Shoppers Are Losing It Over This Cart Etiquette Question

When it comes to shopping cart etiquette, there are a ton of small elements to consider. According to Reader's Digest, considerate shoppers should avoid leaving their carts rolling around in the parking lot, abandoning their trolleys in the checkout lane, encroaching on the personal space of others with your cart, and leaving your cart in the middle of the aisle.

That last recommendation continues to get lost on some shoppers, as evidenced in a recent question addressed to the Miss Manners advice column on UExpress. One reader wondered if they were in the right by leaving their shopping cart unattended in the middle of the aisle as they perused shelves. "I believe other shoppers feel hurried when I wait for them to finish shopping a section with their cart, as we cannot both do so at once," they wrote. "I know that I feel hurried being in that same position. My husband maintains that leaving the cart in the middle of the aisle is rude, and that I should stay with my cart."

While the advice giver gently sided with the husband and asked the writer to park their cart to the side of the aisle, the comments proved less forgiving.

The UExpress question drew a ton of flak in the comment section. One respondent couldn't believe what they read. "Do you park your car in the middle of the road too? What's wrong with you? Get the dang cart out of the middle of the aisle. They're barely wide enough for 2 carts to pass each other already. In some stores they aren't," they wrote. 

"I'd love to see [a] store where leaving your cart in the middle allows others to pass. My very favorite people are those who look right at you, and still don't move it," another commenter said. Yet another user replied with, "My cart stays right in front of me up against whichever side of the aisle I'm shopping because my purse is in the seat where little kids usually sit, and I'm not letting it out of my sight. In the middle of the aisle is rude. No one can get around you." 

All in all, the majority of commenters took offense at the individual asking about how to handle their shopping cart, as everyone seemed to find the answer obvious. With any luck, they heed the advice of Miss Manners, start parking their cart to the side, and avoid the ire of internet commenters and grocery store patrons alike.