Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

The Sweet Service Award goes to Rick Taylor, Group Marketing and Sales Exewcutive of the Vineyard Hotel, who came to the rescue when an ordered lamb burger had not been brought to the table at the hotel’s The Square restaurant after half an hour, the waiter coming back to say that the kitchen had run out of seeded rolls, and needed to bake more, requiring another 15 minutes.  I was not happy that the Restaurant Manager nor the F&B Manager understood how poor the service in the restaurant was, and therefore asked to speak to Rick, a friend of many moons ago, in our advertising industry past in Johannesburg. With his charm and chattiness, Rick made me forget my frustration, I stayed far longer than planned, and I left with a positive attitude towards the hotel. 

The Sour Service Award goes to Pick ‘n Pay Express in De Waterkant, the second Sour Award it has received for exactly the same reason – the problems in taking EasyPay payments.  I had brought a cheque, and wanted to pay the balance with my credit card.   It took half an hour to put through the 20 payments I was making, due to the slow Pick ‘n Pay EasyPay system.   The real challenge came when it took the manager Trevor another half an hour to try and put through the cheque payment – first he had to call for special permission to accept my cheque, and once he had received this, he did not know how to deal with a cheque payment on the till.  Trevor called the Pick ‘n Pay helpline, and they confirmed to me that the total amount can be paid by two payment methods.    I noticed that the Manager was not answering the questions the screen was asking, i.e. the branch number and the account number, questions to which the manager kept entering the amount to be paid, and therefore was getting an ”input error” message each time, at least 20 times!  It took an hour to make the payments.  For a 24-hour outlet, one would expect a more competent manager to be on duty when the owners have gone home.   

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 Kulula.com, nominated by Hilary Djolov.  Hilary writes:  “Kulula … put us onto a BA flight when our flight was delayed by two hours and upgraded us to business class, because we were travelling with a three-year-old who otherwise would have made it home after midnight.”

The Sour Service Award goes to SAA, who seem intent on discouraging tourists to visit South Africa in the afterglow of the goodwill created by the recent World Cup.   Robert Landecker wrote that last December he paid about $800 for a ticket from Sao Paulo to South Africa - now he has been quoted $1500 for the same journey in January next year.

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 Jannie from Franschhoek Motors, for replacing the clutch of a Chrysler PT Cruiser, which he had replaced eight months before.  Not only did Jannie collect the car from Cape Town, and tow it to Franschhoek, but he also demanded that the clutch supplier Luc Repco replace the clutch at no cost. 

The Sour Service Award goes to Value Car Hire, a supplier of good value cars for Whale Cottage clients for the last twelve years and previously a Sweet Service Award recipient.  Due to the clutch repair of the Chrysler PT Cruiser, we had to rent a car for five days, and chose to support our supplier.  Being neurotic about a blanket authorisation hold on my credit card, I called our contact over all the years and senior manager of the company, Munier Abrahams, and agreed that no such authorisation would be held over my credit card, as I would pay by EFT once the car was returned.  I told him that I had not signed the form, and in fact had scratched out the card payment authorisation on the form.  When the car was driven, it was badly aligned, the steering wheel wobbling badly.  We called Munier, and a replacement car was brought to Stellenbosch.  We were surprised that the Value Car Hire driver Bradley had not picked this up when he delivered the car.  Later that day I noticed from my bank statement that the company had put an authorisation hold of R1500 on my credit card after all, despite our agreement.  This was reversed three days later, after I expressed my dissatisfaction to Munier.  On the day of the return of the car, R1181 was booked off my credit card without permission, for the rental as well as a petrol fee, despite the car having been refueled prior to handover and our agreement that I would pay by EFT.   I called Munier, and he promised to sort out the problem, even though he was on leave.  I noticed that the credit card reversal had not come through, so called Munier again, and reminded him about his promise.  He apologised for not having been there, but said he was on the way to the office, and would sort it out.  I called at the end of the day, and we had a war of words on the phone, Munier denying any of the terms of our telephonic agreement.   I gave him until midnight of that day to reverse the payment.  The payment has still not been reversed, and therefore we have approached our bank for a chargeback of the payment, and have found a new car rental company for our guests. It would appear that a take-over of Value Car Hire by i-Drive has changed the attitude to doing business with their customers.

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 1500 Capetonians who participated in the Madiba Unity Fan Walk on Sunday, in honour of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, and to retain the unity amongst Capetonians developed during the World Cup. The Fan Walk was initiated and organised by Jacqui Biess and her daughters from Charly’s Bakery. 

