Customer service and South Africa do not belong in the same sentence - If you need to have anything repaired, you will have to take it back at least once to get it working properly. My Audi had to go back to have the service warning light fixed, two days after the service. It is now a week later, and it is going back again for the same thing. My Land Rover - don't get me started, suffice to say that it broke down 200 meters from the dealership that I had just paid R14000.00 to for a service. Corricraft - ordering a couch from them was easy. Getting a refund after having waited five months for delivery was not. Telkom - they are the world champions at customer service, although Nedbank comes a close second. Companies in SA only want your money, not the hassle of actually supplying anything for it.

yeah, i agree with you, WE are the ones that need to re-train the establishments to give better service. but demanding free stuff is not what it's about. (it's nice, yes, but not the aim). I'd be happier if my complaint was taken seriously and there was a change the next time i went into the store (i.e. if the next batch had enough chicken in it).

remember also that the way we deal with it very often dictates the outcome. I've learnt that throwing one's toys just makes people defrensive, but well worded and justified advice often makes them see it from our persepective.

good luck to us all!

On Wednesday I went to West Street Durban Edgars and my niece wanted to buy hair clips as we got to the till the cashier tells us that she has no change in her till and we have to go stand in another cue to actually get to be assisted, I was so dissapointed at the service delivery from Edgars cause at some point you could rate them with the srvice that you get from Woolworths. Well I left the store and didn't buy the hair clips, there are too many stores that sell hair clips and can offer better service, I was once employed by woolies and know a lot about customer service and and their service delivery standards, I will remain a loyal customer to them as long as Edgars and other stores give the service they give. One unsatisfied cutomer means 100 unsatisfied customers, Edgars you better pull up your sox.

Gavin, you are so damn right, it is bloody shocking that we the people of tghis country who support our locals are been treated with such disrespect. It is high time that we the people of this great democratic country start getting what we deserve. No No I am not trying to cause a riot, but I think when we complain everyone gives you the same reply WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE. Samn if you are sorry, make sure it does not happen and wake up. I agree once again NO SERVICE IN SA

As consumers; we got to understand that at some point bad service goes with policies of host company. Ofcourse, giving first class requires one to be considerate?, at least!!
If the policies of the host company are cast n' stone, then a simple consultant would not pro-active based on the security of the job.
Take for instance where one has access to overide or make a decision, then things go right. For example; when one is dissatified with product/ service; you will want to speak to manager to take a decision. If this right was alreadly given to the first contact person; then would less dissatifacory service by us consumers.
In other countires one would not call the contact centre more than once for the same thing as the person you first deal is able to take initiative and able to stand without the fear of job loss/ wrath of ...
Secondly; as consumer are always right, if one has respect; patience then the problem is easy is identified and solved.
Lets rather try to relate bad service and bad attitude, where this applies to both recepient and the caller. The recipent will obviously have safe the purpose of the company; but if the caller is beyond the line of understanding processes then the solution to the problem is unpredictable therefore BAD!!.
WE can not all sing the bad service issues; without playing our part as consumers by
1) Focus on solution
2) Attitude change
3) Understanding

i've had my own bad experience with corricraft. they simply do not provide any customer service at all. they make couches, that's it. good luck getting any kind ov response from them, if they answer their phone you've done well.

I'm sorry to say that I have to agree with all the negative coment on Corricraft. I will never do business with them ever again. Despite the extreme poor service you receive fromj them, they can't even take an order without making the one mistake after the other and then they have the nerve to try and devend themselves. It's unacceptable.

When I decided to buy a lounge suite I came across these comments on the web, and thought "Oh hell, it can't be that bad, let's give them a try - becuase I really like this couch".

Well I'm sorry to say that they lived up to every bad remark I have heard about them. The staff who work in Centurion are unprofessional and down right incompetent. I will never do business with them again, and would advise anyone else to stay clear of them.

I bought couches from corricraft and i have been waiting almost a month and my couches are still not done. they are 2 weeks late and when u phone them no one has a answer for you or it's another empty promise. i will never purchase from them ever again

Indien jy vir jouself baie sorge op die hals wil haal, doen jouself die guns en koop iets by Coricraft. Jy is gewaarborg om met jou hande in jou hare te sit. Hulle is vinnig om iets aan jou te verkoop, maar naverkoopdiens is net `n "rumour"! Jy kan nie kla oor die diens nie, want daar is nie. Jy loop jouself telkens vas teen baie onprofessionele en onbevoegde personeel wat al hulle foute op die klint se skouers pak!

