V&A Waterfront Security

3 Weeks of holiday couldn’t go by without having a single reason for ranting now could it? Hardly. So out of the 3 or 4 kak customer service experiences I had in Cape Town, by far the most infuriating was had in dealing with a member of the security staff at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

We’d made reservations for a restaurant called The Hildebrand which is right on the waters edge. Because of its location, special parking is made available right near the restaurant to avoid having to park on the extreme far side of the waterfront. We arrived on time for our reservation and were met by Pitt Williams.

Pitt was extremely rude to us, initially denying us entry and implying that we were not telling the truth about our reservation just so that we could get parking. My father owns a ship repair company and as such, he has extensive harbour access permits and Mr Pitt Williams even ignored this telling us that it didn’t apply. His sheer arrogance and cockiness was what really got our blood boiling. He treated us like we were common criminals, callously waving his hand at us and talking down to us like animals. I wonder if this is how he treats all visitors, local and international? As bad as this was though, the biggest shock was still to come.

Eventually another security lady offered to walk to Hildebrand and get their reservation list in order to confirm our reservation. During this waiting time, I asked Pitt, “Is it really necessary to be so rude and difficult?” He replied, “Its my job. My boss tells us we have to be as difficult as possible with everyone so that people can’t get inside that parking.”

WTF?!? So the problem didn’t really lie with Mr Pitt Williams…it lies with his boss. In other words the head of security at the V&A Waterfront instructs his staff that they have to be as difficult as possible with customers…people who’re trying to spend money at the Waterfront…just so that they can conserve a few parking spots? Well thats a fine attitude huh…

I’d really love to hear back from Mr Pitt Williams’ boss and hear what his/her reasoning is for wanting to be ‘as difficult as possible’ with customers and visitors to the V&A Waterfront. Surely there must be a better way to handle matters like these without being so rude.