Cleanliness of Newcastle Mall questioned after busy weekend

Dear Madam,

I would like to express my concern over the state that the [Newcastle] mall has deteriorated to.

This weekend the Cansa Shavathon was held at the mall. Many people came to the mall, some to see Heinz Winckler and some just to shop.

Nevertheless it was a busy day. May I just say the state of the floors and toilets was disgraceful. The floors were so dirty and it was clear none of the staff saw this. It remained this way for a long time. The toilets as always were untidy and many unflushed. Again, there were no staff in sight. I approached the office of the manager to complain, but they seemed to be off on one of their busiest days of the week. This is not the first time I have seen the mall in such a state, especially on a weekend.

Shouldn’t management be available to ensure this does not happen? Or at least to monitor staff on duty? What a disgrace is it to have celebrities visit and the mayor walking around in a mall that looks so unhygienic and management that seems to not care about it.I know they will be quick to blame someone else for this, but let me add this: No matter who is directly in-charge of your the matters concerned, YOU are in charge of the mall and its running and should ensure these things are kept under control. All the good events you hold or people you invite will always be marred by the bad managing of the all every other day.

Anonymous

Response from Beulah Rajkumar, Marketing Manager at the Newcastle Mall

Thank you for raising your concerns with us, we assure you that we are working towards improving every aspect of the mall to ensure a pleasant shopping experience.

We would like to confirm there was a Mall Manager on duty but was not office bound due to the various locations and the great attendance for the CANSA Shavathon.The issues that you have raised concerning the cleanliness of the mall were noted by the manager on duty and have already been dealt with at various levels within the organization.

The average foot count through the mall recorded for the past 3 months on a Saturday was 19 400, however, on this particular

Saturday we had 26 433 shoppers at the mall. While we do increase staff during month end weekends and when we host events, it is difficult to ensure that the mall is spotless at all times.

You may contact Centre Management with complaints or suggestions in the future and should any shopper wish to get in touch with management after office hours, we have supervisors at the mall 24/7 and can be contacted by calling (034)326 1120. In continuously trying to improve our standard we appreciate any feedback.