When i purchased a couch from Coricraft, Design Quarter, Fourways (Jan 2007) .. i never thought i would go through the WORST customer service I have ever experienced !!

People need to be warned about the poor service they will probably encounter from this company!

There does not seem to be proper business processes or communication between the Sales and Deliver departments... the staff clearly need to be trained with management / business skills.
Delivery drivers are dispatched with the wrong items / or on the wrong days.
My phonecalls are NEVER returned from their supposed customer service line 011-555-0000 !
You can never contact the Managers, to report your problems.

I wonder how does this company manage to stay solvent ?! The Managers/ Directors are incompetant for their jobs.

I would have recommended this company to others, because it stocks good furniture, and is a local company .. but no LONGER !!

Coricraft needs to urgently cleanup their act, fire people if necessary, and make customers service a priority !!
Good luck with your dealings with this company .. you will need it !!

I cannot believe the exact same thing is happening to me right now. Design Quarter Fourways is shocking and the Manager Andrea is no help what so ever. I am in the customer services field and I find the attitude pathetic. Sign the deal and get the money don't worry the client can wait 3 months the money is cleared into our account.

I think that Coricraft should be held accountable for the hard earned money people spend in there stores.
What a reputation to have I would be EXTREMELY embarrassed.

I challenge the Directors of Coricraft to answer for the lack of service. Strangly enough the managers and Directors is aware of the complaints posted on the websites, in this case when I refered Andrea to it he said in a very upset tone I know about the sights.

Well no services what so ever.

I am embarressed on there behalf.

Superwomen

Service is a dead and buried entity and one wonders how some companies survive, Joburg Metro and their billing system is the joke of the century, heaven forbid that you should pay your bills on time, that is guaranteed a Final Demand. My best is phoning the banks, press 1 for…, press 2… press…3 for by the time I get to 8 I have forgotten what 1 and 2 where and have to redial, or even better sill press 9 to hear this list again, press 9 to hear this list again, press 9 to hear this list again… then we have telkom, and then I lie down and cry, anybody heard of hellkom.com – viva la human

My NOT ONE month old VW POLO PLAYA switched off in peak traffic jhb...car was not put together properly on production line!!!! No apologies or reason for making me wait nearly 2 hours to tow me out of a dangerous spot when VW dealer was 15 min away...My husbands' Audi goes in for a service comes out with a broken cubbyhole..we'll get back to you with an explanation sir,by lunch time today...still waiting.

A BRANCH MANAGER puts the phone down on me! this after telling me that the cal is being recorded! I tell you!

(in terms of folloing up - i'm so there - i'm also selling my vw and buying something ELSE!!! anything but VW now despite being a lifetime customer already!

Renault could give VW a run for their money. Went in for a service - they broke the dash display. Went in to get that fixed, they broke the hands-free. Both of which had to be repaired at my cost - more than the original service! Now the car is stalling and the air-con doesn't work and Renault is ignoring my calls and emails.

My husband is disabled and has an automatic Scenic. When it gave trouble Renault told us it was the starter motor - that was replaced and it cost us; then they said the head gasket had blown so that was replaced and it cost us; then they said the gear box was stuffed - so that was replaced at R21 000. The gear box had nothing wrong with it. Renault says it's not their problem. The motoring industry ombudsman said there was nothing wrong with it. It has now been at the gear box place for the last 8 weeks and they still can't get the gear box right. Now they say it's possibly an electrical problem. All this time my husband cannot even go to the shops to buy milk because he has no car. Does Renault care?????? Not a damn.
PS One of the company cars is a Renault and that was in for 3 months at the beginning of the year until Renault admitted they didn't know what was wrong.
PPS My nephew is desperate to get rid of his because it's one problem after the other. He's had absolutely no replies to his junk mail advert - one wonders why!

Always remember that the meaning of YOUR communication is in the response you get.

I dare these writers to show me their flawless records of customer service...

