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Do they still require a quarter deposit on shopping carts? One opened in the US city where I lived ~15-20 years ago, and they required a coin deposit to use a

Do they still require a quarter deposit on shopping carts? One opened in the US city where I lived ~15-20 years ago, and they required a coin deposit to use a shopping cart. I don't cary change (not even back then), and requiring a deposit on a cart is the mark of a bad neighborhood. So I just left, and have never returned to an Aldi.

kipchak 3y ago
Yes, though you can ask a cashier for a quarter, at least at the stores I've been to. Feels ore satisfying than it probably should to get an occasional quarter or two for bringing stranded carts back on the way in also.
- euroderf 3y ago
  Candy money for kids !
edmccard 3y ago
A coin deposit is no more a mark of a bad neighborhood than having cart corrals in the parking lot -- like them, it is a way of reducing (or trying to eliminate) the amount of time employees have to spend collecting carts and returning them.
- drewg123 3y ago
  A coin deposit is a signal that either the carts are being stolen, or that they are not being returned to the cart corral. Both are signs of a bad neighborhood in my area of the country.
  - oldandboring 3y ago
    This is a true statement, but I suspect the underlying goal is to reduce overhead and pass the savings on to the consumer and/or the bottom line. This is because if carts are stolen they must be replaced, and if they are not returned to the corral a worker must be paid to do it.
eej71 3y ago
I'd say you are missing out. On the other hand, more for the rest of us! I keep a couple of quarters in the car just for the Aldi shopping cart.
Nihilartikel 3y ago
On a few occasions I've found a couple of quarters on the brick window sill next to the carts at my local Aldi. I was pleased by the take-a-quarter-leave-a-quarter honor system.
mminer237 3y ago
Yes, they do. That's a rather strange reason to not frequent a store. Keeping a single quarter in your car is well worth the savings you get from them not having to hire cart corrallers.
infecto 3y ago
I am only approaching middle age in the US but I never saw coin deposit for carts anywhere else. With that said I would never suspect it has anything to do with crime and all about incentivizing people to bring their own carts back instead of having to pay employees to do it.
- drewg123 3y ago
  Parking lots full of unreturned shopping carts are a sign of a bad neighborhood in my area of the country. The need to require a quarter deposit implies a lack of trust, and an "FU" to the customer. I return the "FU" by not frequenting the store.
  - infecto 3y ago
    Right, I am suggesting that you have the wrong mental model. You are obviously entitled to do anything you want or think anything you want. From an economic model the quarter deposit is to reduce having the need for employees collecting carts. Thats the Aldi's model, low prices through process optimizations. Now that might not be the model you like to shop at and it is a free market but I find it silly to adopt such a hostile take on it. I have been all over the United States and I have never had such an observation on carts but hey you learn something new every day.
    - drewg123 3y ago
      I've live in western NY, OH, NC, VA, FL and the Bay Area. The only place where I've found that a messy parking lot doesn't correspond to a bad neighborhood is in the Bay Area. I'm specifically thinking of the Safeways in Mountain View & Palo Alto
      - infecto 3y ago
        You should conduct research perhaps we are missing a new economic indicator. Going back to the main point. While it might seem as a company stiffing you, it’s mainly for economic reasons at Aldis. They run on a very lean model and part of it are small things like not having employees collect carts.
Semaphor 3y ago
This is very common in Germany, I and my wife both carry small metal "coins" for them.
AlgorithmicTime 3y ago
[dead]
anotheruser13 3y ago
If you don't have a quarter, just ask the cashier and they'll lend you one!
eliaspro 3y ago
That's basically the norm for supplements in Germany (and to some extent in Europe). It's rather common for people to have a small coin-like plastic or metal chip on their keychain which can be used for shopping carts.
dakna 3y ago
You know what is a sign of a good neighborhood? When you are comfortable approaching a stranger in a parking lot with a quarter in your hand, saying "Hey, I'll take that cart, no need for you to return it". An even better sign is when that stranger declines to take the money and just asks you to pay it forward. I've done both several times, in rural areas and big cities and have seen others doing the same. Give it a try some day, it's fun.

kipchak 3y ago

Yes, though you can ask a cashier for a quarter, at least at the stores I've been to. Feels ore satisfying than it probably should to get an occasional quarter or two for bringing stranded carts back on the way in also.

euroderf 3y ago
Candy money for kids !

edmccard 3y ago

A coin deposit is no more a mark of a bad neighborhood than having cart corrals in the parking lot -- like them, it is a way of reducing (or trying to eliminate) the amount of time employees have to spend collecting carts and returning them.

drewg123 3y ago
A coin deposit is a signal that either the carts are being stolen, or that they are not being returned to the cart corral. Both are signs of a bad neighborhood in my area of the country.
- oldandboring 3y ago
  This is a true statement, but I suspect the underlying goal is to reduce overhead and pass the savings on to the consumer and/or the bottom line. This is because if carts are stolen they must be replaced, and if they are not returned to the corral a worker must be paid to do it.

eej71 3y ago

I'd say you are missing out. On the other hand, more for the rest of us! I keep a couple of quarters in the car just for the Aldi shopping cart.

Nihilartikel 3y ago

On a few occasions I've found a couple of quarters on the brick window sill next to the carts at my local Aldi. I was pleased by the take-a-quarter-leave-a-quarter honor system.

mminer237 3y ago

Yes, they do. That's a rather strange reason to not frequent a store. Keeping a single quarter in your car is well worth the savings you get from them not having to hire cart corrallers.

infecto 3y ago

I am only approaching middle age in the US but I never saw coin deposit for carts anywhere else. With that said I would never suspect it has anything to do with crime and all about incentivizing people to bring their own carts back instead of having to pay employees to do it.

drewg123 3y ago
Parking lots full of unreturned shopping carts are a sign of a bad neighborhood in my area of the country. The need to require a quarter deposit implies a lack of trust, and an "FU" to the customer. I return the "FU" by not frequenting the store.
- infecto 3y ago
  Right, I am suggesting that you have the wrong mental model. You are obviously entitled to do anything you want or think anything you want. From an economic model the quarter deposit is to reduce having the need for employees collecting carts. Thats the Aldi's model, low prices through process optimizations. Now that might not be the model you like to shop at and it is a free market but I find it silly to adopt such a hostile take on it. I have been all over the United States and I have never had such an observation on carts but hey you learn something new every day.
  - drewg123 3y ago
    I've live in western NY, OH, NC, VA, FL and the Bay Area. The only place where I've found that a messy parking lot doesn't correspond to a bad neighborhood is in the Bay Area. I'm specifically thinking of the Safeways in Mountain View & Palo Alto
    - infecto 3y ago
      You should conduct research perhaps we are missing a new economic indicator. Going back to the main point. While it might seem as a company stiffing you, it’s mainly for economic reasons at Aldis. They run on a very lean model and part of it are small things like not having employees collect carts.

Semaphor 3y ago

This is very common in Germany, I and my wife both carry small metal "coins" for them.

AlgorithmicTime 3y ago

[dead]

anotheruser13 3y ago

If you don't have a quarter, just ask the cashier and they'll lend you one!

eliaspro 3y ago

That's basically the norm for supplements in Germany (and to some extent in Europe). It's rather common for people to have a small coin-like plastic or metal chip on their keychain which can be used for shopping carts.

dakna 3y ago

You know what is a sign of a good neighborhood? When you are comfortable approaching a stranger in a parking lot with a quarter in your hand, saying "Hey, I'll take that cart, no need for you to return it". An even better sign is when that stranger declines to take the money and just asks you to pay it forward. I've done both several times, in rural areas and big cities and have seen others doing the same. Give it a try some day, it's fun.