The other day, I wrote about stores on Main Street whose front doors are wide open, blasting air conditioning onto the sidewalk. The idea is to lure hot customers inside.
Okay, I lied. It was not “the other day.”
It was June 5, 2012 — exactly 12 years ago today. You can click here to read that post. (Spoiler alert: It was cleverly titled “Totally Uncool.”)
I’ve been writing about that environmentally wasteful, economically dumb and ridiculously absurd practice ever since.
Right on cue yesterday, Tracy Porosoff emailed “06880.” She sent this photo …
(Photo/Tracy Porosoff)
… and wrote: “As the weather gets warmer and our stores have their air conditioning on, I wonder what the rules are about keeping their doors closed.
“I was just on Main Street. They are all doing it.”
The Main Street stores who insist on this practice change. (Remember Banana Republic? BCBG? Douglas?)
But the problem remains.
And worsens.
In the 12 years since that first post — and every year after, when I’ve repeated a similar one — the planet has grown more endangered. It was 126 degrees in Asia this week, and we’re on track for the hottest summer ever this year.
Fortunately, it wasn’t that hot here yesterday. In fact, it wasn’t hot at all.
The temperature did not reach 80. There were clouds all afternoon.
But there those stores were, front doors spread wide, a/c pumping relentlessly into the street.
Banana Republic, June 5, 2012. They are no longer in business here.
Enough is enough.
Westporters have spent 12 years asking stores to close their doors. It hasn’t worked.
Some managers comply. A couple of days (or hours) later, they open them again.
Some say, “Sorry. It’s corporate policy.”
Let’s tell those managers, “I’m not going to shop here until you close your doors. And keep them closed.”
If they mumble something about corporate policy, ask for the corporate number.
And hey, this is Westport. Someone here probably knows the CEO. Call him or her directly.
If none of that works, there’s always the RTM.
Our legislative body was one of the first to ban plastic bags. They’ve tackled leaf blowers.
Now it’s time to craft an ordinance forbidding retail doors to remain open wide during business hours.
With hefty fines, per day.
How cool would that be?