The Sour Service Award goes to the parking guards in the Cape Town city centre, who seem to have been appointed on their degree of rudeness and harassment towards city shoppers, rather than on their ability to efficiently collect the parking monies with charm!   With their orange bibs and blue overalls they are highly visible, and have become a deterrent to many wishing to go into the city.  Recently I parked near Marcellino’s Bakery, a 5 minute stop at most.  As I came out of the bakery, the parking guard was already at my car, and refused to get out of the way when I tried to close my car door.  I had to ask the CCID security guard, who was standing with him, to call the police, so that I could protect myself from him, as I did not know what he would do to me, in my own vehicle.   Similarly, a guard in Barrack Street threatened to clamp the car wheel if I did not pay upfront - in Sea Point we pay afterwards. In both cases the communication came with extreme rudeness.  The cost of parking is more than the cost of buying two bread rolls at Marcellino’s Bakery, hardly an incentive to go there now, except on a ’drive-through’ basis!

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 England supporters, who so bravely and in a sportsman-like manner accepted the outcome of their Round of 16 match against Germany just less than 2 weeks ago.   Despite the loss, they partied and no reports of hooliganism were received, something which has been associated with English soccer fans in the past.

The Sour Service Award goes to Enver of African Eagle, for the poor service a group of Whale Cottage World Cup guests, who had booked the company to do a day-tour to Aquilla, received.   The company’s guide called the Whale Cottage Camps Bay Manager Marianna at 5h45 to obtain directions!   They called again, to say they could not find the house, and were given the correct address again.   It took a further 30 minutes for them to reach the guest house.   An hour later the guests returned, saying that they had asked to be returned to Whale Cottage Camps Bay, as the driver was still looking for other clients at 8h00, when they should have reached Aquilla already and had breakfast there!   It took Enver 24 hours to return Marianna’s call of complaint, due to a message that had not been passed on to him by his staff.  When he took ownership of the problem, Enver immediately apologised and explained that he had used a new Portuguese-speaking guide, who had been requested by other booked clients, but who did not know Cape Town well.   Enver promised to drop off bottles of wine for the Whale Cottage guests and chocolates for Marianna, to apologise for the poor service.   The guests have long since checked out and the promised wine and chocolates have not been received! 

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 Donovan Dreyer, the new Food & Beverage Manager of Grand Provence in Franschhoek, who came over to introduce himself when a colleague and I popped in to see the latest exhibition at the art gallery and had a cappuccino and a dessert each.  We were served the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen, and they matched their visual attractiveness with exquisite taste as well.    My colleague had an apple and mango tart with a tiny toffee apple on top, as well as the greenest scoop of apple ice cream on a chocolate biscuit base.  My dessert was a mini chocolate-filled croissant-like pastry, served with a thick vodka cream.  Executive Chef Darren Roberts is a talent to be watched. Donovan refused to let us pay, and we left Grand Provence impressed with their friendliness and professionalism. 

The Sour Service Award goes to Lime Media Marketing/Media Mountain, a company that has changed its name a number of times since calling in the past six months or so.  In heavy recognisable (almost trademark) Manchester accents the staff introduce themselves as a “Google certified company” and promise immediately to put one at number one position “on the first page of Google”.  I was offered a special for the Plettenberg Bay accommodation page, at a discounted rate of R 1 300 per month, down from R 4 600.   When I asked where it would be located on the Google page - as an ad on the right hand side, as an ad at the top, or as a normal Google listing, tele-sales caller Matthew could not reply, passing me on to Ben.   Normally Google ads are charged on a pay-per-click basis.    It is obvious that the company is a call centre, as one hears the buzz of numerous other callers (I heard the same salescall go out to an accommodation establishment in Hout Bay whilst speaking to Matthew).  No written communication is sent, the transaction being done electronically, so that one cannot see the paperwork at all, which makes one suspicious already.   A guest house colleague in Camps Bay, Sally from Atlantic Suites, has also experienced the pushy nature of the company, having been intimidated by them when she did not pay immediately on what the company had felt had been a done deal.

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 all (OK, almost all) South Africans who have embraced the World Cup starting today, for decorating their cars, homes and businesses, for being helpful, welcoming and friendly to tourists, for tolerating lack of parking, traffic congestion and parking tickets in the city, and in the Green Point and De Waterkant areas in Cape Town, and for becoming soccer fans, in short, doing our country proud. 

The Sour Service Award goes to SkyNews and its Johannesburg-based reporter Emma Hurd, who keeps finding yet another negative story to tell about South Africa, especially its townships, in the run up to the World Cup.  Ironically, S A Tourism sponsored SkyNews sport broadcasts for almost a year!   The negative reporting has created a growing backlash against the TV station amongst South Africans, and on Twitter in particular, leading to a less than flattering @emmaturd Twitter account having been created about her! 

