Checkers Mayville Mall a huge dissapointment to me on my 50th Birthday :(

I am very dissapointed in the Checkers at Mayville Mall in Pretoria :) They supp**** the most amasing broccoli salad for my wedding in 2014, people are still talking about it!

I had a party to celebrate my 50th Birthday on Saturday the 6th of January 2024 and again decided to order the salad. I visited the store on 19 December 2023 and Boitumelo took my order. I asked for enough salad for 50 people as an add on to our spit braai. She told me that it would cost around R300 - R400. Another male employee who was standing closeby told me that he would estimate the salad to be around R600. I phoned the store about a week after my visit just to confirm my order. I spoke to Ada, she confirmed the order and since I didn't have big containers she offered to borrow me their containers.

I stay quite far away, therefore I asked my Mom who stays close by the Mall to bring the salad with on Saturday. She phoned me from the store indicating that they knew nothing of the borrowing of their containers. They transferred the salad into flimsy plastic containers which posed quite a problem since the salad had a LOT of sauce and it kept spilling over.. They waited quite some time but eventually got the salad. She almost had a heart attack when she saw the price but assumed that it was what I organised with the store.

When she arrived at the party venue I almost had a heart attack when I saw the quantity of the salad as well as the price she paid for it: R1363.04 for a side salad for 50 people!!! We only managed to finish one of the four salad containers, which left three! We split one container between us (family), which still left two.. One can only eat SO much broccoli salad, needless to say I had to throw away two containers full of salad, amounting to plus minus R700!!

My mom initially offerred to pay for the salad to help me since I was organising the party on a budget, but I can't expect her to pay that amount. I have to pay her back at least R700 since she only bargained on the R600 that I was "quoted"..

I phoned Ada on Monday and explained the whole situation. She apologised for forgetting to tell the team working on the Saturday about the containers that I was going to borrow, which I accepted. She promised to discuss the whole salad issue with her manager and get back to me. I spoke to her today, according to her Manager (Linda) there is nothing they can do for me. I just have to "such it up buttercup", my loss and my school money I guess for not getting a formal quote. A lesson well learned!! I will not be supporting the Checkers again and I honestly don't know if my family will either that stays very close by and buys all of their groceries there.. It seems to me that you can trust nobody's word anymore, which saddens me a lot..

In hindsight I should have taken the extra salad back immediately, but the party was on the other side of Pretoria and my guests were arriving.. I also did not think it fair to expect of my Mother to drive back to the store, I was very upset but had to put on my party face.

I don't understand why I have to lose R700 (which to me is a LOT of money) because the Checkers employees doesn't know how to do portioning. I fed 60 people on the Saturday and we have all been eating the whole week and there is still two containers left of the four.. I expect the store to take responsibility for their blunder, and at the very least give me back the R700 for my loss as well as the inconvenience that the flimsy plastic containers caused me..

I can supply a photo of the slips as well as a photo of the size of the containers the salad was in if necessary.