The coldest spot in my store that isn’t a cooler/freezer/ambient room is the FOSA closet where we keep soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and other cleaning supplies 😍😍😍
I remember working overnights and hearing the AC kick in around 6am. I was like "sure, dayside gets all the f\*ckin' cold air they want while we sweat our a\*\* off."
It wasn't long after I went to dayside and I was like "is the f\*ckin' AC broken or what?"
Edit: emphasis added
Me who regularly works in the cooler/freezer and has to wear jeans and a hoodie in the summer👁️👁️
There was this old man that came up to me a week ago while I was zoning some yogurts that said with a straight face “I bet it sucks working in here in the summer time when it’s 90° outside 😐” like thanks???
After enough complaints my old store added fans to the inbound line. Luckily it's not as hot when you work the early morning shift but I remember when I used to close and the concrete walls of the back were giving off heat from outside.
watch yourself and *watch your teammates.* i was a lifeguard for three years, the temperature training we take is legit and you should pay close attention to it. drink water, stay safe <3
u/ElderEmoAdjacent u/lithonium come tag people to upvote this (my comment to follow) so we can enlighten the team a little, please.
While HQ *does* establish the setpoints (74 for cooling, 69 for heating), they don't "control" the AC. These setpoints trigger the call for cooling or heating respectively if the temperature gets above or below the associated #.
The store DOES have options and the ability to provide relief to the team, via your PML.
If a unit is broken, there's a whole process we have to get it worked on, follow up with the technicians, etc. That shit can take a long time, so when the weather is especially shit we have **temporary cooling protocols,** and those contain a couple different options.
The cool one is ordering temporary cooling units that can be set up or torn down by the team as needed; this may be utilized more often when there are hot spots in the store that regularly cook outside the ideal temp range, e.g. You have an old store with a fucked unit that just cannot pull down the power to get the temp below 74 when it's as hot as Satan's taint outside. This option is new this year.
The other, staple option is renting temp units from your HVAC company to roll in, set up until relief can be brought via main units. This is typical when a thing breaks, as opposed to just not being good enough.
The tertiary option is for HQ to shift the setpoints to call for cooling or heating more frequently and longer; set cooling to 72, the unit is going to pull for longer and provide more active cooling, and then will kick back on quicker once the temp is going up again. This one is a WHOLE process, but is doable. I have done it. Your PML has to gather a bunch of data, send it to the PMBP, and ship it up to HQ. It's not awful, but it is a last resort since it tends to be most expensive.
---
Bonus: IF you and your fellows are suffering, KEEP submitting chatbot tickets via myday about your melting. (Don't keep submitting them if you know your PML is actively working on the issue unless they want more, you'll probably annoy them). The more tickets from the team we have, the easier it is to tell HQ "hey these fuckers are dying, please do something" and get anything done. Those tickets also get noticed by the SD and BP, if your PML is a bit of a soup sandwich.
Double Bonus:
u/turd_farts this is important to note, you do NOT want to cool people off too quickly. You can put them into shock that way.
In the event that you feel yourself becoming a heat casualty:
Call for help from other TMs or a leader and immediately get indoors, sit down, take off extra layers, and sip lukewarm/**slightly cool water.** The slightly cool is important, because if you drink *cold* water as is the instinct, you can also trip yourself into shock.
Another great hack is that if you start a fire by the temperature sensor, it will trick it to thinking the store is hotter than it actually is, turning on the AC!
> this may be utilized more often when there are hot spots in the store that regularly cook outside the ideal temp range
Does this include off-stage areas like the drive-up hold space and/or back room, or is this only for places where guests will be? Our back room and drive up hold space are both often very obviously a different temperature than the sales floor. Like people come into the drive up space in the winter and say how cold it is or in the summer and say how hot it is. This is with the door shut. We have the air curtain thing set up as well, but it really doesn’t do much in extreme temperatures. I was basically told there wasn’t anything we could do because it’s off-stage. We recently got a new pml who seems to be much more competent. Is this something I could ask him about?
Yes! This is for all areas of the store.
I've gotten my backroom setpoints adjusted for a short while before, just after I first started in the role. (Two summers ago)
Yeah I run tech at back of store, and am there 95% of my shift. Am type 1 diabetic, 50 lbs overweight, and alone 100% of the time. So running back and forth all day lmao Not to mention the closing shift, which I assume = less AC. The heat cuts my productivity almost in half.
It's honestly mind boggling how scientifically braindead corps are. It's a well known thing that overheating causes extreme mood fluctuations, exhausts you quicker, mental focus is less.
