| Page 1 of 2 | 1 | 2 |
|
|
A strange sight at Home Depot
I have taken the incentive to post these..........
Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- |
A strange sight at Home Depot
They are scared unto death that someone who actually cares for plants may
get them for free in the dumpsters, and worse, perhaps resell them as living healthy plants. I've seen multiple pallets of impatiens in the burning sun, on blacktop, at wallmarts in zone 8, but when told they were going to melt to death, got "we've got to put them somewhere". "madgardener" wrote in message ... I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ---- |
A strange sight at Home Depot
madgardener wrote:
Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! Retail stores loose more to dishonest employees than they do to shoplifters. The easiest way for an employee to steal is to toss something into the dumpster, and come back and pick it up later. By requiring that everything put in the dumpster is unsalvageable they prevent far more theft in a week than those sensors at the front door will in a year. So the choices would be leave them on the floor half-dead and spend the time to nurse them back to health, leave them on the floor half-dead until they become totally unsalvageable, or spray paint them to make them unsalvageable, and get them off the floor. Maybe, if they had enough floor space, they could stick them in some clearance corner, but that corner could make more money selling healthier plants, or even bricks or bags of cow manure. High volume stores make more money moving high volumes of merchandise. They don't make money nursing half-dead plants back to life. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"Warren" wrote in message news:Wztac.39172$gA5.528052@attbi_s03... madgardener wrote: Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! Retail stores loose more to dishonest employees than they do to shoplifters. The easiest way for an employee to steal is to toss something into the dumpster, and come back and pick it up later. By requiring that everything put in the dumpster is unsalvageable they prevent far more theft in a week than those sensors at the front door will in a year. So the choices would be leave them on the floor half-dead and spend the time to nurse them back to health, leave them on the floor half-dead until they become totally unsalvageable, or spray paint them to make them unsalvageable, and get them off the floor. Maybe, if they had enough floor space, they could stick them in some clearance corner, but that corner could make more money selling healthier plants, or even bricks or bags of cow manure. High volume stores make more money moving high volumes of merchandise. They don't make money nursing half-dead plants back to life. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html Spoken like one who understands retail business practices. Most likely, the orange paint, HD's signature color, was a quick way to indicate that the markdown had been captured and the plants could be discarded. Prevents having to guess. -- elizabeth, Baton Rouge, LA http://community.webshots.com/user/elott63 |
A strange sight at Home Depot
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 00:59:53 -0500, "madgardener"
wrote: I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! This reminds me about JC Penney's policy about athletic shoes. They had to cut the shoes in half before throwing them in to the dumpster. HD is all about profit--some folks give little thought to the meaning of charity. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"Elizabeth" said:
Spoken like one who understands retail business practices. Most likely, the orange paint, HD's signature color, was a quick way to indicate that the markdown had been captured and the plants could be discarded. Prevents having to guess. Warren explained the reason behind the paint in his post. -- McQualude |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"Elizabeth" said:
Spoken like one who understands retail business practices. Most likely, the orange paint, HD's signature color, was a quick way to indicate that the markdown had been captured and the plants could be discarded. Prevents having to guess. Warren explained the reason behind the paint in his post. -- McQualude |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain...
zemedelec |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"Elizabeth" said:
Spoken like one who understands retail business practices. Most likely, the orange paint, HD's signature color, was a quick way to indicate that the markdown had been captured and the plants could be discarded. Prevents having to guess. Warren explained the reason behind the paint in his post. -- McQualude |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"Elizabeth" said:
Spoken like one who understands retail business practices. Most likely, the orange paint, HD's signature color, was a quick way to indicate that the markdown had been captured and the plants could be discarded. Prevents having to guess. Warren explained the reason behind the paint in his post. -- McQualude |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain...
zemedelec |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain...
zemedelec |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
(Zemedelec)
Somehow the phrase, "Dog in the manger" keeps floating through my brain... Just in case . . . The allusion is to one of Aesop’s fables, written about 600BC, in which a dog was taking a nap in a manger. When an ox came and tried to eat the hay in the manger, the dog barked furiously, snapped at him and wouldn’t let him get at his food, food that, of course, was useless to the dog. At last the ox gave up and went away muttering, “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves”. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
"madgardener" wrote in message ...
