I feel rather sad after reading this article in
littlespeck.com
Golden Village
An unsurprising blow
That its Hong Kong partner pulled out somehow doesn't shock me.
Here's why. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 24, 2005
Just before a recent day-show at a Junction 8 Cineplex a spectacle
unfolded that grabbed the patrons as much as the movie. The episode
revealed how compliant Singaporeans have become.
Just before the show started, a lady usher, in black uniform,
walked among the audience row after row, checking if anyone had
brought in food 'illegally' not sold by Golden Village itself. When
found, confiscation.
There was a sign that proclaimed bringing in food from outside is
forbidden, so it is not a legalisic issue, but an ethical one. Does
it make good business?
Golden Village Cinema is the only movie chain among four in
Singapore that practices this 'trade protectionism'.
The reason for it is obvious.
The foodstuffs - ranging from coke to potato chips, hotdogs to
chocolates - sell for up to twice the prices outside.
They will chase most patrons to nearby shops and that's what many
patrons are doing. Whenever possible, they put them inside their
pockets or handbags and bring them in, which is what every
practical person would do.
So how is Singapore's biggest movie chain, owned now by Australia's
'Village Roadshow' conglomerate (with Hong Kong's Golden Screen),
going to enforce its protectionism?
At Junction 8 at least (probably elsewhere too), it is sending
hordes of black-uniformed ushers to check on patrons. I pity these
girls. they're made to do an extremely despicable chore.
They swoop down on patrons row after row just before the movie
starts and confiscated the 'illegal' food, issued a number for the
hapless owner to reclaim after the show.
I've witnessed several incidents and if there was a crowd, they
usually produced quite a rich haul. I was surprised how meekly
Singaporeans surrendered their food without protest.
More surprising was the deafening silence the whole thing had
produced. Only in one case I heard someone yelled at an usher for
acting like the Gestapo, and she quickly scurried away.
Many people kept going back to suffer this ignonimity.
Imagine what would happen if this had happened in Australia. There
would certainly have been an angry reaction from the people, or a
sit-in or even violence from a few hot-heads.
Before these searches, there was already one incident at the Bishan
8 cineplex in which the police had to be called in when the
staff-workers refused to let in two elderly gentlemen who refused
to surrender a packet of snacks from outside.
On the strength of the ticket they bought, they insisted on
watching the film. 'Not if you bring that in," insisted a Golden
Village representative.
It wasn't something you'd expect to see in the 21st Century.
This Australian-owned chain is insisting on practicing trade
protectionism when Singapore (and Australia) on the road of free
trade pacts.
No other cinema houses are following suit.
So when I read about the Hong Kong partner's (a subsidiary of
Golden Harvest) reasons for its pullout, I wasn't too
surprised.
In a writ to Hong Kong courts, Golden Screen singled out
Managing-Director Kenneth Tan for criticism for unacceptable
tactics.
It said Tan went ahead with the May 1, 2005 cinema ticket hikes
even after the board of directors had voted unanimously NOT to go
with the price hike.
Another accusation was an alleged wrongful dismissal of a senior
marketing executive.
I do not know if Tan can or cannot defend against the charges, but
any one who can have its staff search customers like potential
criminals, well..
