The Sweet Service Award goes to Takealot.com for its amazing efficient service. I am a very new online shopper, and awarded the company a Sweet Service Award for my previous shopping experience with them. I ordered the DVD ‘Walking the Camino’ via their service, and was notified that it would only be available by the end of May, given that they had to order it in. Two weeks ahead of the delivery date I was notified that the DVD was available for collection. We were very impressed Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Sweet & Service Award
Every Sunday is Oktoberfest at Allée Bleue Bavarian Food Festival!
On Sundays Franschhoek wine estate Allée Bleue pays tribute to its owners’ German roots, by hosting a Bavarian Food Festival. Last Sunday I was invited by Allée Bleue GM Wolfgang Leyrer and PR consultants Ian and Lise Manley to taste the Bavarian delicacies with other bloggers and journalists, an Oktoberfest come early!
One drives towards the bottom end of the estate, past vineyards, oak trees, and the summer picnic area, to where the lunch buffet was set up in the Shiraz Room, which leads to two courtyards. We were lucky to have excellent weather, and could enjoy the winter sun outside. On a central table a selection of German cold meats (Aufschnitt) served as a starter, served on a Bavarian blue and white check tablecloth, with Bierschinken, Cervelatwurst, tomato salad, coleslaw, a radish salad, a potato salad (Kartoffelsalat), gherkins, pickled onions, German sweet mustard, and French Dijon mustard. A separate table with beautiful breads included Brezel, ryebread, Laugenstangen, Pumpernickel, and dark rolls. 
For the main course, the German staple food sausages, supplied by Raith Gourmet in Cape Town, are served: Weisswurst, Frankfurter, and Nürnberger Bratwurst. In addition, there was Leberkäse (cooked in a bread pan, with a mix of beef, pork, bacon and onions), Wiener Schnitzel, pork neck roast, rösti and Sauerkraut. Not only are Allée Bleue wines for sale by the glass or bottle, but they also offer Paulaner Weissbier and Lager. For dessert there was fruit salad and fresh cream, Apfelstrudel, pancakes with a rum and raisin sauce, as well as a board with South African cheeses, and an interesting looking Obatzda, a regional speciality I had not eaten previously, a mix of camembert, butter, cream cheese, onions, chives and beer!
German Stimmung was created by accordianist Stanislav Anguelov, and some recorded music. The new hostess Christiane ensured that all guests were well looked after, and Food & Beverage Manager Desmond Spangenberg, the recipient of three Sweet Service Awards, and his team kept the tables filled with food. For the children a jumping castle is great fun, and the grounds are safe for children to explore. 
Mr Leyrer showed us the impressive recently renovated Manor House. An historic house dating back to 1689, it was painstakingly repaired and renovated by Gundel and Emile Sogor with guidance from the South African Heritage Resources Agency. The interior was designed by the Sogors too, adding a unique mix of modern and historic Cape furniture, with massive armoires in the downstairs rooms. The Manor House has two suites, a bar, reception rooms and a hi-tech kitchen, and can be used for wedding groups, or for corporate meetings and conferences. Each room and the passages have paintings as well as paint effects done by the Sogors.
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit! That’s what we experienced at a lovely relaxed and friendly Bavarian Sunday lunch, taking me back to my Heimatland!
Allée Bleue, R45, Franschhoek. Tel (021) 874-1886. www.alleebleue.com (The website only has a short description of the Bavarian Food Festival). Sunday lunch. At Shiraz Room until September, and outside Kendal Cottage from October. R145 per person.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
Telkom Sweet and Rest Assured Sour Service Award
The Sweet Service Award goes to TELKOM this week. The telephone company is not often praised for its good service. A request for a “nice” number for a new business telephone line, which must be a regular request from customers, was more than met when a really “nice” and easy to remember number was allocated. A bonus was that the fax number allocated was one number up from the telephone number, making it easy to remember too. In addition, TELKOM staff were proactive with their communication and ahead of schedule with the installation of the new telephone and ADSL lines, necessitating work from two different TELKOM technicians. Perhaps the arrival of TELKOM’s first ever competitor is motivating the company to improve its service levels.
The Sour Service Award goes to Rest Assured, the mattress company, which had delivered excellent service over many occasions in the past. A promised delivery of mattresses was badly handled, and delivery only made at 8 pm on the promised day! The company did not want to commit to a delivery time, being a little like TELKOM, and expects the customer to be present the whole day to receive delivery. One is promised a call a few stops before one’s delivery arrives. However, such a call never materialized on the delivery day, and numerous follow-up calls were made by the customer in the late afternoon, without them being returned with concrete news of the delivery time. The lack of delivery information was blamed on the driver, who does not own a cellphone, and it is Rest Assured’s company policy to not provide its staff with cellphones. This means that any delivery problems encountered or address queries cannot be dealt with by the driver, and that he has to drive all the way to the company head office in Strand to communicate these. A special late delivery was made, to enable the customer to sleep that night.
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.