I have taken the incentive to post these.......... Strange sight at Home DepotPosted by CRMiller z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 0:39 Today when I was at Home Depot, there was a cart full of half dead plants (needed water) and some irises that were out of bloom. They were headed for the dumpster. The lady working there was taking the plants out one by one and spray-painting them! Not the pot, the leaves and stem. I didn 't stop to ask her about them because I was in a hurry. I don't like that they throw away plants that were under watered, but spray-paint them bright orange?!! I'm not saying this is a good policy at all but it is, unfortunatly, necessary because of the many points the others have brought up. It prevents employee shoplifters from getting stuff put into the dumpsters for them to pick up later. It helps prevents dumpster diving (if i dumpster dive and hurt myself i'm sure i could sue Home Depot somehow). I like the one person's story about how shoes had to be cut in half before being tossed in the dumpster. So this practice is 'necessary' for the store to cover their back. However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. But where do they draw the line at what they can donate away? Some churches might be thrilled to get a bunch of half dead plants. Others would be offended. And how about all the other 'junk' that people love to dumpster dive for? It would take a lot of time/effort to have a whole 'recycling' comitee put together to determine what should be donated and what should be junked. And if people don't believe the shoplifting excuse, just think about the scenario of a donut shop. If you walk in right before closing time, why won't they give you all the leftover donuts for free since they're just going to throw them out? Lets say they did. The some employee realizes that there are always X stale donuts left over at the end of the day. Therefore he should be able to steal X fresh donuts right as they're baked and no one is harmed since they would have just been stale at the end of the day. This is essentially true until the day when they needed those X donuts and they run out. The only way to maintain a surplus and the whole idea that all items are valuable is to destroy them in the end. It's wrong but it does protect their ass as intended. |
A strange sight at Home Depot
wrote:
However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. Often the things that have real salvage value are also things that the retailer gets credit from the distributor. To get that credit, they have to ensure the distributor that they have destroyed the items in question. Donating them to charity means they don't get credit from the distributor. Even when that's not the case, it's not usually feasible to keep a list of which things need to be destroyed, and which don't need to be destroyed. And even if you do, you're right back to the point where people are throwing things out just so they can be salvaged. Another issue that hasn't been brought up is if the retail store has a customer-friendly, no questions asked policy on returns, they run the risk of people dumpster diving, and returning the same items over and over again. Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. They justify it by saying, "who cares if I keep dumpster diving behind the Home Depot, and keep returning the same merchandise over and over again. They're a big company." Figure out a way to eliminate dishonesty, and then retailers can stop these practices that appear to be wasteful. Shrinkage isn't a small problem. It's one thing to give away waste, like Starbuck's coffee grounds, or the barber's piles of hair. It's quite a different story when you start talking about merchandise that's no longer saleable. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
wrote:
However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. Often the things that have real salvage value are also things that the retailer gets credit from the distributor. To get that credit, they have to ensure the distributor that they have destroyed the items in question. Donating them to charity means they don't get credit from the distributor. Even when that's not the case, it's not usually feasible to keep a list of which things need to be destroyed, and which don't need to be destroyed. And even if you do, you're right back to the point where people are throwing things out just so they can be salvaged. Another issue that hasn't been brought up is if the retail store has a customer-friendly, no questions asked policy on returns, they run the risk of people dumpster diving, and returning the same items over and over again. Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. They justify it by saying, "who cares if I keep dumpster diving behind the Home Depot, and keep returning the same merchandise over and over again. They're a big company." Figure out a way to eliminate dishonesty, and then retailers can stop these practices that appear to be wasteful. Shrinkage isn't a small problem. It's one thing to give away waste, like Starbuck's coffee grounds, or the barber's piles of hair. It's quite a different story when you start talking about merchandise that's no longer saleable. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
wrote:
However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. Often the things that have real salvage value are also things that the retailer gets credit from the distributor. To get that credit, they have to ensure the distributor that they have destroyed the items in question. Donating them to charity means they don't get credit from the distributor. Even when that's not the case, it's not usually feasible to keep a list of which things need to be destroyed, and which don't need to be destroyed. And even if you do, you're right back to the point where people are throwing things out just so they can be salvaged. Another issue that hasn't been brought up is if the retail store has a customer-friendly, no questions asked policy on returns, they run the risk of people dumpster diving, and returning the same items over and over again. Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. They justify it by saying, "who cares if I keep dumpster diving behind the Home Depot, and keep returning the same merchandise over and over again. They're a big company." Figure out a way to eliminate dishonesty, and then retailers can stop these practices that appear to be wasteful. Shrinkage isn't a small problem. It's one thing to give away waste, like Starbuck's coffee grounds, or the barber's piles of hair. It's quite a different story when you start talking about merchandise that's no longer saleable. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
