Garden

[country gal]

I found the same to be true at my Menards on Saturday. I parked as close as I could to the garden center door only to find that there was NO DOOR anymore. It was a concrete wall! Had to go in the main store to access the garden center. I didn't shop long because it was too cold and windy, so I didn't buy anything. Told my DH later what a mess that will be dragging trees and plants thru the main checkouts. 

[Nataliesgramma]

I am sure it is because of theft too. It is a big problem in our area at several stores.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I work at a large garden center.  Customers have to exit (and pay) through our "store" or at the loading dock.  It is not terribly convenient, and trust me, we who are on our feet all day would like the steps to be less, but theft is an issue.

[tototwo]

Our Menard's remodeled last year.  They bricked up the exterior doors into the garden center, and removed the cashiers' stations.   They never had a big selection of plants anyway.  Their garden shop was mainly garden tools and aisles of different sizes of pots.  They never did help load customers' vehicles with bags of mulch or what-have-you, like Lowe's does.  You buy it, you load it.  Also, our Menard's has added groceries, toiletries, home decor, etc.  It looks more like a Walmart than a Menard's.  I haven't shopped their garden center since the remodel.

[x Hedge]

@Mom2Dogs, unfortunately this change is a response to theft. People drift in and out of the garden center with items from the store. If stopped they claim theyre' just looking at plants on display outside the garden center. Another one distracts the cashier, and before you know it, that cart full of items from the store is loaded into a vehicle and gone!!
At some point they simply have to stop it.

[ValuSkr]

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@x Hedge wrote:
@Mom2Dogs, unfortunately this change is a response to theft. People drift in and out of the garden center with items from the store. If stopped they claim theyre' just looking at plants on display outside the garden center. Another one distracts the cashier, and before you know it, that cart full of items from the store is loaded into a vehicle and gone!!
At some point they simply have to stop it.

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Seems like a better solution would have been to block access to the garden center from the store, keep the garden center's separate outside entrance, and require that garden center purchases be paid for in the garden center.  Guess Menard's forgot to engage a focus group!

[x Hedge]

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@ValuSkr wrote:

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@x Hedge wrote:
@Mom2Dogs, unfortunately this change is a response to theft. People drift in and out of the garden center with items from the store. If stopped they claim theyre' just looking at plants on display outside the garden center. Another one distracts the cashier, and before you know it, that cart full of items from the store is loaded into a vehicle and gone!!
At some point they simply have to stop it.

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Seems like a better solution would have been to block access to the garden center from the store, keep the garden center's separate outside entrance, and require that garden center purchases be paid for in the garden center.  Guess Menard's forgot to engage a focus group!

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Why would you suppose that @ValuSkr?

Let's run it your way.

Block the walkthru between the main store and the garden center.

Turn it into two separate stores.

Two enterances. Two checkouts.

As a customer, I can now park the car twice in the same parking lot to be nearer each door OR grumble about having to walk so far to the other enterance. (Sometimes in windy rainy weather)

AND I can stand in checkout lines twice. (Oh, joy!)

Nope!

I'll bet they found when it was done your way, most people drove off without visiting the garden center after shopping in the main store, because it was too inconvenient for customers to use two separate enterances & checkouts.

[ValuSkr]

@x Hedge  Well, given a choice of (A) take all your garden center purchases into the store or (B) go into the garden center via a separate entrance, I think (B) is far better.  The garden center entrance is after all  only about 30' from the store entrance.  Most people can handle that without moving their car.  LOL  The store won't miss out on sales.  My experience is that people don't browse home improvement stores like they do other stores; they make a beeline for what they want.  If they want plumbing supplies, they'll enter the store.  If they want tomato plants, they'll enter the garden center.  Not difficult, not complicated.

[x Hedge]

   "Thirty feet" ?????? ! ! ! ! ! !

Pardon my excessive punctuation, but I almost fell off my 4" heels when I read, "The garden center entrance is after all only about 30 ' from the store entrance".

OTOH, that does explain your position.

The closing of the separate garden center entrance has occurred at most Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Menards, and other large stores in my metropolitan area in the last several years. 

These are big, sprawling places, and the walk from door to door is usually 100-120 feet, sometimes more. Not 30' 

At Fleet Farm the garden center is about 250'- 275' away from the main store entrance. So they DO maintain it as a separate store, and people DO re-park.

And...you certainly don't know the people I know. 

Personally I, and the people I associate with have spent many happy hours browsing in a hardware or automotive store.

So I could camp out in a store that combines hardware, home goods, groceries, garden supplies, livestock & farming, technology & entertainment, and whatever else is particular to that mega store.

The fact is people do browse, and get ideas for ways to improve their comfort, which is why all these stores have started drawing new customers by holding DIY classes.

[ValuSkr]

Well, that's the way the big boxes are here in PA.  Sorry to confuse you!