A Customer is always right! If I complain about the car being stuck in the middle of the road bought in 2 days surely ther must be something wrong with the product. At the end of the day, no matter how i swear, the results of service, those comforting words which are always kept as a promise do make a difference and shift your focus from the 2days old car which is broken to the way this was handled service excellence, from towing to a courtesy car all that is service excellence.
How can i smile for incovenience when i am supposed to enjoy safety and confidence in the car i'm driving but instead get a breakdown in the middle of rivonia road!!! The impact of that alone can let me change that car instantly and go to other dealerships. BMW exploited an M3 owner who also had an X5 when he had a breakdown in the outskirts of KZN, when he described where he was they said the area was not covered by their roadside assistance plan, he sold both cars immediately! They lost business because they promised service they couldn't deliver!

If anyone wants to experience how pathetic service can get call MTN and try and get them to assist you. You'll be lucky if they even answer your call. MTN SUCKS!!! They're fat cats who don't give a damn about their customers.

Has anyone tried to get any assistance from the Nedbank help line? Everytime I phone I am told I am in the wrong department and I have to call another number. No matter what number I dial its the wrong one. When I went into my branch to apply for internet banking, they were online and they promised to get back to me. This was over a month ago...I am needless to say that I am still waiting for this telephone call. They are happy to charge you for nothing but when it comes to service, they are unable to deliver! I think it time, as South Africans that we stop just accepting poor service and excuses! We are incharge of our own country and we are the only ones capable of raising our service standards. I have had enough of poor service!!!!

I have just returned back from the Uk and needed to get a few hings sorted out, car, cellphone, bank accounts ect..

Had shoddy service from VW Stydom Park.
again from Vodacom.
And it has taken Nedbank the whole month to open me a debt account and I still don't have my bank cards.

Not very impressed with any of the 3 companies mentioned.

the vodaworld phones or call centers suck! you get transferred from one phone to another until they tell you that phone is not available or whatever you want you can get from your local dealer.
Pax

I was scheduled to depart form Cape Town to Johannesurg this last Tuesday at 17h10, the flight only left at 18h00. I was totally miffed that SAA did not offer any explanations or apologies. I am of the beleif that when one books a flight at a certain time there is a reason, i.e. other things going on of grave importance. South African Customer Service leaves a lot to be desired, given the inability of call centre staff to effectively deal with queries or inform customers correctly.

We flew from JHB International two weeks ago, and on arrival at our destination, we found our our suite cases "cleaned out". On our return to SA, we asked customs where we could report the matter. Firstly she found the matter hysterically funny, then she said "If you think it might help reporting it, try the counter behind me".
Surely if the staff can leave work with bags and bags of stollen items, walk straight past security, they are free to enter their "secure area" with any dangerous items they please. WHY are we asked to "WATCH OUR LUGGAGE ALL THE TIME" then once it enters customs, the staff are free to open all luggage at their own leisure and remove or place anything into any bag. Why bother checking us for bombs, nail clippers, etc. Just get the staff to do it. AMAZING SOUTH AFRICA.... WAITE FOR THE 2010 GAMES - Our guests will be sitting ducks....

I have just read all the comments that have been made and concur 100% with the exception of Johan - (what an inept comment) - the service industry and service in SA is going to the dogs. Is it complacentcy or just down right "I do not give a toss". This has got nothing to do with the rainbow nation or what ever you want to call it. My take as an outsider - (I do not live in SA - But in East Africa) is that people are not hungry enough to work, are overtly protected in their jobs, are terrified of making the wrong comment to staff in service positions as this could be misconstrued etc etc.

I truely believe that it is a management problem, management has lost the ability or desire to manage the system on a daily, hourly basis and is prepared to accept second rate/ third rate service as it becomes a take it or leave it scenario.

Go to hellopeter.com. It's a brilliantly organised site. And apart from having the pleasure of ranting and raving, you may even get a response from the subject of your ire.

I remember coming back from Durban once, I was following a motorcycle with two people on it.

They were doing slightly in access of the speed limit.

He pulled over to the slow lane, as his rear tyre ruptured and they both came off, they survived, but were injured.

I called MTN helpline to get paramedics there and for starters they put me on hold and when I eventually got through, they cut me off. Thank god it wasn't an emergency, hey???

