BOTTINEAU — Customers of the Super Walmart in Bottineau have been complaining on Facebook this week that the building is so cold that employees and customers alike have been wearing winter coats and gloves inside just to endure the frigid air.

Tim Checketts, the store manager, told The Minot Daily News on Tuesday that the company policy does not allow him to speak to the media. However, he referred to a post he had made on Facebook blaming the freezing store on a technical malfunction that they are doing their best to get fixed.

Bottineau, like much of the region, endured temperatures well below zero last week and can expect more of the same this week.

“The temperature of our store has been an ongoing maintenance issue, and I sincerely apologize,” Checketts said in his Facebook post. “Our Roof-Top Units have been having technical difficulties since shortly after the beginning of the cold season, they are heating but not at a rate to keep the store warm when the outside temperature is below 0. I wanted you to know that we are doing absolutely everything we can to improve the situation, we have had several technicians from different companies reacting since the problems began. They have been, and continue to work diligently to fix and improve our RTUs.

While we don’t have an exact ETA on a fix, I have been working closely with our facilities maintenance team and technicians directly to get a short-term solution implemented as quickly as possible as well as a permanent long-term resolution put in place for the future.

In the meantime, I have encouraged our associates to dress warmly and have been telling them to see myself or our management team if there’s anything else we can do to personally accommodate them so that they are comfortable. We have an incredible team at our Walmart and I appreciate everything they do to help serve our community every day.”

Checketts, who has been general manager at the Bottineau Walmart since June 2021, according to his Facebook profile, also encouraged customers to try online pickup through the Walmart app.