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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Quite a regular
 
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I just started reading this board regularly, and this thread always makes me chuckle. I was excited this morning when I had a sighting of my own:
 On York St. behind the Pathmark. I couldn't help but snap a quick shot on my cell phone to share here. THEN, further along in my walk, I spotted ANOTHER one on Barrow St. I didn't get to snap a photo of that one, as it wasn't on my way - I just saw it down the block. I laughed and continued on my way.
Posted on: 2008/6/27 11:37
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Home away from home
 
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Annod, that is what cell phone cameras are for!
Posted on: 2008/6/26 22:28
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Home away from home
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Several weeks ago, I saw two Indian girls take the BJ's cart onto the Light Rail at Harsimus Cove, and then got off at Essex St. They then took it to Clermont Cove.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 22:07
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Quite a regular
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2008/4/17 17:10 Last Login : 2008/12/27 1:27 From Hamilton Park
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Quote:
No kidding. If I were paying $2400/mo in rent and saw some tacky person wheeling a shopping cart into my building, there would be hell to pay. Just proof that money doesn't buy class, I guess.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 22:02
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Is this a cultural thing? Is it acceptable and normal to do this in other countries? Are we just so tightly wound and ethnocentric that we are missing a larger cultural behavior? The people I have actually seen pushing carts down the street recently have been well-heeled Asians. I can say for a fact that this is NOT done where they come from - certainly not in uptight Japan or in Singapore or Taiwan. Nor have I seen it in other parts of Asia. I've lived in western Europe, too, and I've never ever witnessed people wheeling shopping carts off the premises. My only guess as to why people here do this is that they can - they see other people doing it, and figure it's OK. They're aided and abetted by a don't-give-a-shit retail establishment and apartment building management.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:47
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Priceless!
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:41
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Home away from home
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Is this a cultural thing? Is it acceptable and normal to do this in other countries? Are we just so tightly wound and ethnocentric that we are missing a larger cultural behavior?
Could it be that this is just not done HERE but where some people come from it is perfectly fine? That they don't even know? It's the only legitimate explanation as to how the hell the carts are showing up in the hallways of these fancy high rises. They know not what they do.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:26
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Home away from home
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wow, they wheeled it all the way up the to 21st fl and left it in the hallway?! mo' fo' should be fined by his building.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:17
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utterly deplorable
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Quite a regular
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Elvis:
I never called you a coward. I specifically said that ?Emails are a coward?s way out.? I myself frequently turn to emails when I don?t want to deal with nasty situations. So I know of what I speak. Throughout this thread, your way of ?solving the problem? has been to find ways to destroy property and punish the victim. But I?m the one who crossed the line? I don?t have a group. I?m one person. My suggestions have tried to emphasize a more positive approach to dealing with the merchant and an attempt to fix the blame where it really belongs, on those individuals that don?t care if anyone else is inconvenienced so long as their singular needs are addressed. By the way, Arnold Diaz has use the ?Shame on You? approach for many, many successful years, so while my suggestion is not original, time has proven it effective. By all means Elvis, do continue to solve the problem in your own way. But don?t tell me that I?m on a high horse. My horse is just the right height. Maybe if you raised your horse a little, mine wouldn?t look so high. Good-bye. P.S. I love the photographs. They tell it all. How exactly is BJ?s supposed to retrieve a cart from the 21st floor of a luxury highrise? That photo is just too funny for words!!!!
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:11
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Home away from home
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OMG - that Grove Pointe hallway photo is both funny and sad at the same time!! Is it for real? Seriously, though, if I lived there or at 50 Columbus, I'd be raising a big stink with building management. For the rents they're charging, they should be busting residents for wheeling and abadoning shopping carts there. Aren't these doorman/concierge buildings? You'd think they would've stopped people from wheeling the cart in. Also, if the building has security cameras, they ought to be able to track down the guilty party, warn them, fine them, whatever. You don't see this crap at NYC apartment buildings - low or high rent. I showed one friend, who lives in Manhattan, this thread. He was highly amused that so many people do this. "I'd be embarrassed and afraid people might think I was homeless," he said. No such shame in JC, it seems!
Posted on: 2008/6/26 21:07
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Not too shy to talk
 
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Quote:
That's some class right there!
