NTUC urges customers return trolleys after lose 200 a mth

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 11:29

  Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, February 11

  FairPrice urges customers to return trolleys after losing 200 a month

  SINGAPORE: Return the trolley once you are done shopping — is a message that has been heard for years. But are shoppers listening? Apparently not, going by the scale of the problem that supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice has to grapple with.

  Everyday, FairPrice has more than 10 retail assistants going around to collect trolleys dumped by inconsiderate shoppers. Some were even left them about two kilometres away.

  Yeo Teck Lye, retail assistant, NTUC FairPrice, said: "The furthest I’ve gone is Bishan Park. Someone complained of an abandoned trolley there. So I took the bus and wheeled it back by foot. It took me 25 minutes."

  Leaving the trolleys in all the wrong places may be a convenient habit for some, but it is hard work retrieving them.

  It is a problem that will not go away despite measures like the S$1 coin—deposit system and public awareness campaigns.

  FairPrice lost 2,403 trolleys last year — that is S$150,000 in replacement and repair costs. Two main reasons among shoppers are laziness and inconvenience.

  Ironically, a survey done by the supermarket found that nine out of ten culprits know they have to return the trolleys.

  Seah Kian Peng, managing director, Group Business, NTUC FairPrice, said: "What we really hope is a change in behaviour. We want to tell all shoppers who are not doing the right behaviour to be considerate and think of other shoppers.

  "It’s not just one trolley. For one trolley that’s not around, you inconvenience many other shoppers who, as a result, are unable to use the trolley when they need it, especially during this festive season."

  In the last Lunar New Year, about 300 trolleys went missing — 100 more than the average 200 a month.

  FairPrice said now is the best time to rev up on the awareness. It is working with the Singapore Kindness Movement to educate shoppers to reverse this trend. — CNA/vm

   

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 11:29

  Yes, it is some shoppers fault for not returning the trolleys.    Complaining about losing $200 a month, do they grumble and complain about earning so much profits $$$$$$$$$ from the people??

  Seems NTUC is the only one grumbling and complain about this problem, I don't see other supermarket chains like Cold Storage, Shop N Save and Giant complain.    Lee Kuan Yew said "Singaporeans are champion grumblers" in National Geographic, now  I would like to quote "NTUC are champion grumblers" - same like the govt who owns NTUC - keep grumbling about Singaporeans who feed them. 

• dragg

  11 Feb 10, 11:54

  i dont understand why people are buying stuffs from supermarkets.

  most of the items are way too expensive.

   

   

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 11:55

  I only go there buy things that are cheaper than elsewhere.  

  It is true, most things in NTUC are expensive.   For eg , the shampoo are more expensive compared to other places.

• charlize

  11 Feb 10, 11:56

  Originally posted by dragg:

  i dont understand why people are buying stuffs from supermarkets.

  most of the items are way too expensive.

   

   

  Buy stuff from supermarket and get a free trolley for $1.

   

  Good deal.

• dragg

  11 Feb 10, 11:59

  Originally posted by charlize:

  Buy stuff from supermarket and get a free trolley for $1.

   

  Good deal.

  
  i wonder if anyone brought the trolleys home.

   

• charlize

  11 Feb 10, 12:00

  Originally posted by dragg:

  
  i wonder if anyone brought the trolleys home.

   

  Many people do that.

   

  That's why you see trolleys scattered all across the island.

• likeyou

  11 Feb 10, 13:02

  $1 slot change to $10 slot.

  Problem will be solved.

• Mr Milo

  11 Feb 10, 13:14

  Originally posted by charlize:

  Many people do that.

   

  That's why you see trolleys scattered all across the island.

  
  this keeps the economy going

• charlize

  11 Feb 10, 13:18

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

  
  this keeps the economy going

  Public transport fares so expensive and always so crowded and packed.

   

  Cheaper option is to get a trolley for $1 to ferry your groceries back home lor.

• Chew Bakar

  11 Feb 10, 13:18

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

  
  this keeps the economy going

  .... in trolleys.

  

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 13:20

  What they can do is offer some kind of incentives for a period of time to encourage customers return the trolleys.

  Why we don't heard their competitors complain about such problems?

• Chew Bakar

  11 Feb 10, 13:22

  Originally posted by Fantagf:

  What they can do is offer some kind of incentives for a period of time to encourage customers return the trolleys.

  Why we don't heard their competitors complain about such problems?

  May be they do but don't complain like them.

  

• Mr Milo

  11 Feb 10, 13:23

  Originally posted by charlize:

  Public transport fares so expensive and always so crowded and packed.

   

  Cheaper option is to get a trolley for $1 to ferry your groceries back home lor.

  
  Use it to travel from home to work and vice versa

  pack it with motors....boomz....boomz....boomz....

• likeyou

  11 Feb 10, 13:24

  Originally posted by Chew Bakar:

  May be they do but don't complain like them.

  

  
  They say one year they lost $xxx,xxx.

  Solution? Easy lah, up the price lor. Sure can write off the lost.

• Chew Bakar

  11 Feb 10, 13:25

  Originally posted by likeyou:

  
  They say one year they lost $xxx,xxx.

  Solution? Easy lah, up the price lor. Sure can write off the lost.

  Probably giving reasons to up prices. So not profiteering.

  

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 13:26

  Originally posted by Chew Bakar:

  May be they do but don't complain like them.

  

  
  What to do, they are linked to the King and champion of grumblers called the old heck.    will post old heck interview with National Geographic later.

• likeyou

  11 Feb 10, 13:26

  Originally posted by Chew Bakar:

  Probably giving reasons to up prices. So not profiteering.

  

  
  Oh....their excuses? Might be. :)

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 13:27

  They may come up with measures to solve this problem, may be take info on NRIC No and register to use trolleys.  If no return, they will fine.  do it the govt style

• redDUST

  11 Feb 10, 13:44

  i think singaporeans and FTs are equally at fault on this issue. i am not sure why this is still an issue in a supposedly developed country like singapore. this is such an anti-social behaviour and reflects poorly the maturity of the society in general in singapore.

• Mr Milo

  11 Feb 10, 13:50

   

  too convienent liao

  should use horse cart instead

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 13:58

  Mod, please do not remove my thread to other forum, this thread is originally posted in SG: Life in a dot.    

   

• Chew Bakar

  11 Feb 10, 13:58

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  too convienent liao

  should use horse cart instead

  

   

• Rooney9

  11 Feb 10, 13:59

  why dun NTUC impose a $10-$20 per trolley, which is refundable to you when you return the trolley. for $1, people can heck care about returning. maybe $10-$20 some rich people may also heck care about returning.

• Fantagf

  11 Feb 10, 14:05

  Originally posted by Rooney9:

  why dun NTUC impose a $10-$20 per trolley, which is refundable to you when you return the trolley. for $1, people can heck care about returning. maybe $10-$20 some rich people may also heck care about returning.

  Trolley costs more than $10-$20