They are square about twenty-five by twenty five feet with a height of about twenty feet. The exterior matches the colors and textures of the rest of the series of structures. In the Oklahoma green garden gates, it is stucco with southwest colors and accents. The floor is concrete, a highly polished and machine troweled. There is no heat, air conditioning and it is not insulated as it is used only during the spring to early fall gardening seasons. The upper part of the buildings are glass to give the customer a hint of "greenhouse" to our business. It is equipped with water, electrical and metal halide lighting fixtures.
We wanted more than just a greenhouse look with the structures. We discovered a group of young image designers in Nebraska who were developing a projection system able to shoot words and images from the inside onto large areas of glass and be highly visible for long distances outside the building. We imagined projecting fields of red poppies, black eyed susan or bee balm flowers of contrasting colors and shapes for our customers to view as they drove past green garden gates. The group agreed to install their new creation at green garden gates as a test of the technology.
Now, when the customers pass our store, they are treated to a dramatic color adventure in gardening with images or scenes or just changing hues of pleasing color.
Special signing can be also displayed on the front glass panels of the bookend buildings. An electric eye sensor measures the light of the day and turns off and on the system during anytime night or day.
Bookend #1
This is a transitional commuting building for our customers. They enter our world from this point, pick up a shopping cart, view the hot specials as they pass, pick up a cool drink or maybe a snack and move to areas of our store. We see this area as open and uncluttered, similar to a small lobby area. It is intended for our customers to "transition" and gather their thoughts before they enter the activity of the store. There is a large area carpet on the floor and the walls have esconce lighting, with cool soothing wall colors. The customer is greeted by a large square screen of 12 flat panel monitors placed together above the refreshment entrance with the colors and sounds of plants growing in fields and groups. We may allow one beautiful display of some gardening prop as they pass by to enter the plant area. This area is shielded from the exiting and checkout traffic activity by movable screens. This area is subdued and open and as quiet as possible. It is our "landing zone".
"Whatever is in the zone they cross before making that transition (from the parking lot to the inside of the store) is pretty much lost on them. If there is a display of merchandise, they are not going to take it in. If there is a sign, they will probably be moving too fast to absorb what it says. If the sales staff hits them with a hearty "Can I help you?" that answer is going to be "No, thanks." I guarantee it. Put a pile of fliers or a stack of shopping baskets just inside the door and shoppers will barely see them, and will almost never pick them up. Move them ten feet in and the fliers and baskets will disappear. It's the law of nature-shoppers need a landing strip"
"Why We Buy"
by Paco Underhill
#N shopping cart storage
This in an indoor out of the weather storage for clean dry shopping carts. There are other areas for shopping carts in the front of the structures. Shopping baskets are farther into this area just as they exit to the plants and products
#S Entrance Doors
This is the only entrance to green garden gates. There are two standard automatic glass doors.
(also, there is one additional solid panel garage door for another checkout area one very busy days. It is closed on cold days so the checkers won't freeze to death!)
#O Refreshment area
This area has inside servicing as well as an outside seating area, #W. The vending machines, snack machines and water cooler are located here. There are counters installed here for volunteer groups to serve snacks on busy days to earn money for their organizations. We have installed 220 power outlets and special restaurant utilities as we anticipate a small cafe service in the future. We see this as a quiet "sidewalk cafe" atmosphere. There are some selected books and magazines to browse and comfortable chairs with tables for some quiet conversation.
#P and #Q "Presentation Doors
These doors introduce our customers to the world of what we offer the gardener at green garden gates. #Q are standard sized automatic glass doors and #P are solid garage doors that are opened during the busy season and closed if the weather is bad and when we slow down after the peak season
A word about automatic doors......they are expensive but they are well worth the investment. We want them in some vital areas of the store, but we also want to be economical about it when it comes to doors that are not used as much during the season
#M and and the entire front of this series of buildings will be discussed in a later entry
Bookend #2
We have designed #2 to be a place for receiving, storage, repair and maintenance, as well as the restrooms for customers and employees. It has the same design as #1, with the same glass imaging roof and signing. It does not have windows in the front, but rather architectural relief indents for design appeal. Here are some of the features:
#C and #D Public Restrooms
In keeping with our philosophy of equal access bathrooms for the sexes, these are unisex facilities. They are equipped with low volume water flush toilets and urinals, tables and hooks for hanging clothing and storing purses and bags, baby changing stations, and automatic seat protectors. We have installed door handles that do not have to be touched with the hands and open and close with a push of the forearm ( our research indicates that customers, especially women do not want to turn a knob to a bathroom with their hands)
“If I bought a gas station tomorrow, the first thing I’d do is put up a huge sign saying ‘Cleanest Bathrooms of Any Gas Station Anywhere’. Gas stations persist in displaying most prominently the price per gallon, down to the tenth of a cent, as though we even think that small. Gas is gas, and prices are fairly uniform, too. But clean bathrooms would draw female drivers, who make more use of facilities and so have more bitter complaints about horrible, filthy conditions.
“Why We Buy”
By
If you want to see how the owners of businesses regard their customers, take a trip to the restrooms if you can find them! As mentioned, they are heated and air conditioned with polished concrete floors. They contain all the amenities, including baby changing stations. They are gender neutral, so that they are available to all at any time. There are no men’s urinals in either, only toilets. They are monitored each hour for cleanliness. We have found that men, especially older men, are very concerned about the location and accessibility to bathrooms. We want those customers to not feel constrained in any way when they are shopping.
Checklist for the bathrooms
A. Are the bathrooms clearly marked for our customers?
Yes, in many locations in the store. They are large signs and clear directions to get to them
If you want to run out your older male customers before that are done spending money at your store, make it difficult to find the bathroom! When they "gotta go", they need to find the facility fast. Here are two examples of bathroom signing. Which one could you find in an emergency?
B. Are there men's and women's bathrooms?
No, we have chosen unisex bathrooms for our customers. We have seen the line-up of women waiting to get into their marked facility and the other mens bathroom just empty. We don't want that at all at green garden gates
C. Is there a shower for spilled chemical emergencies?
Yes, we have installed a shower for those emergencies.
D. Are the bathrooms cleaned and maintained with assigned tasks?
Yes, There are assigned hourly duties to check on the bathrooms. We have contracted with a service company to clean the bathrooms each morning during the season
E. Are there modern paper towel holders and toilet shield holders?
Yes
F. Is there disinfectant soap available in all bathrooms?
Yes
G. Are there baby changing stations in the bathrooms?
Yes, each bathroom has a baby changing station
H. Are there adequate hooks for clothing?
Yes, there are a number of hooks available in each bathroom
I. Is there a table or shelf available for purses, etc?
Yes, each bathroom has a small table
J. Are the handles to the bathrooms able to open without hand touching?
Yes, we have found that women customers especially do not like to touch their hands on bathroom doorknobs. We have installed handles that only requires our customer to push the door open with the forearm.
K. Is there an emergency call button in the bathrooms?
Yes, we are aware that many gardening customers are elderly and may need some assistance while they are in the bathrooms. The notification goes to the main checkout counter where the call will be passed to the manager.
#V Tool Room
This open area is for the storage of tools and a workbench for the repair and maintenance of our equipment and facility.
#F Dry Goods Receiving
Most of the area is designed for receiving, processing and pricing of products that require a dry, clean area. Deliveries are made to the garage door #L and they can be palleted to anywhere in the store from this location. In the off season, equipment can be stored here and maintenance can be performed in this area.
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