Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

The Sweet Service Award goes to Hermanus Office National, a stationery shop that sells a large range of stationery items in a smallish shop opposite SupaQuick in Hermanus, at the most unbelievably low prices.  Printer and fax cartridges are generally expensive when bought at Incredible Connection.     A typical M40 cartridge for a Samsung fax machine costs R394 at Hermanus Office National, compared to R 401 at Walton’s and an incredible R 499,95 at Incredible Connection! The goods in the shop are neatly displayed, given its small space, and the owner’s son was very efficient in taking payment. 

The Sour Service Award goes to The Fugard theatre, which opened a mere 3 weeks ago.  The booking service was friendly and trusting (telephonic booking of tickets without requesting credit card details), the ticket collection process was efficient, and the ticket price was cheap at R 50.  The entrance to the theatre is via an adjoining ex-church, beautifully restored and lit, a lovely space in which to meet other theatre-goers, with a large bar, at which one can pre-order and pre-pay one’s drinks for interval, a novel idea.   Everything was fine up to this point.  An irritation relative to other Cape Town theatres is that seating is on a first-come first-served basis, like at The Labia, rather antiquated, so one had to go up to the third floor to get a seat, far from the stage, and had to sit on long benches as opposed to individual seats. No one was prepared to shift up to make space for others - meaning a shortage of seating due to gaps in between.  On the way to the seating, four different members of staff asked patrons to switch off their cellphones.  The patron was attacked when she was checking her last Twitter message, the phone having been set on silent - the hostess threatened to remove the phone.   The hostess was standing on the staircase on the aisle, next to the patrons, and kept marching up and down the aisle, berating patrons for even daring to touch their phones to check messages.  One couple arrived late (the theatre shows strangely start at 19h30) and was let in, and shown their seats with a torch, annoying all patrons on the aisle.   A patron wanted to go the cloakroom before interval, and was refused permission to leave by the hostess.  The hostess made a huge disturbance while trying to explain why she would not let the patron out.   The sneakers worn by the staff make a squeaky noise when they walk along the aisles.   At interval the patron went to find the Manager Johan Kupserburger, and only managed to get half the complaint about the disturbances to him, before being rudely cut off by him, as he had just spotted Mangusotho Buthelezi in the audience.   At interval two patrons almost came to blows, as the more assertive patrons were served first by the three bar staff trying to serve about 250 patrons, ahead of those that had stood there for longer.  After interval two hostesses were put on duty where the theatre-goer was sitting, apparently as a fire regulation (the 70-page Western Cape ‘By-Law for Community Fire Safety’ does not mention such a requirement at all) for the building.   The new hostess walked up and down too, talked to her colleague right next to the patrons during the show, and kept moving - standing up and sitting down on the steps.   Feedback presented to the Manager at the end of the show was greeted with disbelief, implying that the patron was not telling the truth!  He did admit that the staff had only been working at the Theatre for 2 weeks.  He then wanted to force the patron to speak to the Director, instead of asking the Director to come to the patron in a quiet corner.  The Theatre has the most terrible karma and the staff are fanatical about reacting to cellphones, not understanding that reading or texting a message, or Twittering, does not affect the volume of the phone.   Ironically, a bottle and plastic cups fell over during the show, for all to hear.   The end result was a horrid evening, with little enjoyment of what was a most unusual production of the Mozart opera ‘The Magic Flute’ a la township-style, with marimbas only in place of a full orchestra.  

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Bellavista Country House and Panorama restaurant, located between Stanford and Gansbaai, and neighbouring Grootbos, a surprise oasis of 5-star accommodation luxury and excellent cuisine, owned by Swiss national Georg Schwegler, for inviting WhaleTales to experience the property.   Set high up against the Waterkop mountain, the property has a lovely view onto Walker Bay, and the fynbos of the farm below.   The popular Panorama restaurant, visited by guests from Hermanus and Gansbaai, has a fine-dining menu which is reasonably priced and the food was excellent.   The restaurant is run by two chefs who previously worked at Allee Bleue in Franschhoek, and the service was professional and reactive, if a little withdrawn, whilst the wine list is extensive, with two wine list choices - top-end wines and more affordable wines. 

