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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish the shops weren't so overheated

103 replies

hiddenhome · 13/12/2011 16:45

Not so much shopping centres, but just the ordinary high street shops and supermarkets.

I venture out all muffled up then end up boiling in the shops. The opticians was 20 degrees yesterday and I had a wool jumper on Confused I know the staff have to be kept reasonably warm, but they're all pottering round in short sleeved shirts Hmm Why can't it be about 16 degrees or so and they can have sweaters on?

Sainsburys don't have heating on and it's fine shopping in there. Morrisons is as hot as the bars of hell Sad Just think of all the money they could save just by dropping it a few degrees.

AIBU?

OP posts:
whackamole · 13/12/2011 20:17

YANBU. And I agree, when you have a baby it is a bloody pain in the arse having to strip them down immediately you go into a shop as otherwise they will overheat. I tend to (when not absolutely Baltic!) not use a snowsuit and just have lots of blankets that can be stripped back. Much easier.

workshy · 13/12/2011 20:28

If you office based workers were made to sit in an office all day at 16 degrees I'm sure you would complain that it is cold

plus if you are near the doors you get a blast of cold air every time they open so it feels much colder

the shop where I work is in theory 18 degress

well it might be right next to the thermostat but it is 50,000 sq ft so it has it's hot and cold spots (and we all know where they are lol)

I understand the point about babies (I've had 2) but a couple of blankets and a cosy toes are easy enough to strip off

(and can I also mention that when we have no heating like when the boiler took 9 weeks to fix, customers are very quick to complain about how cold it is)

2wwmadness · 13/12/2011 20:39

I work in retail, and it is FAR to hot, un bearable. I am constantly asking to turn the tenp down. Apparently, it's set in a central office and cannot be changed instore, e-mail head offices please!!!

olibeansmummy · 13/12/2011 20:44

YANBU I just want to get out of shops ASAP and have done all my shopping online this year. Sorry for the tmi but I have a horrible problem with sweating. I can manage it well with 2 (!) string deodorants but if I overheart in thick clothing I very quickly start to smell Sad this makes me uncomfortable and embarrassed so I avoid this as much as possible.

FrostyTheCrunchyFrog · 13/12/2011 20:44

I work in a shop, and I am dreading tomorrow. My last shift I was so cold my hands were blue. FREEZING. And that is with fucking stupid elf tights and hat, vest, two long sleeved tops, a jumper and a fleece.

I know it's partly just that I am one of those people that feels the cold, but it is also that the fucking door is kept open as apparently customers are too thick to realise that it can be opened. Or too lazy to open it. Or some other spurious reason.

FrostyTheCrunchyFrog · 13/12/2011 20:45

You may have gathered from my previous post, I dislike being cold.

GirlWithALlamaTattoo · 13/12/2011 20:47

Does it encourage people to try on, and thereafter buy, clothes, though?

I hate getting dressed and undressed in the cold at home; I wouldn't bother in a shop.

BrianButterfield · 13/12/2011 20:48

I hate trying on when I'm hot - I get all flustered and stuck in things!

spiderslegs · 13/12/2011 20:49

YADNBU - I had a turn once in John Lewis, at the Chanel counter, boiling hot, wearing a shearling, one moment fiddling about with lip-gloss, next moment swooning on the floor. They were very kind & gave me tea in the manager's office - but really.

.

nancy75 · 13/12/2011 20:51

how can you expect a shop to be the right temperature for people wearing coats and outdoor clothing, and yet not too cold for staff? In most clothing stores the staff are expected to wear the current season stock, which in January is summer clothes! also if you are going to be tryingh things on in a changing room do you want it to be cold?
I don't think most people realise that alot of shops are not actually heated - if they are inside a shopping centre the shops don't really get that cold, they just have bad air cooling, due the the difficulty of fitting air conditioning in to shopping centres.

tralalala · 13/12/2011 20:51

YADNBU I always leave too hot shops stressed and not buying anything.

