Trolley Maintenance and How Supermarket Owners Must Adjust to the New Norm

May 29, 2020

When shopping for goods and products, customers would frequently use trolleys to store their desired products before paying them at the counter. While trolleys provide convenience for shoppers, they can also be the main culprit behind getting sick.

You see, different case studies have concluded that shopping trolleys are mostly contaminated by numerous bacterial species, especially if they are not maintained well. The bacterial levels found on these trolleys are even higher compared to those found in public restrooms, airports, bus stations, and other public places. As bacteria, germs, and other harmful organisms linger on the handles and other parts of the trolley, they can eventually transfer to people and contract them with diseases.

Adjusting to the New Normal

The global pandemic has changed the way we behave and interact with other people and our surroundings. We are inclined to practice social distancing to avoid the spread of any disease for our safety. We are also encouraged to cover our nose or mouth whenever we cough or sneeze since any of our droplets may be launched into the air and lands into other people, surfaces, or objects.

Touching a surface or object that has a virus on it and subsequently touching our own mouth, nose, or eyes can get us to contract a contagious disease. Additionally, some diseases can live for hours or days on a surface, which can be troubling considering that some surfaces or objects are only cleaned once a week or even once a month.

As a supermarket owner, one important adjustment that you can do is to regularly maintain and sanitise your trolleys, alcohol dispensers, door handles, and other objects. Another adjustment that supermarket owners must do is to provide sanitary wipes to consumers. These wipes can help them eradicate germs without needing to go to the bathroom or spray alcohol all over the place.

Maintaining Shopping Trolleys

Among the mentioned objects above, trolleys are the ones that must be maintained thoroughly since they are considered the most used item in your store. Additionally, these trolleys must be prioritised since bacteria, germs, and viruses are always present on their surfaces.

One effective way of maintaining shopping trolleys is to use sanitary wipes. Before returning a used trolley to its designated places, your staff may sanitise it first with sanitary wipes. Wiping off the handle and other parts of a trolley with sanitary wipes can effectively get rid of bacteria and other harmful microbes. If you want, you can also offer sanitary wipes to the customers for them to ensure that their trolley is certainly clean and sanitised.

Shopping trolleys can also be maintained by washing them with alkaline detergent and quaternary ammonium. The combination of these two compounds can effectively eliminate germs and microbes from all parts of the shopping trolleys. You can also apply special types of high-pressure cleaning in maintaining and cleaning your trolleys. This type of maintenance can be performed in batches since you still need to have shopping trolleys available for your customers.

Proper maintenance of your shopping trolleys can help you adjust and adapt to the new norm that is now set by the sudden changes in our surroundings during these trying times. If you want to know more about the proper maintenance of shopping trolleys and other supermarket objects and surfaces, feel free to ask us at SOS Retail Sales.

Head Office VIC

SOS Retail Sales
16 Brett Drive, Carrum Downs Vic 3201
Ph: 1300 131 383
Fax: 03 9775 0733

NSW Office

SOS Maintenance Services Pty Ltd
1/6 Smoothy Place, Arndell Park NSW 2148
Ph: 1300 131 383

Email: [email protected]