Gray Matters by Stuart Carlson and Jerry Resler for October 20, 2023

Not enough money for grocery cart R&D.

Walmart is famous for this.

Not in this lifetime.

Or people intelligent and kind enough not to leave them parked in an aisle and walk away. Drive around a store in one of those miserable mart carts someday, and you’ll never be that rude again.

The carts wobble, to make it impossible to stay in the center of aisles. You are closer to one side or the other, so the young person in the seat ia able to grab things off the shelf. And not all of it makes it back to the shelf, increasing sales.

That IS a good question, Gray.

My favorite grocery store chain (Food City in Ky, Va, & Tn) marks wobbly wheels with a big magic marker. Just point out the offending wheel to the checkout person. A special cart servicing company visits when necessary to change wheels and straighten frames.

Constant wear & tear, people wander off with them.

Mine always seem to be political, pulling left or right.

Whenever I get a Walmart cart with a woogedy wheel, I feel proud to help uphold a tradition. Where’s the fun in driving a perfect, silent cart up and down the aisles?//jm

They do, but then customers take care of that omission.