Please close the shop door and don't heat the street!

[Close the Door]

If you are aware of any of your local shops who insist on an Open Door Policy could you please inform us with photographs & addresses? The Close the Door campaign works to save significant energy waste and greatly improve working conditions for staff in the retail sector - the aim is make it common practice to close the door when the heating or air conditioning is on in shops and restaurants. We now have thousands of shops of all types and sizes across the country trading successfully with a closed door in winter so we know that trading is not adversely affected!(for more go to www.closethedoor.org.uk, and join our Facebook/Twitter).

[MarkE]

Good campaign.

Please direct some of your attention to the Apple store in Covent Garden. I was waiting to meet someone outside there one evening last week and the sodding things were enough to keep the entire street cosy. Crazily unnecessary, but on that sort of scale, also presumably quite harmful.

[*Bob*]

What about those shops with doors that sometimes get stuck in the open position when people open them to get in or out? Are these doors being addressed by the campaign?

[*Bob*]

Hang on - I've had a great idea

[the-e-dealer]

Surely it should be "Shut That Door! "

[Close the Door]

Thanks for info on the Apple store

[Close the Door]

'Shut that Door' is a title helped nicely by the song, but a slightly more polite approach works better with retailers !

[Close the Door]

We address the 'sticky' door problem by asking customers to try and make sure the door does close behind them (where possible) in cold weather, and asking retailers to do their best to make sure the door functions properly as.... a door.

[*Bob*]

Has a policy been formulated on revolving doors?

[intexasatthe moment]

William Rose butchers at 126 Lordship Lane Se22 have a very stringent open door policy where the owners wishes override any customer desires for the door to be shut .

I know because I've asked for it to be shut ,have even shut it myself but it is always immediately re opened by the staff who are not allowed to let it remain shut .

[Close the Door]

Does William Rose use heating? Some butchers do not, so it would be useful to know.

[StraferJack]

"I know because I've asked for it to be shut ,have even shut it myself but it is always immediately re opened by the staff who are not allowed to let it remain shut ."

a) why would you do that?

b) when do you get to be in William Rose when the door can't be shut because of people queuing out the door

[*Bob*]

The problem in WR could easily be solved by the installation of some kind of 'meat door' - such as strings of sausages hanging down (in the manner of a beaded curtain).

I've said as much to Bill himself - but was met with a peculiar blank look.

[intexasatthe moment]

Strafer - there was no que ,just me and one other customer .

I was trying to keep warm .

It was freezing ,windy outside .

I asked the staff if I could shut the door and they said they were not allowed to ,so I shut it myself .

[Ukjoncollins]

Wow, sorting the world out problem by problem...

[reeko]

Yep - finding it hard to get even slightly revved up by this one.

Any data on how big an issue this - as compared with open fridges in supermarkets say?

Actually don't answer that, I don't think I care

[Close the Door]

For anyone who does care about their community, environment and the conditions staff are expected to tolerate in their local shops - not everyone it seems - there is plenty of research on the campaign website at the top of this thread. Re the question about revolving doors - these are excellent for conserving heat inside and allowing high customer traffic (so long as there is a good disabled entrance alongside as in some M&S branches) but with obvious downsides when it comes to space and cost.

[MrBen]

I would think there is an advantage to keeping meat cool. Unless you have a penchant for hot meat?

[intexasatthe moment]

I doubt William Rose rely on having a door open in order to keep their products at the right temperature .

[Salsaboy]

What about sliding doors that are stuck open?

[*Bob*]

I'd suggest the best course of action would be to try and fix them.

But - as a temporary measure - a old - perhaps soiled - mattress could be laid in from of the doors to deflect warm air back into the shop. This would also function as a convenient 'urine sponge' for inebriated students leaving Adventure and caught short en route home.

[aquarius moon]

This is a really good campaign & people should care, if only to help staff in the retail sector.

Fortunately, my boss doesn't have the door open in winter, but does, as soon as the better weather comes.

Shopkeepers seem to think that more customers will flock through an open door, rather than a closed one. Not sure about this myself. I think they will come in regardless.

What about pubs?

I used to work in one where the door was always open in spring & autumn when it was really quite cold.

I remember standing behind the bar shivering!

[sunbob]

In the forest hill Rd co op the last checkout is so close to the automatic doors that anyone paying there is likely to constantly make them open. The staff sometimes wear fingerless gloves, but I know from painful personal past experience of working in the early hours in a produce dept that they will not go far towards keeping them comfortable.

[Close the Door]

Thanks aquarius moon and sunbob. Great to hear of another store boss doing the sensible thing and closing the door when it's cold - also opening it when it gets warmer outside when natural ventilation is the best thing. Quite right about pubs/restaurants, and we do cover them, though on the whole these tend to be better than chain stores on door policy. It is simply not true that a closed door deters custom - so many shops of all sorts now trade successfully behind a closed door in winter that it would suggest something seriously wrong with a shop if people don't bother to open the door to get to what is on offer (which is unlikely and we haven't seen that yet). There are also reports of customers staying longer in an even, comfortable temperature when the door is closed, and spending more. Shoplifting also goes down, saving more money. A no-brainer. Note taken of the comment on the Forest Hill Co op.

[reeko]

Oh dear god, I now am feeling the urge to buy a bulk lot of door wedges and prop open every door I find. In fact I might just turn the heating up to 11, open my front door and waft it back and forth for the next two hours. but then I am a tad contrary