Posted on: 2008/6/26 20:15
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Quite a regular
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There is one waiting for the elevator on the 21st floor at Grove Pointe. This isn't the first time we've seen one here.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 20:01
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Home away from home
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The BJ cart is back at Washington and Sussex. It was gone for a few days. I guess that person went shopping again.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 15:14
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Home away from home
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Spotting: 1 cart on Jefferson & Central down the block from the Reservoir.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 14:15
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Home away from home
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2dogdoll,
Thanks for your reply to my question. You made alot of great suggestions that I definitely think we may have to use in the future. As of now, I think a good course of action may be to go with pchops solution. I'm in pchops, anyone else? Jaah
Posted on: 2008/6/26 14:12
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Home away from home
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I once saw the results of a supermarket fire years ago. The carts outside didn't actually burn but they charred and melted into a multicolored mass of about a ton of plastic with wheels and handles sticking out at skewed angles.
Had it been smaller, I'd have bought it and submitted it to the Whitney Biennial...called perhaps CONSUMERISM?
Posted on: 2008/6/26 14:06
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Home away from home
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2dogdoll,
It seems like we are on the same side here. I want Bjs to keep their carts at their store and you do as well. If you were to go back and read the whole thread, you might actually see I never once suggested we destroy the carts. And while Jahh may have, I think it stems from his frustration over Bjs unwillingness to do anything about it. While I appreciate your solutions, calling me a coward for emailing just crosses a line. Firstly, I don't have all the time in the world to walk down to Bjs and talk with the manager. Also, that would imply he is actually there. Had you comprehended what I wrote in my previous posts, I have a tough enough time just getting the manager on the phone. You think a pop in is gonna get results? And if it doesn't, i should just keep walking back? The emails were an attempt to actually get some one to pay attention to the problem. Have you formed your group? Have you contacted reporters? When you start doing anything to help the situation, then you can mount your high horse and criticize how I handle things. I am trying to solve this problem at the source, and why I do not think Bjs is solely responsible for the cart situation, they have the means to solve the problem. Do you honestly think your "Shame on You" campaign is viable? Do the people stealing these carts care if their picture is on some website? I will answer that for you. No. Other vendors in our area seem to have it licked. I honestly never see a Shop Rite or Pathmark cart. Its always Bjs. To say I am badgering BJs is just false. I am attempting to get something done, and while my methods may not be popular with you, thats not really my concern. My concern is solving this problem.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 14:05
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Home away from home
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A few years back, I worked with the JCIA to locate these abandoned carts. The JCIA worker that responded said that he spoke with the BJ's manager who made claims that a truck would pick them up weekly. This was not true as these carts would sit for weeks collecting garbage. THe JCIA worker continued to go to BJ's and for a short while the carts were picked up.
The JCIA worker said that he really needs legislation to give him the power to fine the Business that have abandoned carts and are not picking them up. This would encourage the Businesses to purchase carts that have functional security systems (wheels lock when out of store boundaries). This would also encourage them to hire someone responsible for collecting carts from the parking place on an hourly basis like Shop RIte, thus discouraging runaway carts. Though I understand that this may appear to be just curing the symptoms, JCIA workers and police do not believe it feasible for their time to be spent writing out tickets for cart theft. Thus a more effective way to approach this is through simple legislation that would fine. So, what we need to do is get the JCIA to request the legislation along with neighborhood associations such as the Downtown JC Watch. It's important that a joint effort be made as suggested earlier in this thread. If anyone is interested, pls. email me at downtownjcwatch@gmail.com
Posted on: 2008/6/26 2:50
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Re: Where are all the BJ shopping carts coming from?
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Quite a regular
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Jennymayla, I think you are misunderstanding me. I am totally encouraging people to speak directly to BJ management. One person emailing and calling is not going to accomplish much. I say get a group to go to the store. Meet face to face. Get the community involved if it is such a major issue. Just don?t lay the blame for the situation strictly on the merchant. They are not the enemy here. They have tried in the past to solve the problem and there is a long history here.
