East Coast Wine Trail

East Coast Wine Trail
East Coast Wine Trail

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Whatever happened to commonsense and manners?

Is hospitality dead? On the evidence of three encounters I had today, it is definitely pushing up the daisies. 

Initiative and manners, too, seem to have fallen by the wayside.    

First up, I stayed overnight at the Hobart Travelodge last night following a wine dinner. 

I was roused at 7.15am by a loud alarm and a recorded voice shouting "Emergency, Emergency: Fire alarm. Please vacate your rooms".

I threw on some clothes and joined maybe a hundred other guests on the pavement on a particularly chilly Tasmanian morning. The fire brigade arrived, found it has been a false alarm (the fault of hotel system maybe) and a half hour or so later we were told we could return to our rooms.


No apology. 

When I checked out a few minutes later there was once again no apology for the interrupted sleep. It was is if the whole incident had never happened. 

If I had been the hotel manager I would have been in the lobby explaining to guests what had happened, and maybe offering them a complimentary cup of tea or coffee for the inconvenience and to warm some chilled bones. 

An hour later I was shopping in a deli that I use regularly (Salamanca Fresh at Kingston). I had purchased some porchetta for lunch and thought a small portion of coleslaw might be a nice accompaniment. 

But the only way to buy coleslaw is in a tub for $4.50. Not wanting to waste three-quarters of a serve, I asked for a half tub. "No, not possible". Why not? Just put a half serve into one of the many empty tubs on the counter? "That's not the way we do it".

Considering this spectacular idiocy and a lack of initiative, I asked to speak to the manager. "You can talk to her," I was told. She wasn't a manager and she wasn't prepared to show any nous to keep a customer happy. 

So they've lost a customer over $2.50 worth of coleslaw because they employ numpties (or have numpties making the rules).

Next stop a fast food chain for breakfast. I order a meal deal that was clearly advertised above my head for $6.70. 

"That'll be $8.15," says the counter person. "Actually no, it will be $6.70," I reply. 

She tries again. This time it rings up at $6.70. "I don't know how that happened," she says blithely. No apology. I wonder how many people pay over the odds at this particular store? 

Oh, and the fries were soggy. 

Have a nice day.    

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