John Rolfe cigarettes burning too fast.

20 August 2020

John Rolfe, South Africa (Quality Control) To whom it may concern. CC *** I've been smoking John Rolfe for at least 35 years - perhaps even longer, up until the lockdown. When the ban on cigarettes was lifted on Tuesday, I went to Pick & Pay Hillside Mall, Bluff, Durban and purchased two cartons of John Rolfe. They had one sealed carton available, and the other 10 packs were made up of loose packs on the shelf.

I was dismayed to find that although the cigarettes had the same great taste and flavour, they burned down at an alarming rate not only while smoking, but also when placed in an ashtray. In fact, when lit, one can actually see it burning down without even smoking it.

When I called the John Rolfe helpline, I was advised to open all the packs to see if they were all behaving in the same way. I found that some burned faster than others, but in general, they all burn way faster than I can remember pre-lockdown, suggesting that the reduced ignition propensity was not functioning properly.

Anyway, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to open all 20 packs at once, so I decided to return the unopened packs to Pick & Pay to exchange for a different brand (Camel Red which is not a bad cigarette) so that I at least have something to smoke in the meantime. I have herewith returned the opened packs for your further investigation and resolution.

Just a note here - I subsequently bought a pack of John Rolfe from Spar and the cigarettes appear to be behaving somewhat better (Batch number 13289M41) so it's possible that faulty cigarettes are old stock that P&Pay had from five months ago that have deteriorated over the past five months.

As you can see from the date, this has been an ongoing saga since 20 August 2020 and still, nothing has been done. I've been **** to - they don't have stock, they can't find a courier etc. The biggest cigarette company on Earth does not have stock..? But yet, supermarket shelves have plenty of packs available. Even this morning I was promised that the MD of BATSA (name - Sbu) would call me back within five minutes and it's now mid-afternoon and still no call. I'm appalled at the complete and utter indifference displayed by BATSA towards customer complaints especially as I have placed at least 25 to 30 calls to customer services, including two emails and posts and messages on social media. Shocking..!