Does your GROCERY CART (TROLLEY) have a FLAT TIRE?

[AviatorTom]

Just about every time I go to the grocery store, I get a cart (trolley) that has at least one flat tire. As I push it along, it goes thump... thump... thump.

Does this happen to you?

How often does your grocery cart (trolley) have a flat tire?

Please tell us your story.

[jennifer_bloom]

If it happens a lot it might be a deliberate flat used to discourage people from stealing the carts and using them for personal purposes. It's just like when you are driving in a difficult to navigate curb and they make the ground rough in certain places to keep you alert so you don't get drowsy and fail to notice incoming cars.

[Aubrey97]

I don't know about flat. They're not really filled with air are they? I get some where the cart's warped and one wheel is above the ground until you weight the cart down a little. Or some of them spin in circles if they're not quite on the ground. It seems far less commom than it used to though.

[AviatorTom]

@aubrey97 No, the wheels are not filled with air, but they do have hard rubber tires on them, and often there is a flat spot on the tire.

[exitseven]

Shopping crt have one wheel that is messed up and pulls to the right or left. This in intentional. People that have their toddlers in the little seat in the cart will grab cookies and candy off the shelf when the shopping cart veers to one side.

[NathanDavis]

yes, I do get that one sometimes...

and I still take it with me... and then you'll have me rolling with it to this pace, till the thump matches this beat...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/38Weeix7gQQ

[CrazyGirl2]

To be honest, I don't actually know of any stores which use pneumatic tires on the grocery carts. However, I do often get one where one of the wheels shakes back and forth with great rapidity. Occasionally, I’ll get one with a wheel that is completely locked up! But lucky for me, I’ve never come across a grocery cart with a flat tire.

Thanks for the great question
Sincerely, Laura 🤗 🥰

[AviatorTom]

@CrazyGirl2 The wheels are not filled with air, but they do have hard rubber tires on them, and often there is a flat spot on the tire.

[CrazyGirl2]

Ahhh, that’s likely the issue. The grocery store I shop at is relatively new. Therefore the carts with one locked-up wheel, as I wrote of, will likely become the very ones you mentioned as having “flat- spotted” wheels. I’m guessing they don’t remove the obstruction until the wheel is observably flat-spotted! Fortunately, I have yet to use a cart like the ones you mentioned. But the constant wobbling back and forth is annoying enough, so I can only imagine how frustrating a cart with a flat-spotted wheel must be!

Thanks for the clarification.
Laura 🤗 🥰

[rachel776]

at Wegmans in NY and Publix in Nashville the carts are always quiet. at Ralphs and Safeway in LA they are always broken and noisy, it's embarrassing to walk through the store and they took away those little baskets you can carry (and grocery bags)

[DrPepper12]

I WISH Wegmans or Publix would come to my area of NY. I ❤️ WEGMANS!!

[Massageman]

I'd say my average is about 1 out of 4 or 5 being out of whack SOMEhow. More often than having a "flat" wheel, the mounting bracket will be knocked out-of-true and the wheel will be on an angle. One a sidenote - I like the IKEA carts, which are totally pivotable, a necessity in the diminutive shops where someone needs lateral as well as front/back movement.

[DrPepper12]

I'm an ADHD prick about carts. I'll pull 20 out of the stack until I get one I like. And while we're here...

I DONT RETURN THE CART TO THE RACK!! I WILL NEVER RETURN THE CART!! I prefer when other people DONT put the cart back but leave it right between the four corners of a parking spot. Why? It's more convenient for me and I know the cart works well. I will die on this hill...

[DarkLegacy]

We do not have tyres on trolleys here in the UK. We just have ones that spin around all the time.

[AviatorTom]

The wheels are not filled with air, but they do have hard rubber tires on them, and often there is a flat spot on the tire

[TommyMountainFigure]

No, but I have had trolleys where one wheel wouldn't play nice with the others, and as such I ended up going right instead of straight on all the time. It was fun lifting it up as I wheeled it though.

[purplepoppy]

Sounds more like its not at the same level as the other three wheels. Occasionally I get one that spins around.

[OlderAndWiser]

I do my grocery shopping at Publix and they do a great job on maintenance, including the shopping carts.

[DrPepper12]

Publix does a great job on EVERYTHING

[OlderAndWiser]

@DrPepper12 My wife has been working in a Publix deli for the past year. I was loyal to Publix before she got that job. Their house brand products are good quality and value and they give really good customer service! And I must mention their fried chicken; it's the best around!

[dreamstar72]

Rather than blame the store, you should blame the rude customer for the way they mishandle the carts. Yes it has happened to me, but what I hate the worst is where customers leaves trash in them.

[RetroReviews]

It's happened to me a few times but what it does I ditched the cart and get one that does it have a bad wheel.

[katiesmuff]

Publix grocery stores do a good job of keeping carts in good working order.

[Fireguy17]

I seem to grab the one that either has the proverbial flat tyre, or the front-end shakes when you push it down the isle.

[sheikalana]

Never happened to me.