Expertise makes the world go round

This week, while I was in the bush with the in-laws, my sister-in-law made some bold predictions.

According to her, humanity is facing mass extinction in the next three decades and only the super-rich will survive.

The problem with popular predictions such as these is that they hardly ever come true. Predictions are sometimes ridiculous and far-fetched, as the lovely Snapdragon’s usually are (“You’re an idiot and your foolishness will lead to your downfall, mark my words.”) Or they are based on logic and facts and lead to discussion, which forces humankind to react, which then renders the prediction irrelevant.

We all know our planet can’t sustain the lifestyle we are carving out for ourselves and the other species who share it with us. But the world’s farmers, ecological experts and politicians (sans the charming Trump) are sweating to turn things around and to make my sis-in-law’s prediction mere pie in the sky.

One prediction I can safely make, however, is that the owner of the guesthouse we moved into when we arrived there last week needs to have a difficult discussion with himself about his approach to the hospitality industry.

Dave has a new business and it was clear he doesn’t know guesthouse management from a bar of soap – or any other bar, for that matter. He advertised airconditioning, TV and a bunch of other amenities … which were non-existent. Dave tried to compensate by clucking around us like a mother hen, making small talk with the women and acting like a fellow-holidaymaker rather than a host.

We contacted the booking agents, a popular internet service, which reacted in the most professional manner and moved us to a house run by Louise, an old hand who did all the basics in the most impeccable way.

Eventually, we had a wonderful time in the Kruger Park area, thanks to experts who rendered a great service without cutting corners. This is the only way to avert disaster – whether in the hospitality business or in our attempts to save humankind.

I plan to take that lesson with me through 2020 and invite you, dear reader, to join me in my pursuit of professionalism, thoroughness and ethics. Let’s make this the year of being Louise.

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