NTUC FairPrice yet to make police reports over abandoned trolleys this year but warns 'recalcitrant shoppers'

SINGAPORE: There have been no police reports made so far this year on people who abandon shopping trolleys, NTUC FairPrice said on Friday (Feb 11).

The issue was highlighted by FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng in a Jan 18 forum letter published in The Straits Times in which he said police reports would be lodged and "stern action" taken against errant users. He was responding to several forum letters about the issue of shoppers who abandon supermarket trolleys. 

While the supermarket says it has yet to go down the police route this year, a spokesman told CNA: "We reserve the right to do so to address recalcitrant shoppers who insist on abandoning trolleys even after our staff have advised them not to."

In his letter on Jan 18, Mr Seah said the company had received many proposals on how to better track the location of trolleys.

"Many have also proposed tightening the registration processes for trolley use," he added.

"To us, these are all second-order things which do not address the key issue which is fundamentally, irresponsible social behaviour."  

He added that several measures have been introduced to encourage responsible trolley use, which included a coin deposit system, trolley return bays located at convenient locations such as taxi stands, drop-off points, as well as public awareness campaigns. 

"Unfortunately, these have not been as effective as we would like them to be," said Mr Seah. 

Another measure that was tested and later discontinued was getting shoppers to register their trolley use. But this, Mr Seah said, inconvenienced all users when only a small number failed to return their trolleys. 

"As a principle, we do not believe in introducing measures that will inconvenience the large majority of shoppers who are dutifully doing the right thing," said Mr Seah. 

He added that FairPrice had piloted a system that would automatically lock the wheels when a trolley crossed "permissible boundaries". But people circumvented the system by damaging the embedded sensors. 

The "errant and irresponsible" behaviour of a small group of shoppers has created much unproductive work for supermarket staff, as well as inconvenience for shoppers, especially during peak hours when trolleys are in short supply, he said. 

"These acts are not condoned. So we will lodge police reports and take stern action against errant users to address this issue," said Mr Seah. 

But the company is "encouraged" that most of its shoppers are responsible trolley users, he said.

On Friday, FairPrice said that the shopping trolleys are provided as a "value-added" service for the convenience of its customers. 

"We appeal to the wider community to encourage one another to be civic-minded, forge a cohesive community spirit, and to return supermarket trolleys after use," said the spokesperson.