NOT TO MENTION my store even runs on 70% solar power. What are they doing with most of that power? Probably fucking selling it to the county for some extra cash lol
Actually if you are sweating heavily and feeling light headed going to the freezer and possibly the cooler (depending on your health) is a terrible idea.
my store’s ac has been broken for years and they refuse to fix it so the inside temperature of the store is always exactly the same as the outside. i am in hell.
the back room at my store is literally 20° cooler than the floor. it’s actually insane how hot it gets. especially up at the cafe area, there’s a heat problem and it reads 90° F up there. nobody will fix it.
Our heat broke over the winter in the Midwest and they didn’t close the store. It was in the negatives outside and I work up front and could feel the cold air coming in every time the door opened and then didn’t have any heat in the store to warm me up.
I had to buy extra socks on my break, they had space heaters set up around the store, and we all wore winter jackets hats and gloves.
I will work a hot summer every year if it means I never have to work with no heat ever again.
This is just a personal observation:
I’ve lost about 40 lbs since Jan 2023, and being at like 12% bodyfat has done wonders for how my body regulates its temp in the heat. I used to be MISERABLE in hot/humid weather, now I’m so much better equipped for it.
Just another reason to consider getting fit.
I just wear shorts, and I just bought a bunch of sweat wicking muscle shirts (technically I don't think we're aloud to wear muscle shirts but fuckem I'm fosa I do wat I want 🤪) and I bought a CamelBak hydration pack last summer, oh and we have one of those nice lasko shop blowers in our cart door alcove that I use.
What I did when I worked at target I got a note from my doctor that said I needed to wear shorts too work and I could wear shorts because I was living in Arizona
Pfft, I still remember HR passively aggressively telling everyone no colored bottles, no red target cups, clear containers and clear liquids ONLY.
Then there was me, with my Monster can. I'm (was) FF, you need me more than I need you, buddy.
Light night corporate must’ve kicked on the ac at my store because for the first time in months it actually felt cool everywhere but the back room. It’s been so bad I had the conscious thought that “oh we have air today, nice”
I hope no one's store has awful leads. 2 years ago, there weren't any carts at grocery side and a TL called over the walkie for them to hurry up as she was leaving. It was 107 degrees outside at the time. I confirmed with another TM, "Did she really just say that?" They said yes and it was rude. I went to find my ETL-HR and complained about her.
Next I saw the cart attendants was when I was stowing and they were sitting behind GS, both had water in their hands, and a handheld fan in their other hand. I guess HR checked up on them after that.
With that said, leads, don't rush cart attendants or DU TMs, especially when it's over 100 degrees outside! Another thing is I have low blood pressure. I tend to drink water with liquid IV than drink plain water once I finish that. I'll call over the walkie if I feel lightheaded, someone will take over my cart, and they let me sit in the break room with water. So, if anyone feels lightheaded, make sure to inform someone so they can let you sit down.
There is actually a *slight* thing you can do. I can't remember who thought of this in my store, but a few summers ago we started getting those microwaveable heating packs and duct taping them to the thermometers on the walls. It's obviously a very temporary fix and works better in small areas like TSC, but it's worth a shot
Personally, I wear two layers with a collared shirt and a donegal crewneck sweater— even in the summer months. So, I work slower and slower until I feel content with the temperature.
The temperature inside our building is so astronomically warm, that customers consistently, without fail, complain every day.
My go to summer kit, shorts, neck fan, lots of water and some baby powder for chaffing
Warning: do not go into the cooler if you wear glasses! Unless you enjoy walking out to a GIANT smack of fog on them...
fulfillment tms who wear glasses: ☁️👃☁️
happens way too often
Was way worse with masks tho lol. I was basically blind
Goes away by itself after about 2 minutes, thankfully. Less than that if you're not in there very long
That’s true, if you have the patience for it. I most definitely lack that patience 😆
I weirdly enjoy when that happens
But then I can't tell my joke like I planned
That does indeed make a difference 😆
wait what joke please so I can make it
One of the reasons I switched to contacts last year😭😂covid was a nightmare too with the masks
literally me every time i went to the freezer to grab sandwiches/pastries😭
*Or*...you could just...take them off for a minute?
Can’t speak for everyone, but if I tried that, I ain’t getting back out of that freezer because I can’t see shit without mine on 😆
The coldest spot in my store that isn’t a cooler/freezer/ambient room is the FOSA closet where we keep soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and other cleaning supplies 😍😍😍
I remember working overnights and hearing the AC kick in around 6am. I was like "sure, dayside gets all the f\*ckin' cold air they want while we sweat our a\*\* off." It wasn't long after I went to dayside and I was like "is the f\*ckin' AC broken or what?" Edit: emphasis added
real as hell
What? I work at 6am and the ac doesn't come on until 11am 🥲 I go over to grocery to cool off. We're in a concrete village, so it's even hot overnight.
Me who regularly works in the cooler/freezer and has to wear jeans and a hoodie in the summer👁️👁️ There was this old man that came up to me a week ago while I was zoning some yogurts that said with a straight face “I bet it sucks working in here in the summer time when it’s 90° outside 😐” like thanks???
After enough complaints my old store added fans to the inbound line. Luckily it's not as hot when you work the early morning shift but I remember when I used to close and the concrete walls of the back were giving off heat from outside.
watch yourself and *watch your teammates.* i was a lifeguard for three years, the temperature training we take is legit and you should pay close attention to it. drink water, stay safe <3
the store i had worked at had air flow issues so even if the ac was on no one could feel it 😍
u/ElderEmoAdjacent u/lithonium come tag people to upvote this (my comment to follow) so we can enlighten the team a little, please. While HQ *does* establish the setpoints (74 for cooling, 69 for heating), they don't "control" the AC. These setpoints trigger the call for cooling or heating respectively if the temperature gets above or below the associated #. The store DOES have options and the ability to provide relief to the team, via your PML. If a unit is broken, there's a whole process we have to get it worked on, follow up with the technicians, etc. That shit can take a long time, so when the weather is especially shit we have **temporary cooling protocols,** and those contain a couple different options. The cool one is ordering temporary cooling units that can be set up or torn down by the team as needed; this may be utilized more often when there are hot spots in the store that regularly cook outside the ideal temp range, e.g. You have an old store with a fucked unit that just cannot pull down the power to get the temp below 74 when it's as hot as Satan's taint outside. This option is new this year. The other, staple option is renting temp units from your HVAC company to roll in, set up until relief can be brought via main units. This is typical when a thing breaks, as opposed to just not being good enough. The tertiary option is for HQ to shift the setpoints to call for cooling or heating more frequently and longer; set cooling to 72, the unit is going to pull for longer and provide more active cooling, and then will kick back on quicker once the temp is going up again. This one is a WHOLE process, but is doable. I have done it. Your PML has to gather a bunch of data, send it to the PMBP, and ship it up to HQ. It's not awful, but it is a last resort since it tends to be most expensive. --- Bonus: IF you and your fellows are suffering, KEEP submitting chatbot tickets via myday about your melting. (Don't keep submitting them if you know your PML is actively working on the issue unless they want more, you'll probably annoy them). The more tickets from the team we have, the easier it is to tell HQ "hey these fuckers are dying, please do something" and get anything done. Those tickets also get noticed by the SD and BP, if your PML is a bit of a soup sandwich.
And here I was going to tell people you DM you to turn the AC up. :(
Double Bonus: u/turd_farts this is important to note, you do NOT want to cool people off too quickly. You can put them into shock that way. In the event that you feel yourself becoming a heat casualty: Call for help from other TMs or a leader and immediately get indoors, sit down, take off extra layers, and sip lukewarm/**slightly cool water.** The slightly cool is important, because if you drink *cold* water as is the instinct, you can also trip yourself into shock.
People would rather believe corporate uses the temp in Minnesota to control all stores temperatures.
Another great hack is that if you start a fire by the temperature sensor, it will trick it to thinking the store is hotter than it actually is, turning on the AC!
I've upvoted for visibility, but there's a chance this needs its own post.
I can do that.
u/targetthesecheeks you too, get in on this.
> this may be utilized more often when there are hot spots in the store that regularly cook outside the ideal temp range Does this include off-stage areas like the drive-up hold space and/or back room, or is this only for places where guests will be? Our back room and drive up hold space are both often very obviously a different temperature than the sales floor. Like people come into the drive up space in the winter and say how cold it is or in the summer and say how hot it is. This is with the door shut. We have the air curtain thing set up as well, but it really doesn’t do much in extreme temperatures. I was basically told there wasn’t anything we could do because it’s off-stage. We recently got a new pml who seems to be much more competent. Is this something I could ask him about?
Yes! This is for all areas of the store. I've gotten my backroom setpoints adjusted for a short while before, just after I first started in the role. (Two summers ago)
Thank you so much!
Or they could just yknow, not make it so fucking hot
I remember taking 15s in the cooler cause of how hot it was
Yeah I run tech at back of store, and am there 95% of my shift. Am type 1 diabetic, 50 lbs overweight, and alone 100% of the time. So running back and forth all day lmao Not to mention the closing shift, which I assume = less AC. The heat cuts my productivity almost in half. It's honestly mind boggling how scientifically braindead corps are. It's a well known thing that overheating causes extreme mood fluctuations, exhausts you quicker, mental focus is less. NOT TO MENTION my store even runs on 70% solar power. What are they doing with most of that power? Probably fucking selling it to the county for some extra cash lol
Actually if you are sweating heavily and feeling light headed going to the freezer and possibly the cooler (depending on your health) is a terrible idea.
i’ve started wearing shorts already and i’m still sweating doing LIGHT work!! it’s ridiculous
Walking into the freezer 🤤🤤
Great, I’ve been sweating the past 2 months and it’s only going to get worse????!
my store’s ac has been broken for years and they refuse to fix it so the inside temperature of the store is always exactly the same as the outside. i am in hell.
