Concerns with mobility carts

Devices only good if shoppers who need them can easily locate and use them

As with many people I know, the wheels of time are moving right along. In fact, they are moving a lot better than my personal wheels - my legs.

So I am someone who appreciates the mobility carts that are available in many of our grocery, hardware and department stores.

Without overstating the obvious, mobility carts are designed for people who have difficultly walking or that tire easily, so it’s imperative the carts are easily available.

And let’s face it, they don’t only help the people who use them, they are also beneficial to the stores in allowing people to shop and spend money.

In the interest of offering feedback to stores in the capital city area, I took it upon myself to do a survey.

First up was the Sobeys Extra store in Stratford. To my mind it has a perfect setup. Just as you enter the door, it has two mobility carts and a Caroline’s cart for special needs.

At the Superstore on University Avenue there were two carts as you enter the main part of the store and a Caroline’s cart at the courtesy desk. At the smaller Superstore, I found one cart in the cafeteria.

Sobeys on Allen Street had one cart and it was in a poor location. It was the same for the Sobeys in the mall - one cart in a poor location.

At Canadian Tire, the cart was in the proper location but you need a key and thus have to stand in line at the Refunds counter to get the key. In addition, the cart was in poor repair.

At Home Depot there were two good carts but they were in a very poor location. I shop there a lot and didn’t know until lately that the store had carts. At the Walmart, the two carts were in a good location, just inside the main entrance and a Caroline’s cart was at customer service.

My little survey is not meant to be mean-spirited but rather to point to the wide discrepancy in service regarding something that is fast becoming an essential service given our aging population.

My aim is to help stores provide a better service, which will also help the store¹s bottom line.

In discussing this issue with friends I have discovered it’s a growing area of concern.

The bottom line is that mobility carts are only good if the people who need them can easily locate and use them. Such people can’t be expected to walk all over a large store looking for a cart. They need the cart so they can drive all over the store.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Letter writer Sterling Sanders says the Sobeys Extra store in Stratford has a perfect setup for mobility carts. He says mobility carts are only beneficial if they are easily accessible to the people who need them.