Experience with a motorized shopping cart.

[+ purplekow]

I have been feeling unwell for the last week but I needed to go shopping.  I arrived at the supermarket and there were no carts available.  I would not usually shop on a Saturday afternoon because of the crowds, but this was the only window that seemed to allow me to get to the store and back without a personal emergiency.  There were several motorized carts and being old, sick and looking particularly bad, pale and pasty despite being in Palm Springs, I decided to use the cart for the first time.  First of all despite 90 year old near blind people seemingly moving effortlessly through the narrow aisles of a supermarket, the cart is actually a bit trickier to maneuver.  I spent several minutes looking for the on button only to be told it will start if you sit on it.  So sit I did and off I went.  First I backed up into a wall, then lurched forward nearly knocking down a very nicely put together can pyramid.  I managed to get the handle to get the basics of mobility down until the first turn which I took too wide and wound up smaking into a cake display.   People of all ages and shapes and sizes were scotting away from my obvious inability to fully control the cart.  I wound up near the exit and several people waited for me to exit and I had to explain that I was only test driving the cart and not leaving.  

finally I started to shop.  First the deli counter which is surprisingly high when you are sitting down.  I did not want to blow my cover as an old and sick person by standing up so the deli man came around the counter bring with him my order.  I drove off and it seemed that each item I wanted was either too high or too low leaving me to either maneuver, improvise or buy the higher priced item.  Is this a subtle means of preying on the differently abled and those pretending to be so?   Freezer doors and refrigerated compartment were a challenge.  I left one open and circled around to close it only to have a young whippersnapper close it with a pitying glance in my direction.   This store, Ralph's, has a peculiar pricing policy, buy one pay for one, buy at least five and save quite a bit of money.  Problem is, the cart really does not have room for five of each of the basics.  Again, a hidden scam on those using the carts?   

It also took me twice as long as usual to sho which was a surprise as I thought I could get things done more quickly in the cart.  

One nice feature was finding out how many people were helpful in getting things down off shelves or assisting me in loading the precariously  packed groceries into the cart.  There was even a hot looking guy or two offering to help me.  I thought to myself that I could help him too, but I digress.  

At the checkout counter, someone came over the unlaoad the groceries and escorted me out to my car to pack them into my trunk.  The assisted me into my car and took the cart back into the store.  

I felt that perhaps I had stretched the general appropriate use of the motorized cart, but I would not have done so if regular carts were readily available.  Still it was not all good but mostly good and convenient.  I will never opt for one again if I can avoid it.  

Anyone here a regular user of motorized grocery carts?   BTW, I know I could have ordered on line or had the groceries delivered, but I would be a first time user of those means of shopping and I did not intend to venture out into new shopping territory when I went out.  

Disappointing in that I looked bad enough that no one person looked at me as though I should not be using the cart, indicating that my generaly appearance, granted my sickly general appearance is not worth a second glance in terms of why is this man using this service.  

Motorized shopping carts BTW, not a great way to pick up bulky mennor bulky grroceries.  

 

[samhexum]

46 minutes ago, purplekow said:

Anyone here a regular user of motorized grocery carts?   

My favorite store is my favorite because of good prices, being within a half mile of all of my doctors (and a block of some of them), and because it has BY FAR the most such carts I've ever seen in a supermarket (used to be 7, now I think it's 8, but one's usually out of order).  And I still sometimes have problems because nobody at the store ever seems to think to plug them in to recharge them when they are not in use.

They are a godsend.  I can't afford to order for delivery and I can't walk around a store; I can waddle from my car to inside, but that's it.  I'm familiar enough to know that the Amigo brand, if properly charged up, will take you approximately 10,000 miles, but the brand with the yellow motion controls will get you about 10,000 inches before the charged indicator display falls into the orange level and then rapidly into the red level, accompanied by beeping indicating your impending stranding in the dairy aisle or the freezer aisle.

I've gotten pretty proficient with them over the years, though there have been the occasional bull in a china shop moments when the store has been very crowded and I've been very frustrated and impatient.

And, yes, people are (almost always) very gracious and helpful when you're in one.

P.S.  I hope you feel better.

Edited April 21 by samhexum
to tell the OP I hope he feels better.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I used to regularly partake in outings to theme parks with friends or family members who needed to be in an electric wheelchair.  Similar issues:  You don't realize how much it helps to have legs and height until you don't have either.  The slight advantage of "skipping the queue" at some rides for parties with a wheelchair was not enough to make up for the hassle navigating through crowds and not being able to see over people.

[samhexum]

2 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

You don't realize how much it helps to have legs and height until you don't have either.  

PREACH!

[Peter Eater]

15 hours ago, samhexum said:

I can't afford to order for delivery

According to CNET comparison shopping, “Because of membership, delivery fees and tipping, you might think having groceries delivered is way more expensive, but the final tallies were remarkably close.  And if you subscribe to the concept of time as money, online grocery shopping is surely the better bargain.”

Also, ordering online for pickup, rather than delivery, is usually free if the total is above a modest minimum (at Ralph’s, if above $35). Then the motorized cart is not an issue — only the motorized car! 
 

Edited April 22 by Peter Eater

[jimbosf]

I used one for the first time last November during recovery from surgery.  My experience was similar to yours.  Found people in general to be very friendly and helpful.  Also found it difficult to navigate my needing items too low or too high on the shelves.  That was rather annoying.  I only used it the one time.  After that I was able to manage using a cane and the shopping cart for stability until I was fully recovered.  My mother used a motorized scooter for years, but she always had my father on hand to push the shopping cart and grab the items she wanted to purchase.  I tried the home delivery service one time from Krogers when I was first home from the hospital.  There was no service charge with a minimum order and the delivery driver was very nice and helpful.  Not sure I would want to use one of those grocery store carts again, though.  