Do you agree with Elvis and Jaah?s position encouraging the destruction of a store?s private, stolen property? Yes the shopping carts belong to BJ?s but simply having them picked up is treating the symptom and not curing the disease. And, it is clearly a short-term solution. A cart picked up in the morning can be back on the street by the afternoon. BJ?s carts are the largest and most visible of the stolen carts but there are carts from other stores left on the sidewalk. Should the carts from the other stores also be destroyed? Destroying someone?s property is not going to win their ?minds and hearts? or persuade them to respond in a positive manner. I responded to this thread for two reasons: I shop at BJ?s and I really hate it when I can?t find a cart for my supplies; and two, I also resent seeing the carts around the neighborhood when they can be put to much better use in the store. And I am not the only one inconvenienced here. One cart can conservatively service the needs of at least 12 people during the course of a shopping day. My ?creative? suggestions were simply a response to Jaah? request to ?how do [I] propose we stop this never ending problem.? I would rather do something positive than something destructive. You are right, there are many more important issues in the world today and on that note, I wish you a good night.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 2:30
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Home away from home
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Quote:
While I appreciate your passion and creative problem solving, I still don't get what your beef is with someone reaching out directly to BJs to reach some sort of solution. You can call it "badgering" but, um, THE CARTS BELONG TO THEM. Despite all the credit you give BJ's for their community involvement, they are still a business and have a responsibility as such. Yes, I think it's insane that they aren't coming to fetch these pricey little carts but it's not my problem to figure out why. They just need to come get them. There are much larger inconveniences and even some life endangering issues that we should be focused on and your suggestions could definitely help in regards to many of them. In the meantime, going straight to the source of this one random and slightly hilarious problem makes all the sense in the world to me.
Posted on: 2008/6/26 0:16
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Quite a regular
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1. Turn the carts into a newspaper story complete with pictures. We already have some really good ones on the JCList. Title it ?When A Convenience Becomes An Annoyance.? The story can address the how and why of shopping carts, including the cost of the carts to the store(s), the general trashing of neighborhoods because of these abandoned carts. Community anger re the constant presence of the shopping carts in the parks, streets and vacant lots. A profile on who is most likely to steal one of these carts and why? What businesses all around the country are doing to solve the abandoned shopping cart dilema. Creative solutions from readers ?. Artistic and otherwise.
2. Form a group to meet with BJ?s management and address the issue in person. Include a reporter from the local paper to cover the meeting. 3. Get the Neighborhood Association involved to A) request police action on the issue and B) invite a BJ?s rep to address the issue at a high profile neighborhood association meeting. 4. Approach Chief Comey with a suggestion that officers in any type of moving vehicle issue tickets to anyone seen pushing a cart. Those fines are a good way to raise revenue and improve the quality of life in JC. Set up a PR campaign to promote the ?shopping cart initiative.? 5. Create a ?Shame on YOU? photo campaign where everyone with a camera phone takes a photo of a person pushing a cart on a public street, actively breaking the law, send it to BJ?s, the police, and post it on a bullein board, Internet or otherwise. I can?t imagine that there would be privacy issues photographing someone in a public space, but I?m not a lawyer. 6. Any one else have any suggestions short of destroying the carts and badgering BJ?s?
Posted on: 2008/6/26 0:07
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Newbie
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2008/6/23 17:39 Last Login : 2009/4/7 2:57 From Pavonia Newport or Newport Pavonia
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Not that this idea is a solution but whenever I see a herd of abandon shopping carts I just want to weld them all together and make shopping cart art.
Posted on: 2008/6/25 23:40
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Home away from home
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Quote:
2dog, the carts are all over our neighborhoods, what would you propose we do about it. The police will not issue fines to people who take the carts, I have called them to report a person wheeling a cart up Newark Ave and they said you have to call BJ's about it. The police don't want to be bothered with it. BJ's carts are the only carts I see around because they don't have the wheelocks..case closed. Upon calling BJ's about the problem they basically said there is no problem and they will do nothing about their lack of an anti-theft program. If people were going into Bj's and stealing merchandise off their shelves they would do something about it ..right? Well why won't they prevent the theft of their $200-$400 shopping carts. We want our neighborhoods shopping cart free, carts make them look filthy and ghetto. Since the police will not ticket cart stealers, how do YOU propose we stop this neverending problem?? Jaah
Posted on: 2008/6/25 23:04
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Quite a regular
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Dear Elvis:
FYI some of the BJ carts do have locks on them and some of BJ?s carts do require a deposit of $20 to use. E-mails are the coward?s way out. Since you have such a vendetta against the club, why don?t you go there in person, Elvis. The club has long hours, both day and night. And since you are cheering him on Jaah, why don?t you join him. You both claim that BJ?s does nothing to retrieve their carts. Are you both so naive that you seriously believe that BJ?s wants to lose between $200 - $400 per cart per day? Every destroyed cart costs the club money ? costs that are eventually passed on to the shoppers. I sincerely doubt either one of you is a member. If you were, you would have a different perspective on the matter. I?ve shopped in BJ?s since it opened. BJ?s has sponsored some wonderful educational, social, cultural, and charitable programs over the years. I know for a fact that they?ve tried countless ways to stop shopping cart theft, but if the thief really wants to take one, there is virtually nothing that can be done to stop it. I have seen ShopRite carts, Target carts, Bed, Bath & Beyond carts, and now, Morton carts. I can?t tell you how many of them have been left on my corner. The solution continues to be requesting that the police issue a ticket to anyone walking down the street pushing a shopping cart. And Jaah, a lot of local institutions will be hurt when BJ?s leaves. I do hope you plan to open your pocketbook to help defray some of their costs.
