So, Lucy and I are out shopping.
And we get to our favorite store and we find this sign in the parking lot:
Really?
How exactly does this work??
It stops me cold. Every. Single. Time.
Seriously. My synapses are on warp-speed. Is this really for real?
So we walk a little further.
Ah! The Perimeter! (ignore it….)
I'd be lying if I told you this wasn't incredibly tempting. My imagination is so completely captured by the whole locking shopping cart concept that I feel a bit crazed.
However, since I spend most of my shopping hours in this store….
I'd hate to find out the hard way that the whole "secure shopping cart perimeter" thing was not some elaborate corporate joke.
Still, I can't help it. I makes me crazy and I'm completely driven to distraction.
Me (staring blindly up at the sign): "I can't remember what we came here for."
Lucy: "Well… I know we didn't come to test the boundaries of the Shopping Cart Perimeter."
Quick review: I'm supposed to be the responsible one here, right? She knows me so well….. 😉
Oh, DO IT!!!! You will have answered the question for all of us…you will be famous…well, MORE famous….what is the worst that could happen? Grab another cart if it locks yours….ok, so just get to the edge of the parameter and PUSH the cart over the line and see what happens…c’mon Martha, this is your big chance! And don’t forget to videotape:)
I’m with Kiki. Try it! I sort of wish they had those here in ‘Bama so I could give it a go. This could be your big, prize winning expose!
Marta,It’s probably an RFID tag embedded in the shopping cart. There is probably an RFID reader somewhere in TARGET. When the RFID reader no longer detects the RFID tag (because it has roamed beyond its detection zone), it sends a signal causing the wheels to lock.
Don’t listen to your future attorney …
George
…wait, you’re not seriously saying you *DIDN’T* test it out?!!!*sigh*
Ok, tell me where.
I’m onnit.
This totally speaks to me.
–no seriously. I’m headed out to do some shopping today. where, where, where!!
OK, Marta. This is probably an overkill from my end.But, if you look at the sign, the system is made by Gatekeeper Systems: see http://www.gatekeepersystems.com/
They also have a US Patent 7,397,373 on the technology. If you want a pdf copy of the patent, let me know.
George
Thanks for that, George.I watched the video and if you notice, the Pushout Thief is a blond in a mini-skirt. Is this some kind of profiling?
I feel completely in control now.
(still, how far do you think you could get before those wheels actually lock? Hmm….)
I’m all facockta over here now wanting to try this! Please, for those of us without fancy carts in our end of the ponderosa, DO IT!!!! Do it and film it!! Inquiring minds…or is it enquiring. Lotta good an English major did me.
As a developer of shopping centers I can assure you the wheels will lock and you would have been quite embarrassed. The local jurisdictions make us put these in so they aren’t chasing carts all over town. You have no idea what a black market there is for shopping carts!
If I cannot convince Mami to do this . . . I will hire Adam . . . and Lucy. This could be fun!
Marta,You are not going to belive this, but my mom and her friend went to Target and they did not see the sign. When they got to the restricted area they didn’t know what was happening to the shopping cart, so these two 70 year old ladies decided to lift the shopping cart and carry it all the way to their car.
LOL!!!! I couldn’t believe it when she told me. I asked her why didn’t they just take the bags out of the shopping cart and leave the cart behind, she couldn’t answer me!!!! LOL!!!! These Cuban ladies love a challenge.
OK, Marta. I’m like Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti. I’m still looking for the video with the blonde in the Mini…..can’t find it! Help!
Oh, goodness! I would so love to see this in action! :)BTW, I’m all caught up – I’ve read through all of the achives. Thanks for the laughs, recipes, and inspiration.
George,I went to the link you gave me and clicked here:
http://www.gatekeepersystems.com/sol_lp_purchek_how_it_works.php
Home > Solutions > Loss Prevention > purchek > purchek, How It Works.
And I dutifully watched the video where the blond in the mini tries to steal a cartload of merchandise. Compelling stuff! =D
You crack me up.
Ody,I swear to you that I have a VIVID imagination and the thought of two Cuban ladies lifting the shopping cart when the wheels lock….. well, I find myself thinking about it at random times and going into spasms of laughter. Your mom sounds so much like mine. LOL
Missy,
I LOVE that you read all my stuff!! Glad you are here and welcome to the party.
Marta
Haha Marta that made me laugh now I need to go do the same and get back to you lol. I’m very how would my grandma say it, “descarado, sin verguenza” haha, I’ll grab that shopping cart even if it makes a commotion and everyone stares lol.I remember in the mall the stairs where going up and me and one of my friends were like, “I wonder if we can make it down going on the escalator that’s going up if we do it really fast and jump at the end” lol I did and was able to make it our other friends pretended they didn’t know us since we probably looked like retards.
I wouldn’t want you guys to think my mom was shoplifting. LOL!!! She and her friend had already paid for her merchandise. The wheels locked when they reached the perimeter of the parking lot. The wheels locked because they had parked closer to the store next door and walked to Target. When they came out of the Target with the cart, they thought they could take the shopping cart to where they had parked their car. When the wheels locked on them, they got confused and decided to lift the cart and carry it to their car. I guess the alarm doesn’t sound off inside the store if you cross the restricted area in the parking lot. LOL!!!! My mom is something else!!!