WARNING! ZERO RATING FOR CATERING SHOP ONLINE.

WARNING!! If you are wanting good service and good quality products… STAY FAR AWAY from the Catering Shop Online. I bought a stainless steel 2,300m sink bowl unit and 2 stainless steel tables that took THREE MONTHS in total to be delivered. Firstly I had to wait over a month for the first delivery. When it eventually arrived, it was damaged and poorly manufactured. So I called CSO and they blamed their courier company. The products was scratched and dented BUT the main faults were with the soldering and welding (manufacturing faults). The one side wasn’t finished and I cut my hand on a “cat claw” when trying to unpack one of the tables. I have so many photos of the despicable workmanship not to mention the dents that were blamed on Global Freight. Another month passes and the SECOND delivery eventually arrives… Same story! This time I got the company to unpack the goods IN THE TRUCK… same thing. So I called Mr Asiem Alli the owner, and he proceeded to slay his own staff (Connie Kgogone) telling me how “f*cking stupid she/they were” because he had told them not to send it with the courier company (Global Freight). He told me not to accept the units so I didn’t. He also told me that he would call me back in an hour. (I have ALL CORRESPONDENCE logged, both calls and whatasapp messages). I sent him a message at 4pm (5 hours later) to which he didn’t respond. So at 9am the following day, I called him again, and he said to me: “Do you expect me to pull a rabbit out of a f*cking hat”. Then when I told him I will take this complaint online, he said: “**** YOU, DON’T YOU THREATEN ME! **** OFF” and he put the phone down. He then blocked me. 10 minutes later, a lady by the name of Fiona called me, presumably his assistant and apologised profusely for his despicable, unprofessional and disgraceful outburst. She told me she would see to it herself that he would send me a written apology for what he had said. A few hours later I got a letter from Mr Alli, which I honestly doubt he wrote himself.

His words were: “The purpose for this letter is to convey to you my sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced over the last two months with respect the online order that you placed with CSO.”… "I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise profusely for the outburst earlier by myself. It was totally unacceptable and unprofessional. Because of the serious oversight, and as a testament to our appreciation of you as a client we will be delivering the goods to your premises with our own company vehicle. This step will hopefully alleviate any further mishaps with regards to your order and expedite your opening of the business. I would also like to acknowledge that as a business owner myself I do understand the loss of income that this type of delay may incur and I do sympathise.”

I was then promised by ANOTHER rep that it would arrive the following week on Friday… Friday afternoon I received a call saying their truck had broken down and they had to send it for repairs. (Why was I not surprised!!) “They cannot say when it will be fixed because the mechanic has to order the parts”. The following Wednesday I called CSO again and was told by Mr Alli (who miraculously answered the phone), that the truck had left that morning, that everything had been bubble wrapped and packed properly (I double checked with him and was assured that it was), and I would get my delivery the following day. Bring on Thursday… I got the number of the driver who said he would definitely be here that day. At 5 I called him back and he said "it was raining so he couldn’t do the delivery". He promised that it would be here by the latest 8:30am the following day. 1pm… still no truck, and I had to fork out another callout for my plumber who was here at 9am. (THE THIRD TIME). When I eventually got hold of David, their driver, he said: “Madam I am so sorry for the lies I told… It was not intentional”. When I asked him where he was, he said he had other deliveries to do and that he would be at my premises by 3pm "because he was on the outskirts of Cape Town"… He finally arrived at 4:30 and to my shock and horror, all the equipment was wrapped in a double layer of CLING FILM (no bubble wrap) and the sink was dented in SIX places. Again I took photos and videos. In fact David the driver told me to take the pictures!! Fiona (Mr Alli’s assistant) was contacted by David and I spoke to her… another mouthful of apologies and all she could say was that they will give me a full refund which they did there and then. NOTHING can give back the 3 months they have wasted of mine, loss of income and time.

The lies that have come from this company are astounding… The excuses and passing over from one rep to another… This company is a joke and shouldn’t be in business!

I CANNOT AND WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AT ALL. Their products are shocking, their service is appalling and the owner needs a lesson in business etiquette and common decency. I was dealing with one of their sales reps called Connie who didn’t answer her phone when I called and all she could do was make one excuse after the next. STAY WELL AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY or be prepared to be let down. If I were Mr Alli, I would be totally ashamed. Ps. I will be sharing this story wherever I can to avoid others going through the same despicable ordeal that I have been through with Catering Shop Online.