Posted on: 2008/6/25 22:38
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Home away from home
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The residents of 50 Columbus should be happy
These guys where moving bags from the SR cart, that locked, to a BJs cart.
Going to 50 C?
Posted on: 2008/6/25 22:29
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Home away from home
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Great work Elvis, thanks alot for your attention and effort reguarding this problem. Hopefully you can get through to these people. I will continue to call the JCIA inspectors line whenever I see a cart and have them picked up and destroyed. I recently went to an HDSID meeting and spoke to the board about this issue. They agreed that it was a problem and that they would send a letter to BJ's telling them that for every shopping cart picked up by the JCIA, a fine will be issued. I also was told that the area in which BJ's resides is due to be redeveloped and that BJ's may not be around much longer. How much longer..I don't know.
Thanks again Elvis, lets keep the pressure on BJ's! Jaah
Posted on: 2008/6/25 21:49
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Home away from home
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OK. After many attempts at contacting BJs and speaking with Mr. Hebert, I got frustrated enough to send out a good old fashion email carpet bomb. This is what it said:
Hopefully To: Someone Who Actually Cares: RE: The BJS Shopping Carts that litter my neighborhood. Recently, I called the local Jersey City BJ's to talk about the cart situation that needed addressing in my neighborhood. They are constantly being taken from the lot and left littering our neighborhood. Now there is a Shop Rite right next door to the BJ's and their carts are never stolen. Its only BJs. I was told by a Tom Wrider "BJ's Manager" that those electronic shop Rite Cart things dont work! Which was good to know considering I have never seen a Shop Rite cart outside of their lot ever! He also told me that is was all the JC residents fault and said that maybe I should mind my own business. This is where I got a tad defensive as he was attacking me. I said "I respectfully disagree. I have never seen a Shop Rite or Pathmark Cart out of their lot" To which he responded by telling me I was wrong. Bottom line, I was told Tim Hebert is the man to talk to when you call, although I have yet speak with him after numerous attempts to call. Me and my fellow residents have been trying to get something together in order to stop this nonsense and get Bj's to work with our community instead of pointing fingers. So far, no one at BJ's cares. To solve the problem, I propose either a lock on the wheels of the carts so they stop rolling after taken off the lot, or some sort of deposit to use one. I have attached photos of the many carts that litter my streets. I appreciate the time you took to read this letter, and hope this issue can be resolved soon. So that was sent out yesterday. Today I get an email from none other than Tim Hebert in my inbox: I would like to speak with you regarding your email about the shopping carts and your subsequent phone call to my club. I am in the club during the day for the rest of the week. The phone number here is 201-798-0500. Also my cell # is 862-***-**** although my service inside the building is sketchy at best. If you cannot reach me during my business time you can feel free to reach me at night at that number. I would like to apologize for the inconveniences you have gone through already and would like to discuss what measures we have in place and some of the reasons for our cart situation. I am looking forward to speaking with you. Notice no talk of an actual solution. Alas, I tried him twice today at BJs and he wasn't there. I will keep trying until I get him.
Posted on: 2008/6/25 20:43
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I have a a pic of a white dude pushing his groceries down Warren and a few other strays.
Posted on: 2008/6/24 22:40
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Do we have enough pics for consumerist.com yet?
Posted on: 2008/6/24 15:48
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pathmark on 440 has a quarter lock thing on their carts, you pay a quarter to unlock the cart, use it, then lock it back up to get your quarter back.... the only thing is 440 is a lot more desolate than downtown jersey city, so there's not much you can walk to other than society hill, and i highly doubt the people at the gate at society hill would allow a shopping cart through to just linger there.
Posted on: 2008/6/23 15:22
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