Sometimes, there are incomprehensible arrangements in shopping malls.
Like for instance, why would you put four jewellery shops opposite or adjacent to each other, or have three pawn shops down the same stretch of a lane?
Is it for “healthy” competition, or an attempt to dazzle the crap out of the shoppers’ eyes the moment they step into the mall? No one will ever know if it’s a feat of coincidence or an arrangement made by the mall, but these clashes do happen quite frequently.
Selling the same kind of products and trying to one-up each other by bling blings is one thing, but there are genuinely some shops that should never be placed next to each other.
Like for example, a loud spin studio and a relaxing spa.
Loud Music in the Background of a Massage Spa
Ever since Healspa opened for business in 2019 on the second basement level of Funan, it has been operating without any issues.
Business seemed to be doing relatively well, despite COVID-19 restrictions and all.
However, its calm and soothing atmosphere was rudely interrupted when a spin studio called X-Fitness moved in next door on 12 December 2021.
Just picture this in mind: you made an appointment at Healspa to rest and relax. As you recline on the comfortable and plush chair, almost sinking into the material as you close your eyes, your chair start vibrating from the loud bass coming from next door, playing the latest pop hits.
Needless to say, the tranquillity at the massage spa was utterly shattered after the spin classes started.
Ms Lynn Goh, the owner of Healspa, told Mustshare News that the music was so loud that it could be heard from the carpark at B3.
And from her observations, X-Fitness scarcely cared about the problem of acoustics since it only had one soundproof panel installed in the studio, which hardly dampened the reverberations.
The noise from the spin lessons would get so bad that sometimes customers would walk out in the middle of the massage.
There was even a week where they received as many as 20 noise complaints from their customers.
At the start, Ms Goh tried to be polite and approached the X-Fitness’ studio owner to ask if they could lower their volume, but they ignored her.
Stuck in an impasse, the loyal customers of Healspa also found the music intolerable and started asking for refunds, and the staff handed in their resignation letters as well.
Ms Goh Approached Funan Mall’s Management for Help
Upon realising that it was impossible to reach an agreement with the X-Fitness studio owners, Ms Goh looked for the Funan mall management instead.
In the beginning, the management apologised for the disruption and assured her that they would settle the problem.
Three management staff came over to assess the situation, and they unanimously agreed that that the music from the spin studio was causing difficulties for Healspa.
Afterwards, X-Fitness was urged to lower their volume. The mall security would assist by checking on the studio from time to time.
The spin studio owner, however, was less than pleased with the arrangements and there were instances where they would lash out at the security guard.
The peace barely lasted for a week.
On 28 December, X-Fitness started blasting their music again. Mall security stopped coming by as well.
Despite calling and e-mailing the mall management repeatedly, Ms Goh didn’t receive any replies.
Lit Herbal Incense to Pray the Noise Away
Left with no other options, Healspa retaliated in the only way it knew how: lighting two traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) incense and placing it right next to the studio doors.
According to Ms Goh, the TCM incense was typically used in their treatments, and it gives off a peculiar smell.
Perhaps it would be calm and soothing to the customers at the spa, but for the people in their spin studio classes, they were getting fumigated in odd smells as they huffed and puffed through their lessons.
Ms Goh was aware that it would give rise to complaints, but this would also mean that the management wouldn’t be able to wilfully ignore the problem.
Plus, she wanted to give X-Fitness a taste of their own bitter medicine, of what it felt like to have their business disrupted.
You have to give her thumbs-up for her subtle creativity, because her small disturbance actually worked.
The Noise Levels Were Above 80 Decibels
True to her predictions, Funan Mall stepped in again, instructing the spin studio to install a soundproofing system.
The studio owners seemed to be defined by obstinacy, because they refused to comply with the demand even when Funan mall offered to pay for it.
Helpless, the mall management tried to soundproof Healspa instead, but the rooms were too narrow to accommodate such changes.
After learning that the X-Fitness’ six-month contract explicitly stated that their noise levels shouldn’t exceed 65 decibels, Ms Goh started to measure their noise levels.
Unsurprisingly, the noise levels exceeded the noise limit.
And just to give them the benefit of the doubt, Ms Goh took the measurement several times and offered video evidence to Mustshare News.
At its highest, the combination of the instructor’s voice and music could be as loud as 83.7 decibels.
In another video, the noise levels flickered from 73.3 to 78.6 decibels.
Even inside the treatment spa rooms, which were already partitioned off to begin with, the pulsing music was still audible, with decibels ranging from 52.2 to 56.
Why does the music need to be so loud???
Like, “HELLO, ARE YOU DEAF?”
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More Correspondences with the Mall Management
When Ms Goh saw that nothing was changing, she withheld her rental payment in March, hoping that it would urge the mall management into doing something.
On 7 March, the mall management insisted that Healspa had to pay their rent, while promising that they would complete the installation of the soundproofing system by 16 March.
They also tried to smooth things over by offering her priority in advertising spaces and reassured her that they had issued a final warning letter to X-Fitness, even though X-Fitness had turned a deaf ear to their previous warnings.
Sorry, they can’t hear you over the loud music.
However, the noise problem still plagued Healspa.
On 18 Mar, Ms Goh e-mailed the mall management again. This was just one of the many e-mails exchanged between the two parties.
Growing Animosity Between Two Stores
Hostilities between the two stores were starting to simmer and boil over as well.
On 10 Mar, Healspa lit the incense again and placed it at the spin studio’s doorstep.
A passer-by, who goes by the handle of @michykimchi on Tiktok, happened to catch a glimpse of the commotion and took a short video as she was walking by.
The video allegedly garnered more than 230,000 views, but the Tiktok account has been made private since.
According to Ms Goh, X-Fitness had called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at around 7pm, only to realise their assistance wasn’t actually required upon arriving.
In the following days, things became worse.
On 13 Mar, the X-Fitness owner walked up to Healspa on purpose to glare at the staff.
From the CCTV footage, it seems like he was filming the TCM incense left outside before pointing his camera lens at the staff, even going as far as stretching his hand across the receptionist’s desk.
Ms Goh reported the incident to the mall management and the police.
Additionally, from what AsiaOne has gathered, X-Fitness also tried to deal with the the cans of TCM incense by placing a fan next to it to blow the smell back to Healspa.
Although the action kind of works, but you understand that Healspa practically smells like the TCM incense all the time, right?
Funan is in Discussion with Both Tenants
For the next few days, Ms Goh claimed that X-Fitness lowered their volume, but like all the previous interventions, that only lasted for a while.
While X-Fitness has a 6-month contract with Funan, Healspa has signed a five-year contract with the mall. There are still two more years left on the contract, but her business has been suffering ever since the spin studio showed up.
Between the first half of March 2021 and 2022, Healspa’s revenue has decreased by 40%, a statistic that was verified by the reports Mustshare News saw.
Ms Goh stated that she wanted to resolve this problem and find a peaceful way to continue her business.
When inquired about the situation, a Funan spokesperson responded that they were aware of the ongoing discussions between Healspa and X-Fitness.
The mall management has reached out to both stores and are currently negotiating with them.
The spokesperson asserted that they were “committed to working closely with the tenants” in order to provide a conducive environment for the shoppers.
As of 24 March, the Funan spokesperson said X-Fitness operates as a pop-up concept and they will be vacating their premises by mid-April. Until that time comes around, the spin studio has agreed to keep their volume down.
It appears the Healspa might have lost many battles due to the studio owners’ obstinacy, but she managed to outlast them and win the war.
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Featured Image: Mustshare News & Tiktok (@michykimchi)
