Sabah shopping malls lack three aspects
by Mariah Doksil. Posted on January 10, 2012, Tuesday
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun disclosed that the Sabah Tourism Board had received numerous complaints about dirty toilets, unhelpful staff and the lack of security in shopping malls in the State.
According to Masidi, three aspects which shopping malls in Sabah should pay attention to in order to become a shopping destination in Asia are cleanliness of the toilets, well-trained staff and security.
“Most tourists have expressed dismay with the standard of our toilets and it becomes imperative upon the management of every shopping complex to seriously look into this complaint to attract more customers.
“In addition, their salespersons must be well-trained,” he said at the opening of Suria Sabah shopping complex yesterday.
Masidi added most complaints received by his ministry touched on salespersons talking and gossiping away when customers required their assistance.
He said basic training for salespersons on how to serve customers is needed if Sabah wants to become a shopping destination.
Touching on security, Masidi said it is important for the management of shopping malls to install CCTV to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.
“Even though Sabah does not have any serious security problem, we should take heed of the crimes and their modus operandi occurring in Peninsular Malaysia,” he added.
The chairman of Suria Sabah, Humprey Tan in his welcoming speech, said Suria Sabah aims at becoming Sabah’s first stop shopping mall and the best place where shoppers would first look for their needs before searching elsewhere.
“Suria Sabah has the finest and most beautiful location with ample car park space, a comfortable environment with finishes up to international standards, sufficient space to provide a board spectrum of shopping experiences. It currently has a wide range of retailers bringing the international standard of merchandising to Sabah,” he said.
In partnership with Metrojaya departmental store, Golden Screen Cinema, Coach Leatherware, City Grocer and many other retailers, Tan expressed confidence that the mall would grow from strength to strength and give retail entrepreneurs a golden opportunity to do business.
Present at the launching was the Head of State, Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Juhar Mahiruddin.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yee Moh Chai, Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan and Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin and Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir.