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 Desmond Spangenberg, the Food & Beverage Manager at Allee Bleue outside Franschhoek.   This is the fourth Sweet Service Award Desmond has received.   My colleagues and I stopped for a coffee just after 5 pm on a grey May day, to find that the restaurant had just closed due to there being no clients (closing time is usually 5.30 pm).  Desmond was the only staff member still at the Allee Bleue Bistro, and told us that the kitchen was already closed, but he immediately offered to make us tea or coffee, even a cappuccino, which he knows I love.   As we were inconvenienced, he insisted on not taking payment.

The Sour Service Award goes to Nedbank Sea Point, where I went to exchange my old R 200 notes for new ones two weeks ago.  The teller did not confirm to me verbally how much I had given her, after counting my R 3 000 in notes.  We were talking about the regulations while she was counting, and she showed me an old and a new note during this process.  She also did not count my notes on the machine.  She returned R2 800 in new notes to me.  She admitted that she had not stated how much I had given her, and searched on her side for the missing note and asked me to do the same.  I insisted on receiving my missing R200, and asked for the manager - being a Saturday she had the weekend off, so her deputy came to talk to me.   She said that they would have to check the camera, but I was shocked that I was not allowed to check it with them, as it is in a private section of the bank, into which clients are not allowed!   Only when I called the Sea Point police from the banking hall did they return my R200 to me.   A visit that should have taken 10 minutes became a 40 minute drama, without apology from the bank.  The manager Marie had promised to call when she was back in the office on the Monday, but I am still waiting for her call.  

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 FIFA Ticket Collection office in Hans Strydom Avenue in Cape Town, where the collection of tickets booked via the Internet took 15 minutes in total.  The process was efficient, in that the ID Book was checked, one signed electronically on a screen (with instant signature verification for the credit card companies, no doubt), and the tickets were issued in a folder, with transport guidelines for match days.   

The Sour Service Award goes to Gordon Ramsay and the organisers of the Good Food & Wine Show in Cape Town two weeks ago, who had egg on their face when a charity dinner at maze at the One&Only Hotel in Cape Town turned into a fiasco.  Some guests had booked and paid for their tickets but were not on the restaurant’s booking sheet, and had to sit at a counter on bar stools, having paid R 1 500 per ticket.  The sponsored Fleur du Cap wines ran out before the end of the evening.  The hotel does not stock this brand, so it could not be replenished from its stock.   Ramsay delivered a short welcome to the guests, and a live feed from the kitchen was meant to allow them to see Ramsay slave away in the preparation of their meal, but he soon disappeared off the screen.   A promised Question and Answer session with Ramsay did not materialise, as he had long left the kitchen and the hotel, and went clubbing at Tiger Tiger in Claremont, amongst others.   Seriously annoyed guests, some of whom had flown to Cape Town from Johannesburg or Durban, expressed their disgust at the poor organisation of the dinner on Food24’s Comments page for maze restaurant.   The Good Food & Wine Show’s Christine Cashmore took a week to issue a short and sweet media statement, apologising on behalf of her company and Ramsay.  It appears that some of the guests had tried to slip into the kitchen, and this had annoyed Ramsay, as had the cameras, it was written, and he had stormed out of the kitchen in one of his ‘famed’ fits.   Ramsay however performs best under the TV camera, according to his fans. Cashmore has offered to refund all guests that booked but did not get a table.  The One&Only found a similar wine, and poured that, Cashmore denying that any guests were left without red wine.

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 Jenny Hobbs and Sheenagh Tyler, the organisers of the Franschhoek Literary Festival, which took place in Franschhoek last weekend.  Not only was it extremely well organised, with more than 30 talks and discussions, but it also attracted other cultural events to Franschhoek over the weekend, being the opening of an excellent winter art exhibition (with works by Gordon Vorster, Dylan Lewis and Cecil Skotness) at Ebony, as well as outstanding music performances by Christopher Duigan in the NG Church.   The weather was perfectly organised too!   In addition, it ‘booked-ed” out many accommodation establishments and restaurants over the weekend, a much needed occupancy given the otherwise poor winter lying ahead for Franschhoek in terms of bookings.

The Sour Service Award goes to Le Quartier Francais and its owner Susan Huxter.   Ilse Schermers, curator of the new IS (Ilse Schermers) art gallery, that opened at Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek last week, had to call this writer to cancel (without explanation) an invitation she had been sent to attend the opening, on the instruction of Mrs Huxter, even though the writer has been a client of the Grand Provence gallery, where Ms Schermers was the curator until recently, for years. 

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.