learnings from the parking lot

Recently I have spent some real quality time in the car, in the grocery store parking lot, as Jana runs in and buys some quick foodstuffs we need for our kids. As I sit in the car, I have learnt a few things about the brave people who collect the shopping carts.

Learning #1: It seems that the majority of people collecting carts are female.

Learning #2: It doesn't matter what uniform each grocery store has, the cart person is always supplied with a bright vest that doesn't match the store uniform.

Learning #3: If you are designated to collect carts, you need to have a look of disdain and attitude as you perform this humble task.

Learning #4: It seems that the most efficient way (according to how these people perform their task) is to collect one cart at a time and bring them al the way back to the corral, then collect another, and so on.

Perhaps the biggest learning is Learning #4. For years I thought that the shopping cart was designed to be stackable with others of it's kind, so that you can collect and transort multiple carts a t a time, thus saving time, and company money. After seeing these professionals in action and not doing their task in this manner, I guess I got it wrong all these years.