Archived Wasted fixtures!

[Sweet Pea]

I cannot believe all the fixtures they throw in the compactor. Like today they threw away those red mesh things that held the bags of Christmas bows. I’m thinking those would be great to toss toys into in kids rooms or at nurseries. And those black wire baskets that were in H&H I believe. Why not donate it to animal rescues or women’s shelters or something?? I’m all about repurposeing stuff. It’s so wasteful.

 

[Planosss]

Bring it up to your leadership, make waves!

 

[Sweet Pea]

Bring it up to your leadership, make waves!

😮Can I do that?? Would they listen to me?? I may do that. Great idea.

 

[SigningLady]

We always save the bow bins. They collapse and take up so little space, and they come in handy for flexing the next year.

I also have several in my house for my kids' toys/stuffed animals. 😁

 

[unknown]

And then when a child or dog chokes on a small piece, they sue Target.

And it's great to say "Save It!" but where? In the fixture room. Well, unless YOU maintain it and keep it tidy, don't be a hoarder. Everyone wants to keep things. I have to fight a never ending tide of fixtures and signing every day.

For example, our old ETL ordered a whole pallet of backroom shelves even though the PMT told her not to. They sat in the fire tunnel for weeks until he threw them away. He tried and tried to send them back. Nope. Someone said, "Keep them in the fixture room." Lol. Where???

 

[SigningLady]

There is definitely a fine line between being smart about what to keep and hoarding. Asking your signing tm is a good idea as they are likely the one who would have to find the space to save anything.

 

[Yetive]

The metal should be getting recycled. We save the bow bins.

 

[RhettB]

Yup, and next year when they're trying to flex bows, but can't because there aren't enough mesh containers to put them out, you'll have yourself a good laugh.

They collapse into nothing and are easily stored in the tiniest of spaces. Or, like you said, could be used for other items.

Like the shower poufs.

 

[IWishIKnew]

We had a guest ask about buying the bow bins the other day. They are a useful size for storage of many things. I think I saw ours stashed in the fixture room.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

For example, our old ETL ordered a whole pallet of backroom shelves even though the PMT told her not to. They sat in the fire tunnel for weeks until he threw them away. He tried and tried to send them back. Nope. Someone said, "Keep them in the fixture room." Lol. Where???

If corporate knew how much money is wasted on ordering fixtures only to end up throwing them away they would have a shit hemorrhage...that was my store in a nutshell. 🙄

 

[SigningLady]

If corporate knew how much money is wasted on ordering fixtures only to end up throwing them away they would have a shit hemorrhage...that was my store in a nutshell. 🙄

I've seen firsthand how wasteful corporate themselves are with fixtures. We've received pallets of fixtures that *might* be needed for a project that are then tossed into a dumpster a month later, never been unboxed. They've actually told us they'd just send new ones if they decided they were, in fact, needed later. They also sent signing they were testing out too. Got delivered, they tried it, didn't like it, and tossed it all in the same day.

I'm pretty sure they must print their own money.

 

[Tessa120]

Last year we tried putting the bow bins in kids clearance to hold things like clearance hair accessories, socks, hats, purses and whatever other small non-hanging items went on clearance. In my opinion it was a disaster and we were always fishing out discarded reshop and torn packages and loose pieces. It was like the damned shippers except that you had to practically have your head and shoulders in the bow bin to get all the items on the bottom out.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

Bow bins are great for the bags of cotton balls, bags of plastic easter eggs and as small ball bins. Not a bunch just a few to keep things a little more orderly in the back room. If you saved every thing that had another use, you would run out of space really quick. If you try to stow it in the fixture room, you will be eliminated by the plano team. Seriously, they would make you disappear

 

[Tessa120]

If you try to stow it in the fixture room, you will be eliminated by the plano team. Seriously, they would make you disappear

Not like it would be that hard. You could hide Hoffa's body and the bodies of the Mary Celeste's crew in the back of the typical fixture room without any visible sign that it's not just piles of metal and plastic. Plenty of room to add another body.

 

[SigningLady]

Not like it would be that hard. You could hide Hoffa's body and the bodies of the Mary Celeste's crew in the back of the typical fixture room without any visible sign that it's not just piles of metal and plastic. Plenty of room to add another body.

Oh, I'd notice. But I'm a hardcore signing ninja, I see everything. I can almost always tell when something is amiss in the chaos of the fixture room....and who likely did it. 🔍🕵️‍♀️🧐

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

There are so many things that can be donated to keep them out of the landfill. You know those stupid plastic tubes in the middle of journal rolls? We donated those to a local school who uses them for preschoolers to string (like beads) and art projects. The old white wire baskets went to a nursing home who uses them for organizing supplies for activities. The bow bins went to a local animal shelter to house extra dog and cat toy donations until they were needed. We did a reuse recycle event one spring with things we constantly threw out like shoe boxes and buckets (candy canes and lollipop holders in mini) We gave out a gift card for the best usage ideas. I think its great that the OP is thinking about the waste and how to potentially make an impact.

 

[Planosss]

And then when a child or dog chokes on a small piece, they sue Target.

And it's great to say "Save It!" but where? In the fixture room. Well, unless YOU maintain it and keep it tidy, don't be a hoarder. Everyone wants to keep things. I have to fight a never ending tide of fixtures and signing every day.

