ROUTE 9 — Employees arriving for the early shift found every shopping cart in the lot nested in its corral, in a single straight line, with the wheels locked.
“I have worked here eleven years,” said the store manager. “I have never once seen the lot like that.” Asked whether she was concerned, she said she was pleased and would prefer not to look into it.
At 3:04 a.m., carts across the lot began moving toward the corral. The Cart Corral Poltergeist directed them in order, a small whirlwind pushing the stragglers last. A single cart with a bad wheel was given its own lane.
Two loiterers near the loading dock left promptly when the first cart began rolling. They were not pursued. The report notes that “the carts were loud enough, and that was sufficient.”
One squeaky cart, never repaired. The store has agreed.