Dubai: Hundreds of shopping trolleys go missing from Dubai malls every month because of irresponsible shoppers who roll the carts to their homes without realising that their action amounts to theft.
Security officers at hypermarkets and departmental stores here told XPRESS the problem has assumed disturbing proportions in recent times.
"We lose anywhere between 50-60 trolleys each month. That's roughly 700 a year. It's such a big headache that every few days we have to dispatch a truck to round up abandoned trolleys from the neighbourhood. But despite our best efforts hundreds of carts are never found," said a security officer at Geant Hypermarket in Ibn Battuta Mall.
Rampant problem
The problem is rampant elsewhere too, but it's Ibn Battuta which perhaps loses more trolleys than any other mall or shopping centre in Dubai. A security officer at the mall's Homes r Us furniture store which has lost 75 per cent of its trolley fleet since its opening last August blamed it on the mall's proximity to residential areas and labour camps.
"Most of our trolleys invariably wind up in Jebel Ali labour camps and apartments at Discovery Gardens. When we opened this store, we had 145 trolleys. Nine months down the line we are left with barely 30," he said.
"Many shoppers dump their trolleys at the Metro station. By the time we go to collect them, they have already been confiscated by authorities," he added.
Then there are deliberate thefts - shoppers who drive away with trolleys in pick-ups and SUVs.
A store owner said they don't confront suspected trolley thieves because they fear losing a customer. "There should be a legislation about trolleys. We don't want the police to go arresting people but it's time something was done and fast."
Shopping trolleys don't come cheap. They cost Dh500 apiece. A manager at a popular hypermarket chain said the loss of shopping trolleys is cutting heavily into their business.
A security staff at Lulu hypermarket in Al Barsha said he has retrieved trolleys from streets, pavements, staircases of buildings and even grocery and laundry stores. "Sometimes they are so beat up that we had to discard them," he said. "Usually people give it back right away but sometimes they remain adamant - like an elderly man who used the cart as a walker. There was no point arguing with him so I let him keep it," he added.
A security manager at Carrefour in Mall of Emirates said shoppers should leave the trolleys at the designated areas in parking lots.
A security personnel at another hypermarket said he has found so many uses of the cart he has lost count. "I have seen them being used as laundry baskets, dog kennels, picnic trolleys. In some buildings they are used to wheel out trash."
So, can anti-theft devices like the ones used in certain countries combat the problem?
"Perhaps," said a hypermarket manager. "There will always be a lot of fancy security devices, but there will always be a thief who will manage to slip away."
