isle again.

It really saddens me to read some of the ways in which people have treated you when you're in an electric cart.

I don't know...I believe that anyone in an electric cart, or w/ kids, or in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or w/ a walker etc. has right-of-way over me, period.

Maybe there are people who use those carts and we wonder if they really should be using them...but unless we've read their medical history, I feel they deserve the benefit of the doubt (unless they park their cart at the door, and then jog to their car while carrying groceries...then maybe not :p, but you know what I'm sayin').

Ann, thank you for your insight. I agree with you 100%. It is hard to understand unless you have seen both sides of the issue, and have walked in their shoes. When stores are really crowded, I am AFRAID to walk because I am not very stable..... if I get jostled, then I stumble, if someone bumps my bum leg, I hit the floor.

Oh wow Cindy, I just got this image... and it was a pretty good one! :p You are hilarious. Thank you for sharing your side!