They say all good things come to those who wait, right? Then by all accounts, Cape Town should be positively glowing with good things!
It could be the lullaby affect the waves have on the locals, the spell our beloved mountain casts on us or maybe there is something in the water. Whatever it is, getting good quality service in Cape Town, generally speaking, seems to be something of a mythological beast compared to the service received in other South African cities like Johannesburg.
While the slow paced lifestyle we have so carefully cultivated offers holiday makers an enchanting break from the rat race, for the people who live here, it's slightly less than enchanting. When hungry resturaunteers are unable to place a modified order at a restaurant without it getting muddled up or arriving half an hour later than specified, holiday makers are inclined to say something like "oh, how quaint", but the live-ins get a chance to improve on their language skills with more colourful and creative expressions. This in turn makes the whole restaurant experience unpleasant for both the people who deliver the delayed meal or bad service as well as for the people placing their orders.
If drivers got speeding fines for driving too slowly, perhaps the need to do things faster would filter into the Cape Town attitude that is both loved and hated. Consider this: commuters start by driving to work in the morning, living up to the "slower is better" driving reputation that the Kaapies seem to have inherited. This starts the day off in much the same way as a tortoise's might, and carries on at much the same pace. Phone calls never get made, emails take twice as long to be sent, paint dries and the grass grows...but doesn't get cut.
Then there are the times when you need that urgent report done by the end of the day, and the specialist in your office assures you that he or she is working on it. You just happen to pass their desk on the way to get a glass of water and notice that they are playing solitaire. It really does seem sometimes that Cape Town's motto should be something like "Why work when you can play?”.
While it is refreshing to be excluded from the soul crushing rat race the rest of the world seems to be caught up in, and allowing yourself to have a bit fun while you work, it would be nice to know that when your estate agent says that someone will be there at 9 o'clock the next morning to fix that broken window, the relevant person is actually there at 9 o'clock the next morning to fix that broken window, necessary tools included.
For consumers who would like to lodge complaints, or compliments, about the service you receive, we have a tool of our own - the Internet. You can either go to the relevant company's website, they usually have at least a contact form you can fill out, or you can try going to www.hellopeter.com. This site offers Internet users the chance to log their complaints or compliments online. Suppliers and other Internet users read what has been logged and some suppliers respond accordingly. You are informed of the companies that respond and the ones that don't. It's worth posting gripes even if the supplier is not included in the list of suppliers who respond, word of mouth gets around and they will lose customers, this should give them a...motivational aspect to work on.
All said and done, not EVERYTHING in Cape Town is done at a snail's pace or with slightly less than expected competence levels. There are some gems of the service world out there; we just seem to have difficulty striking a balance between the two. At least we get a chance relax and breathe in the life that swarms around us every day, even go on the odd lunch break once in a while. So, while we sit around waiting for those fabled good things to happen, why don't you try and phone home affairs for the 6th time and see if your replacement ID book is ready?
