LOOK WHAT'S FALLING FROM THE SKY — The Consumer Playbook

Is it just me, or does anyone else notice the bird droppings on supermarket carts?

I asked my fastidious friend, Patti, if she agreed that this is a problem. “Well," she said, “you put the food in plastic bags so it really doesn’t have to touch the cart.”
“Yes”, I replied, "but sometimes, I may want to put the whole bag in the refrigerator. And….yuck.”
As comedian Robert Klein said in an old and only partially remembered bit—“There is no acceptable amount of rat hair in my tuna fish.” In my case, there is no acceptable amount of bird droppings in my cart.
At any rate, I am seeing more anointed shopping carts than I can recall in the past. Or, maybe I just wasn’t looking so closely way back when. I don’t want my shopping bags resting on bird droppings. And I wouldn’t put our Avery—or any other child—in an anointed cart.
I won’t go into the dangers of bird stuff. But, once again, suffice it to say ...“yuck”.
What to do? I’ve looked for oversight in various places, depending on which market had been oblivious to their poo’d on carts. I’ve spoken with store managers, managers of the shopping centers where the market is located, and, finally, to the township Sanitation Department. For the most part, they’ve been responsive, and there's less bird gift. Actual oversight would be from the county Department of Health. I choose not to take that route. Why? Because sometimes, escalation can backfire.
* I don’t know the players in the department.
* I’m worried that they may take more draconian measures than are necessary. There is the real possibility that they could go into bureaucratic mode and shut down the market altogether. That’s not my goal, and it’s not beneficial to anyone.
* Be careful before you take action. Think the problem through and consider consequences before you go up the chain. You could be doing more harm than good.
Lovely weather
Birds are flying and hopping
I’m just not happy
With their droppings
On my shopping cart