The foundation of the hospitality industry
remains the service that is provided to every guest who walks into the hotel or
the restaurant. …. ..yet, one could see
the notice at entrance that the right to admission and service to every guest
rests with the hotel. Though it is a service industry, it involves transaction
between two parties and one of them has the right to decide on the presence of
whom they want [rather whom they do not want] says sources. Every hotel has its
own set of codes of conduct that the guests need to adhere to. These might
range from the appropriate attire of the guests to their behaviour. Some do
deny admission to guests not wearing shoes.
Years ago, a
respected journalist representing an English daily was denied entry in a hotel
for not wearing shoes and similar thing happened in famous club – this time to
a Judge as he reportedly was wearing a dhoti…. then there was this outrageous
incident of pushing out a child in McDonald Pune outlet.
Facebook and other media were ripe with reports that a child was
literally pushed out by the employees as it stood in a line along with a woman
when the child came to buy a drink. The
media reported the employee as stating “such
people are not allowed in the restaurant”.
After being roundly criticised for its actions and blatant
discrimination, McDonalds India said that appropriate action would be taken in
case of any act of breach. To them
destitute street children are strictly ‘no’ even if somebody else is prepared
to spend on them !
When the incident
was reported, a security was quoted as stating that such kids linger around
malls, cause unnecessary chaos, which is a disturbance to other customers. There
were further reports that an NGO subsequently took 15 underprivileged children to the fast
food chain's outlet in Kolkata and treated them to burgers and fries.
Economic
inequality – the gap between rich and
poor has existed all along. The gulf
between rich and poor and contrast between rich and poor, refers to how economic
metrics are distributed among individuals in a group, among groups in a
population, or among countries. Economists generally think of three metrics of
economic disparity: wealth, income, and consumption. The issue of economic
inequality can implicate notions of equity, equality of outcome, and equality
of opportunity. Some studies have emphasized inequality as a growing social
problem. Too much inequality can be destructive.
Economic
inequality varies between societies, historical periods, economic structures
and systems. The gap between the rich and the poor keeps widening, the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says.
In
its 34 member states, the richest 10% of the population earn 9.6 times the
income of the poorest 10%.There is no standard measure of inequality, but most
indicators suggest it slowed or fell during the financial crisis and is now
growing again.The OECD warns that such inequality is a threat to economic
growth.The report says this is partly because there is a wider gap in education
in the most unequal countries, which leads to a less effective workforce.OECD
member states include most of the European Union as well as developed economies
such as the US, Canada, Australia and Japan.
One
of the factors that the OECD blames for growing inequality is the growth in
what it calls non-standard work, which includes temporary contracts and
self-employment.The OECD says that since the mid-1990s more than half of all
job creation in its member states has been in non-standard work. It says that
households dependent on such work have higher poverty rates than other
households and that this has led to greater inequality.It also says that tax
and benefit systems have become less effective at redistributing income.On the
other hand it says that one of the factors limiting the growth in inequality
has been the increasing number of women working.The report says that one of the
few areas where inequality has not been growing in the last 30 years has been
Latin America, although levels of inequality were much higher there to start
with.
In East London, a
sign saying 'sorry no poor people' outside a trendy coffee shop in Shoreditch
has caused outrage on social media.Some people branded the sign 'disgusting' after
it was posted on Facebook and Twitter by a person who saw
them firsthand. But some believe the sign, in trendy Shoreditch, was supposed
to be 'ironic', attacking Loiacono who posted them on the media for being 'a bad grass' who doesn't understand
humour !
The Goswell Road
store caused controversy earlier this year after writing a sign saying 'please
don't feed the crackies,' referring to drug addicts.However, the owner, Adrian
Jones, claims the sign this week was a prank by 'anti-gentrification
protesters' who object to the transformation it has seen in recent years.He
claims that someone it was an act of graffiti and speculated that it may have
been done by the same group who vandalised the Ceral Killer cafe, a trendy
breakfast bar that only serves cereal.
Loiacono, from
London, is Italian and admits that sometimes he does not get British humour,
hoping that some people could help him understand when he posted the
picture.The sign angered a number of his friends, with one, Darcy Spoon,
writing: 'So do we need to have last bank statement and payslip to go be
allowed in shops now?'Other users attacked the man who posted it for not
understanding the humour behind the sign; to some others, the sign touched upon was one that shouldn't
be joked about
KaakaMuttai
(The Crow's Egg) directedM Manikandan;
jointly produced by Dhanush and Vetrimaaran – released in 2014 was a hit. The story revolves around two slum children
of Chennai, whose desire is to taste a pizza. It went on to win two National
Film Awards at the 2015 ceremony - Best Children's Film and Best Child Artist
(Ramesh and Vignesh).
The
2 young brothers from a tiny concrete-and-tin Chennai home [with their father
in prison for unknown reasons and with an ageing mother-in-law] - mother struggling
to keep kitchen fire burning, yearn for toys and other things that they cannot
afford. With the Govt gifted free TV,
they see a pizza commercial whose
steaming, slow-motion images make the unfamiliar food look like manna from
heaven. A new pizzeria comes up in the
neighbourhood, actor Simbu comes to its opening. Remembering the looks of
enjoyment on actor’s face when tasting
pizza, their desire becomes burning.
When they collect some money in hard way, they are shooed away by the
watchman of the pizza shop due to their poor dress. They get humiliated again; some try to make
money of the unsavoury episode caught on video………….and when the boys finally
taste the pizza, they are not amused and tell that the dosa offered by their
grandmother tasted better !
The
photo at the start is from this movie !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
13th Oct
2o15.
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