A call to firefighters nearly put out the fun at Doolandella’s Chemist Discount Centre opening last month. But for the 30 people who were stuck inside for 45 minutes, it became the day’s unexpected highlight.
Store owner Dalwin ‘Will’ Wilson said the day started of as planned, with children lined up to get their faces painted by a local artist based in Durack and pet baby animals in at the petting zoo.
Inside the store, their parents were capitalising on the major discounts the store offered and talking to staff members.
The day was consistently busy – 90 faces had been painted over three hours and staff introduced petting zoo time limits to ensure that everyone got a fair turn.
But at lunch time, everything changed.
A basket became trapped in the sliding doors at the store’s entrance, jamming the front doors shut, locking staff and parents inside the store and children outside.
“We tried everything to open the door, we reset the door, called customer service and followed their instructions, but nothing worked,” Mr Wilson said.
“People were stuck inside the store for almost 45 minutes, and then at last we called the fire department to come and open the door for us.”
Instead of sullying the day’s festivities, Mr Wilson said the incident made the day even more memorable and that those 45 minutes he spent trapped in the store were so much fun.
“There was a small gap between the door so the kids were outside were really happy because their parents got trapped inside so they could get their face painted again and again and again,” Mr Wilson said.
“People passed ice cream, juice and water through the gap so we could hand them out to people stuck in the store.
“There were almost 20 to 30 people who were stuck inside and the same amount who were outside.”
Mr Wilson said every customer and staff member he had spoken to asked him to host another family fun day event at the chemist.
“Everyone had a really good time, and that actually made the day a memorable one,” he said.
Mr Wilson said that he was open to the idea of hosting another event in the coming months, particularly as Christmas approaches.
“If that is what our customers want, why not? We had a lot of smiling faces and happy kids,” Mr Wilson said.
“We want to thank the community for supporting us it’s been a big couple of months and it was a really big day for us.”
