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It's not cool to be hot. So, store owners, turn down the heat!

In this week's Everything King, Wendy has advice for store owners everywhere on how to be cool
christmas-shopping

Dear shop owners everywhere:

I offer you this unsolicited advice that will assist you this holiday season.

As a lifelong avid shopper, I feel adequately knowledgeable in what makes the best shopping experience.

I have been shopping since I was able to walk. I was passionate about it even as a toddler who had to be kept on a leash so I wouldn’t get away. (This was the late 1950s when child leashes were not considered to be inappropriate.)

I shop for necessity. I shop for recreation. I shop as a form of therapy.

Believe me when I say I don’t want brick-and-mortar stores to go the way of the dodo bird.

So, here’s my advice: Turn down your thermostat!

I have just returned from some early Christmas browsing. 

I would have stayed longer and spent more if I wasn’t too busy sweating to death.

Long ago, I learned the act of layering. I rarely wear a winter coat and I haven’t bought a sweater in years. You need to be able to tear off the coat, the cardigan, the mitts and the scarves or you will literally die of heat prostration in the store aisles.

I know what you are thinking: She must be having hot flashes.

Possibly, but so are three-quarters of the other women I see in line with drenched hair. Not so sure about the gentlemen, but surely they are overheated, too.

When you really start to burn up, it can lead to nausea.

Being hot makes me angry. It makes me uncomfortable. I need a quick escape. That means I leave stores much sooner than I care to.

With malls and individual shops suffering from the online shopping trend, my suggestion is keep it a little on the cool side. The atmosphere will be warm enough with all the bodies inside anyway.

Plus, you save money on the hydro bill!

Being a little chilly makes everyone a bit more alert. That’s why they say you will sleep better in a cool bedroom. Ask all the folks who sleep, year-round, with a window open or a fan on.

If your clientele is alert and a little on the frosty side, they will automatically think about stopping for a hot cocoa or hot cider and comfort food. 

All of a sudden that coat or sweater looks more inviting.

When I am burning up, all I can think of is heading straight to the frozen-food section.

Being overheated also leads me to have a coughing fit. This then leads to possible unexpected leakage.

No good can come from leakage.

At a certain age, customers will enter your store and immediately locate the bathroom and the coffee shop. I have started to scope out the closest air vent.

How much better would it be if we were all more intent on going aisle by aisle looking for sales? 

So, store owners, please find a happy medium.

There is a crusade to understand and reverse global warming. I am starting a campaign closer to home.

Stop bodily warming!


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About the Author: Wendy King

Wendy King writes about all kinds of things from nutrition to the job search from cats to clowns — anything and everything — from the ridiculous to the sublime. Watch for Wendy's column weekly.
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