wrote:
However there are other routes they could take. In the case of something that has real value (like a pair of unused shoes) they could easily start donating these items to the local church. Often the things that have real salvage value are also things that the retailer gets credit from the distributor. To get that credit, they have to ensure the distributor that they have destroyed the items in question. Donating them to charity means they don't get credit from the distributor. Even when that's not the case, it's not usually feasible to keep a list of which things need to be destroyed, and which don't need to be destroyed. And even if you do, you're right back to the point where people are throwing things out just so they can be salvaged. Another issue that hasn't been brought up is if the retail store has a customer-friendly, no questions asked policy on returns, they run the risk of people dumpster diving, and returning the same items over and over again. Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. They justify it by saying, "who cares if I keep dumpster diving behind the Home Depot, and keep returning the same merchandise over and over again. They're a big company." Figure out a way to eliminate dishonesty, and then retailers can stop these practices that appear to be wasteful. Shrinkage isn't a small problem. It's one thing to give away waste, like Starbuck's coffee grounds, or the barber's piles of hair. It's quite a different story when you start talking about merchandise that's no longer saleable. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
I had a totally differnt experience at a New Orleans nursery...the one on
Airline drive. I was heading for the cash reg. with half a dozen pansies when I saw a cart full of depotted, HUGE clumps of what I thought could be agapanthus or clivia. But there also were some working tools, etc. with them so I wasn't sure if the plants were just being relocated or dumped. I asked the store manager and she said dumped, so take all you want! Several of the plants are now basking in my back yard, but they may have been so traumatized they won't bloom and solve the mystery for a year or so. zemedelec |
A strange sight at Home Depot
I had a totally differnt experience at a New Orleans nursery...the one on
Airline drive. I was heading for the cash reg. with half a dozen pansies when I saw a cart full of depotted, HUGE clumps of what I thought could be agapanthus or clivia. But there also were some working tools, etc. with them so I wasn't sure if the plants were just being relocated or dumped. I asked the store manager and she said dumped, so take all you want! Several of the plants are now basking in my back yard, but they may have been so traumatized they won't bloom and solve the mystery for a year or so. zemedelec |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Zemedelec wrote:
I had a totally differnt experience at a New Orleans nursery...the one on Airline drive. I was heading for the cash reg. with half a dozen pansies when I saw a cart full of depotted, HUGE clumps of what I thought could be agapanthus or clivia. But there also were some working tools, etc. with them so I wasn't sure if the plants were just being relocated or dumped. I asked the store manager and she said dumped, so take all you want! Several of the plants are now basking in my back yard, but they may have been so traumatized they won't bloom and solve the mystery for a year or so. It's not uncommon to find a situation like that at a small retail store. When the owner shows up often, the manager answers directly to the owner, and the business is small enough that the owner knows the drones by name, and even knows a little about their personal life, you'll find a higher level of trust afforded to said drones. Human nature is that in a situation like that there is more trust between the owner and the drones, and it's less likely that the drones will rip-off the owner. On the other hand, at least once a month there is a story in the newspaper about some trusted drone who ripped-off the owner of a small business. And those are just local stories, and involve big enough rip-offs that they're newsworthy. While it may be less likely that a drone at a small retail store will rip-off the owner as compared to what happens at a large, faceless company like Home Depot, it does happen. And it's so much easier to do it at a small business because they don't take safeguards like destroying unsaleable merchandise, locking dumpsters, or aiming a security camera at the dumpster. (And often if they do aim a camera on the dumpster, the thieving employee also has access to the tape!) That said, while I don't bother to dumpster-dive, when I'm in a store that has a place where merchandise stops for one last super-discounted try at selling it, I always check it over for things that I could use, and really are still usable. I've found that the bigger the store, the more likely I'll find things that probably could have been left on the shelf, while at a smaller store I'm more likely to get something that's still on the shelf marked-down for being imperfect. And I'm not just talking nurseries here. Retail is retail. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Zemedelec wrote:
I had a totally differnt experience at a New Orleans nursery...the one on Airline drive. I was heading for the cash reg. with half a dozen pansies when I saw a cart full of depotted, HUGE clumps of what I thought could be agapanthus or clivia. But there also were some working tools, etc. with them so I wasn't sure if the plants were just being relocated or dumped. I asked the store manager and she said dumped, so take all you want! Several of the plants are now basking in my back yard, but they may have been so traumatized they won't bloom and solve the mystery for a year or so. It's not uncommon to find a situation like that at a small retail store. When the owner shows up often, the manager answers directly to the owner, and the business is small enough that the owner knows the drones by name, and even knows a little about their personal life, you'll find a higher level of trust afforded to said drones. Human nature is that in a situation like that there is more trust between the owner and the drones, and it's less likely that the drones will rip-off the owner. On the other hand, at least once a month there is a story in the newspaper about some trusted drone who ripped-off the owner of a small business. And those are just local stories, and involve big enough rip-offs that they're newsworthy. While it may be less likely that a drone at a small retail store will rip-off the owner as compared to what happens at a large, faceless company like Home Depot, it does happen. And it's so much easier to do it at a small business because they don't take safeguards like destroying unsaleable merchandise, locking dumpsters, or aiming a security camera at the dumpster. (And often if they do aim a camera on the dumpster, the thieving employee also has access to the tape!) That said, while I don't bother to dumpster-dive, when I'm in a store that has a place where merchandise stops for one last super-discounted try at selling it, I always check it over for things that I could use, and really are still usable. I've found that the bigger the store, the more likely I'll find things that probably could have been left on the shelf, while at a smaller store I'm more likely to get something that's still on the shelf marked-down for being imperfect. And I'm not just talking nurseries here. Retail is retail. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 22:30:39 GMT, "Warren"
wrote: Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. Some good points made in this thread, but a few other points go a bit far in defending the big retailers. I don't think the retailers "want to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought. They'd toss their toxic wastes into the nearest creek if they thought they'd get away with it. Swyck |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Xref: kermit rec.gardens:270303
wrote: On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 22:30:39 GMT, "Warren" wrote: Yes. There is a lot of waste out there. But the things we're talking about aren't because the retailers are uncaring people who want to waste the resources of the world. The things we're talking about happen because there are too many dishonest people in the world looking for ways to screw the retailers -- especially the big retailers. Some good points made in this thread, but a few other points go a bit far in defending the big retailers. I don't think the retailers "want to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought. They'd toss their toxic wastes into the nearest creek if they thought they'd get away with it. Well, the retail divisions of the large oil companies were the first ones to replace their underground tanks to comply with new laws last decade. It was the ma and pa independent gas stations that didn't upgrade, and continued to pollute until the day they had to close because they didn't comply. A small retailer has only a few people to guide what's right and wrong. If those few people don't give a rat's butt, the store will do what it pleases whether it's moral, ethical, or anything that resembles good. A large retailer has far more eyes watching, and more people who'll blow a whistle. You may find a couple of stores in a chain with a rogue manager who'll get away with things that normally only a small, privately held ma and pa store can do, but eventually they'll be discovered. Small retail operations and large retail operations each have their own problems. Both kinds of operations have good and bad people. The larger the operation, the more the good and the bad balance out to mediocrity. The smaller the operation, the more extremely good or bad it'll be. Contrary to what's politically correct to say today, the small businessman is not always some virtuous member of the community, and some large companies actually do care about the communities their customers come from. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html |
A strange sight at Home Depot
wrote:
I don't think the retailers "want to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought. Retailers are business people dealing in commodities. The plants they sell are grown just for them whether they be trees or petunias. If they destroy them, I just means that they have expanded the horticulture business by paying for excess production. Since plants are a renewable resource, the only thing wasted is the container materials and energy. Throwing away a dented can of veggies or fruit is more of a waste of resources than throwing away plants. -- Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Morality and ethics do not help companies make money. If they did then the
Big Boys (Lowes, HD, etc.,) wouldn't even be in existence -- they would have realized that they were going to drive mom & pop garden centers, small lumber companies, etc. out of business. It's all about squashing the little guy. wrote in message ... . Some good points made in this thread, but a few other points go a bit far in defending the big retailers. I don't think the retailers "want to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought. They'd toss their toxic wastes into the nearest creek if they thought they'd get away with it. Swyck |
A strange sight at Home Depot
Morality and ethics do not help companies make money. If they did then the
Big Boys (Lowes, HD, etc.,) wouldn't even be in existence -- they would have realized that they were going to drive mom & pop garden centers, small lumber companies, etc. out of business. It's all about squashing the little guy. wrote in message ... . Some good points made in this thread, but a few other points go a bit far in defending the big retailers. I don't think the retailers "want to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought. They'd toss their toxic wastes into the nearest creek if they thought they'd get away with it. Swyck |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:54 PM. |
|
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter