Q: Is there a constructive way to tell store owners to close their doors while running the air con?
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A: Just as the summer sun’s funnelling a river of sweat down your back, a gust of cool air from XYZ Clothing beckons you through its doors to buy, buy, buy in meat locker comfort. But what are we? Pavlov’s overheated lapdogs?
Retail stores may no longer be allowed to play subliminal message-laced muzak like they did in the 70s, but they still sleazily tap into your subconscious needs when they blast AC out their open doors onto the hot pavement.
Luckily, a growing number of decidedly conscious shoppers are making a point of avoiding frosty shops that insist on keeping their entrances agape. In fact, in a recent Toronto Hydro survey, 40 per cent of respondents said they wouldn’t shop in a store that wastes electricity.
And faster than you can say “Close the damn door,” the marketing ploy is facing an increasingly icy reception in a growing number of towns continent-wide.
Actually, across the pond in England, the Close The Door campaign started as a reaction to businesses blowing heat out their doors in winter months, but stats on how stores are said to waste £300 million a year on wasted energy have encouraged hundreds of shops there to join the cause.
New York City has probably taken the toughest stance by, just last year, opting to fine retail shops that keep their doors open. Okay, so the bylaw only applies to stores over 4,000 square feet or smaller stores that are part of a chain, so small, independent mom-and-pops are free to flout the bylaw if they please.
And, yes, fines are only $200, which isn’t much of a deterrent for big-name chains, but it’s a start. The city’s electricity provider estimates that if 1,000 businesses close their doors when the AC is on, the energy saving amounts to 4,600 barrels of oil and 2,200 tons of CO2 emissions a year.
And who would have thunk this whole door-closing scene was actually sparked in Toronto back in 2006 when the Conservation Council of Ontario kick-started the Doors Closed campaign?
Since then, the city has seen more stores closing their doors, but there are still too many offenders that don’t give a polar bear’s ass.
How do you convince them to do the right thing? Well, first of all, walk in and ask nicely. This is more likely to be effective if you spend some time browsing to demonstrate that you’re a potential customer rather than just some nosy ninny walking in off the street.
Some stores will complain that customers won’t be able to tell if they’re open if the doors are shut, but we’re not stupid. Higher primates can figure out if a store is open for business without having a door jacked as a cue. Nonetheless, it’s always best to keep snarky remarks to yourself and simply tell them the truth – that it’s good green PR – especially if they put a “Please come in, our doors are closed to conserve energy” decal in the window (found at weconserve.ca).
If they tell you it’s head office policy to keep the doors ajar, ask for head office’s contact info and send an email or make a quick phone call politely requesting a policy shift. Tell them you’d like to shop there but can’t until those doors start closing.
Remind them that this is good for the bottom line: the average store can reduce its cooling bill by 20 to 25 per cent by shutting its.
Now, after taking a stab at a store or two, you might want to take the next step and become a Doors Closed Energy Ambassador. The Conservation Council is always looking for volunteers across Ontario to chat with retailers about the campaign and hand out posters to “conservation-minded stores and restaurants.”
They’ll even give you a guide to talking to retailers.
Regardless of where you live, don’t be shy about taking up the cause and starting a Doors Closed campaign in your community. And be sure to support those businesses that make the green shift.
Got a question?
Send your green queries to ecoholic@nowtoronto.com
