Archived Heat in store making people ill

[Bosch]

I never heard anyone getting sick from the temps. I'd rather have it warm than cold!

What you should do: Call off and use sick days. Or tell them you want to get trained in pfresh.

I have been heat sick, it isn't pretty and its dangerous.

You can't use sick days for the entire summer.. And you don't have a pfresh work at if you don't have the rest of the store working..

ThebeastPMT, better than having your check lane people puking cause they are starting to suffer heat stroke and people passing out in the back cause its close to a 100F inside the building.

 

[SallyHoover]

I started a few years back before Christmas. Even near the doors in 30 degree weather it was always hot at the front lanes. I remember thinking if they blast the heat like this I bet it will be nice and cool in the summer. Not so much. There are maybe 4-5 days per year where I would describe the front lanes as being anything other than hot. It is kept 73-75 in the winter and maybe 76-80 in the summer and in between in the fall and spring. Certainly cooler than outside but not comfortable and with the doors constantly opening a whole bunch of humidity comes in as well. During the hotter periods when the G and E company offers discounts for cycling off the AC, Target does so and the store gets to the mid 80's plus during those hours. The only areas of the store that are somewhat comfortable in the summer (except the cycle off periods) would be parts of grocery/pfresh and electronics. If it ever hits below 74 in the store, the heat goes on regardless of time of year. It's ridiculous. Have been told that corporate controls temp and the store leadership can do nothing about it. On perfect spring days, lower 70's low humidity, you can feel hot air being pumped in even though the STL denies the heat is on.

It isn't heat stroke hot usually in the store but not a cool pleasant shopping experience like many places are in the summer. We have had a few days when the power was off completely and off course Target doesn't close and switches to generators and on those rare occasions it does reach 90+ in the store and I do call out if I have to spend more than 3 or 4 hours there.

 

[Kartman]

I never heard anyone getting sick from the temps. I'd rather have it warm than cold! What you should do: Call off and use sick days.

 

[notfit05]

you think the store is a tad warm come over to the dc mine is one of the top highest temp wise they just installed ac this year but have yet to turn it on despite 90 degrees almost with humidity

 

[CsideMaster]

It’s always horrible in my store so I wear shorts and drink loads of water. Always go to the fountains in cafe and fill my bottle, probably go through four a night.

 

[Kartman]

Are you a CA? And if not, your store allows shorts?

 

[CsideMaster]

Are you a CA? And if not, your store allows shorts?

No, not CA, and we were told that while it is frowned upon, it’s not forbidden.

 

[zabbaza]

Our store is pretty miserable in the summer. You'd think they would at least keep it cool for the guests but nope. We get so many complaints and all I can do is shrug. I leave shifts drenched in sweat. My shirts have permanent pit stains. My makeup sometimes melts off. There've been a couple times that I had to sit down because I felt sick. And I've been scolded for taking so many water breaks, but then we're not allowed to have water bottles on the floor, so I guess I'm supposed to just work until I sweat every ounce of fluid from my body and dry up like a sponge.

Anyway. It's really stupid and I honestly don't understand it. Surely if Walmart can afford to keep their stores air conditioned we can too?

 

[Shani]

^Right? All these multi-million dollar remodels, and they can't turn on some damn a/c for us? It really irks me that the two stores closest to ours are kept at frigid temperatures but we get stuck roasting. Turn theirs up a couple degrees and give us the difference or something.

I wish we could wear shorts. CAs only. Our former STL was super nitpicky about dumb things, and capris weren't allowed either. Only "ankle pants" were okay. Fat lot of good that does. I have no idea what our new STL's opinion is on that, but I got some new capris that go just below the knee and I'm wearing them. If it offends someone, they can die mad about it.

 

[Dog]

GSTL brought out a pile of those “New at target” black shirts yesterday because everyone sweated through their shirts

 

[theissueoftissue]

ThebeastPMT, better than having your check lane people puking cause they are starting to suffer heat stroke and people passing out in the back cause its close to a 100F inside the building.

Is this verified by a properly calibrated thermometer?

