By Todd C. Frankel
Herald Writer
Here’s something that East Coast Santas are just figuring out but Pacific Northwest Santas have known for some time: Waiting in line with screaming children to see the big man in red is something to be avoided.
A Florida mall this year started handing out pagers to parents, enabling them to go shopping or get a bite to eat until it is their child’s turn to sit on Santa’s lap, The Associated Press reported.
That’s old hat at stores such as Nordstrom in Bellevue Square. They’ve been handing out pagers to people in line for five years.
But it’s something new back East. Patrons at the Pembroke Lakes Mall in Pembroke, Fla., receive a black pager that glows red when they are 15 minutes from their visit with Santa.
"Welcome to the 21st-century Santa Claus," Jenifer Daigle said as she dressed her 7-month-old daughter, Madison, in a red velvet dress for her first photo with Saint Nick.
At the Alderwood Mall Nordstrom, where the wait to see Santa can stretch to 90 minutes, pagers have been used for at least three years.
The chain’s flagship store in Seattle resorts to something much less high-tech. Visits are scheduled in advance, although walk-ups are allowed, said John Bailey, a store spokesman.
But pagers are not yet part of the routine for the Santas at Alderwood Mall and Everett Mall.
At Pembroke Mall last year, more than 10,600 children came to get a photo with Santa, waiting up to four hours in lines near store fountains. "We had kids falling into the water. We had a lot of children, by the time they got to Santa, their pants would be wet," said Lenor Ryan, the mall’s general manager.
The pagers are a big hit with Santa, too.
"The kids are in such a better mood, because they don’t have to stand in line for two, three or four hours," the man in the white beard said.
Sarah Scheuer of the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C., said pagers are gaining use at shopping malls and department stores as a way to cut down on the wait for service.
Many Outback Steakhouses use pagers to let patrons know when their tables are ready.
A store in Birmingham, Ala., hands out pagers to parents waiting for sales help in the busy children’s shoe department. And some Wal-Mart stores are offering the devices to customers who drop off prescriptions, said Doug Crisafulli, marketing director for Boca Raton-based Jtech, which is supplying pagers to two Florida malls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
