Earlier this year, I had written to TRS to highlight the shortcomings of Eastpoint Mall’s re-opening. Today, I would like to take a moment to update the steps taken by the Mall’s management in the past weeks to address these shortcomings.
It is evident that the Mall’s management had been bombarded with feedback on how to mitigate some of the issues raised. So, there are now some new signs posted around the mall. One of them is a big red poster which hangs in the center atrium that informs the people of where the information counter is located. There are also signs to tell people of a third set of lifts, which were previously hidden away from the public eye.
On top of that, the suggestion to place seats outside of the NTUC Supermarket were taken into consideration, and today there is a row of seats lining the long walkway from the lifts to the entrance of the supermarket. The elderly, small children and even domestic helpers laden with bags of shopping can be seen taking a short rest on these seats. Furthermore, priority queues for the Pioneer Generation are now more clearly marked out. People are allowed to take a short-cut through the front by checkout-counters, instead of having to traverse the entire circular layout.
A major complaint that many people had was that they had to go around the entire level to take the escalators to climb to the next level. Today, the management has moved some of these tenants out and shoppers are allowed to bypass the winding route and take the escalator easily.
One thing that I would like to touch on is the topic of Fairprice Supermarket being located on the fifth floor. Being the biggest complaint of all residents living in the area, several people had written to the authorities, as well as to the Straits Times Forum. Finally, a few days after I had written to TRS, a General Manager for NTUC Fairprice had written a reply to a query on the ST Forum page. His explanation was that Fairprice was unable to secure a good location within the mall. To the tune, a Senior Centre Manager for the mall also wrote in to the ST Forum a few days later to explain the steps that the mall was taking to address other feedback.
Yet, if that if NTUC income was the owner of Eastpoint Mall, then why couldn’t it pull a few strings? That is the unanswered question in people’s minds. However, one can choose to read this development as that of a owner who wishes to honour the agreement that is has with its' tenants. Unfortunately, it is at the behest of the people who patronise the mall. But we are willing to forgive and move on.
It is heartening to note that the mall has taken efforts to mitigate the problems that shoppers have feedbacked to it. For that, I wish to give them the credit which is due to them. We also must not forget the quiet work of residents and the community leaders who have worked behind the scenes to make other people’s lives better. It is this commendable quiet effort that gets’ things done, yet we may never know who are the people who have helped make our lives better.
I can’t find the original ST website articles on the issue. But I came across this blog post which compiled all the letters that have been posted to the Forum.
Concerned Simei Resident
TRS Contributor