To wish the shops weren't so overheated

[hiddenhome]

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 I know the staff have to be kept reasonably warm, but they're all pottering round in short sleeved shirts 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 Just think of all the money they could save just by dropping it a few degrees.

AIBU?

plus, also remember that 21 degrees is classed as the recommended living room temperature.

I think shops should go all posh and have a clockroom then we would all be cooler and less hassled

YABU. It's a pain in the neck but at least you don't have to be in there all day with fluctuations of temperature according to how many people are in the store.

I have complained several times to the managers at my local Sainsbury's because people working on one particular till freeze at this time of year despite fleeces and fingerless gloves because they are close to the doors. There should be extra heating at these tills.

Nothing changes even though I explain that being served by someone who's shivering like a Dickensian orphan doesn't enhance my shopping experience.

And shops have to have the doors open because when they're closed people do assume that they're closed and don't want to look silly trying to push them open in case they're locked. That's just the way people are.

I always find 21 degrees stifiling - we have it at 16 -18 degrees.

We don't use the central heating at home and it was 12 degrees out in the hall the other day. We just go in the lounge with the stove if we're cold. Rest of the time, just put on jumpers and bodywarmers. dh wears a hat in bed

20/21 degrees is way too high. Don't people wear woolly jumpers anymore? I think we're all spoilt in this country and the shops are just pandering to this.

I've just arrived back from Tesco and the checkout woman was in a short sleeved tee shirt

With all these environmental worries, pollution, costs etc. wouldn't it make sense to wean people off expecting to feel warm all the time? No wonder flu virus is so rampant.

How dare the woman working at Tesco's wear a t-shirt?

Serves her right if she catches flu.

btw hiddenhome you do understand how viruses are transmitted, don't you?

You'll find that most shops are at a acceptable temp when they aren't very full but the crush of people over Christmas drives up the temperature. Bodies are rather efficient radiators. Heating systems in shops aren't usually that sophisticated (because it would be too expensive)and can't react that quickly so it feels like you are overheating.

Yabu. Working on tills close to the doors that open every 10 secs and blow in that nasty cold air you need the heating up that much! After all we are there all day.

YANBU. Many people I know take issue with this. I have low blood pressure and find it quite hard to cope with temperature change (particularly very high temperatures) and it stops me going shopping in winter. Of course, I know I'm not the only one going into a shop so the world shouldn't change just because of me but it does seem to be a common complaint with the public. I don't mind too much anyway as I'm addicted to ebay!

And it's pretty horrid when you get all sweaty and then want to try on clothes .

YANBU, it just makes the whole thing doubly unbearable.

Trains are even worse though - they seem to have two heat settings, 'boiling' or 'freezing' and 'boiling' is applied from October to March regardless. Due to the crammed nature of rush hour trains, you find yourself in a burning hot scrum of commuters without the space to even remove your coat.

YANBU, that's one reason why I try to shop online.

Viruses thrive in warm conditions and too many fluctuations in body temperature leaves people susceptible to contracting them.

hiddenhome you catch flu by breathing in water droplets from infected people's breath or touching something they've touched with their snotty hands and then touching your own eyes, mouth or nostrils.

In the winter people gather in enclosed spaces and there's more chance of transmission. That's the only way being cold plays a part.

If your DH wants to wear a bobble hat in bed or you want to huddle round your stove and whine about other people feel free but that's not the way to avoid flu or any other virus.

You are so right, we are ALL so overindulged, as if it's a right to wear seasonally inappropriate clothes, to heat the street. There must be a solution that addresses these issues, I don't remember it being so uncomfortably hot in shops when I was a child.

hiddenhome whilst I think lots of shops are too hot, you can't expect people in a clothing store (who are displaying the clothes on their bodies) to wear a bobble hat, or have a stove in their store. If you like living under a slanket all winter, fine (although personally I would find 12 really unbearable, simply no comfort in living once you have to start wearing fingerless gloves at home, for me anyway). But in stores, shop workers shouldn't have to wear their coats all day and move constantly to avoid being really cold.

I think it's reasonable to expect to take your coat off when entering a shop or mall, except for food shopping where there's a need to keep the food refrigerated. It's not reasonable to have people in t-shirts.

It's winter, we should expect to wrap up in thick jumpers, we are over indulged, it's madness!

I hate changing rooms that are too hot. I have heat induced urticaria so I often end up going home as I can't cope with the hives and itching
My friend has temperature induced urticaria, walking from the cold under a door blow heater has sent her into anaphylactic shock before. I know that's extreme but why do they make them so hot?!

I don't get it either, very few retail workers are standing still, most are moving around or moving stuff around. I get cold in my office which rarely gets above 18 in the winter where I sit, but most retail work is much less sedentary. I agree shops are way too hot, and when I have commented to staff in one particular shop, they agree.

YABU but I know what you mean.

But as Hardgoing has said, what about the people that work in them?

And some shops are hot at every time of year, winter, summer, empty or full.

Yes, the people that work in them are entitled to work in a comfortable temperature, but that would be about 17 degrees with perhaps long sleeves or a bodywarmer if they felt a bit cooler. 17 degrees isn't going to freeze anybody. Anything about about 21 is way too high. I'm not suggesting that staff should be huddled round a stove

And temperature fluctuations affect the immune system. People going out inadequately dressed because the stores are too hot are going to pick up viruses more easily than people who live with a constant temperature. I'm perfectly well aware that flu is contracted via droplets, but that isn't what I'm talking about. I'm referring to the effects on the immune system of being cold one minute then overheated the next.

Where is the credible evidence that temperature fluctuations affect the immune system in anybody other than those whose immune systems are already severely compromised?

Temperatures vary in large enclosed spaces as to the number of bodies moving around and proximity to hot and cold spots. It's unreasonable to expect workers there all day to fit in with what you want for a fleeting visit.

Just take your bobble hat off next time you go Christmas shopping.

I've already said, 17 is NOT a comfortable working temperature. It is at the very lowest level of what is acceptable for heavy physical work according to HSE guidelines. It may be comfortable for people coming in from the cold but it is not comfortable for the people working there.

I am sorry hidden, I failed to read your post properly and pay it the attention it deserves.

Are you arguing that people forced to dress inadequately for the prevailing weather conditions, perhaps even having to remove their bobble hats because the thermostat in Debenhams is a bit on the high side, are at increased risk from dangerous viruses?

What are you scared of? Ebola while you're choosing Christmas cards?

Excuse me while I shuffle off. The tears are running down my legs.