In the era of bank cards, not everyone always has the coins needed to unlock a supermarket trolley. How to do without spare change?
Each household often makes stops in supermarkets or large areas to do their shopping. To put all your purchases there, you must have a trolley, often attached to others by a secure chain system. To release it, you must insert a coin in the space provided for this purpose (usually €1 or €2). Even though this system is not new and is widely used, many now find themselves in the situation where they cannot unlock the cart, simply because they have no coins on them. This is due to the gradual transition from cash payments to card payments. As a result, we don’t always realize that we don’t have loose change to unlock the cart. What to do in such a situation?
This is where the keys you have with you (to your house for example) can come in handy. They can unlock the safety mechanism of the trolleys in several ways. The easiest is to try unlocking the cart with the round part of the key – it might just fit the opening and work like a piece, like in the photo below. However, bear in mind that the key will need to remain in place until the carts are re-attached, i.e. when you finish shopping, which can be inconvenient.
The other technique, a little more complex, is to try to position two keys in the shape of scissors, so that the “teeth” are on the outside. Then push forward as in the photo below so that the keys release the locks located on the sides of the mechanism. When it unlocks, slowly remove the keys.
Before looking for alternatives to currency, be aware that some stores offer free tokens similar in shape to coins. They unlock carts the same way coins do, so there’s no need to “tinker”. Just go to the cashier and ask the cashier for a token.
Finally, be aware that many key fobs actually have a token inside. This is the case with the key fobs of many car brands. The round part of the keychain detaches and miraculously turns into a trolley token. But if you use it, remember to get it back at the end of your shopping otherwise your keychain will be amputated for the rest of its life.
