Wheelchairs are not welcome inside a new Shopping Mall shop
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Then let this to become state-ownedOriginally posted by pokkagreentea:dun le....I like candy empire.
The prices will then be fixed
Everybody is free to go too -
Nov 5, 2006
Candy store's 'no wheelchair' policy upsets shoppers
It's discrimination they say, but store maintains that wheelchairs may hurt customers and damage property
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
IT TOOK an entire year for Ms Catryna Zhang and her family to convince their wheelchair-bound father to go on outings with them.
However, when the 66-year-old finally agreed to go to VivoCity last Sunday, he found himself shooed out of a candy store.
The family went into the Candy Empire shop, but failed to notice a sign which read: Please do not bring your wheelchair or trolley into the shop.
Ms Zhang, a 33-year-old businesswoman, said the store's policy seemed particularly galling when Singapore is trying to make its facilities more accessible to the elderly and disabled.
Contacted by The Sunday Times, the store's general manager Abdul Mohamed said the sign was removed last Thursday after some customers pointed out that it discriminated against the physically disabled.
The change is only cosmetic, however. The shop's policy of banning wheelchairs remains in place, though Mr Abdul said he would not chase away any wheelchair-bound customers already in the shop. He denied that the store had asked Ms Zhang's grandfather to leave the shop.
Mr Abdul maintained that the store 'was forced to put up the sign' for fear that wheelchairs might hurt customers and damage the property.
'Ours is a small shop. It is not designed to take heavy knocks from trolleys and wheelchairs, unlike the hypermarts. And if anyone gets hurt, we will get sued,' said Mr Abdul.
He added that the store makes an exception for 'smaller wheelchairs'.
The shop has an area of 3,500 sq ft, approximately the size of three four-room Housing Board flats. According to Mr Abdul, Candy Empire's other branch at Millenia Walk, which is smaller, did not put up a similar sign because the mall is not as crowded.
'Thousands visit our VivoCity store on weekends. We need to look into crowd control and stampede issues. That's why we don't allow wheelchairs in,' added Mr Abdul.
Ms Sherena Loh, a wheelchair user, said this is the first time she has heard of a store openly banning wheelchairs. The 47-year-old senior manager said sales staff and shop owners usually try their best to accommodate her.
'They will even shift their furniture a little to make space for my wheelchair. If the place is too narrow, they'll bring out the items for me to choose,' she said.
The National Council of Social Service said the sign was insensitive and Candy Empire should instead be offering additional assistance to wheelchair users.
The Handicaps Welfare Association and the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) have also expressed their disapproval.
'Banning wheelchair users demonstrates a lack of understanding for people with physical disabilities,' said SPD's head of therapy services, Ms Tay Hwee Li.
Jalan Besar GRC MP Lily Neo told The Sunday Times she was disappointed to hear about the sign, especially when the Government has been striving to improve the urban environment for the physically disabled.
Last week, she was at her Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward to identify areas where wheelchair users' movement is restricted.
'In our ageing society, we can soon expect almost every family to have a member in a wheelchair. Retailers will be driving customers away if they turn away wheelchair users,' said Dr Neo.
This is already happening at Candy Empire.
Aaron Shui, 14, who is wheelchair-bound, planned to buy some candy at the store with his family last weekend. But they changed their minds when they saw the sign.
Said his mother, Madam Molly Zhao, 47, a housewife: 'At other stores, sales staff will just give us unhappy looks when we enter. But this is the first time I'm seeing such outright discrimination.
'But it's not our loss. If Candy Empire doesn't want our business, then we will just go elsewhere.'
[email protected]
Copyright © 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. -
someone should make prank calls to candy empire... saying that u have a family member on wheelchair n wanna buy candy....
or say u r from an old folks home n wanna organize an outing to the shop, then got 10 over of them r wheelchair bound... -
they should provide candy delivery services to doorsteps of disabled
GST - 5%
plus delivery service charge -3% -
cannot,Originally posted by Stooky:someone should make prank calls to candy empire... saying that u have a family member on wheelchair n wanna buy candy....
or say u r from an old folks home n wanna organize an outing to the shop, then got 10 over of them r wheelchair bound...
the shop manager will get his salesstaffs to modify the sign prohibiting wheelchairs by adding another 9 wheelchairs into the enlarged sign -
i used to like candy empire, coz they have chocos with names like
Willy Wonka Choco
so cool
nw... -
boycott boycott
stupid candy store -
I'm waiting to see how they respond.
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if u n noticed, all the compliants occured on a weekend. The shops are crowded & inconvenient enough, the last thing we nd is a wheelchair or for that matter, some silly couple pushing a baby prams...
There's nothing wrong with the shop policy... what was wrong however was perhaps the attitude.... no matter what, they shouldn't have rudely shoo away the person in a wheelchair -
What sort of crap is this. People on wheelchairs LIKE THE REST OF US, tend to go out more often on weekends too!!! So what? Next you want to enforce no wheelchairs in all of Singapore's shopping centres on weekends simply cos shops are crowded or inconvenient!!Originally posted by Prince Cumming:if u n noticed, all the compliants occured on a weekend. The shops are crowded & inconvenient enough, the last thing we nd is a wheelchair or for that matter, some silly couple pushing a baby prams...
