South mall workers happy to return to their jobs

Although things are slowly reopening and the “new normal” is being adhered to, mall workers returning to their jobs on Monday were extremely elated to get back to work.

As people slowly trickled into the malls in South Trinidad, many stores were still preparing to reopen. People were seen wiping windows, mopping and adjusting display mannequins.

On Saturday the PM announced that phase three of the reopening of the economy had been pushed forward. Retail stores and malls can now open until 6 pm and public servants were allowed back to work on a rotational basis.

At Gulf City Mall, some store owners said there was no need to rush to reopen, as restrictions were still in place.

But workers at Detour were ready for full operation. Store manager Devika Rajkumar, who has worked at the company for 26 years, led her team in prayer just before their doors opened at 11 am.

She said, “We were grateful to be able to come back to our jobs and for the assistance our boss, Riad Hadeed, gave to us. Things were hard and they still found a way to pay us.”

Rajkumar, who broke down in tears, said the country is still unsure where it is headed with the covid19 pandemic, but people should make the best of what was afforded to them.

Other store managers in the mall said they were satisfied with the timeframe given by the PM and they were prepared.

Manager at a cellular phone and repairs outlet, Let’s Talk, Barry Sookanan said because it operates in the mall most of the cleaning and sanitation were handled by the mall owners.

“We came in on Sunday and mopped our store and sanitised our merchandise and that was basically it. The mall is very clean.”

Although happy that phase three was pushed forward, the manager of a clothing store, Stephanie Seemungal, said the notice given of the reopening was too short to get everything in place.

She said, “We are not forcing ourselves to do things we cannot at this time. The notice given for the reopening was too short. Maybe the announcement could have been made a week in advance.

“We were unable to get our workers back out today (Monday) because we needed to give them time to reorganise their lives around the new working times and schedules.”

Seemungal said she anticipates sales will be very slow for a long while, but was grateful she was getting a chance to revive her income and business.

At C3 centre store owners had similar feelings. Some, like Aldo, Skechers and Aeropostal, all international franchises, were not open.

Aldo’s manager Shalini Seecharan said the stores will not open until the health and safety requirements outlined by their company’s head office are met. She said one such requirement is setting up a holding station to sanitise merchandise that has been touched by customers.

Seecharan explained, “If an item is touched by a customer, it is taken off the shelf and taken to a holding area where it is sanitised and out of the public’s reach for 72 hours before it is returned as a display item.

“Our policy is to get the customers to ask for assistance from the sales representatives and limit touching of the products.”

C3’s marketing associate Vishala Moonan said the mall was fully prepared and has been sanitised and will continue its health and safety drive.

At both venues security guards and police were on patrol telling people to wear masks and sanitise their hands at the various sanitation points.

The majority of mall-goers on Monday were seen lined up at cellphone outlets to pay bills, repair cellphones or to buy new phones.

Barry Moochoon came with his family from Penal to get some needed shopping done.

He said, “It feels good to get out and have a change in atmosphere. Being quarantined was starting to become hard, but I appreciated the time. I was able to spend quality time with my family.”

Others said they were happy to get out just for a short moment.