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.
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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