Normally, tourist spots, street markets or shopping centres would be flooded with visitors and customers, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. A few years ago, entrepreneurs and vendors expressed frustration upon discovering that a local shopping centre was completely devoid of customers, resulting in low sales. Even influencer Ceddy Ang had to close his physical store due to this issue.
This floating market in Melaka is unfortunately experiencing something similar. Earlier this week, a woman posted a video on TikTok showing that there were hardly any visitors at the premises; however, there are also a few reasons why they’re not visiting the area.
In the video, the woman showed that not only were there no customers at the floating market, but only a few stalls were open that evening. “Where is everyone? How are customers supposed to come here if there’s nothing to be sold? Only a few stalls are open right now including mine,” she said. The uploader continued to show the area around where most of the stalls were closed. Toward the end of the post, the vendor provided a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between her and a customer.
According to the text, the customer was disappointed to see that there wasn’t much happening at the market. The vendor also expressed her frustration with the other business owners for being selfish and refusing to open their stalls to attract customers to the premises. At the bottom of the screenshot, the woman claimed that the management was partly to be blamed as well, as they had not taken action against the vendors who refused to open their stalls as per agreement.
“[Management] should’ve blacklisted all these selfish vendors and give that opportunity to those willing to open their businesses here. Also, they should make the rent more affordable. I’d leave if I could, but I’ve already paid the deposit,” the vendor wrote. After the TikTok post went viral, with over 315k views, the Melaka Floating Market TikTok account, believed to be the aforementioned management, came forward in the comments section with an explanation as to why there have been no customers lately.
According to their reply, the main entrance leading to the floating market is temporarily closed due to the construction of a bridge. “We apologise for the inconvenience and encourage everyone to visit us once the bridge is completed,” the statement reads. However, netizens responded to the management’s reply, stating that the construction is not the main issue, as the stench coming from the river where the floating market is situated is another problem.
Others questioned the decision to continue operating while the entrance is temporarily closed. Some insisted that the lack of open stalls is also one of the reasons they refused to visit, as there are not many options for them to choose from. Whatever the case, we hope that the issue will be resolved soon.
Watch the viral clip below:
@karinaknag floating market boat 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻kesian peniaga yg hari2 buka macam saya. dh bersuara dalam group minta peniaga bagi kerjasama buka tapi kene marah. taknak niaga xyhlah ambik harga pakej yg murah. management kene buat sesuatu kalau x tempat ni xkan bertahan lama. #peniagayangdisakiti #floatingmarket #melaka #melakafoodie #fyp #fypage #fypシ゚ #makananviral #rasacrofflemelaka #croffle #melakahawau
Source: TikTok
