Waddesdon Manor, The National Trust's Fawlty Towers?

In this wonderful Brave New World of CCTV cameras watching our every move, here's a cautionary tale.

The National Trust have tried to use a CCTV recording to refute a customer's complaint about poor service and indifferent food in one of their restaurants. It seems to have blown up nicely in the face of cretinous Catering Manager Simon Offen, who seems to have forgotten the golden rule of the hospitality industry, that the customer is always right.

How much negative publicity will this unsavoury incident have generated for The National Trust in general and it's restaurants in particular? How much will it cost them in lost revenue, in members cancelling or not renewing their (far from cheap) memberships?

Perhaps they should cut their losses some what by sacking the oaf Offen.

He can always get a job in Dolly's Rebuttal Unit. They need people used to trying to defend the indefensible and familair with the Ad Hominen argument technique. Mind you, at £20,000 he'll be being paid more than he is worth.

The Penguin