For example, our old ETL ordered a whole pallet of backroom shelves even though the PMT told her not to. They sat in the fire tunnel for weeks until he threw them away. He tried and tried to send them back. Nope. Someone said, "Keep them in the fixture room." Lol. Where???

Why didn’t they send them on the sweep?

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

Not like it would be that hard. You could hide Hoffa's body and the bodies of the Mary Celeste's crew in the back of the typical fixture room without any visible sign that it's not just piles of metal and plastic. Plenty of room to add another body.

Oh trust me the plano team knows when crap gets thrown in there. They can and will find out who the offender is too! People tend to just throw crap in there. Believe it or not someone has to straighten that damn room up and its not the fixture room fairy. In order for the plano team to do their job they need to have access...safe access to all of the items in there. What looks like stacks of metal and weird hooks to some are only used a few times a year and have to be stowed the rest of the time. People who just toss stuff in there expecting "someone else" to take care of it are playing with fire.Plano team members have long memories and can be a tad bit wicked

 

[unknown]

There are so many things that can be donated to keep them out of the landfill. You know those stupid plastic tubes in the middle of journal rolls? We donated those to a local school who uses them for preschoolers to string (like beads) and art projects. The old white wire baskets went to a nursing home who uses them for organizing supplies for activities. The bow bins went to a local animal shelter to house extra dog and cat toy donations until they were needed. We did a reuse recycle event one spring with things we constantly threw out like shoe boxes and buckets (candy canes and lollipop holders in mini) We gave out a gift card for the best usage ideas. I think its great that the OP is thinking about the waste and how to potentially make an impact.

Those are all great ideas. When did you find time to do all this? When our hours are being cut and we can't even finish our work, I'll be damned if I'm hanging around to this place that is cutting my paycheck. And did you go in the fixture room off the clock? If not, you must have sorted that stuff on the clock. Let's see. When I left today, there were still 3 deserted carts of fixtures salesfloor had jammed in the fixture room. So great in theory.

 

[Lazy]

There is definitely a fine line between being smart about what to keep and hoarding. Asking your signing tm is a good idea as they are likely the one who would have to find the space to save anything.

In the past year I've gotten rid of 5 pallets of fixtures that we "absolutely needed." I have yet to hear anyone bitch about missing fixtures. My store definitely likes to hoarde.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

Those are all great ideas. When did you find time to do all this? When our hours are being cut and we can't even finish our work, I'll be damned if I'm hanging around to this place that is cutting my paycheck. And did you go in the fixture room off the clock? If not, you must have sorted that stuff on the clock. Let's see. When I left today, there were still 3 deserted carts of fixtures salesfloor had jammed in the fixture room. So great in theory.

All that was done before modernization (aka project destroy spot) commenced. The journal roll thing is simple, cashiers had a box they threw them in and the teacher came in and picked them up once a month. My plano team was the best and could get through their work under hours. They came up with the majority of the ideas and use the leftover time to get their ideas implemented. Spot used to encourage you to grow your team and utilize their ideas. Really they did!

 

[unknown]

All that was done before modernization (aka project destroy spot) commenced. The journal roll thing is simple, cashiers had a box they threw them in and the teacher came in and picked them up once a month. My plano team was the best and could get through their work under hours. They came up with the majority of the ideas and use the leftover time to get their ideas implemented. Spot used to encourage you to grow your team and utilize their ideas. Really they did!

And that's great. My favorite favorite thing is a wide open compactor. I go to town. And if future generations are choking on trash, well, that's their problem. At least we cut hours and provided cheap shit from China.

 

[allnew2]

I cannot believe all the fixtures they throw in the compactor. Like today they threw away those red mesh things that held the bags of Christmas bows. I’m thinking those would be great to toss toys into in kids rooms or at nurseries. And those black wire baskets that were in H&H I believe. Why not donate it to animal rescues or women’s shelters or something?? I’m all about repurposeing stuff. It’s so wasteful.

I’ve been donating them to my kid school . I asked my stl and everything was cool.

 

[Fix It]

Most stores can't even keep endcaps filled correctly, so how would you expect non-adjacent fixtures to be filled and zoned? They wind up making a store look like a cluttered mess. Stores that keep the extra fixtures wind up having awful looking fixture rooms. Donate them if you can but it’s usually best to just toss them.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

My unwillingness to toss stuff into the compactor comes from my first STL. When metal shelving or fixtures were not longer needed, they went into the metal recycling box. Anything that could be repurposed recycled or reused was. We even recycled all of the gift registry paper. Our compactor was emptied 10 times one year. Honest! Way back in the day Recycle reuse and repurpose was a catch phrase at spot, just like "speed is life". He gave us a speech once and said that it didnt matter if you worked at spot or on wall street, we could all make a difference in what hits a landfill. That hit home. (He was definitely the best leader I ever worked for.)There are people more than willing to pick up metal and make some money off recycling it. Isn't that better than tossing it in a compactor? I was in no way a hoarder, if it was no longer needed it did not go into the fixture room! But somethings that take up a bit of room (ball bin) are used for a few weeks every year and you need to find space. We went through a remodel and purged that room. Still we would find peg hooks in hand baskets ,baskets of sale signs etc. The offending TL of the area (they left the labels in duh!) would find those baskets on their desks to deal with. More than once I brought junk carts that were stashed in there to the morning huddle and call people out.The fixture situation can get out of control fast. Someone needs to stay on top of it. But if you don't use metal recycling, think about it. It really is a win win situation