Room for improvement

I don’t recommend this company for small complex design projects. These are my opinions on the experience I had in 2018 after working with this company. I paid a high price for a three day project for it to be completed for me five weeks later by AllatOneStop who told me I was responsible for all delays to the project. It was a project for a world-famous Children’s Hospital in Western Cape. They demanded 100% up-front payment and I paid because I trusted them and they also refused to start any work before full payment was made to them. They said I misunderstood the meaning of a three day project (I am a British doctor and English is my first language) in explaining why I received work after five weeks, stating all delays were caused by me. In my opinion, they were unable to manage the project or their staff. They seemed inexperienced and unable to handle the work efficiently. They provided a lot of defective work. The designers, however, are good. I got no additional opportunity to discuss my complaint in person with them. A meeting had been arranged to discuss my complaint, but unfortunately with a busy day at a Children’s Hospital, I couldn’t make that appointment, and I couldn’t get another one. I was told I couldn’t organise myself adequately, or something similar. I submitted a complaint to the Consumer Protector. The Western Cape Consumer Protector upheld my complaint but could not enforce any negotiations with the company as they have no additional powers to do that. They advised that I should take it further. Their comments were as follows: THE COMPANY RESPONDED IN WRITING DENYING LIABILITY. THE BUSINESS IS NOT WILLING TO NEGOTIATE WITH OUR OFFICE FURTHER. THIS MATTER IS NOT CAPABLE OF RESOLUTION VIA OUR MANDATE. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU REPORT THE MATTER TO THE NCC (NATIONAL CONSUMER COMMISSION). The design was a rotating wheel with a central rivet and so many were off-centre and could not be used as they caused confusion for users because numbers didn’t marry up accurately. The numbers were drug doses and volumes. I was informed by Australian and UK hospitals that they would have been dangerous and unsafe if they had been used by doctors and nurses. I had to pay to get new ones for Children’s Hospitals in Australia and London (UK). These were the additional costs to me along with courier costs that they initially agreed to pay because of their delays in delivering the project and they then refused to pay for this. My advice to customers: Try other businesses in Cape Town and get other quotations. Do not under any circumstances pay 100% up-front costs. Do not accept one item of poor quality, poor work and bad service and inferior customer care. Find a company that can work to strict deadlines. Customers are always right, because with no customers, there can be no business. I won’t use this company again. They haven’t addressed or solved their issues, and they definitely don’t prioritise customer care. Get a refund for damaged goods and work that is not fit-for-purpose. Don’t accept an invoice that was costed for three days and then delivered weeks later without getting money back from a company. The mark of a good company is not when things are going well but when there are problems that need to be put right.