Let's face it people, we are a third world country where we talk about caring for each other, but don't actually do it.

I'm personally sick of the brainwashing, so if you want something done, I say kick, scream, throttle or even toi-toi outside the damn shop, but get what you want and deserve.

Recently, a man in Cape Town took out a half page ad in the Cape Times which was an open letter to the Managing Director of Land Rover SA, complaing about the shoddy service he received over many many months.

The ad cost him R25 000.

Clearly the poor service in SA will drive people to all kinds of lengths. Lucky man - he could afford to spend
R25 000 to get the attention of someone in authority. The rest of us have to complain on the internet.

In the last six months I have come to discover just how bad the service industry is in this country!!

I bought a bed from Living and Home Decor in Durban. After being promised delivery in three weeks, it arrived nine weeks later. All we got was a "Sorry for the inconvenience"!! Never a call to keep us up to date on what was going on.

I ordered tiles from Spec Tiles in Durban. Estimated delivery - 10 days! It is now one month later and still no tiles!! We were told that the "factory had run out of stock and had to do a rerun". What a laugh.... when I reported the situation to the head office in Cape Town, I was told that the tiles were there all the time!! I was told blatant lies and will NEVER deal with them again or recommend them to anyone.

Why do we take this poor service? Is there no way of making these people pay? Surely they should not be in business if they treat their clientelle in this manner?

Can anyone offer me a solution?

Seems to be a general malaise in SA, service has become a dirty word and encounters with service staff usually only raise blood pressure. The only way companies are going to find the will to take service seriously is when we stop spending our hard earned money with companies that allow their customers to be treated badly. Boycott the bastards and make sure that the owner of the business knows why and how much money you may have spent if the experience had been pleasant. Like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, show em its a big mistake to take any client for granted.
Viva good service - the struggle continues.

Call Centres: Any advertised Customer Service Line appear pretty useless. They cannot help with names and or contact detail.

State Your Case: Once this has been stated, the "problem" is transferred. State it again, and again it is transferred. And so it goes.

Gate Keepers: Find the right person, and they hound you for detail, and hound you. even though you do not want to give it (or better put repeated again)

The Person Responsible: This person is NEVER available - neither is the MD, who no one has contact detail for either. They are normally in some meeting and have back to back meetings for the next 3 days. So they WILL NOT get back to you, soon....so give me the detail.

In short, companies should rather take down the detail and [actually] get the correct person to get back to the people that actually pay their salaries.

Having mentioned the above - all too often repeated - scenario, there are some companies who actaully do take the trouble to assist. Sadly not enough though. It is only after you have some how nmanaged to get your fax in front of teh MD or Chairman, that you start getting calls from all over the company.

It is at that point that they cannot do enough for you, but you have possibly already changed brands....

... which is why Nedbank still has such a bad reputation. If I admire a brand and staff on the ground measure up to it, well, that's the prize. Think about those times you've had really good service - you go back to the place even if it's slightly more expensive or further away.

When it comes to clothing retailers, smaller stores/boutiques usually offer terrific customer service, because half the time it's the owner helping you.

I've also had many good experiences at my local Pick 'n Pay and Woolies.

I think Telkom Sucks in a big way. 4-6 Weeks waiting period from a globalized company? This same waiting period has now changed to almost 13 weeks for the same product. They apparently have problems with their suppliers, that does not surprise me at all.This is costing my company about R 200 000 in revenue each day. How about that for stinky shoddy service. I am truly gatvol of Telkom. Yet they boats in excess of 5 Billion Rand in Profit. Who can take them on and dent their business in such a serious way. I certainly wish i had the ability to cost them millions for poor service standards. What bullies they are.........

I agree

charging for engaged calls or faulty lines REALLY sucks. no wonder profits are high.OUT WITH TELKOM asap

I am not the complaining type, but after receiving two packets of Knorr Cup a Soup Duo packs without croutons I was mad! I phoned their complaints line and pleasantly surprised by the friendly voice on the other side. I made my complaint, feeling rather foolish, I must admit. But, within a week I had received an apology letter from the Consumer Affairs Manager as well as 3 free coupons for the soup.
I don't think that South African's complain enough. We accept bad service, therefore we cannot complain when it doesn't improve.