The Sour Service Award goes to the Cape Whale Coast Destination Marketing Organisation, for reacting to its Sour Award of 28 December by sending a lawyer’s letter stating that “not only is the content of your publication concerning our client plainly untrue, but also slanderous.   You published these statements with the obvious and clear intentions to defame our client, and bring our client’s work, standing, good name and reputation into disrepute”.  The letter demanded “an unequivocal apology in respect of all untrue and defamatory matter concerning our client.  In such written apology, you are to acknowledge the untruthfulness of your earlier statements, withdraw all imputations made, and express your regret that they were ever made”.  The writer gave 7 days for this demand to be implemented (but sent the letter to the wrong address, so it was only received 10 days later), failing which the DMO threatened to issue a summons for damages and apply for an interdict!   Nowhere in the lawyer’s letter did it state which parts of the long article it deemed to be “untrue” or “defamatory”.  WhaleTales has been around the block long enough, and has written for the media, and knows what can/may be said.  Information sources were the Hermanus Tourism Bureau, an e-mail sent to all members of the Hermanus Tourism Bureau, the DMO constitution, and the DMO website itself.   The blog post that the DMO is contesting can be read here.   The DMO seems to be short of funds, yet seems to deem it important to waste its money on a threatened court case with no foundation, and does not appear to value the country’s Constitutional freedom of speech!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to the Manager of The Big Easy restaurant in Stellenbosch, for making space for a table of two on Valentine’s Day, when the hostess had declined the request initially, even though only half the tables were occupied at the time.   The service and meal were excellent.   It transpired during the evening that a party of 22 had booked, and that the hostess did not want to burden the kitchen, or the new chef Simone’ Rossouw.  Shockingly, the large party did not honour their booking!

The Sour Service Award goes to the Darling Music Experience, for the organisation of an event at the Groote Post wine estate outside Darling.   After a long journey from Cape Town, driving on a poor quality gravel road to get to the farm, the attendees of the lunch session had to listen to a talk by German pianist Andreas Kern about music, concerts, etc, and only got to hear one short piece played by him!   All the attendees at the lunch table complained about their expectation of a concert, as it was that that had attracted them to attend.  Lunch was then served at Hilda’s Kitchen restaurant, and was most disappointing:  a salmon salad with potatoes as a starter, a slice of mixed vegetable quiche for the main!!!, and a lovely pavlova.   If it had not been for the long journey lying ahead to travel back, and the lovely persons at the table, one would have chosen to return immediately.  The cost of R 250 per head felt like a rip-off, and was used as a sales opportunity for the Pentz family for their wines rather than as a musical experience for the attendees.   Feedback received from the Darling tourism bureau was dismissive and unsatisfactory, although they did offer an invitation to attend a concert two days later.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Lourens and his Workshop team at Paarl Motors, for managing to get the replacement of a gearbox covered by a Mercedes Benz Maintenance Plan, which the car manufacturer had said had expired, despite the gearbox having been ordered 3 months ago.  Instead of having to pay R 20 000 for the replacement, or 50 % of this under the maintenance plan, Lourens managed to persuade Mercedes Benz to not charge at all.   This is the second Sweet Service Award which has been awarded to Paarl Motors.

The Sour Service Award goes to Cinema Nouveau in the V&A Waterfront.   The cinema appears to have no manager on the floor, the manager’s office being upstairs and hidden from the ticket sales area, where most of the problems occur.  The staff have attitude, are rude to their customers, constantly change, book one against the wall when one asks for a ticket on the aisle, and often do not even man the ticket booth and expect one to buy the ticket at the refreshment counter.  The staff do not match the quality of the movies shown at the movie house, and have no interest in assisting clients when there is a problem.  There is no way one can complain about the service, as there is no telephone number for the Waterfront branch - all calls go to a central call centre, and calls are not returned.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Colin Haupt from Doppio Zero in Green Point, who prevented his restaurant from getting a Sour Award.   The customer popped in last Sunday evening after a movie, at 10 pm.  Three waiters stood at the door, and immediately greeted the customer with the news that the kitchen was closed due to a stock take.  A drink or coffee could be served, they said.  The customer saw a pizza, and asked if that could be served.  Yes, they said, that is not part of the “kitchen”, they said!   The customer asked the Manager how it could be possible for staff not to encourage a customer to order a pizza, given that is what they are in business for.   Linda, a Manager who had not dealt with the customer, asked what had happened, when she was on her way to leave the restaurant.  When the customer explained it to her, she told the customer to rather go home!  The Manager Jason refused to provide the details of the franchisee or the Johannesburg head office, giving the customer his name and restaurant number instead!   In fact he asked the customer to come back to the restaurant to complain the following day, when the franchisee would be present.  He did not take the customer’s details.  The following day the customer called Colin, the franchisee, and he was most gracious and direct in apologising for his staff incorrectly closing the kitchen - it may only be done on his instruction.  The chef had decided to override the boss, it would appear, once he had gone home.  Colin has invited the customer to return.

The Sour Service Award goes to the new Pick ‘n Pay Express on Somerset Road in Green Point, where it took more than half an hour to pay 6 accounts via Pick ‘n Pay’s Easy Pay system.   Only one cashier knew how to take the payment.  Clive, the manager, initially tried to assist, but seemed to be out of his depth.   He just walked off, and went to the back of the store, leaving his staff to try and sort out the problem.  Alan, the trainee manager, seemed knowledgeable, but had never done a third-party payment.  The customer had to call the franchisee Paul, for help, as the time taken was unacceptably long and the cashier could not make the sixth payment go through.  Paul arrived, chewing gum, and was agitated that he was expected to come from his home to assist the customer in making the payment!    