UnexpectedOrangeInMyStocking · 13/12/2011 20:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lazydog · 13/12/2011 21:11

"have you ever worked in a supermarket?"

Yes, I did for a couple of years (at the weekends) as a teen. I clearly remember that it was always far too hot in the store for me. Grin

pinkappleby · 13/12/2011 22:18

Yes I've worked in a supermarket and the temperature was fine except once when I had to empty a load of freezers (was normally on tills).

I hate hate hate hot shops, it makes me feel ill, sweat and have to carry DC coats and deal with their moaning. I wouldn't go in M&S at the weekend because it is one of the worst. Debenhams here is bad too, but BHS and plenty of the smaller stores are ok, if they can turn the heating down, why can't others?

MyChildDoesntNeedSleepAtXmas · 13/12/2011 22:27

YABU

20 degrees C is chilly!

I was in Toys R Us last week and it was so cold I couldn't wait to get out of there.

OldBagWantsNewBag · 13/12/2011 22:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheFestiveWife · 13/12/2011 22:28

YANBU. I went Christmas shopping today. Was all bundled up, got on the bus and the heaters were on (probably the highest). By the time I got off I was sweating bloody pints. Then go out into the cold, then into the shops and it's boiling. Walking around with my coat hat gloves and scarf draped over my arm, right ole PITA.

Many moons ago when I worked in retail, the supervisor would whack the heating up full blast in the winter. Used to drive me mad, I'd have to come to work in sleeveless tops just so I didn't pass out! I used to sneak upstairs and put the air con on when she was on her break. Xmas BlushXmas Grin

MyChildDoesntNeedSleepAtXmas · 13/12/2011 22:30

Gosh, I don't think I've ever been too hot in a shop!

Minshu · 13/12/2011 22:31

I totally agree with lazydog about Canadian shops - superheated to allow the shop assistants to wear skimpy vest tops when it's -30 C outside... Then in summer, when it's +30 C outside and so you are wearing vests and shorts, the air con gives you goose bumps.

Supermarkets must be difficult taking freezer sections into account , but most shops don't have that problem.

Unfortunately, it has been shown that footfall is higher in shops where the doors are kept open (my friend who owns several small shops has insisted).

Wonder if Mary Portas has considered this. I'm very grateful for internet shopping...

NotJustForClassic · 13/12/2011 22:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Chynah · 13/12/2011 22:55

Uniform has to be worn year around, therefore short sleeves make better sense financially for any business that provides uniform for it's staff, than having to fork out for 2 sets of uniform.

Surely the cost of eating a vast space to ROASTING costs more than sleeves on a uniform.

Shops are sooooo much hotter than they used to be. (have worked in retail, supermarkets and offices)

knockneedandknackered · 14/12/2011 10:18

i agree i wear my duffel coat and when i get in the shop im so hot it makes going to the changing room difficult and im so hot and clammy.

mrsjay · 14/12/2011 10:37

I ended up a sweaty mess last saturday not pretty , It was freezing so i had the jumper and jacket on , got into the shops and i was roasted alive ,
I know they have to keep it warmish but christalmighty do they need to crank it up , You have to take your jacket off carry it put it back on cos it gets in the way melt again , and its just a hot sweaty mess , I agree with you Xmas Grin

slavetofilofax · 14/12/2011 10:44

YABU. 16-17 degrees would be freezing for me.

And I can't believe you think sainsburys is an ok temperature. Sainsburys is the worst out of al te supermarkets, I find it really uncomfortable shopping in there because it's so cold.

As for the other high street shops, people try clothes on in there and staff work in there, they can't be expected to do either of those things in anything below 20 degrees.

Shops will never keep everyone happy though, my best friend is quite overweight and is never cold and always warm. Peoples body sizes have a big effect on how cold or warm they feel, and as we all come in different sizes, shops just have to do what is most comfortable for their staff.

SantasNutellaFairy · 14/12/2011 10:45

Perhaps the shops are hotter because people are used to having their home heating on high, and can't cope at "regular" temperatures?

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