MY trip to the mall this weekend was most revealing. This mall “has a gross floor area of 400,000 square meters and is the fifth-largest mall in the Philippines with over 1,300 stores.
I expect a shopping mall will provide me with a computerized interactive kiosk showing me the store locations even though I know they work only part time. If that is not available, I anticipate that there will be a friendly security guard that I can ask how to find the CR.
For the first time, there was not a single guard other than at the mall entrances. Those guards are there for our safety and some old guy—not me, of course—could have kicked the bucket and the mall might not have known for three days. I was surprised at what appears to be a cost-cutting measure.
My experience last weekend was the same as I have seen at other malls. There are a few “holes” here and there where stores used to be. I also have seen some “Opening Soon” signs of companies that are probably taking advantage of reduced rents and terms to expend. That’s good.
I had some trouble buying some items I needed. We are in the last weeks of a remodeling that has taken 20 months. Twenty months of waiting, not working, as the lockdowns created start-stop-start-stop construction. Ok, it is partially my fault as I kept adding “improvements.” How did I know that I needed a television area for playing PS in my office?
There was healthy customer traffic at the mall, not pre-Covid yet but much better. About the only stores that seemed empty were selling clothes and shoes. But, it is going to take two weeks to have my refrigerator and stove delivered.
I am a shopper. At 11 a.m. there were several units of both available for immediate delivery in two days. Coming back after lunch, those units had been sold at multiple branches of this appliance store and would have to be sourced from the main warehouse and that takes more time. At least people are buying.
As I said before, the strongest deterrent to us getting back to normal is going to be our fears. By protocols and common sense upon entering the mall your temperature is checked (a waste of time, but why not) and your vaccination proof is examined.
But when entering an upscale casual restaurant—P900 per person including coffee and a serving of their cake—not only do I have to show my vax ID, but I must fill out a form. Further, I was requested to wear my mask at all times except when putting food in my mouth. One woman should not have ordered soup as she was struggling with mask down-soup in-mask down-soup in.
I decided to spend my money at a more customer friendly place.
We the People have been battered for two years and not just by the virus. Government, media, and experts from “Insane Fanatic” to “Genuine Expertise” have tried to rule our lives.
While it is true there are still some “Covid Crazy Towns” like the US and Canada in terms of the illness and government response, the illness is local and the local trend is good. NCR total bed occupancy is 32 percent, with national at 38 percent.
We need to start trying to get back to normal. We need support. Unless you want to depend on Grab for your revenue model, businesses need to start working with us to get back to that normal. I like eating soup. Remember that.
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