Cart Cart Go Away

 So our competitor store recently moved locations.

To be closer to my store.

Like literally they're now only one block away from us. Like you go from one stop light to the next stoplight and you'll be able to reach their store. 

Which, I'm supposing they moved locations to be more on the main roadway between the two universities in our area. 

And like, we figured that we'd have a bit more trouble with customers. In that they'd confuse our location with their location and come to either pick up orders or their grooming appointments and discover that they'd gone to the wrong store. 

We even had the local police confuse our store with their store when an officer dropped by stating that they'd receive a 911 call from our store....only when I was shown the address the call came from....had to tell the officer that they needed to go to the other pet store just up the road as the address they showed me wasn't for our store. 

So yah.

We were expecting some confusion.

What we weren't expecting....was the carts.

Someone....someone has been leaving the competitor's carts in our parking lot.

First it was just one.

But today a Second one showed up.

And like. It showed up in one of the stalls.

And we'd tried to keep it as far away from our doors as possible. 

And hoped that it would find it's way back to the competitor's lot. 

As none of us really wanted to walk the cart or drive said cart back to the other store.

....I do think one of our workers did take the cart back.

Only for it to reappear a few days later.

*exhales*

And the most annoying thing?

It kept appearing inside the store. >_< 

Like we would never purposely bring it inside our doors.

And yet we'd see customers walking around inside with it.

It would appear in the vestibule and be with our other carts.

Like this morning, we opened our doors and there was no competitor cart in the store and then like 15 minutes later it magically appeared inside.

And it's sooooo frustrating.

Because I know that customers can't tell us apart. We have customers confuse our two petstores all the time.

But like...if the cart is a completely different color from the rest of the carts and has a different NAME than the rest of the carts you'd think you'd realize it didn't belong there.

Of course customers can't read. 

But yah.

Yesterday I ended up moving the competitor's cart over to the side of the store far away from any normal path a customer would take into the store. Decreasing the chances of it coming back to our doors.

And THAT's when the second cart appeared. Ugh.

And the first cart apparently somehow ended up in the street because a customer came in and was like "One of your carts is in the middle of the road" *rolls eyes*

It was the competitor's cart in a bike lane. Not ours.

And the second cart was hanging with all our other carts.... so I moved that cart over to the grassy area as well and pulled the first cart back onto the grass as well.

But I have to just wonder why they're appearing here.

Like I want to think it's just someone borrowing the cart and leaving it in our lot.

Like one of our own shopping carts ended up 2 blocks away once so it's not implausible.

But I halfway wonder if it's some worker from the competitor store.

Purposely leaving carts in our lot to kinda 'advertise' their business.

Which. Rude.

I'm halway tempted to take one of our carts and leave it in their lot to return the favor. To just be petty like that.

But yah. I don't get why they'd do it on purpose.....

Though maybe their store is struggling and they're trying to get business? 

Who knows.

Still. I hope we don't end up with all their carts at our store. 

Though if we do maybe they'll come and actually get them.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi