I’m thinking of breaking up with the guy I’m dating because of the way he puts away carts.
We have only been dating for around a month and everything’s great except for the cart thing. We have gone to a few stores together and I have noticed that when we are done, he will leave the cart in the middle of another parking spot.
He refuses to put it away and gets upset if I decide to go put it away. He says, “that’s the cart people’s job” but like, you’re taking up a parking spot by putting your cart there.
It’s so annoying to me and I don’t understand why because other than this issue, he checks all my other boxes. He also isn’t rude to service workers but he seems to have a personal vendetta against shopping carts.
There was one time this past weekend where we went out and we parked right next to the vestibule and he refused to put the cart back there and then sulked when I did it.
My friends are telling me I’m being irrational but like, what did shopping carts ever do to him and why is he so against putting them back? I don’t know why it’s annoying me so much but it is.
I asked him today why he leaves the cart in a parking lot and he said, “by leaving the cart there, I’m making sure the cart people work hard. If you put a cart back, then you’re doing their job for them and no one should get a free pass.”
I said as someone who worked retail when I was younger, it’s usually just employees from the store and not designated people. Also the carts could block someone from parking or even hit someone’s car or a person depending on the weather.
He said, “well if the cart people are doing their job, then that shouldn’t happen. These accidents happening are evidence that some of the cart people are slacking off.”
I asked him why he doesn’t have this view towards other service workers and he said “because you see them working hard. At a restaurant, the server is serving you or the cashier is ringing you up. You don’t know that about the cart people.”
He then after this insane response tried to set up another date. I declined, and said we are incompatible and should probably see other people because I don’t agree with his view of service workers and that it is not his job to make sure strangers are doing their job.
He is saying I’m being dramatic and that he will talk to me tomorrow. I’m not fearful of my life or worried in any way. Though his views are absurd, it was a very calm conversation. So it’s done and that’s it. Also i don’t know why he persistently called them “cart people”.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.