Aldi and Woolworths trolley stacks reveal hard truth about shoppers

A Melbourne resident has compared the trolley etiquette of Aldi versus Woolworths customers, and the contrast is indisputable.

The shopper snapped a photo of the trolley bay in the car park of Carnegie Central Shopping Centre, showing the Aldi trolleys neatly stacked in their dedicated lane, while the Woolworths trolleys are strewn haphazardly with several spilling into the parking lot.

 Aldi and Woolworths shopping trolleys in bay
Spot the difference: A shopper has compared trolley etiquette between Aldi and Woolworths customers. Source: Reddit

"The difference $1 can make," wrote the shopper in a Reddit post.

Aldi shopping trolleys require a $1 or $2 coin to use, which you receive back upon returning the trolley to the bay.

The gold coin gives Aldi shoppers incentive to neatly stack their trolleys after use, while Woolworths customers can use the supermarket's trolleys for free.

Photo enrages shoppers

The Reddit post caught the eye of fellow Aussie shoppers, receiving more than 3,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments in a matter of hours.

"People will all of a sudden stop being absolute s*** c***s to get back what's theirs even if it's only a dollar. Take that away and it's total anarchy as seen in this picture," commented one Redditor on the post.

"My local Aldi has two trolley types, both in nice tidy lines thanks to people wanting their dollar/token back," wrote a second.

Another user suggested that returning trolleys is the "ultimate guide" to how noble a person is and said he plans to "pass this knowledge onto my kids".

Aldi shopping trolleys compared to Woolworths trolleys
Aldi shopping trolleys require a gold coin to use, unlike Woolworths trolleys which are free. Source: Facebook/Getty

Debate over trolley etiquette

"I can't believe they were even returned. That's a win on its own," wrote one Reddit user about the carts.

A second person agreed, writing, "I pushed trolleys for a bit that needed a coin. They still got left all over the car park. I treated the dollar left in the trolley as a d******* tax."

A shopper familiar with the car park blamed Woolies for the chaos in its bay, commenting, "The problem is there are two types of trolleys and as soon as someone gets lazy and puts one on the wrong side that's it, all hope is lost."

Trolley collectors weigh in

Several supermarket workers tasked with collecting trolleys also joined the conversation, saying this act of shopper "laziness" makes their job more difficult.

"As a bloke that collects Coles trolleys as a job, this is the most annoying thing," wrote one employee.

A second commented, "As a trolley collector for Coles, can confirm people see one not in a bay and then they follow suit, it's a f***ing pain in the a** having to rearrange them neatly so then I can come back with the rover to then bring them in."

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