Monetary trolley deposits at Woolies on Buderim

In an effort to tame the wandering trolley, Woolworths on Buderim has implemented a new system, whereby you must wedge a dollar coin into the trolley to release it from the bay. The dollar is retrieved when you return the trolley to the bay. alternatively you have to locate another trolley and jam it into that one in order to retrieve the coin.

This system is not unique to Buderim but is certainly causing a great deal of consternation to shoppers. Those most vocal and distraught are the elderly members of the community, but the nuiscance value is not exclusive to that particular age group. What happens if you do not have a dollar or two dollar coin? Well you have to stand like a goose at the front counter till you can attract the attention of an assisstant to change a note. If you (like me) do not carry money and rely on cards, then you are a shot duck!

Here is an email which is typical of those received at the Buderim Web Site from people voicing their displeasure.

textarea: I want to register our strong displeasure and objection to (Buderim) Woolworths new system of requiring a monetary deposit on the use of their trolleys. We find this a ridiculous imposition and are determined to use stores that do not require this. As Woolworths was one of our main reasons for shopping at Buderim, this in effect, means that we will be doing ALL our shopping elsewhere
(name and phone number supplied)

What do Buderim woolworths hope to achieve?
Clearly they want to reduce the number of trolleys which are carted up to the caravan park or left abandoned at the curb by thoughtless shoppers who just don't want to organise a better way of taking their groceries home. Plus reduce the operating costs by laying off staff where they can.

Will this be the answer to peope removing trolleys form the carpark?
At the risk of giving ignorant people a clue, all they have to do is spend a dollar and take a trolley home, then they can start their own collection (which is what they must be doing anyway) which can be dumped at their leisure!

Alternatively, the more clever of them may design and make a device to simulate the removal key and get the money out anyway. They could even make one from an old trolley!



Will this be helpful for the shoppers?
Hardly! If there is no trolley in the carpark, they have to push it back to the shop for a refund. If you do not carry cash you greatly inconvenienced.

So what will be the net results from this social experiment?
It does not take a Nostradamus to see the most likely outcomes.
At this stage the shoppers are irate, the trolley boys are out of a job, the small number of trolleys taken away will probably still be taken away by the diehards, the mischief removals may be reduced - but may be increased by kids wanting to try and rip out the coins.

I can't help but to wonder if a smarter way of dealing with this would be to factor a two tenths of a cent levy on a staple such as milk, which nobody would even notice . . . which could be used to fund a trolley boy's wage or something more friendly for the customer.

I am sure they would argue "We are trying to reduce costs . . . " Well here's a clue guys! Shopping is not just about the price!

This is a heartless dehumanisation of the Woolworths on Buderim Shopping Experience and quite frankly will only result in a denegration of the attitude and morale of both employees and the people of Buderim. Let's hope they wake up sooner rather than later.

Sadly, they didn't listen to the people of Buderim when they set up that traffic congesting, eyesore of a shopping centre, obscuring some of the best Coastal views in the Buderim Village . . . why would they bother now?

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