Clueless, unhelpful staff + irresponsible managers. A safety hazard also experienced.

I visited the store yesterday and the service was absolutely PATHETIC. I needed assistance to place 5 bags of 30 dm3 compost onto a trolley. These are quite heavy. When I asked one of the staff to help, he looked at me and walked away to assist another customer with picking flowers. I guess this was the easier task for him to complete. He didn't even have the courtesy to return when he was done with the customer or to tell me he would come back to help. Only after voicing out "where are the male staff to assist" did one staff member approach me after a while. By then I had already loaded the bags of compost myself with great difficulty. Staff was also completely clueless about the plants themselves — they failed to locate specific plants asked for, which were available on the shop floor. We looked around until we found them ourselves. When ready to exit the gardening department, the manager of the garden department asked if my mom and I were alright but it was far too late. It's pointless asking if a customer is okay after loading heavy items onto a cart by dragging it ourselves because the staff and managers were too ***********! This is unacceptable! I've been to many nurseries over the years and this is by far, the worst group of employees I have ever come across. It took ages for the staff/managers to act.

Furthermore when walking to the exit from the tillpoint, a 3m steel pipe was placed vertically, leaning against an item of some sort. There was not enough space for me to navigate the cart towards the exit without knocking it over. The pipe, of course, fell over, and to avoid the pipe from falling on anyone, I had to catch it WHILE HOLDING MY CART loaded with the compost and other items. Here's the kicker though... This incident took place while yet another manager casually walked by, WATCHING THE INCIDENT not more than one meter from where I was standing! I was absolutely appalled and disgusted by the manager's lack of awareness. If there are cameras in the store, I suggest these be viewed to see exactly what was going on in the store on the 30 January 2022 from 11:00 to 14:00. The Builders at Umhlanga has a blatant disregard for customers and their safety with lazy, irresponsible managers making the store's performance even worse. It is no wonder that the staff in the gardening department have a poor attitude when their superiors are not setting a good example. Honestly, who do you report to if the managers lack authority, control and responsibility? It's safe to say you would be safer visiting any store other than Builders in Umhlanga. We have been loyal customers for years since this is a convenient, near location. However, we definitely will not be returning.