Refused dinner

Good evening

My name is Nonhlanhla Mahlangu I am a guest at Protea Mafikeng for the week and was so disappointed when my colleague (who happens to be pregnant and suffers from temporary arthritis.) and I were refused to dine because we were wearing slippers.

Let me state that my job requires me to travel frequently and I had never had an encounter where I was refused to dine because I am wearing slippers.

The Lady (Nancy) that was assisting us and later introduced herself as the manager in charge told us that we cannot dine with slippers, “we must dress smart and look presentable” upon trying to explain to her that we had driven for more than 3 hours from Pretoria to Mafikeng she said we are more than welcome to order room service as she cannot allow us to bring down the standard of the hotel as it caters for business people.

She went on to tell us that we must go change our attire to what we were wearing initially when we checked in as that was more presentable than what we were wearing when we went for dinner. Upon explaining that my colleague has a condition she further went on and hinted that she was lazy as she knows a lot of pregnant people that wear heels.

Let it be known that I find this treatment rude and offensive and I honestly hope a resolution can be presented as it was for the first time in my 7 years of work travel that I was refused to dine because I am wearing slippers. It seems that the hotel does not care about the resident guests but are more concerned about the guests that come strictly for dining.

I am highly appalled and offended.

Regards

Nonhlanhla Mahlangu