Monday, September 8, 2008

Excuse me, can you read???

(Sorry for the grainy cell phone picture!)

On Mondays I do my grocery shopping. I shop at a fabulous grocery store called Wegman's. If there is one near you and you have never been there, you REALLY need to give it a shot.

Anyway, Wegman's cares about its customers. Their customer service is superb. One of my favorite parts of this great service is the way they try to make things easier on us moms who have to shop with our little kids. If the weather is bad, you can go and get your car, load your kids and pull up to the curb where the "helping hands" attendants will load your groceries for you. Anytime you need help getting to your car with your groceries they will help out, and most of the time they suggest it. You don't even have to ask! They have plenty of carts with special features for holding more than one child. And, in the parking lot, there are 10 parking spots just for those of us who are lugging along our small children.

Now, before I hop on my soapbox let me say this. There are three entrances to the store. The w/child spaces are spread out between these entrances. It is a huge store, with a huge parking lot and there are plenty of spaces near the doors that are neither handicapped or w/child spaces.

SO, why is it that people with no children at their side park in these spaces. Just about every time I go, there is someone parked in one of these spaces with no car seats in their car. Two seat Mercedes...no car seat in there. Motorcycle...no car seat there.

Do they just have no idea how hard it is to take little kids to the grocery store with you? Do they not care? Do they have kids, but are disgruntled because there were no such spaces when their kids were little and think that moms today have it too easy? Do they have kids, but have forgotten what it is like? I WANT to know.

Sure it is nice to get to park at the front of the store, but if you gave me the option of taking my kids and parking at the front of the store or going alone and hiking from the farthest spot in the lot, I would DEFINITELY choose the latter.

I have seen some of these people when they park. They aren't injured or crippled or feeble. They usually appear in a hurry and hop out of their vehicles and dart into the store. Why??? Probably to rush in and get lunch from the immense section of prepared foods and various take-out "stands." Listen, I know they are in a hurry and only have so much time to get their lunch, but for goodness sakes please just park a little farther away and get some exercise.
I am certainly getting mine by carrying a 15 pound baby in a 13 pound car seat while holding tightly to a squirming toddler.

....stepping down from the soapbox now.

18 comments:

Lindsay said...

LOL - so funny! I can relate - we have a store here that has "Future Mommy" on the sign and there is ALWAYS someone parked there - usually young teens. It's annoying. I really think people just get a kick out of breaking the rules. Manners people, manners!

carrhop said...

We had some stores in one of my previous home cities that had Expectant Mommy parking spots. There was a big bru-ha-ha in the local paper with people complaining about how pregnant women didn't need special spots near the front of the store--clearly written by the uninitiated who had never had to lug a toddler, 4 gallons of milk and a set of twins in utero back out to the car.....

Thanks so much for your generous comments over at my place--as always, I love coming over here to 'visit' you!
Blessings!

Casey's trio said...

Okay, I have never seen a store that does this, but I think it is a fantastic idea. And I would be upset at the morons parking there with no kids in tow too. maybe you should stuff a dirty diaper in their tailpipe:)

Unknown said...

First, that store sounds wonderful! Amazing!

Second, I agree with you 100%. Some people just don't get it. Or don't care.

Maybe one of them will read this and think...oh...she is right...

Jaysi said...

Oh, I am so with you on this one! It totally irritates me. Especially here in the 100+ temps. I mean give me a break Mr. Mercedes!

I need a store like that! Sounds like bliss!

Nina said...

Well said.... I only wish my grocry store had parking for moms. I usually park half way out at the middle of the lot next to the shopping carts. I get out and instantly load up the kids in a cart.

Amanda @ notsoextraordinary said...

I LOVE wegmans. I don't do all my shopping there, because it is kind of out of my budget, but for certain things i go there. and now we have a brand NEW one that is ohsofabulous and i will seriously go in there just to walk around and take it all in!

and I used to think that it was semi-excessive when I would see moms lug their huge strollers out of the back of the car to snap the infant carrier on... to walk in the store (or in my case preschool) however, yesterday, I began caring for a 5 month old 3 days a week and after lugging that thing in ONCE to pick up the 4 year old... I will now be pulling the stroller out of the trunk twice a day in order to not pass out from exhaustion once i get inside. those things are HEAVY!

Tyne said...

That makes me super cranky! Yes, I totally agree with you. The other thing that makes me crazy is when there are realllllllly long lines in drive-thrus, and nobody going in, and I have three kids in the car, and have to wait for twenty minutes to order a Happy Meal and #4 with Coke- and I am the only one in line with kids. errrr. grumpy.

Wendy said...

What a great deal for moms! We do not have that in our small town. I guess their will always be people to try to take more than their share.

imbeingheldhostage said...

oh, this gets me too! Our store is Tescos (actually most shops in England have these) and I can't believe it when I am trudging from the north forty in the pouring rain with baby in arms and toddler in tow to pass a young couple hopping into their car parked in MY spot. just wrong.

Laural Out Loud said...

It especially makes me mad when I saw a MAN park in one of those spots. I actually rolled down my window when a guy stole a spot from me when I was pregnant and asked him when he was due. He flipped me off. So I guess it's those type of people stealing spots from pregnant women and moms of young kids. Karma is a bitch.

Kristen said...

WOW! It does sound like you have one fabulous store to shop at though. I would love to even have those options available. Because anything little would help when it comes to shopping with little ones. Not my favorite thing, and first on my list of things to do tomorrow. Ugh.

Sorry that people take those spaces. Hope those people have heard of Karma, because sooner or later, it all seems to even out!

Great post!

Jaime said...

I am so totally with you on this one! We don't have those spots here, but I wish we did. I have actually joked about that with my sister, saying there should be something like that.

scrappysue said...

anonymously, people are lazy and inconsiderate. sad but true. you need to find one of tese lazy and inconsiderate people and have your baby drool all over them!!!

Carol said...

Drives me crazy too.

I am gonna have to start taking post-it's with me to the supermarket so that I can leave these people little nots thanking them for their selfishness.

Or maybe I'll invest in a wheel clamp instead.

Amy@theredheaddiaries.blogspot.com said...

I have always said there needed to be these types of parking spaces. How awesome!!! These are probably the same people parking in the handicapped spaces.

Anonymous said...

I want a Wegman's near me!!

Wendi said...

Sounds like someone needs to write an open letter.
I'm just saying!

Where can I find one of those stores?
Talk about customer service!