The service I received at Bradlows is 'the' total opposite of what they claim in their TV commecials. How can something used for less than two months get fixed? It was faulty from the word GO. My Home Theatre is still with them (returned for the second time within 4 months after purchese).
This sucks, Big Time!!

I had my phone stolen last year and phoned to cancel it but the service I tried wasn't working so I couldn't get through. In that time someone used my phone to call from Hillbrow to Nigeria to the tune of R3000. The unnamed service provider refuses to pay even though their service was down which resulted in me not being able to get through. They've wasted 4 months of my time saying they'd investigate it only for me to be told that standard procedure means they would never pay if I never got through. I'm tired of screaming, paying for a contract I'm not using so I've had to admit defeat. I am going to smear their name in mud and tell as many ppl not to open a contract with them - as soon as my contract is over I will be moving to another service provider. No one communicates at those bloody call centres and there is no way to hold them accountable - dont even bother taking down their names! And the thing that sucks is they get paid quite well and have absolutely no responsibilities!!!!!!!! Justin Nurse needs to create a special tshirt for these cheats

I must share with you all the experience my company had with One Stop Print in Norwood.

Firstly our quote was changed about 4 times with the person at One Stop 'forgetting' to add cetain things so the total got higher and higher.
We needed the job to be ready in 24hrs which is one of the main things that One Stop advertises.
Our job was ready in about 3 days! We were lied to every time I phoned to ask where the job was. We were told that it would be done "in a hour" every time I phoned! Once we were told that it was ready, so I went to collect it only to find that it was still being printed!! We were shunted from one person to the next and no one seemed to know what was going on, each person told a different lie!
I was eventually phoned saying that the job was ready, I asked them to send a driver to deliver to to our office. Nearly 2 hours later there was no driver. I called again and was told that the driver had left without our job!
We went over to collect it as we had to go to the client but lo and behold! The job hadnt even been cut yet! Whats more is that the print quality was sloppy and smudged with finger prints all over the pages. All in all, One Stop Print had ruined every aspect of our print job and the client was furious that the job was so late and so badly done.

Anyway,we complained extensively about the awful service to the managers Hugh and Jason. Both were completely dissinterested and condescending about the whole thing. They at first denied that my company ever went to One Stop Print. they refused to give us a discount and didnt even apologise! Their attitudes to customer service was absolutely shocking and it became clear to me that all they care about is the money and not the service!

You just need to know how to ask for it!

Considering some of the complaints registered on this topic, it is clear that the "face" of the marketing communications industry is changing (at last)in South Africa. Sadly, people with experience are being parked onto the backburner and those WITHOUT experience that have been mundated to come up with the goods, believe that dealing with suppliers in this industry is like ordering a BigMac - you just need to place your order at the counter. Sadly, the bulk of suppliers in the marketing communications industry have also being going through motions of change, and there are a whole lotta people out there with inappropriate experience, or no experience at all.


So ja, if you want your cake and eat it, you're gonna have to cope with the realities of a changed South Africa. Alternatively, get an old-school heavyweight consultant onto your freelance books, or go back to school.

Consumers should get into the habit of supporting organisations who have adapted a Quality Management System such as the ISO 9001:2000 standard as Customer Service is at the center of the mangement system. Should things then go wrong and a customer is dissatisfied there is recourse in that a complaint to their certification body could result in their certification not being renewed, resulting in loss of tenders. When poor service starts hitting their pockets, service is almost certain to improve.

Just a thought

The worst service (if u can call it that!) of my WHOLE life. Call centre staff are RUDE, AGUMENTATIVE and cocky!!

I asked to speak to the Supervisor and they argue with me!! SLOW so called 'broadband', can only install lines in 8 weeks + and email that look something like: 9778jdh89@telkom.co.za. This is just the tip of the ice berg! When will Telkom finally get competition? I will be the 1st to sign the dotted line!!

In London they include: digital TV, internet and phone calls in one! And it REALLY IS "broadband"! For next to nothing!! We are being ripped off!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Spar at st helena in welkom can also be mentioned as the worst when it comes to customer dervice. They are now tops of my list for shoddy service. Through the years i have enjoyed shopping at spar due to the quality, but this tradition was broken down in one single moment. I have nevee xperienced such rudeness, especially from the (assistant)supervisor,the spar management at this store definately needs to demonstrate better human relations with their customers- one thing for sure i will neva be going there again!!!!

