Customer security doesn't stop at the car park...
We’ve all seen security personnel at hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, shopping malls, sports complexes, movie theatres, etc. Of course, one of their roles is to ensure the safety of everyone – staff, customers, guests, visitors, and third parties who may be on the premises. But shouldn’t this safety-net extend to their car-park too?
Car parks can present many hazards. Crime can also occur in parking areas, both against vehicles and against individuals who use the car park. How many horror movies have we seen where someone gets ambushed, or worse, gutted in the car-park? Let me tell you why I feel establishments should have a moral, if not legal right to protect their patrons in the car-park as well.
I had a weird and slightly harrowing experience one night around 7.30pm, when after shopping to a supermarket down Nawala Road right next to the cemetery, (this is not about ghosts by the way). This supermarket, owned by one of the largest diversified conglomerates in the country can accommodate about five vehicles in front of it, with additional parking demarcated along the side of the building, down a dimly-lit by-lane. It was in one of these bays that I parked that fateful night.
While loading my shopping bags into my car, an individual approached me and tried to start a conversation with a vague story that I found to be quite suspicious. Simultaneously, I spotted another character hovering in the dark a few meters behind him. I didn’t recognise either of the two, and the first man started speaking in English from the get-go. This is another red flag, as the confidence trickster will speak in the language that they perceive you to be less fluent in, to throw you off guard. Unfortunately for him, I am extremely fluent in English and he might have stood a better chance at flummoxing me had he engaged me in the native language –Sinhala.
Sensing something was off, I rapidly told him I had no time as I was in a hurry, I quickly jumped into my car, locked the doors, and sped out of there as fast as possible. Looking in the rear-view mirror, I saw the man then go towards the car parked next to where mine was, just as its occupants were returning from their shopping. I don’t know what transpired afterwards, but I clearly escaped something fishy. Maybe they wanted to scam me for money, or worse, stab me, leave me bleeding in the car-park and steal my car. Anything is possible in these desperate times.
Soon after, I attempted to call the supermarket to warn the Manager. I tried five times, but it seems that the supermarket’s listed number is just for decoration. Nobody answered the phone, and it kept going to a fax machine. I realized that informing the supermarket would be a futile exercise and wrote about my experience on WhatsApp as well as Facebook. After all, if the establishment is not worried about customer safety, the least I can do is warn others. Some comments on my posts related a similar experience with shady individuals observed in the very same area, approaching patrons of the supermarket who parked there.
Some may argue that the supermarket didn’t need to do anything as whatever happens in the outdoor vicinity is beyond their doors. I’m not sure of the legal implications, nevertheless, even if it lets them off the hook, they owe it to their customers to provide a safe shopping environment, and that includes the demarcated parking areas. An establishment that truly cares about its customers will be one that ensures their safety from the moment they (customers) step out of their vehicle, to the point they step back into it.
Your car park is an extension of your business and as such, should offer the same level of care and customer service that you provide within. Especially if you think about the fact that your parking facility might just be the first and last thing guests will see and experience in your hotel, restaurant or whatever.
Personal safety of car park users should be given consideration. But I guess not many of those providing a car parking facility conduct any ‘risk assessment’ on the car park - taking into account of how the car park area is used, access requirements, location, physical features including enhanced lighting, installation of security cameras, warning signs, etc.
After my recent experience, my wife and I have now resolved to switch our shopping to the supermarket from a competitor brand that’s just up the Nawala road past the Koswatte junction, and one which has a large, well-lit parking lot. And that’s what most customers will do when faced with a similar safety issue at any hospitality or retail establishment. They’ll go to a competitor who offers them a better and safer experience. Because all the discounts and special offers in the world don’t matter much when you don’t feel safe in the parking lot and your attempts to warn the staff are futile.
Ashraaq Wahab – Director of Sales & Marketing and Technical, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer, Photographer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics
|
|
|
|
