Lowes rant...

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  • Uncle Cracker
    The Full Monte
    • May 2007
    • 7091
    • Sunshine State
    • BT3000
    #1

    Lowes rant...

    Just went into my neighborhood Lowes (have not been there in a couple of weeks) only to find that they have completely rearranged the place, and I can't find anything any more... Just a couple of examples: Toilet tank bolts... with the toilets? Nope. With the pipe fittings, 4 aisles away. Light bulbs... on the lighting or electrical aisles? Nooooo... on aisle #1 halfway across the store! Maybe some idiot thinks people will buy more stuff if they have to walk back and forth across the store 20 times looking for what they came in for...

    Relax... Breathe... Oooohhhhmmmmmmm....
    Tags: None
    • cabinetman
      Gone but not Forgotten RIP
      • Jun 2006
      • 15216
      • So. Florida
      • Delta
      #2
      I'm still trying to figure out the layouts of the box stores. Seems that there are lefts and rights, or, IOW, opposites, not all stores have the same layout, but can be reversals.

      But, no matter what store you go in, if you have to go to the bathroom, it's on the far other side, all the way to the rear.
      .

        Comment

        • bigstick509
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2004
          • 1227
          • Macomb, MI, USA.
          • BT3100
          #3
          The sad part of the confusing merchandising set is that its intentional. Years ago I worked for a retail architectural design firm, traffic pattern and merchandising mix was the order of the day. The firm used to guaranty a percentage increase in sales after a retail design reset or remodel.

          Mike

          "It's not the things you don't know that will hurt you, it's the things you think you know that ain't so." - Mark Twain

            Comment

            • BobSch
              Veteran Member
              • Aug 2004
              • 4385
              • Minneapolis, MN, USA.
              • BT3100
              #4
              I'm getting tired of getting dirty looks from the clerks at HD when I come in the exit door. If I'm looking for something at that end of the store why should I have to schlep all the way to the opposite end just to walk back. I'm sorry, but I'm not falling for a marketing ploy that's that transparent.
              Bob

              Bad decisions make good stories.

                Comment

                • jhart
                  Veteran Member
                  • Feb 2004
                  • 1715
                  • Minneapolis, MN, USA.
                  • BT3100
                  #5
                  I'm with you Bob. I probably go in the exit door 70% of the time as I usually am there to buy something in the lumber area which is usually at the exit end of the store. Can't say I really get any dirty looks though. Maybe I just don't notice them!!!
                  Joe
                  "All things are difficult before they are easy"

                    Comment

                    • jziegler
                      Veteran Member
                      • Aug 2005
                      • 1149
                      • Salem, NJ, USA.
                      • Ryobi BT3100
                      #6
                      Originally posted by Uncle Cracker
                      Maybe some idiot thinks people will buy more stuff if they have to walk back and forth across the store 20 times looking for what they came in for...

                      Relax... Breathe... Oooohhhhmmmmmmm....
                      I've heard rumors that they do exactly that. They want to keep you in the store longer so that you buy more. I ran into the same thing at a supermarket a few months ago. You'd think that taco seasoning and shells would be near each other, but they were a couple aisles away. I feel for you, and don't like it.

                      Oh, and HD does it too. Want cleaner for a smooth top stove? One brand is in the appliance section, but the other I think is with the cleaners. Shouldn't both be at the same place?

                      Jim

                        Comment

                        • crokett
                          The Full Monte
                          • Jan 2003
                          • 10627
                          • Mebane, NC, USA.
                          • Ryobi BT3000
                          #7
                          I bet the more expensive brand cleaner is with the appliances. Besides which they have some there so when you buy your new stove you will also buy some cleaner. It is suggestive selling - I used to work retail also. Around here lightbulbs in the big boxes were never by electrical.
                          They are with the lighting fixtures. Come to think of it, toilet bolts are also in the plumbing fixture aisle, right next to the closet flanges. I don't think I've ever seen them by the toilets. Lowes may have been rearranging to get with the times, as it were. Although I too get annoyed when I can't find stuff in a store.
                          David

                          The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.

                            Comment

                            • Thalermade
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2002
                              • 791
                              • Ohio
                              • BT 3000
                              #8
                              It does get frustrating, especially if you are not store loyal. You gotta remember which store - HD or Lowes - you are in for where some things are located.

                              To complicate things, the closet HD is a "small store" (built to prevent Lowes from building - but our first Menards is on its way) so it does not carry everything that the normal size HD carries.