It seems that most businesses in SA don't realise that it's the consumer who keeps them in business. When trying to explain this, you get the evil eye as most business owners seem to think that they are doing the consumer one helluva favour?

My fiance had some of the worst service ever by a clearly disgruntled sales assistant who must of thought that she was the next MD in waiting! I would advise anyone to never shop there again...

I agree completely, where has the customer service in South Africa gone?

Had a big problem with Post Net not delivering my package to me, (not even telling me that it had arrived) and then to tell me two months later that they will destroy it if I don't pick it up in 7 days. So I was unable to pick up my mystery parcel... Thinking they had destroyed it I left it as a loss. Two months later they tell me that my parcel is destroyed. So I email back in disgust and they tell me that it is my problem that it is destroyed. That their store is "SPITTING DISTANCE" from where I work (+/- 10km away), and that "my feet seem to have gone out of fashion" because I didn't pick it up in time and to top it off... they hadn't destroyed it, but it was according to them "collecting dust in their office". When I finally picked up the parcel the old man shouted at me telling me that I am irresponsible and that they actually "give a GREAT service not a disgusting one".

Tell me now... when on earth is the customer right? When you get shouted at for their problem. I will never use their service again.

I was google-ing for Corricraft to find some details on how to pay for the couch I want to order and discovered this site. I have to agree that service in general in SA sucks. I work overseas, but still live in SA a couple of months of the year. I have SA accounts, property, cars, business, etc. So, SA is my home. Unfortunately, having all these ties back home means that I have to deal with accounts and the like on the internet. This has proven to be rather challenging. Banks especially have proved bad at dealing with "online- customers". Also Edgars stands out. This is my Edgars story. I would buy about R1000+ of stuff from them every time I get back to SA. Then I would pay them the whole amount the next month via bank transfer. This always seemed to work well until I got back to SA in December and wanted to do the same as I knew that I owed them nothing. It turned out that I owed them R20 for a late payment. Their accounts dept had not allocated my payment soon enough and therefore I incurred a late payment charge of R20. Of course my card was blocked and after a lot of shouting and screaming and having been sent from counter to counter, I threatened to close my account and obviously refused to pay the R20. I was told by the customer dept to close my account then if I wanted, without the slightest hesitation or attempt at customer retention. I broke my card in half and handed it to the shop attendant. NEVER will Edgars or if I can help it EDCON GROUP see another cent of mine.

I can carry on for ages about bad service in SA, but I should not. As a business-owner in SA I can only make sure that my partner and my staff give the service that I would expect from a business and that my business does not become a statistic on one of these sites.

And guess what, despite the scary comments on Corricraft, I will still give them a try. I'll hold thumbs that I do not have to write anything bad on this site, ever again.

I know i'm a bit late but this topic brought to my attention is just too hard to be ignored. I see most comments were placed in 2005. It's 2007 now but still it remains the case. Clearely the companies mentioned here don't give two-hoots about these raised concerns - which is rather sad. I must say it feels better knowing I and people around me are not the only ones under the curse of bad service. But I refuse to admit defeat, it WILL get SORTED and QUICKLY.

u want the product/service and they know this.
therefore they dont care how they treat u coz they know u wont go out of your way for other products/services
then come in the rules and regulations of it all, when all u wanna do is leave the bad service provider.
AGHGHGH)))kinda like how the IMM only contacts me when they want money, but never when theres a surplus, infact they dont even give it back.

Vodacom sucks
Wimpy sucks
that godforsaken corner shop in my hood sucks

but look and listen rocks
better than incredible connection...the only thing that incredible is when they eventually see that ur are a customer

Hi all.

If you have a car please don't take it to Sandton Furry General Motors for services or whatever ptofessional technical check.

I took my car for service there and after three weeks it broke down. when I questioned them about it they told me it is something they were not able to pick up. So the question is if they were not able to pick it up then whose job is it to pick up faults in our cars.

I'm so ashamed to have entrusted my life with these guy because my car broke down in the middle of the rooad durring pick hours and I almost caused an excident.

