The Sweet Service Award goes to DEUKOM, for passing on the reduced cost of its contracts with German TV channels to its South African customers, resulting from the strong Rand, by reducing its subscription cost by 6,8 % from December onwards.
The Sour Service Award goes to Cape Town Tourism and its PR Manager Skye Grove. Public Relations is the management of relationship building with a company’s publics, and in the case of the tourism body, these would be its members and the media. Whale Cottage Camps Bay is a member of Cape Town Tourism and is on its media list for this blog. The defamatory response by a non-paying guest on Twitter to our exposure about the attempt by him and his editor wife to defraud our Whale Cottage Hermanus of payment, was retweeted by Ms Grove, making her guilty of defamation too. Not leaving matters at that, she wrote two Tweets, questioning why we had retweeted the link to an article in a national newspaper about the alleged fraud. Worst of all, however, was a Tweet that she wrote to the guest, suggesting that our Tweets be reported for “abuse” and providing the Twitter link for it, in an attempt to damage our professional reputation. Ms Grove did not offer this link to us, nor did she retweet our warning to hotels and guest houses about this couple, which would have been in the interest of Cape Town Tourism members. No apology nor response has been received from Ms Grove when she was notified about the Sour Award, other than removing two of her three Tweets on the topic.
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.
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Skye Grove has an undefiled professional reputation and has assisted us (also members of Cape Town Tourism) in many tourism PR endeavours. She enjoys the level support of her peers and other members of Cape Town Tourism. I am sure that her support of Naashon Zalk on Twitter was well thought through.
Thank you for your comment Kelly – I am delighted that you are reading the blog so thoroughly!
This is not the first unprofessional act by Skye Grove – earlier this year she criticised the City of Cape Town for an electricity breakdown in her area on Twitter, but somehow forgot that the City of Cape Town is the funder of Cape Town Tourism.
Surely it cannot be in her job description – her role surely must be to maintain the City’s funding, to retain good media relationships, and to retain members!
If you are a Cape Town Tourism member, I find it surprising that you are using a yahoo address to hide the name of your tourism business. It is so sweet how you are supporting Ms Grove!
Chris