                              For more and more things, and less frustration, it is getting better to drive to the Ace Hardware - about the same distance away - shorter walk from the parking lot, a little but higher prices, but less time spent. And rarely ever an "accidental tool purchase".

                              Russ

                                Comment

                                • LinuxRandal
                                  Veteran Member
                                  • Feb 2005
                                  • 4890
                                  • Independence, MO, USA.
                                  • bt3100
                                  #9
                                  Besides the increased sales, due to having to walk around to find ...., they also have to do some, at least in part, due to increase amount of items fitting in the layout (or so Sam's club told me when they started). I asked them for their plannagram, so I could find the .... I needed and was there for work getting (paid NOT to waste time).

                                  As for the entering the exit, well when the bastages, place merchandise (Ridgid shop vac's) AFTER the cash registers, it is awfully hard to get to them otherwise.

                                  I make my opinions known.
                                  She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

                                    Comment

                                    • Uncle Cracker
                                      The Full Monte
                                      • May 2007
                                      • 7091
                                      • Sunshine State
                                      • BT3000
                                      #10
                                      Maybe it works on some people, but with me, I get frustrated looking around for things I can't find. The last thing I feel like doing is buying more things... I just wanna get outta there...

                                        Comment

                                        • Schleeper
                                          Established Member
                                          • Feb 2008
                                          • 299
                                          #11
                                          For those of you who aren't averse to placing a small wager now and again, when was the last time you saw the all-you-can-eat buffet near the front door of the casino?

                                          The BORG (and your local supermarket, for that matter) spends a lot on advertising, and offers a lot of sale-priced merchandise, in order to get you in the door. If they can't keep you there long enough for you to make multiple purchases (including, presumably, some higher margin staple items,) they won't stay in business very long.

                                          When I want the convenience of being able to just run in for a gallon of milk (without having to walk through the produce and deli sections,) I go to the convenience store.

                                          [BTW, I suspect that discouraging patrons from going in the OUT door is probably more attributable to safety and security concerns, than marketing strategy.]
                                          "I know it when I see it." (Justice Potter Stewart)

                                            Comment

                                            • Uncle Cracker
                                              The Full Monte
                                              • May 2007
                                              • 7091
                                              • Sunshine State
                                              • BT3000
                                              #12
                                              Point taken, but when I want a light bulb, how does it help the store if I can't find one? Walking past other merchandise on my way to get what I need is one thing, but being unable to locate what I want is not going to make me feel like buying anything. At least in a casino, there usually are signs pointing the way to the buffet...

                                                Comment

                                                • Ed62
                                                  The Full Monte
                                                  • Oct 2006
                                                  • 6021
                                                  • NW Indiana
                                                  • BT3K
                                                  #13
                                                  Originally posted by Uncle Cracker
                                                  Maybe it works on some people, but with me, I get frustrated looking around for things I can't find. The last thing I feel like doing is buying more things... I just wanna get outta there...
                                                  Me too. I get what I came for, then I'm outta there.

                                                  Ed
                                                  Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

                                                  For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/

                                                    Comment

                                                    • Schleeper
                                                      Established Member
                                                      • Feb 2008
                                                      • 299
                                                      #14
                                                      Originally posted by Uncle Cracker
                                                      Point taken, but when I want a light bulb, how does it help the store if I can't find one? Walking past other merchandise on my way to get what I need is one thing, but being unable to locate what I want is not going to make me feel like buying anything. At least in a casino, there usually are signs pointing the way to the buffet...
                                                      Have you tried using one of those GPS navigation gizmos?

                                                      You're dealing with one of Murphy's Laws. At the precise moment that you become familiar enough with the store's layout that you can swiftly gather: a) a replacement appliance bulb for your refrigerator, b) 2 lbs. of 6d nails (galvanized,) and c) a tube of clear silicone caulk, the store will know that it's time to reset the floor plan.
                                                      "I know it when I see it." (Justice Potter Stewart)

                                                        Comment

                                                        • BobSch
                                                          Veteran Member
                                                          • Aug 2004
                                                          • 4385
                                                          • Minneapolis, MN, USA.
                                                          • BT3100
                                                          #15
                                                          Originally posted by Schleeper
                                                          [BTW, I suspect that discouraging patrons from going in the OUT door is probably more attributable to safety and security concerns, than marketing strategy.]
                                                          Not to argue, but I doubt that. Most other retailers have the entrances and exits in the same place. Only the BORGs seem to think rat mazes are the way to go. <rant off>
                                                          Bob

                                                          Bad decisions make good stories.

                                                            Comment

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