A mall that doesn't enforce its own rules will quickly sink into the doldrums, writes John Harris* We recently had the pleasure of spending an afternoon strolling around the new mega-mall City Stars. It is a beautifully appointed place, on par with any of the glorious malls emerging around the world, a vast improvement over what was on offer in the past. (Does anyone else remember when the Yamama Centre in Zamalek was considered cutting-edge? You've come a long way, Egypt). However, the mall has one significant drawback: smoke. Addressing smoking in Egypt, indeed throughout the Middle East, is a touchy affair because smoking is very well established within Arab culture. Those who don't smoke are very tolerant of smoking. It's not that big of a deal. Parents smoke in front of their children. On long-distance buses, it becomes difficult to see from one end to the other. Non- smoking sections at restaurants, when they exist, are cramped, second-tier sections. However, once you have realised the glories of a smoke-free existence -- the simple joy of returning from a restaurant without your clothes reeking of smoke, the absence of cigarette butts strewn haphazardly along the sidewalk, a home where your children are exposed to only the usual Cairo pollution, without the added danger of second-hand smoke -- it's hard to go back to business as usual. This is one piece of the Starbucks debate that is largely overlooked. Yes, their coffee is not bad (though no better than many other outlets), and yes their stores are well designed and have a comfortable ambience. But throughout their global operations, even in the Middle East, every one of their stores is smoke-free. And, more impressively, the smoke-free status is actually enforced. To be fair, this is why all Starbucks in this part of the world have ample outdoor seating. For most Egyptians choose not to be saved from themselves and their bad habits, and would rather continue to enjoy a cigarette along with their coffee as they have always done. While not a smoker myself, I am not at all judgmental about people's right to smoke. I personally find it peculiar that otherwise well-informed people would pay decent money in order to take precious years off of their life-spans, and most likely to die an ugly, painful death. But real joys are fleeting in life, and if smoking brings you joy, then smoke with my blessing. What does inspire me to action, however, is when your smoking also forces my children and me to smoke. In this case, the issue is no longer limited to you and your own personal satisfaction; it turns into a question of societal health. Which brings me back to City Stars. To some degree, I applaud their recently inaugurated no-smoking policy. When the mall first opened, I remember scarcely being able to see to the ceiling from the ground floor on account of all the smoke that was rising up to be trapped in its dome, the result of seven floors of determined smokers. Now, no- smoking signs are prominently displayed, and when prompted, mall staff will even ask transgressors -- who ironically tend to gather around no-smoking signs posted on operational ashtrays in order to smoke -- to put their cigarettes out. However, more likely, the signs will be ignored, people will puff away, and anyone who takes up the issue, trying to carve out a smoke-free environment for themselves and their families, will be looked upon like a crazed zealot. Much more is riding on this point than merely an individual's right to a smoke-free shopping trip. I see the issue through the prism of the broken windows theory, outlined in Malcolm Gladwell's excellent investigation of social trends entitled The Tipping Point. According to the theory of broken windows, crime is more likely to happen on streets where windows remain broken, and other signs of social decay are left unchecked, than on streets where details such as these are looked after. The broken down streets, Gladwell argues, sends a message to would-be criminals that somehow the community on this street doesn't care enough to fix its windows, and would therefore be less outraged by criminal activity. The same theory applies to City Stars' no-smoking policy. A no-smoking policy that is robustly enforced, as it is in Starbucks, will send the message to mall clients that as the mall management cares enough to enforce its no- smoking policy, it also cares enough to catch petty criminals, to prevent people from discarding their litter on the floor, to prevent people from defacing the walls and other mall property. On the other hand, a mall that does not enforce its no-smoking policy sends an altogether contrasting message to its clients. This message is that as the management doesn't really care about its no-smoking policy, it is more acceptable to steal, to litter, and to act in other rude and antisocial ways. It doesn't take a degree in management to realise that a mall administered under these conditions won't be a leading mall for very long. I applaud City Stars for its commitment to quality. The mall, and the stores it has gathered under its roof, represents an exciting new opportunity for Egyptian consumers, and a major improvement on what was available before. Now I urge mall management to maintain similar commitment to quality in its administration. Enforcing the no-smoking policy would go a long way towards showing people that this is a mall that cares, that is willing to take its commitment to quality seriously, and that it plans to remain a place of quality far into the future, and not descend, like the Yamama Centre, into a position of squalid irrelevance within a few years. * The writer is an expatriate living in Cairo.