There's nothing wrong with the shop policy... what was wrong however was perhaps the attitude.... no matter what, they shouldn't have rudely shoo away the person in a wheelchair
You pray you dont end up in a wheelchair man. A little patience hurts NO ONE.
Then again, i havent been very patient with you have i. Oh well. -
latest update.
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What the fcuk is that suppose to be? Insult to injury? Address a problem at its stem, not at it bloom.
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Originally posted by ^tamago^:latest update.
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"Did I stab you in the back? Does it hurt? Let me pull it out for you."
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yah hes crapping and know nuts about the problems.Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:What sort of crap is this. People on wheelchairs LIKE THE REST OF US, tend to go out more often on weekends too!!! So what? Next you want to enforce no wheelchairs in all of Singapore's shopping centres on weekends simply cos shops are crowded or inconvenient!!
You pray you dont end up in a wheelchair man. A little patience hurts NO ONE.
Then again, i havent been very patient with you have i. Oh well. -
wtf am i suppose to laught and f them??? ok that place i been there 3 times and even if is crowded still got space!Originally posted by ^tamago^:latest update. -
tamago live near harbour front ah?
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Of course when one see this:Originally posted by ^tamago^:latest update.the store's general manager Abdul Mohamed said the sign was removed last Thursday after some customers pointed out that it discriminated against the physically disabled.
one can't help but wonder if the change is again merely cosmetic. Until the store comes out and says the general manager is wrong, the boycott stays.
The change is only cosmetic, however. The shop's policy of banning wheelchairs remains in place, though Mr Abdul said he would not chase away any wheelchair-bound customers already in the shop. He denied that the store had asked Ms Zhang's grandfather to leave the shop.
Mr Abdul maintained that the store 'was forced to put up the sign' for fear that wheelchairs might hurt customers and damage the property.
'Ours is a small shop. It is not designed to take heavy knocks from trolleys and wheelchairs, unlike the hypermarts. And if anyone gets hurt, we will get sued,' said Mr Abdul.
And Mr Abdul, you are obviously very well versed in the law. Of course you could get sued. Duh. Did you know, Mr Abdul that if your ceiling collapses you could get sued too? Did you also know you could get sued you decapitate your customers? betcha didn't know that.
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Perhaps he is a vigilante! Perhaps he is the one who put the sign up! lol!Originally posted by pierre^^:tamago live near harbour front ah? -
far far away.....Originally posted by pierre^^:tamago live near harbour front ah?
but i couldn't miss this photo opportunity. after all, we missed a clear shot of the offending notice before it was taken down.
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yeah right. i was acting on a tip-off.Originally posted by scabstermooch:Perhaps he is a vigilante! Perhaps he is the one who put the sign up! lol! -
To me, the change is merely cosmetic until the manager comes out to issue a public apology and clarifies that wheelchairs are welcome after all.Originally posted by scabstermooch:one can't help but wonder if the change is again merely cosmetic. Until the store comes out and says the general manager is wrong, the boycott stays.
And Mr Abdul, you are obviously very well versed in the law. Of course you could get sued. Duh. Did you know, Mr Abdul that if your ceiling collapses you could get sued too? Did you also know you could get sued you decapitate your customers? betcha didn't know that.
After all, while he did remove the original sign, the ban on wheelchairs stayed. It's not too much to assume that the ban would stay as well in this case. It's not enough for them to merely put up a sign saying that disabled shoppers are welcome. For all we know, the sign could be referring only to disabled people who are not wheelchair-bound.
So... until the manager apologises and clarifies that wheelchairs are welcome, I will still refuse to buy from that place. -
remember mel gibson? on a drunken high, he said anti-jewish stuff. after the incident, he alleged that he actually respected jews. if you were a jew, how? you believe ah?
similarly in this situation, no amount of sugar-coated sweetness will dismiss the fact that this shop is prejudiced against wheelchair-bound people. if they were so disabled-friendly in the first place, that sign prohibiting wheelchairs would not have even been placed at the entrance!! -
did cha register jux 2 post tis?Originally posted by sweettooth:remember mel gibson? on a drunken high, he said anti-jewish stuff. after the incident, he alleged that he actually respected jews. if you were a jew, how? you believe ah?
similarly in this situation, no amount of sugar-coated sweetness will dismiss the fact that this shop is prejudiced against wheelchair-bound people. if they were so disabled-friendly in the first place, that sign prohibiting wheelchairs would not have even been placed at the entrance!! -
i went to the store b4 and theres seriosuly nothing interesting inside, no idea why so many pple wanna go there.....Originally posted by fudgester:To me, the change is merely cosmetic until the manager comes out to issue a public apology and clarifies that wheelchairs are welcome after all.
After all, while he did remove the original sign, the ban on wheelchairs stayed. It's not too much to assume that the ban would stay as well in this case. It's not enough for them to merely put up a sign saying that disabled shoppers are welcome. For all we know, the sign could be referring only to disabled people who are not wheelchair-bound.
So... until the manager apologises and clarifies that wheelchairs are welcome, I will still refuse to buy from that place.