Employee Time Clock/ Time Management
Hours and hours of retail managers’ precious time is taken up by fooling around with time issues with employees; crafting schedules, analyzing time, cleaning up errors, and forecasting future needs.
Our time reporting clocks must have the capability of easing this work load for both our employees and our managers. The following are the functions we want for our time clock management system;
An easy convenient method in clocking in and out with a slip/access card
Seamlessly integrated wirelessly into our computer software system
Easily serviced and repaired or replaced by a local source.
Allows full operation and protection against memory loss with 24 hour full battery backup
An internal atomic clock that re-sets for daylight savings time and regular time.
Highlights mis-punches and absences of clocking in and out.
All reporting can be transmitted to any person and/or to the secure management part of our website.
Checklist
Time Clock Management
How many time clocks do you have?
We have one time clock. It is located near the employees' break room.
How does the procedure work?
The employee is issued a “g-card”, a plastic credit type card, that is produced on the same equipment as the green bucks card. The card is white and has only an employee number printed on it. There are three uses for this card, to punch in on the time clock, to allow access to the employee entrance to the building, and to access the cash registers, if the employee is a cashier. (the cashier must punch in their personal three digit code after the swipe) We require that the employee keeps the card in his or her possession and reports to the workplace with the card. They will not be allowed to work unless they have the card. The employee swipes the card through the time clock machine and the recording is automatic.
Who is required to punch the clock?
All employees in the retail operation with the exception of the retail manager.
How do you control buddy punching?
The employees are simple not allowed to access the time clock without their g-card. It is to be kept in their personal possession at all times. No employee is allowed to borrow the card to buddy punch.
Who settles time disputes with an employee?
All time disputes are settled with their department section leaders with the approval of the store manager.
Who schedules employees?
The primary responsibility for the daily and weekly schedule rests with the section leader and his or her employees in consultation with the floor manager.
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Cleaning Equipment
Cleanliness is an important signature of the green garden gates stores. There are several pieces of equipment that have to be acquired.
First is a large sweeper vacuum for all concrete surfaces of the store public interiors. We have chosen a used Powr-Flite model. 
It is battery operated charges quickly and has an operating life before charging of about 4 continuous hours. This model is self propelled, with adjustable brooms and side brushes. The new unit costs in the range of 5,000.00. We purchased a rebuilt used model for 1,500.00 and it can be serviced and repaired easily and locally.
powr-flite.com
For cleaning and blowing of outdoor walkways and parking areas, we have chosen the Husqvarna backpack blower model 150BT. 
We have purchased two of these models (one unit for backup) at a cost of 299.00 each. They are high capacity blowers that are light and easy to operate
husqvarna.com
For clean up hard to get areas of the store, we have purchased two Black and Decker cordless 18 volt portable blowers at a cost of 70.00 each.
blackanddecker.com
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Printing, Imprinting and Laminating Equipment
Laminating
There are several methods for producing pricing and informational signs for green garden gates. We use weather resistant coated card stock that is available in the industry. Another method is to use regular card stock and laminate it for outdoor protection. That requires the purchase of a high quality laminator. 
We have chosen the General Binding Corporation GBC Acco Pro-Series laminator. It allows large sized laminating and can produce several signs at one time. It allows heavy duty laminating plastic that won’t break down and lose the sealing under harsh conditions. It is simple to operate, durable for commercial use and has a local repair and replacement company in case of breakdowns. This high quality machine costs about 2,500.00 new and will give us years of service. Other tools required are the purchase of a good quality table top paper cutter and the plastic 5 mil pouches (don’t cheap out and buy lighter mil plastic for these signs. They will break down in our harsh environment)
If you decide to laminate, don’t just pick up some little laminator at Office Depot. It will break down quickly and soon you will have so many of these throw aways you can make a boat anchor for Carnival Cruise Lines. Spend the money and buy one that will last!
www.gbc.com
Bar Code Printer
There are times when products arriving at our stores will not have bar codes or the bar codes will need to be modified. We have purchased a Zebra bar code machine for this purpose. The equipment is high quality and able to produce bar code stickers fast and efficiently.
