This is our story of green garden gates, the most successful group of 746 garden centers in the United States. Follow our adventure building our first store which starts at entry #1, A little Zen, some Zip Ties and a lot of Zinnias! We welcome your questions and comments by posting to this blog or by contacting nickhudson@earthlink.net
(copyright: nick hudson 2008)
The plan for green garden gates calls for four “connector buildings”. There are of “pole” building construction measuring twenty five feet by twenty five feet. The interior measures about fifteen feet to the open painted rafters. The roof and walls are similar to the walkways, sheathed and covered with translucent fiberglass panels in order to let the natural light into the buildings. Like all green garden gates, the design of these will change depending on the geographical style the region.
We have chosen fiberglass ripple panels for this sheathing and roofing. Other garden store owners have chosen Lexan for this type of covering. We have found it to be too costly for our needs. These ripple panels are often available at home stores at special prices well below a standard retail cost. Once they are screwed down tight to the framework, they are tough and hold up well for many years
The walkways are flush against the connectors. There are no doors to these connectors, only openings. There are panels, high up, that open to allow maximum air movement and ventilation. The buildings are lighted for evening shopping with adequate electrical outlets to handle, for example, a large number of fountains. The floor is concrete that continues the walkway. The remaining area of the floor is gravel.
We see a number of uses for these connectors. We can display garden products that need to be out of the weather for maximum effect; fountains, pottery, garden art etc. We also see a place for local garden clubs and small vendors to set and attend to their displays during the gardening season. We see some “special” buys for our customers housed in the connectors. One or several of the connectors may be in used during the springtime with seminars on gardening subjects. We envision our customers passing through the walkway buildings into the connectors and on to another walkway building, enjoying a new experience shopping in the connectors.
There are construction requirements that are, in our opinion, absolutely necessary for the sales of plants in the garden store.
First, is the protection of the plant material from the weather. Second, just as important, is the protection of the customers from the weather. These statements seem obvious to any merchant of any product. Surprisingly, garden store owners and operators neglect both to varying degrees.
“It was an hour before closing at the garden store. It had been cold and rainy all day and we were bone tired. The owner just looked at the weather forecast and told us that we all had to cover the bedding plants before we could go home. We got on more clothing and dragged huge sheets of black plastic up to the display beds and tables. We laid the plastic on the flowers and plants and used a bunch of bricks to hold them from blowing away. Late that night it started to get really cold with a clear sky and we saved the plants. Well, not so fast….three hours later into the night, it clouded up again and started to rain hard. When we uncovered the plants the weight of the rain on the plastic smashed all the blooms flat. They weren’t frozen but they sure were awful looking!”
We, at green garden gates, are committed to getting everybody and everything out of the weather as much as possible by the most efficient and economical method.
The covered houses in our design are our answer for this protection. These pole building structures ring the nursery display area. They measure twenty feet wide and ten feet high to the painted rafters. They have open trusses to the roof for an airy feeling and to let excess heat rise into the rafters.
The roof and walls are of translucent fiberglass panels to let light into the plants.
We rejected the idea of a “bubble” roof of temporary plastic. We did not want to replace and repair all the time. The permanent fiberglass panels will save money in product and labor in the years to come.
About every other ten foot, a wall panel section on each side of the walkway slides open for natural ventilation. The sliding panels are closed to protect the plants from cold air, wind, and early spring frosts. Customers can move and shop easily, staying cozy and dry, along the covered walkways. They can freely venture into the nursery display areas though the sliding panels.
Garden store owners who do not have extensive protection for their customers from the weather can expect to lose fifty percent of the day’s sales on a rainy cold day. If they have protection, they can gain back twenty-five percent or more of those sales back.
The eight feet wide concrete walks allow for customer movement with the remaining six feet on each side graveled for benches and display carts.
We will say it over and over again. NEVERSLOPE THE CONCRETE FLOORS. This is never more true than in the walkway buildings. Can you imagine a 300 pound loaded steel cart rolling toward a young child because someone forgot to block the wheels?
There are several areas of the walkway houses where the roof has been elevated to allow for large trees and shrubs to pass through the buildings with little effort.
No customer wants a skinned up tree that a garden store guy tried to put through a litttle doorway
Irrigation lines are suspended into the rafters with the irrigation heads pointed down. Wall hose bibs are mounted at many locations in the walkway buildings for easy hose spot watering of plant products.
We have suspended all the irrigation and electrical lines into the rafters to keep them off the ground, clean and free from damage
The building does contain some wall outlets for future displays. The walkway buildings are lighted by steel conduits connected to florescent bulb fixtures along the rafters.
Where is an electrical outlet when you need one? We will need them in the walkways at some point for some reason. We wanted them installed right away to avoid uneccesary costs in the future.
These two are our "bookends", the capstones of the frontage structures of green garden gates.
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, especiallywomen 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 PacoUnderhill
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.
The “Wings” of green garden gates are two buildings that are adjacent to the main blockhouse. They are lower roof structures than the blockhouse. They measure about twenty feet by about twenty-five feet. They have, as in all the structures high polished natural colored concrete floors. The roof is similar to the blockhouse, made of synthetic tile for less weight load than natural tile.
Wing #1
This is the checkout area of the store. It contains the main outdoor check stands and the stacking area for customers #H as they exit the business.
We have seen checkout areas cause terrible interference to the flow of commerce in a garden store. Rooms get so chucked full of people standing in line to be checked out that the entire room that is displaying merchandise is blocked off. We have seen lines of customers with crying kids standing in the cold and rain waiting to get undercover with their shopping carts to get checked out. We needed to find a balance between using valuable indoor space and keeping our customers comfortable. The checkouts continue in a line from the blockhouse indoor building. Checkers can easily move from the inside to the outside through an automatic door.
There are “presentation” doors that lead to the nursery of the store. #P is a solid garage door that is open all the time during the busy season and closed during the slow season or if there is bad weather. #Q is an automatic standard glass double door that is the primary point of exit and entry from the store.
#J are windows installed for the checkers to view the front of the building (and to keep them from going nuts in a closed boxed in work area!)
As the customers exit from the checkout stands, There is an additional automatic glass double set of doors.
Customers may also enter and exit the main blockhouse first floor though this area by double glass doors. (These doors are for the slower times at the store. We anticipate this door to be blocked by exiting customers at checkout at busy times. We have installed another set of double glass doors to enter and exit the blockhouse out of the firing line)
#J the front of the Wing #1 will be discussed later as part of a description of the entire front of these buildings.
Wing #2
This is primarily a utility area for the business. The features include:
B. Employees break room
Lots of break rooms for employees (if they even have one), look like something out of “Dickens”, some little corner stashed out of the way, where the employees can huddle. It is not a pleasant experience. We want our employees to enjoy the break. The room is located just off the blockhouse separated by a door to the retail building where the time clock is located.
The break room, adjacent locker room are the only parts of the wings that are heated and air conditioned, piped from the blockhouse. (the restrooms in Bookend #2 are also heated and air conditioned) They are equipped with all items necessary to prepare a meal; microwave, dinnerware and utensils, refrigerator, as well as shelving for personal food and items. The break room also houses the personal lockers for the employees with plenty of storage hooks for jackets, hats and boots.
Checklist for the Employee Lunch and Break Room
A. Is this room located near the activity of the store?
Yes, the employees have easy access to the break room. It is centrally located
B. Is it quiet, away from customers?
Yes, we believe that our employees need some “down time”, a quiet place away from customer activity.
C. Does the room have all the essential equipment for preparing something to eat?
Yes, it contains a sink, microwave, a refrigerator, and a complete set of kitchen utensils.
D. Are there comfortable chairs and tables for relaxation?
Yes, we have equipped the room with those items.
E. Is this room close to their personal lockers?
Yes, it is adjacent to the main bank of employee lockers?
F. Is there a convenient and weather protected smoking area for employees?
Yes, we have located an a convenient, covered area for those employees
Like it or not, some of the employees, some of the best, most valuable employees smoke. Get over it. A place needs to be found that is convenient, but out of the way, covered and pleasant for them. This acceptance of smoking may make the difference between keeping or losing very good people.
E. Enclosed vehicle parking stalls and receiving area
This area houses a stall for the company van. Because deliveries and pickups often occur during the season, we have found it valuable to have an enclosed area for bad weather. We want our company vehicle to be a reflection of our professional store. Housing it under cover helps maintain the appearance. The other stall is empty of a vehicle during the busy season and used for processing of dry goods received in the store. Water and electric are available to keep the vehicle clean. There are two sold panel garage doors that allow the vehicles to move in and out of the stalls
#K Shower Facility
There are times when emergencies occur in a garden store where a shower is needed; fertilizer burns, chemical spills etc. We have installed a shower for this reason. It is locked for security reasons at all times with the section leader having the key to the shower. It is equipped with hand want devices, clean towels, and disinfectant soaps and shampoos.
The blockhouse “wings” are transitional structures on each side of the main building. They are enclosed and of pole building construction with concrete floors and exposed rafters. Part of the wings are enclosed with manual garage doors that open when the store is in operation and secured at night. The roof is artificial faux tile to match the blockhouse, with similar colors. It is sloped hard for the ease of snow removal in colder climates.
