Should a mall have an entry fee?

The growing ‘e-tail’ medium may be changing the world against the interests of high-end, luxury shopping malls but the month of Ramzan has highlighted a completely different facet of Pakistani malls – one that is both good and bad in relation to its customers.

Early morning on Thursday, the news of Centaurus Mall imposing a 100 rupee entry fee created a fury of sorts amongst social media trolls. Given that most public places in Pakistan especially shopping malls are free for all kinds alike, this appears to be a rather peculiar decision on the mall management’s part.

Earlier images circulating around the web depicted that The Centaurus was experiencing such a high influx of visitors that people would have to line up in long queues simply to get inside the mall. Hence, crowd control became a necessity for the mall. “It was our mutual decision to impose an entry fee because most of our main buyers would have to stand in long queues and that was affecting sales as well as the shopping environment,” Murtaza Zaidi from Centaurus’ Skills and Marketing department said while speaking to Instep. “It is only an initiative to curb over-crowding and filter out the window shoppers.”

Given the ‘seriousness’ of the situation, it may appear justified to include an entry fee but the moral conundrum suggests that there lies a deep-seated issue of class discrimination behind Centaurus’ recent move. Social media is rife with comments that insinuate Islooites longstanding love affair with class strata and their seemingly class-ridden mentality. Twitteratis have accused the mall for being discriminatory in its decision, ridding the middle-class to lower-class shopper of free entertainment. “Centaurus introduced Rs. 100 entry into mall. Just saw their notice for it. Islamabad needs more malls, not more elitism”; “Haven’t really come across anything quite like this even in the Mecca of capitalism here. #dehumanizing #centaurusmall”; “Some pretty gross and messed up elitism by the Centaurus Mall in Islamabad here. Too many poors visiting I guess”, were some of the comments seen on the microblogging site.

Residents of Islamabad, however, have expressed relief in Centaurus’ decision to do so. While some have applauded that the mall management has finally taken a step to filter out the ‘ogling men’, others are more diplomatic asserting that it is a good business decision since the mall is a essentially a business enterprise. “The #Centaurus Mall has imposed Rs. 100 as entry fee. Good step to avoid irritable overcrowd,” wrote a Twitter user by the name of Saqib Mehmood.

Centaurus’ management, however, denies of having any such underlying agenda. “This is just a very stereotypical observation. Our only aim is to create a pleasant shopping environment for both our customers and clients. Besides the entry fee is refundable. All you need to do is show the receipt of whatever you have shopped from the mall and you get your money back. And this in turn ensure that the individual has gone inside with a shopping purpose only and no other,” clarifies Zaidi. A long list of those exempted from the entry fee suggests otherwise. These include all government officials including those in local police, diplomats and members of the media as well as all famous celebrities from sports, entertainment and the cultural sector. In short, men and women of power or from notable, famed backgrounds while those who aren’t privileged can only enter free if they are above 60 or below 12.

In comparison, Karachi’s Dolmen City Mall has till now been far more welcoming. Nearly 30 per cent of the crowd spotted at Dolmen is visiting it for the lack of other entertaining avenues in the city and belong to all sections of society. In fact, during Ramzan and the deadly heat wave, prayer rooms and foyers at Dolmen City were full of people looking for an escape from load shedding at home and the city’s killer temperatures. The air-conditioned, purpose-built mall served as a welcome haven for people who had nowhere else to go and a free space for people from all walks of life.

Of course, this is not to suggest that women and those belonging from the higher sections of society haven’t had an issue with the overwhelming crowd at Dolmen City, perhaps they did. Nor does the comparison suggests that Karachiites are more welcoming than those living in Islamabad but so far Dolmen City has refrained from taking any such measures despite overcrowding. Nevertheless, while the entry fee may come across as a reasonable business decision, a public space is in essence meant for the whole of public and not for only certain members of it. We are, at the heart of it all, a developing country and need to accept our citizens as they are. With such impositions are we suggesting the malls should remain a far-fetched dream for the poor? Perhaps…