The Sweet Service Award goes to Woolworths and its Customer Experience Manager Anita Scott, who took over dealing with our complaint about the W Café at the V&A Waterfront, after Tribeca, the external operators of the W Café, did not contact us as promised.  A 3-cheese toast with mustard looked unappetising, the bread having fallen apart on the plate when served, and it had unidentifiable red bits. There was no manager on duty.  The supervisor was out of his depth. The Woolworths Store Manager logged the call, but it did not reach Tribeca, they claim. After 10 days of non-response, it was a delight to speak to Ms Scott, who was frank about what steps would be taken with Tribeca (she herself had experienced the toasted cheese on another occasion).  I asked her why Woolworths is allowing Tribeca to destroy their brand name with such poor service and poor quality food, as experienced in their Paarl, V&A, and Sea Point Piazza St John branches.  She diplomatically did not answer, but it seems that some serious action is on its way.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Overstrand Municipality, and is nominated by property owner Sybille Rutherford. It has been edited to reduce the length: “I herewith wish to raise the issue of the changes made to the refuse collection being shifted from Mondays to Fridays in the Voelklip -and Hermanus area. We are saddened that this has been made without consulting anyone – as to what the implications would be. Most of us homeowners have the second homes as weekend retreats- we dont stay there permanently. The previous refuse collection day on Mondays was a perfect solution, as the mainstream of visitors to Hermanus is always on a weekend. There have been a few baboons around our area in 09th Street-and I fear that the collection of rubbish on Fridays (leaving the bins and bags open in the Street for some 5 days) will attract the troops of baboons from the caves in the mountains behind our properties en masse- and even if they cannot open some of the special bins provided- there is always the overflow of rubbish in bags which gets placed alongside the bins for collection. Apart from being a definite “draw card” for baboons and bergies – there is also the mess that dogs make when they scrounge in the bags, littering the sidewalks and roads, as well as a stench which will accumulate from all the rubbish lying there for 5 days waiting for collection. In summer arrives this will make matters worse with the heat.It will also attract flies to the area. Are we really wanting to create problems for our beautiful, clean, well run Hermanus town, which is becoming more and more popular with tourists-and people wanting to rent houses for the weekend to spend some time away from home or international guests who rent homes there on a regular basis, be it for families or golfers,hikers or mountain bikers? Once they discover that troops of baboons descend from the mountains and gravitate towards the rubbish – they will feel threatened and more than likely find another little “safe” town to spend their holidays in“.

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.