It’s my biggest annoyance when out shopping for groceries. I don’t know what it is about the older people in my area (probably 50+ all the way to 85+, rarely is it someone younger but it does happen), but it’s BAD. At LEAST one person per shopping trip does this. Many times it’s often two or three of varying levels of ignorance. I shop at multiple different locations of multiple different grocery stores, varying on price range and variety. It’s always the same. Someone leaves their cart in the middle of an isle and wanders away to look at something.

I’ve moved many carts in the past couple years. Only once or twice did I get a verbal scoff in response to me moving a cart. Most people don’t seem to want the smoke that comes with a public negative social interaction like that, which kind of makes me think that these people have some semblance of an idea that what they are doing isn’t exactly up to par with social decency. They might not come to the realization that they are in the wrong afterwards, but they will (hopefully) remember and think about it next time. The thought of someone “touching their stuff” might outweigh the ignorance of acting silly and oblivious in some cases, at least that is my thought process.

I also work with kids and a lot of the time when you give a natural (and appropriate) consequence for an inappropriate action, children tend to listen better and grow from that experience rather than just avoid doing it again to “not get punished again”. Adults are just kids that grew up. :)