Prior to the opening, the company ran a marketing campaign on Facebook to build excitement with a count down to the opening day.
Unfortunately, the opening day was delayed on the night before opening. It turned out that while the shopping mall has received fire safety clearance from the relevant government department, some of the tenants did not apply for fire safety clearance and the mall cannot start operations. By then, it was too late as hordes of people arrived the next day to throng the new mall. In a gesture of goodwill, the management handed out free vouchers to those who turned up and were disappointed.
As the mall's management company has experience running other malls and this is not the first NEW mall opening they have handled, it was a pity that this thing had happened.
Could it be due to oversight on the tenants in applying for the clearance, given that they were busy renovating and getting their shops ready? Could it be management's responsibility to inform or even ensure everything are in place? Or did the tenants or management assumed that everybody know what to do and who is responsible for what? Misunderstanding or miscommunication?
The mall finally opened a few days later, giving the first 1,000 customers a free $10 voucher.
Anyway, the damage was done and they probably have incurred additional marketing expenses giving away free vouchers on those two days. And other tenants affected by the delay are contemplating compensation for their losses in the delay.
In your business, are you also running the danger of misunderstanding and miscommunication?
Why not have a checklist for your customers so they know exactly what is expected of them and you?