Im sure we all know the kind of a feeling that one has driving a car that has been to major service.

By the way I'm not even allowed to talk to their superiors.

Hi All

Its my second renault and should have learnt, nice cars but service sucks. Its weird that when you fall in love all you see is the object of your affection and you put up with everything else. I will not purchase another renault for as long as I live.

Bye bye my sweet Renault.

On 26/03/08 my husband's Renault Megane Sport developed a problem while we were on holiday in Saldanah Bay (we live in Rustenburg).There was a leak in the fuel line and Renault had the car towed to Cape Town.The vehicle is still under warranty.

We were told by Eugene du Plesis, the dealer principal of Renault Tokai that the part had to be ordered from France which would take 21 working days.We would have the use of a rental car to get back home to Rustenburg and also until our vehicle was fixed and returned. Once our vehicle was fixed, they would send it to Rustenburg on an autocarrier.

Well, we were stuck in Cape Town especially because we had never intended going there in the first place. We had to accept the dealer principal's proposal. Big mistake - we should rather have had him put it on paper!!

Less than 2 weeks later, the rental company called requesting to have the rental car returned as Renault had not made any extension to the innitial hire, this despite us not having received our vehicle back. My husband then had to call all over the place (between Renault SA and Renault Tokai dealership) to have the car hire extended. Renault SA kept asking my husband to speak to Eugene, the dealer principal while Eugene would never take our calls or return the many messages left for him. Eventually my husband did speak with Eugene and the car hire was extended only to lapse again the ffg week and 2 more times in the future. Each time it was the same exhausting experience of hounding Eugene before he bothered to return our call and fix the problem.

Finally, we were informed that the car was fixed- the car hire was once more cancelled and my husband was now expected to pick up our car from the dealership in Tokai!! They said that they would fly him down to Cape Town and provide 1 nights accomodation - NOT WHAT WAS AGREED!! My husband works and in addition we were not willing to cover any additional, unplanned fuel costs from Cape Town to Rustenburg ( approx. 1600 kms apart).

After several attempts (over 3 days)to get in contact with the dealer principal, we finally made contact with him. He reverted to the innitial agreement and sent our car on an autocarrier. We picked up our vehicle on 15/05/08 thinking finally, an end to all our problems but it is not to be!!

Just today we discovered that First Car Rental, the company that hired the car to us supposedly on behalf of Renault SA wants to charge my husband in excess of R10 000 for the use of the vehicle from April 10th 2008 until 19 May 2008. All those extensions my husband hustled around to make never actually materialised it seems. And guess what: Surprise; Surprise! Renault SA is saying that they cant do anything about it - we should speak to Eugene the dealer principal, Eugene of course cant be reached yet again!!

Renault Confiance is a customer support service that came standard when my husband purchased his vehicle. It promises "peace of mind after buying a new vehicle" and the use of a courtesy car until your vehicle is repaired. In addition they also promise on their web site that "their well trained and dedicated Customer Care Team constantly strives to ensure that you receive PROMPT AND EFFICIENT SERVICE at all times". I have yet to see evidence of this.

Sunday Times most be the worst company of all...I cancelled my subscription with them in Sept 2007, only to find out out that I was never properly cancelled.Money was taken from my acct till last month. (I no longer use the acct, so they ran a lot of unpaid debits charges for me to pay).I got to know in Jan and called, ranted and raved at them to cancel me properly and take me off their billing system, but I was totally ignored until I reported to the National Consumer Forum and Pressombudsman. It was really a frustrating experience knowing there is nothing you can do except report them and then pay for their stupid mistakes (they are now refusing to pay back my bank charges).

I work in the retail sector and find that people will always give you bad service especially when they don't know their their products or company policies very well.

Have you ever tried to just exchange an item you bought the previous day for a size bigger or smaller? With the receipt and plastic bag? Swing tag attached? The security guard will send you a sales "arse-istant" who will then take 10 minutes of your time asking stupid questions and then later decide to call the manager who will only pitch after 10 minutes?

If companies hire competent people and give them sufficient training, all this crap can be at least minimised!

And please stop blaming bad service on low pay and lack of qulifications, my friend earns R3500pm with no matric and has the best sales and customer service in a shop that caters for LSM 8-10!!!