Palms Market Sweet Service and Le Ballon Rouge Sour Service Awards!

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The Sweet Service Award goes to the Palms Market, and its co-ordinator Isabella Niehaus, for her generous Valentine’s Day gift of a box of figs, olive breads, charcuterie, and cheese, all produce from her market traders.

The Sour Service Award goes to Le Ballon Rouge in Franschhoek, and its management couple Jennifer and David, for their unprofessional ‘service’ when I stayed there in December. There are no airconditioning in the bedrooms, and the ceiling fans could not counter the extreme Franschhoek heat. The room had a sickly sweet smell from an electric fragrance ball, which I was told with great honesty was to disguise the smell of damp in the room. I was not offered a bottle of water as were other guests, as my single occupancy of the room meant a lower income to the Guest House! We were promised wifi in the bedroom, but the signal was too weak. One cannot use it in their Reception, as it closes and is locked from 18h00, when the management couple leaves the premises. The worst was the fly problem in the room, which I asked both managers to address, which they did not. I was reprimanded by Jenny for asking for assistance with the flies in front of other guests! I could not sleep due to the flies. I asked for a Tax Invoice the following day, but they were unable to issue a SARS-compliant one, and told me to leave with a torrent of abuse. They then booked money off my credit card without my permission!

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 whalecot@iafrica.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog.