Shocking experience and still on going

Clay Cafe Hout Bay

Missing Order and Poor Customer Service Order Date: 18 December 2024

Dear Manager,

I want to express my extreme disappointment and frustration with the service I received from your establishment. On 18 December 2024, I visited your cafe with my son to celebrate his birthday, accompanied by 15 other children. We painted our items, which were supposed to be ready for collection within 5 weeks.

However, when I followed up at the 5-week mark, I was informed that the order was not ready. Despite numerous subsequent follow-ups between weeks 5 and 9 up until Wednesday 19th February 2025, I was consistently told that you would "get back to me." The lack of communication and updates on my order was appalling.

To make matters worse, when I finally expressed my outrage and disappointment, I was informed that my order had been lost or broken. The staff claimed they were unsure of the status, stating it was either in the firing process or packaged with someone else's item. The proposed solutions were either a refund for the 1 missing piece or requiring my 6-year-old son to recreate the piece and go through the entire process again alone. Please note we live atleast 1 hour drive from this place.

This experience was particularly disappointing, as the entire day was planned for my son's celebration. Collecting all 15 items from the other children, in addition to my son's missing item, would be challenging as he would be the only child getting absolutely nothing , no fault of ours.

Within the two days of me escalating my frustration, the manager attempted to shift the blame onto me, suggesting:

1. We could have taken the item home with us, which is impossible.

2. I failed to write the order number underneath the item, which is incorrect, as the item was tracked from the start and appeared on my receipt and taken by the waiter Bright.

3. The waiter suggested they could quickly paint something new, which defeats the purpose of my son's initial visit.

As a customer, I expect a certain level of service and accountability. The fact that you lost my item and are now placing the burden on me to bring my child back is unacceptable. I urge you to take immediate action to rectify this situation and provide a suitable solution that benefits both me and my child.

Considering I have four children of similar ages, it was convenient to bring them all at once in December. Now, requiring my 6-year-old son to recreate the piece would necessitate bringing all the children back, causing further inconvenience.

I hope you take my complaint seriously and improve your customer service and order management processes.

Sincerely,

Naa-ielah Alawie