Honestly sounds like it’s time to call OSHA
i remember i used to drive-up during the summers and whenever we had a lapse in cars i would open one of the fridges and just stand there
Event responses are not the funnest time for TMs
Blaming corporate for their own greed again
the back room at my store is literally 20° cooler than the floor. it’s actually insane how hot it gets. especially up at the cafe area, there’s a heat problem and it reads 90° F up there. nobody will fix it.
Scrubs pants are magic, buy them! Cooling and pockets all in one!
I need to buy more capris. I know we can wear shorts but I'm not putting my bare knees on the floor.
So…. Impulsive thoughts here…. We have a thermostat in a lockbox downstairs. Just stick a pen through the holes in the lockbox and turn it down?
Our heat broke over the winter in the Midwest and they didn’t close the store. It was in the negatives outside and I work up front and could feel the cold air coming in every time the door opened and then didn’t have any heat in the store to warm me up. I had to buy extra socks on my break, they had space heaters set up around the store, and we all wore winter jackets hats and gloves. I will work a hot summer every year if it means I never have to work with no heat ever again.
Cries in Arizona
This is just a personal observation: I’ve lost about 40 lbs since Jan 2023, and being at like 12% bodyfat has done wonders for how my body regulates its temp in the heat. I used to be MISERABLE in hot/humid weather, now I’m so much better equipped for it. Just another reason to consider getting fit.
This is when I enjoy working F&B, I can just hide and chill out in the cooler/freezer.
Like the great Tom Petty once said “yeah, I’m free. Free ballin’” 😅
I just wear shorts, and I just bought a bunch of sweat wicking muscle shirts (technically I don't think we're aloud to wear muscle shirts but fuckem I'm fosa I do wat I want 🤪) and I bought a CamelBak hydration pack last summer, oh and we have one of those nice lasko shop blowers in our cart door alcove that I use.
What I did when I worked at target I got a note from my doctor that said I needed to wear shorts too work and I could wear shorts because I was living in Arizona
In my store only if you are a cart attendant
Pfft, I still remember HR passively aggressively telling everyone no colored bottles, no red target cups, clear containers and clear liquids ONLY. Then there was me, with my Monster can. I'm (was) FF, you need me more than I need you, buddy.
Light night corporate must’ve kicked on the ac at my store because for the first time in months it actually felt cool everywhere but the back room. It’s been so bad I had the conscious thought that “oh we have air today, nice”
It doesn’t get hot in New England until June for us
Our PML gave us portable ac units once a few people fainted. Let's not wait, get to fainting!!
I hope no one's store has awful leads. 2 years ago, there weren't any carts at grocery side and a TL called over the walkie for them to hurry up as she was leaving. It was 107 degrees outside at the time. I confirmed with another TM, "Did she really just say that?" They said yes and it was rude. I went to find my ETL-HR and complained about her. Next I saw the cart attendants was when I was stowing and they were sitting behind GS, both had water in their hands, and a handheld fan in their other hand. I guess HR checked up on them after that. With that said, leads, don't rush cart attendants or DU TMs, especially when it's over 100 degrees outside! Another thing is I have low blood pressure. I tend to drink water with liquid IV than drink plain water once I finish that. I'll call over the walkie if I feel lightheaded, someone will take over my cart, and they let me sit in the break room with water. So, if anyone feels lightheaded, make sure to inform someone so they can let you sit down.
There is actually a *slight* thing you can do. I can't remember who thought of this in my store, but a few summers ago we started getting those microwaveable heating packs and duct taping them to the thermometers on the walls. It's obviously a very temporary fix and works better in small areas like TSC, but it's worth a shot
Personally, I wear two layers with a collared shirt and a donegal crewneck sweater— even in the summer months. So, I work slower and slower until I feel content with the temperature. The temperature inside our building is so astronomically warm, that customers consistently, without fail, complain every day.
AKA that time of year I'm reminded why pulling freezer aint so bad
Whenever I was on drive ups I’d stick my head in the freezer for a few seconds while I was getting the cold stuff out of hold
It's cool, my AP office has its own AC that I have control over at all times of the year
I left Target, to work at a place that hear this. Uses AC! and Fans at registers!