Occasionally I like to blog about some of my shopping trip experiences as well as coupons. Today is one of those days...

As many of you know, I am a stay-at-home mom, and when I shop, I do shop with my two preschool-aged sons. We went to the Algonquin Meijer today to check out the free water and cheap Kool-Aid/free sugar deals (check this post if you're interested in those!) and as usual, I had my boys in tow.

With two small children, finding the right cart that can seat them both is essential to a happy, easy shopping trip for everyone. Their favorite (and mine) are the truck-carts that most Jewel stores have. Meijer has these bench-seat carts, which also seat two children:

These carts were really nice when our Meijer first opened several years ago. But the carts at our Meijer are really in sad shape. There are usually three or four carts outside the store, as there were today. And, as I looked them over, trying to decide which one to seat my kids in, I noticed that some had broken seatbelts, all were filthy, and none of them were really functional.

The bench seat is attached to a regular shopping cart by four bolts attached to a platform under the cart -- and the handle that you push the cart with is on the back of this bench. And unfortunately, in all case, the bench platform is truly falling off each of the carts. There's a significant amount of rust on each platform, and the bench, which should be securely fastened to the cart, flops all over the place loosely.

Ironically, the platforms on all carts have a maintenance warning printed on top advising store personnel to make sure they are securely attached to the cart and properly maintained. But every one of the carts were loose and rickety.

I decided to try to find a store manager and ask about the condition of these carts. I picked the best-looking of the ones I saw (which isn't saying much) out of the cart corral and put the boys in. They held onto the cart and I buckled them in. As we walked to the store, my son held up his hand...

.... YUCK. Truly, this is how dirty these carts are!

Now, with the shopping cart not secured to the platform and part of the cart you're actually pushing, the cart wiggles all over the place and is impossible to push in a straight line. So we went in and found the manager.

I showed her the condition of the cart. She nodded and said someone was supposed to come and maintain the carts soon. I pointed out that you can't even push the cart and have it roll straight ahead -- I pushed it a couple of feet and it careened off to the left, with the platform sliding all over the place.

She offered to have an employee come tighten the bolts on the platform, and she asked me to take my sons out of the cart. I picked up my toddler, and as my 4-year-old climbed out of the cart, the seat broke. It made an awful cracking noise, and the bolts attaching the plastic bench's seat rails to the cart sheared off!

At this point, I asked if they had any functional carts that could seat two children. We discussed the TV Carts in the front of the store, which you can rent for a dollar. I told her I really did not want to spend a dollar renting a cart... (hey, I am all about saving, not spending..!)

I also showed her my sons' dirty hands. She brought out a canister of wipes and began wiping down the dirty cart.

An employee came with a toolbox, and when he tried to tighten the bolts, he could not, because they had rusted so badly that they were no longer attached to anything. He tried to straighten the platform with his hands so that it was parallel to the cart.

Meanwhile, the manager returned with cable ties. She was trying to cable-tie the seat back to the cart itself. And of course, I'm feeling incredibly apprehensive about putting my children in this cart at all!

She finished cable-tying the seat planks to the cart frame. The other employee stood up and gave the cart a push. As soon as the cart rolled, the seating platform slid off to the side again, almost "jackknifing" the cart and the seating platform in opposite angles.

I looked at the manager and said "Would YOU put your children in this cart?" She admitted that she would not.

After standing there for a few moments longer, the manager offered me a dollar so that I could get a TV Cart to put both boys in. Which I did, because over eighteen minutes had now passed.

But come on Meijer... there are a lot of parents that shop with kids, and there are also a lot of alternative places to grocery shop. Being able to shop -with- my kids is a high priority to me, and until these carts are fixed or replaced, it's nearly impossible to shop with both of them ... unless I RENT a $1 cart that seats two, because all of the other 2-seat carts are unsafe..?