LEGO store Pick-a-Brick Q&A

[NiceMarmot]

I was at the LEGO store today, and was amazed that I was the only customer (it was early). So I took the opportunity to do a bit of Q&A with one of the salespeople there.

How often do the PAB bins change over?

- A bit faster than once a month. More quickly over the holidays, and in January as people use their free boxes they get from buying more than $75 worth of LEGO in December.

Do you control what goes in the bin?

- We request and order stuff from LEGO, and they also just ship us stuff. Then we decide what goes into the bins when. We try to make sure there's a good variety of parts and colors.

Do all the stores have the same number of bins?

- Depends on the size of the store. Larger stores have more bins.

Do kids drop their bins and make a mess a lot?

- Yes, every day. Sometimes a full cup. We just get out the pushbroom and sweep it up. It's not that bad.

When it's slow, do you all go in the back and play with the bricks?

- No, not really. When it's slow, we play with the LEGO games. They're pretty interesting and pretty creative. Even for young kids. When we used to do birthday parties, we used to put out the games and let the kids play with them.

Do you still do birthday parties in the store?

- No, we stopped doing those. They got in the way of us helping the regular customers.

What's the most number of large cups someone's ever bought here?

- I've had one guy buy 14 large cups from the pick-a-brick wall.

(Wow, that's over $200 worth of PAB!)

[lesager]

Interesting. I wish there was a Lego store in Las Vegas, but sadly there is not.

I'm hoping to drop by one on a future trip to California, so I'm thinking I'll stockpile on cash to get away with as much as I can...

[meyerc13]

Thanks for this insightful interview! Some of it I had previously guessed, but it's interesting to get confirmation.

I feel bad if I drop a tiny 1x1 plate or stud, maybe I shouldn't feel so bad if people are dropping whole cups on a daily basis!

[Brickdoctor]

Interesting. I actually have my own fact to add to this list:

Q: What do you do with the bricks people drop on the floor?

A: For hygenic reasons (kids putting the bricks in their mouths), any bricks on the floor are swept up and thrown away/recycled.

I was like, 'Wow, you have to get rid of them?' when I heard that. Now I make an effort to pick up pieces off the floor if they're not scratched or anything and clean them when I get home. Not sure if this policy has changed since I asked a couple years back.

[SilentMode]

Thanks for this very informative Q&A!

[Iysk]

Interesting. I actually have my own fact to add to this list:

Q: What do you do with the bricks people drop on the floor?

A: For hygenic reasons (kids putting the bricks in their mouths), any bricks on the floor are swept up and thrown away/recycled.

I was like, 'Wow, you have to get rid of them?' when I heard that. Now I make an effort to pick up pieces off the floor if they're not scratched or anything and clean them when I get home. Not sure if this policy has changed since I asked a couple years back.

Should I feel bad for putting them back in the bin? sometimes I get too many, and if it's dropped by me I toss it back in...

[Henchmen4Hire]

"Excuse me madam, do you have any- OOPS! I seem to have spilled my 5 PAB cups on the floor! As a showing of my sincere apology, I will pick them all up and dispose of these now filthy bricks for you!"

[NiceMarmot]

"Excuse me madam, do you have any- OOPS! I seem to have spilled my 5 PAB cups on the floor! As a showing of my sincere apology, I will pick them all up and dispose of these now filthy bricks for you!"

Now there's a good strategy! We can do them a favor and take care of the 'recycling' for them!

[JAYMATIK]

I doubt the answers you received from you Q&A is the same for all LEGOs store. I've talked extensively to the Store Managers about PAB at the 2 local LEGO store by me and I've received answers.

How often do the PAB bins change over?

Sometimes the store will receive new elements within from time to time, but overall, the inventory stays the same. As posted in the store calendar for January, you'll start to see a significant change in inventory.

Do you control what goes in the bin?

I know this is true because this answer was asked at the Bricks by the Bay LEGO convention last year and was answered by Steve Witt. Stores do not and cannot request PAB elements. They just get what's sent to them and usually it's the same across all stores. The elements sent to stores is overstock from the warehouse.

Do you still do birthday parties in the store?

My local LEGO stores still do them and they don't do it while the store opens, it's done before the store opens.

As far as PAB elements being swept up from the floor and then thrown away? My stores do sweep them up, but they get cleaned in the back and then sorted into bulk PAB grab bags for $7.99 each.

LIVE IN CALIFORNIA OR CLOSE? Come check out Bricks by the Bay 2011 - LEGO Convention. March 25-27, 2011. www.bricksbythebay.com