[samhexum]

28 minutes ago, Peter Eater said:

you might think having groceries delivered is way more expensive, but the final tallies were remarkably close.  And if you subscribe to the concept of time as money, online grocery shopping is surely the better bargain.”

Some of us can't afford such a bargain.  After I pay my rent out of my disability check I have a whopping $336/mo for all of my luxuries like food, internet and phone, doctor co-pays, insurance, gas to get to the doctor to pay the co-pays, etc. 

You know... the fun stuff that makes life worth living.

 

Edited April 22 by samhexum
because he's been sitting in the computer chair he keeps in the kitchen because he can't stand while cooking or washing dishes for 90 minutes and he's still too lazy to move

[Lotus-eater]

I've found the staff at the Ralphs in PS to be much more helpful than those at my local Ralphs in LA.

As for pricing on the middle shelves, it's location, location, location! Products on the middle shelves are the most expensive because they're at eye level for most people (who are more likely to buy those products), so grocery stores charge a premium to wholesalers to have their products placed on the middle shelves. Notice that sugary cereals tend to be located on the lower shelves because that's eye level for children:

[samhexum]

On 4/22/2025 at 9:53 AM, Peter Eater said:

online grocery shopping is surely the better bargain.

For various reasons, it made sense for me to order groceries this morning from Walmart.  They sent a driver who didn't speak English so after the 8th attempt to unlock the front door of the building with the app on my phone and him saying not open, I asked several times if he was at my address. Answer? First silence, then "No English", then he hung up.  Two minutes later I got a text showing that my order had been delivered and left in front of a red door.  I guess someone had let him into the building.  Only one teensy-weensy little problem... our doors are beige.

Tore out my hair out dealing with the AI to get to a person to refund the order.  Placed another.  EXACT same thing happened, except I eventually got a text saying we couldn't deliver AND found one from the shopper from 15 minutes earlier in Spanish telling me (I think) that his GPS took him to an an address # totally different than mine so I knew where he was... a building on a cross street across from the other end of my block.  I had a driver last year who actually spoke English tell me that happened to him but he could understand me when he called, so at least I got that order (minus the stuff that was ruined when half of my gallon of milk leaked out).

I guess brand new still-in-development-stage technology like GPS just doesn't work in remote, underdeveloped wildernesses like NYC.  No wonder the fees are so high...  I have to pay for the R&D that makes this form of grocery shopping so efficient and worth having my blood pressure skyrocket all day and being too annoyed and short-tempered to work on another problem I am trying to get resolved this week with another company (which is one of the reasons I thought it would be worth it to pay for that bargain delivery)... which makes winding up with no food at all at the end of a totally wasted day SOOOOOOOOOOOOO worthwhile.

But who needs motorized carts when grocery delivery is such a bargain, right?  Actually, when StopnShop had their own delivery fleet they were very good and cheap enough and their customer service was easy to reach and generous with refunds and credits.  Alas, they gave it up and now use InstaRipOff.

Edited April 24 by samhexum
just for the hell of it

[+ purplekow]

I do not need another excuse to stay home so I would not do home delivery of groceries.  that, and I do not shop with a list but with an eye toward future meals that I have not already planned.  

[samhexum]

On 4/21/2025 at 6:51 PM, samhexum said:

 I'm familiar enough to know that the Amiga brand, if properly charged up, will take you approximately 10,000 miles

I learned something new in ShopRite yesterday.

As the cashier was ringing up my small order, he asked me if I had an item with the brand name Amiga. I said that is the name of the company that makes the handicap cart and he laughed because that name had come up on the screen and he explained that most customers don't realize that every checkout lane has a scanner on the side near the bottom so that if any people "forget" (my quotes) that they have something on the bottom of their wagons below the basket that scanner will pick it up.

[samhexum]

Not a shopping cart, but...

Julie Newmar, the actress best known for originating the role of Catwoman in the ‘60s Batman TV series, was spotted out in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 15, marking a rare public appearance for the star.

During the outing, Newmar, 91, drove a motorized scooter on the street and, to fans most accustomed to her iconic black catsuits, was practically unrecognizable in a light-colored, casual ensemble.

The actress wore gray sweatpants, a pair of fuzzy slippers and a blue button-up shirt. She also wore a wide-brimmed hat, which kept the L.A. sun out of her eyes.

 

Though Newmar does not step out often, the 91-year-old is somewhat active on her Instagram account, where she last posted on May 13. “Our most glorious garden yet,” the star recently captioned several photos of the flowers blossoming at what appeared to be her L.A. home.

Earlier this month, she also posted the link to a clip from her turn as Catwoman alongside Adam West in Batman, which ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1968. (Though Newmar only starred in a total of 13 episodes, they are some of the most iconic, with four taking the top spots on IMDB’s top-rated Batman episode list.)

“I was depressed -- then I read what people had to say about me in the comment section. Oh My!!” Newmar wrote alongside a screenshot of the clip, a scene in which Catwoman attempts to seduce the titular hero, played by West.

 

Prior to her sighting in L.A., Newmar’s most recent public appearances — though few and far between — have all been connected to her Catwoman roots.

In June 2024, she attended a fan event, where she playfully sported cat ears while signing autographs for admirers. In 2017, she also made appearances at fan events, including Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con and CatCon, where she also nodded to the beloved antihero with a cat-inspired ensemble.

 

While reflecting on her career in an interview with Bring Me the News, Newmar previously said, "I'm realizing that through all the shows I've done — the television, film and stage — all the mediums I've worked in, Catwoman's costume was the one that allowed me to tell the story through my body."

"The words were brilliant, and funny on top of that," she told the outlet. "The producer hired the right people to do all the lighting, to do this, that and the other, and it was the right time in the right decade. It all worked."