Let's be fair to Minty, she has commandeered the car to go and pick you up at the cart stop because while she doesn't understand your need to return it you are powerful and valuable to her (for the time being at least).
Edit: Also Astarion is mildly offended that you brought up the topic of returning the cart rather than leaving it in the parking lot angled down hill/wind to the most expensive car in the lot.
If you haven’t found Boo and his massive sidekick Minsc, you’re missing out. Boo is a miniature giant space hamster and Minsc is Minsc. They’re great fun and also level 12 whenever you recruit them so free max level companion, yay!
Every single shopping cart I've seen requires you to insert a coin to be unlocked, which you get back when you return it. Do other countries not have that?
Nah, they are too expensive to upkeep in the US. Grocery stores from Europe like Aldi keep trying the cart locks but we're very resistant to them and will do basically anything but put the coin in including break them.
We stopped doing it in Norway many years ago when society moved to debit cards. I would have assumed most of Western Europe to have made the change by now?
Ooo! He's that machine that some places have that charge a quarter to take the cart but refund it when you return it. That way he can do both by giving you the guilt trip when you take the cart.