A few months ago the mall that I frequent the most installed a new Starbucks. I sometimes go to this new establishment with my sister. We prefer to drink our teas in the island “patio” which is in the middle of the ample aisle way and it looks to be completely separate from the Starbucks.
Yesterday we were the only ones on the high chairs with drinks on the wall of the island. There were other people too but they were in the much lower tables and chairs. So from a certain direction all that could be seen were two people drinking coffees or teas in a kiosk like environment.
The first lady who approached us said she had a question for us. Then suddenly she said “Oh, I guess you’re not mall information,” I think at this point she saw the lower tables with people at them. “I’m sorry.”
I could have acted like mall information and pointed out where mall information was. But she went quickly away. My sister and I joked that we didn’t get to hear her question which we might have been able to answer.
A half hour later a man came up to us and asked us where the bank was. We pointed to the Starbucks and said that used to be the bank. We told him we could tell him where there were bank machines in the mall. He had to hurry to catch his friend to tell him the bank was no longer here.
About a half hour after this incident, a couple came up to us and asked where the washrooms were. My sister told him that they were in the basement of the Bay. I couldn’t understand how my sister managed to get this wrong so I corrected her and said they were in the top floor of the Bay. We eventually realized we were both right but had been using the washrooms that we knew were there. Turning back to the couple we told them the official public washroom was way on the other side of the mall by the food court. They headed in that general direction so perhaps there were no accidents yesterday.
After three incidents of people asking for information I can only think that the mall had deliberately set the island up to look like information. Then, relying on the good nature of Starbucks customers, they knew that they no longer needed their information kiosk and could save money by shutting it down. I would rather they paid me the amount that a worker at the mall should get.
Or at least they could give me free coffee or teas at Starbucks. Information isn’t free you know.
If they think it can be, my only recourse will be to send my customers to the wrong parts of the mall.
