Motormouth: Car showrooms are not supposed to be playgrounds for children

There are parents who bring their kids to car showrooms for some playtime under the guise of car shopping.  

[Story by guest columnist J.Q Qiu]

These cheapskate folks love their little ones almost as much as the warm hospitality they receive at the Leng Kee and Ubi motor retail belts as part of Singapore car companies’ good customer service. 

Said service includes a children’s play corner in certain dealerships, which is intended to make the business of buying/selling new cars more family-friendly. 

With the kiddos occupied by fun and games under supervision, the adults can focus on studying/shortlisting the vehicle they want and discussing/deciding the deal they need with the salesperson. 

This would be an ideal scenario, but the reality tends to take a detour towards ugly instead, because of pretend car buyers who are actually scouting for makeshift indoor playgrounds to drive their restless children to distraction.  

For the last time, people, car showrooms are not playgrounds for kiddies to indulge in gratuitous games of hide-and-seek and touch-you-last, while under the proud supervision of their adoring parents.

This is probably one of the worst examples of abuse of the age-old adage "The customer is always right." Such ideologies only work in societies which are able to exercise self-restraint and a modicum of decorum.

All else leads to anarchy, as there'll always be the few black sheep who attempt to push the limits of corporate graciousness by using/abusing the facilities and services that are put in place for the true-blue customers and serious prospects.

This is also the same reason why genuine buyers often avoid the millers who descend on Leng Kee and Ubi for their weekend binges, by visiting the showrooms on weekday evenings instead for dedicated service, plus the peace and quiet of inspecting a car without the pesky kiddies underfoot.

One urban legend tells of a family who goes on weekend rampages along the Ubi and Leng Kee dealership belts in search of complimentary finger food, free-flow refreshments and any form of air-conditioned entertainment for the whole family. 

When accosted by the staff, the father and the mother indignantly stand by their rights as potential customers with the maxim "You think I cannot afford ah?" 

This dealership almost became a childcare centre when the sales manager didn't pay enough attention to the freeloading walk-ins.

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