I have a sister who is a few years older than myself who is gravely ill. I often wonder why people make so much fuss about food and service in restaurants, when in certain private nursing homes, locally called "clinics," they are served the most disgusting food. Service in the Donald Gordon Mediclinic is non-existent, and this is not whether their food is presented from the left, the right, spilled or not spilled on the plate, but because the life of patients very often depends on the service they are getting in these clinics.
Last Saturday I witnessed for quite a few hours the lack of service in the Donald Gordon Mediclinic. I ascertained that most of the staff were trainees, and it was difficult to establish who was training the trainees. I cannot understand how an exceptionally well known and well respected physician had to wash her patient herself in this clinic, because the regular staff, who are paid to do job, were just not doing it.
So last Saturday was a bad day for me, because it was absolutely heart breaking for me to see the condition of a patient who is after all my sister. It was equally heart breaking to witness the situation of the lady she was sharing the ward with, because, while she was in a better state of health than my sibling, she was equally helpless since she couldn't move in her bed. It took numerous rings of her bell to get somebody to actually come and assist her. I was really exceedingly unhappy. Now, I am relatively straight forward and cheeky, and my natural reaction would be to find somebody, if anybody, and tell them what I thought about the situation. However, seeing as I did not think myself in a position to do that, because I am not a relation of the other patient, and as my sister had two daughters present, I felt it was their right to say or not say what needed to be said about the plight of their mother in this clinic.
On Sunday I paid another visit to the sad clinic and my sick sister. Come 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, I was feeling great pity for all the patients in the said clinic, sadness for my very ill family member, and also sorry for myself. At that time I hadn't eaten very much, and said "If only I could go to a pleasant open area, sit on the banks of Johannesburg Zoo Lake or Emmarentia Dam. We don't have a sea, so I could not be looking at it, but if I could just sit somewhere where I could have peace and quiet and fresh air." My companion said "Well, why don't we go to the Hyatt Hotel?" My reaction was somewhat shocked. Why on earth would we want to go to this hotel? She responded "I have been there a few times, and it is very nice and peaceful."
So, hesitantly I stepped into the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank, and I must say that from the minute I stepped in my spirits started lifting. I was greeted by all and sundry with nice white tooth smiles. The Hyatt was once one of the local "High Tea" establishments, and they told me that while they no longer served High Tea, we could have whatever we liked. I looked at their extensive menu and list of drinks, all on single pages, which was quite helpful since I did not have to go flicking through six and a half pages. I did not particularly want beer or wine, so I thought "how about a Mojito?" So there was Freda at 3.30 on a Sunday afternoon ordering Mojitos! A very nice waiter asked "Do you know what that is? It's alcohol," to which I responded "Yes, that's fine." He also suggested that I have Malay Chicken Curry. My companion had a mixed platter of chicken wings, kebabs and cutlets served with polenta, and she also ordered an Iced Tea.
The Mojito worked very well, and I can tolerate alcohol! The Iced Tea was Rooibos which got an ugly sneer, but the waiter had said that the accompanying little glass was sugar syrup. So in went the syrup, and out came the smile. Obviously the Rooibos Iced Tea with sugar syrup worked equally well! Since we were both hungry, we got stuck into the food which was really exceptionally nice. I must admit that I am one who through the years have really only about four restaurants that I am happy to go back to. If I visit a dining establishment and do not like the food or the service, I don't complain or make an issue. I simply walk out, and never go back, but the service and food at the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank was exceptionally nice, and so I asked the waiter "Do you have the manager here?" He responded "Yes, he is over there?" and I said "Just ask him to come over here."
Now when you ask for the manager of a restaurant, the normal assumption is that you are going to complain. So managers usually approach you with a certain amount of trepidation....."now what the hell are they going to moan about now?" However, when the "manager" approached our table, he told us that since it was Sunday, the gentleman in charge of the restaurant was not there. He introduced himself as Steffen Sinnig, and said that he was Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the hotel. I said to him "I just wanted to tell you that we had a lovely meal, and that even if we tried very hard, we couldn't fault the food. It was really delicious. The food was lovely, the drinks were lovely, and your staff was lovely. So I would like to congratulate you."
The man beamed, and I think he also relaxed. I might have caught a hint of a deep breath, or a sigh of relief. He did say that he had been on duty since 6 o'clock in the morning, and that this was the first real lovely compliment he has had that day. Both my companion and I responded "This is not a compliment, this is a fact! We enjoyed the meal, we liked the company. We appreciated the quiet and respectfulness of the whole atmosphere, and so wanted to say thank you. If we were able to distribute stars, we would have given you a number of them." We established that he was from Germany, and that Head Office posted him to take up the position in South Africa, and that he has only been here for five months. I said to him "you are probably lonely, and must be missing Germany, South Africa being very different," and we complimented him on the German people who do have a work ethic, and who keep their country going. I told him that Angela Merkel was my hero, and that those countries who despise Germany cannot seem to admit that their citizens are lying on the beaches or are staying in bed late, while the German people are getting up and doing their jobs properly and thoroughly!
Steffen Sinnig told us he liked Chinese food, and we offered to take him to the one Chinese place that we have been frequenting for the last 15 years. It's called The Fisherman's Plate and is situated in Cyrildene, and as far as we are concerned, it has remained consistent over the years. So we have invited him to come with us, and will in due course take the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rosebank out for a nice Chinese meal in Johannesburg.
Freda
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