One San Francisco Safeway has moved all shopping carts into the store after 160 of them were allegedly stolen last month, Hoodline reports.
A number of customers were amazed when they arrived at the grocery store on 2020 Market Street before the holiday weekend, only to find that there were no carts available in the outside bay near the entrance.
“Zero shopping carts. It appears they have all been removed, including the cart shelves that were in front of the store, ”read a Google review for the store posted by resident Paul Johnson on July 2nd. “How the hell are you supposed to buy things like bottled water? , Canned sodas, beer, seltzer or wine in the same visit ?? I tried Potrero Street and Mission Street. also shops. Zero.”
Another complaint from Upper Market resident Scott S. said that when a clerk asked for a car, he said they had all been stolen.
“They had a shipment of 160 carts last week and they were all taken away,” he wrote on a Facebook group for the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood, according to Hoodline. “What good is security if you can’t prevent someone with a shopping cart from leaving the property?”
Wendy Gutshall, a spokeswoman for the grocery chain, confirmed that changing the availability of shopping carts was an attempt to combat rising theft in the store and that customers must seek help if they want an employee to help them get their groceries their car.
“As with other retailers, the disappearance of shopping carts is an ongoing challenge,” Gutshall told Hoodline. “We are still looking for solutions to address additional shopping carts and send them to the Castro Safeway Store.”
Other large stores in the area are taking further action. Last week, almost every San Francisco destination – with the exception of the Stonestown location – reduced their hours to 9am to 6pm “security incidents” experienced by other businesses like Walgreens and H&M.
