The Sweet Service Award goes to the Garden’s Centre Car Wash owner Roy Jewel and brother and sister Loubser shoppers, who came to the assistance to loan jumper cables and helped to restart a flat car battery at the Garden’s Centre last Saturday, caused by inadvertently having left the hazards on whilst shopping.  The only problem was persuading the parking company assistant to open the boom, as the battery charging had taken more than the allowed 15 minutes between paying for the parking and leaving the parking area.

The Sour Service Award goes to the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU), which called a strike of its members, with disastrous results.  Its first effect was that ATMs ran out of cash, especially in Hermanus during the Whale Festival last weekend, with thousands of out-of-town visitors, many from overseas, and locals wanting to draw money at month-end, who were inconvenienced in not being able to draw cash when the machines ran empty. Retailers are also feeling the impact, not being able to receive delivery of all goods. The delivery of petrol is also threatened. Even worse is the reported damage to trucks, and resultant impact on traffic on the N2 and other roads. The strike involves more than 28000 truck drivers, reported The Times.  Economists worry that the increasing number of strikes will keep international investors away.

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.