It is simple to operate and can be repaired locally and replaced quickly. We have chosen a middle of the line industrial model for our uses. It integrates easily with our computer software to produce a seamless flow of operation.
zebra.com
Security and Promotional Card Printer
A card printer is needed in our stores to produce the g-card for employee identification and access and to produce the green bucks promotional card for our customers. We have chosen a Zebra Card Printer. It has high production output and high quality printing. 
It produces a durable card and also integrates with our computer software for seamless operation. Once the data is entered from the customer at the checkouts or at the information counter, the printer produces the card and is ready when the customer leaves the store after the purchase.
zebra.com
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Hard goods indoor or undercover display shelving
We hate standard metal retail shelving. It is versatile. It is adaptable. It is butt ugly.
But our decision to steer away from this typical metal retail shelving is much more than its unattractiveness and rigidity. Gardeners often shop for products that are needed for a specific gardening task. They want to complete the job and move on to other jobs in the yard. We will try hard to present our products with a theme of adjacencies, all the products needed for the job in one feature display and even some items that stretch the “need” idea, with only a tiny thread of relationship that brings another need to the forefront.
‘It is the subtle art and science of adjacencies, placing one item next to another to create some spark and sell more of both. You can figure out intelligent adjacencies just by standing near one thing and asking yourself, what else it on my mind here. Sometimes though, it is the irrationality of combinations that provides the power to grab your attention.”
‘Why We Buy”
by
Let’s do a featured area for “pruning and dressing your plants” Every product that is related to pruning and dressing will be presented, with a nice large old photo of a orchardist doing his spring pruning and plenty of handouts on how to prune. But how about “stretch need” like a nice handy portable water cooler. A cool drink might sound good awfully good after hanging on that tree sawing away in the hot sun. These features are little worlds for the gardener, the world of pruning and shaping those plants. We believe that if we create these worlds, the gardener will always remember green garden gates for everything I need to prune my plants.
We cannot do these high impact creative theme product features with long rows of metal shelving.
All the units are constructed with a welded steel powdercoated frame and skinned with high quality wood, finished and painted. They can be moved easily and re-configure to most any form depending on the products that will be displayed. They can be grouped together or at angles, etc. They are the same pattern and modular so construction can be efficient and economical. The display, if desired, can be loaded with product in the receiving area and moved into position on the floor. Vendors can develop “plan o grams” for their products using this display pattern. We also will use these units in other parts of the store, as central product kiosks, in the nursery display area, in the patio area and elsewhere. We will adorn some of the units with colorful decorative roofs, perhaps banner and flags. In the area where the products in this unit may get overflow irrigation water, we have designed a "shower curtain" type pull around covering for protection.
As we build more stores, and the display unit is modified and streamlined for more efficiency, we can have these units manufactured by one company and shipped to the stores for final assembly.
Let’s say we want to display products for planting and caring for a lawn. Each section of the display features grass seed and products for different lawn exposures, “for sun” “for sun and shade”
F The unit is fully constructed on a wooden “pallet” design sturdy base. The entire display, empty or fully loaded with products, can be moved and positioned by a pallet jack.
A. The platform holds large bags of grass seed and hose around the entire unit
D. A sturdy top displays fertilizer spreaders and other lawn care implements ( rounded corners, not shown, for safety)
B. The slat board displays pegs of very small bags of grass seed, nozzles, etc
C. The slat board end caps hold information and handouts about the lawn and seeding as well as specialty items for lawn care,
E. The movable wooden shelves on slat board holds more grass seed in smaller sizes, liquid fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides for lawn care. Any extra shelving pieces are stored flat on the top platform where we can always find them.
Soon...
Security system
Music system
Safes
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