 

[skrepo1977]

The trick guys is to have guests complain about how hot it is in the store. Have your frontend cashier's prod guests to take the survey when it is issues on their receipt. Set up fans by the cash registers to make it an even more dramatic point. I was in the same situation at my old store and only till guests complained about how hot it was on surveys did corporate change the temps.

 

[theissueoftissue]

Circulating hot air with fans probably won’t do much to help lol.

I think some of you are being a little dramatic saying your stores are in the 90-100° range.

 

[Kartman]

I beg to differ. 90 degrees feels WAY better with lots of air moving around.

Heat + no air movement = STIFLING!

 

[BullseyeBlues]

Circulating hot air with fans probably won’t do much to help lol.

I think some of you are being a little dramatic saying your stores are in the 90-100° range.

That would actually be accurate for the summer in some parts of softlines at our store, our last PMT checked that with a thermal imager last year because their business partner didn’t believe us. Some parts of the store were in the upper 70s while in other parts of the store the temperature went as high as 98 degrees in July.

 

[Bosch]

When outside is cooler than inside there is a problem and having cashiers puking at the front lanes isn't dramatic - its ridiculous. And documented.

 

[theissueoftissue]

When outside is cooler than inside there is a problem and having cashiers puking at the front lanes isn't dramatic - its ridiculous. And documented.

So what was done about it?

 

[Kartman]

Not a damn thing I bet.

 

[Flow Warrior]

It's been bad for a couple of previous summers. But summer hasn't even started and already, the lack of air conditioning in our store is making me and some other team members ill. They've even had heat going on mornings when the forecast is supposed to be a high of 80 Fahrenheit.
I've been nauseated at work and at home for about a week, severely enough that I'm going to need to ask my doctor for some prescription meds for it when I see him on Monday. Another TM has also been getting nauseated along with some other stomach-related problems from it; same thing happened to them last summer and they are thinking about quitting because they can't go through that again. Yet another has been getting headaches as well as stomach issues which are causing them to take frequent bathroom breaks. We are allowed water bottles with us, but simply staying hydrated isn't enough.
Guests have been complaining too, not that it seems to have done any good.
Who do we have to contact to file complaints about this? Our leads are tired of hearing about it so they are of no help.

You sound like you work in Houston. Several stores had HVAC issues. Its brutal here without AC

 

[Flow Warrior]

Circulating hot air with fans probably won’t do much to help lol.

I think some of you are being a little dramatic saying your stores are in the 90-100° range.

I gather you never stepped into a Houston store when the AC broke in the offices. It was and it sucked for the days it was.

 

[pfreshdude]

Your pmt needs to check on that temp issue.

Good luck with that...my PMT contacts corp about it every year and they dont do anything for us

 

[can't touch this]

I beg to differ. 90 degrees feels WAY better with lots of air moving around.

Heat + no air movement = STIFLING!

I beg to differ with your differing. Holding a blowdrier in front of my face is plenty stifling.

 

[theissueoftissue]

Good luck with that...my PMT contacts corp about it every year and they dont do anything for us

If he’s telling you he “Contacts Corp” that is not legitimate. Zone setpoints are pretty much standard throughout the country. If it’s 80-100° something is broken, and he she or they are not doing their job. A few days to a week for a part is understandable, but if the vendor is jerking around and it’s going on weeks or months, and people are fainting due to heat, the PMT and/or BP are failing miserably.

If all else fails tell the DTL. They will get on the BP and it will get fixed.

 

[Kartman]

I beg to differ with your differing. Holding a blowdrier in front of my face is plenty stifling.

You strike me as someone who's never really endured a true heat situation. When I was doing treework in the direct sun on a 95-degree day a blower blasting on us during a break was the only way we had to bring our core temps down. I've been there and done that many, many times. W/O that air hitting on us we would never finish the day. Why do you think they have fans in the backroom? Would you turn them off to feel more comfortable?

I don't believe you ever have worked in real heat. Be damn glad!

 

[ineedhours]

SuperTarget. Our Grocery Side Makes Me SWEAT everyday, especially the cereal/bread aisles, Super-Size equals = NO CIRCULATION. I take breaks at the Wal-Mart Gas Station Next Door, it's SOOPER Cool and relieving.