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Allee Bleue in Franschhoek, for laying on the most wonderful lunch on a perfect summer’s day 2 weeks ago.   Invited guests were hotel/guest house owners/managers as well as media representatives.  The lunch was held in the new wine tasting courtyard, which looks very chic, the many staff were immaculately dressed in the Allee Bleue branded aprons and bow ties, and live music was performed.  The lunch was prepared by lovely and ever-smiling Chef Dane Newton, and the starter was a Taste of the Sea Assiette, a seafood collection of salmon, crayfish, calamari and prawns, beautifully plated; the main course was an “Inside out sirloin burger”, with a potato galette served between a layer of sirloin steak and beef mince; and a “Strawberry Delight” pannacotta dessert was served.   The appointment of GM Wolfgang Leyrer, who joined Allee Bleue less than a year ago, has resulted in a most amazing transformation of the wine estate, has added picnics and the wine tasting lunch menu, and is expanding the wedding capacity of the estate, it being one of the most popular wedding destinations in the area.   This is the third Sweet Service Award Allee Bleue has won since the inception of the Sweet & Sour Service Awards over a year ago. 

The Sour Service Award goes to the management of Robben Island, who have not operated their ferry Sikhululekile to the iconic island for 2 weeks now, because a part has to be flown in from Germany.   This is the third time in four months that the R 26 million ferry has not operated, in periods during which Cape Town has numerous tourists visiting the city.  The Sea Princess, with a capacity half of that of the Robben Island ferry, has been chartered for the time being.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Ian Halfon and his team at Balducci restaurant in the V&A Waterfront for so generously hosting the members of the Camps Bay Accommodation Association to a dinner on 14 December.   Not only did they pull out all the stops to introduce the guest house owners to a wide variety of dishes on the extensive Balducci Italian-style menu, but they also presented each guest house with a most beautiful gift box, consisting of a bottle of the Balducci house wine, a packet of biscotti, and a menu for the guest house.

The Sour Service Award goes to Telkom, for not arriving for an appointment, made two months ago, to install a telephone line in an apartment in Stellenbosch on Monday a week ago, as the technician had gone to the wrong block of flats.  Even though he had the contact details of the estate agent waiting to open for him, he did not bother to call when he arrived at the incorrect address.  It has taken another 10 days for him to come to the correct address, and he has now discovered a broken cable between the block and the distribution board, which has to be repaired before the line installation can be completed.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award winner is Robert’s Roofing, for fixing the roof of Whale Cottage Camps Bay on 17 December, four days after a gale force southeaster had taken 100 tiles off the roof.  Despite a public holiday falling into this week, and the builder’s holiday having officially started two days prior, and numerous buildings’ roofs in Cape Town requiring repairs in the aftermath of the storm, the company came just in time before it rained. 

The Sour Service Award winners this week jointly are Nedbank (Sour Award), ID Solutions (Sour Award) and Limelight (Sour Award), for threatening legal action against WhaleTales for their Sour Service Award nominations, not being able to face up to feedback about the poor service experienced first hand.   Big-bully tactics will not make WhaleTales withdraw its Sour Service Awards.  Freedom-of-speech is allowed in the South African constitution.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

In the spirit of Christmas, we will only award a Sweet Service Award this week.  The winner is the SA Reserve Bank, which decreased interest rates by 5 percentage points in the last twelve months.  Without this decrease, most business and property owners would not have survived the rough past year.   While the interest rates are still very high relative to other countries, and the interest rate decreases may not have been a boost to the economy as such, they certainly prevented a collapse of the economy.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award  goes to 221 Waterfront restaurant, in the Victoria Wharf in the V&A, and its Public Relations consultant Annette Ashley, for a wonderful dinner of a prawn and avocado handroll, a main course of duck, and a lovely bottle of Hartenberg 2005 Shiraz, with efficient service, and an evening of chatting.   Ms Ashley’s hard work has put the restaurant on the map, with an Australian soccer group signing up the restaurant for 3 weeks for its catering and meeting needs during the 2010 World Cup.  

The Sour Service Award  goes to Cape Town Tourism and MediaNova, the publishing company, which was appointed by Cape Town Tourism to produce its Visitors’ Guide for 2010.   Cape Town Tourism regularly changes its Visitors’ Guide publisher, and this means a new learning curve for each publisher, and an irritation for the members of Cape Town Tourism who advertise in the Guide.  The current issue’s accommodation ad design is completely ineffectual, in that the tiny type size of the copy in the 1/16th ads is barely legible, especially the name of each establishment.   The company also forgot to allow a line for the street address in the contact details!  The Guide still has not been published, being more than a month behind schedule.   The lack of management by Cape Town Tourism over the production of this Guide is most irresponsible!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.