Tag Archives: Ria’s Pools

Queen Victoria Hotel Sweet and Ria’s Pools Sour Service Awards

June 3, 2011

The Sweet Service Award goes to Patrick at the Queen Victoria Hotel, for not only coming to tell me that it had started to rain heavily and that I needed to close the roof of my car, but he also came running to the car with towelling cloths from the cloakroom, to help me dry the car seats.

The Sour Service Award goes to Ria’s Pools in Franschhoek, which has previously received two Sweet Awards. From fantastic service when we first started using the pool cleaning service for Whale Cottage Franschhoek in December, the invoice has grown monthly, until it reached a record high of close to R 1000 in March, mainly due to weekly additions of Shock-It, chlorine, alkalinity, in addition to a chlorine floater! When the pool cleaner left on 1 April, I asked him whether he had added anything to the pool, and he said no, yet we were charged for Shock-It, chlorine and alkalinity. The prices charged for these HTH products, which Ria probably is buying wholesale from HTH, is higher than those charged by Pick ‘n Pay. A recent paint job was done without supervision by Ria, and no holes were filled with Pollyfilla before the painting commenced, which meant that it had to subsequently be redone.

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.

Ria’s Pools Sweet Service and Pick ‘n Pay Franschhoek Sour Service Awards

February 25, 2011

The Sweet Service Award goes to Ria’s Pools in Franschhoek, a previous recipient of a Sweet Award. I called Ria to ask for assistance with a garden service and DIY service, and she was able to organise both on the same day, not only in terms of a quote, but also the execution of the services, an unheard-of service level in Franschhoek!

The Sour Service Award goes to Pick ‘n Pay’s Liquor department in Franschhoek. In one day last week I received poor service twice! I had to return Amstel beers which we had ordered via our weekly Whale Cottage Franschhoek shopping on two occasions, having first received them in glass bottles, and then in large cans purely because they were out of 330ml cans of Amstel. Every error means another piece of paper. I was not called, which is the procedure, to check on which size of Amstel we wanted. I was looking for a champagne stopper, and called the store, and this department specifically, to ask if they stock them. I was told that they do, and that they have different kinds, so I said I would come and check which one I wanted to buy. When I arrived, I was taken to the sparkling wine section of the store, when I asked after the ‘champagne stopper’! When the staff member was questioned about this by her manager, she insisted that I had said I wanted “champagne”!

Ria’s Pools Sweet and Tafelberg Furnishers Sour Service Awards

January 7, 2011

The Sweet Service Award goes to Ria’s Pools in Franschhoek, who came to our rescue late afternoon on 31 December, when the pool at Whale Cottage Franschhoek had a technical problem, which prevented the pool vacuum cleaner from moving. All pool companies servicing Franschhoek, even from Stellenbosch and Paarl, were called, and only Ria’s Pools’ Morne called back. Morne came back the following day, on a public holiday, to check that all was in order, as well as two days later. He has won his company a new client for his outstanding service.

The Sour Service Award goes to Tafelberg Furnishers in Green Point, where the branch manager Sterna took no interest in hearing a complaint about the lack of feedback by the salesman about the time of delivery of a washing machine to our Whale Cottage Franschhoek. Sterna just put me through to the Warehouse, making it my problem to sort it out with them, instead of listening to my complaint about her colleague.