No empathy for mother with sick child

It is regrettable that one has to write to highlight the lack of empathy that a South African business has for mothers, especially when the target market of said business is women.

My daughter made an appointment on 03 August 2025 at Coco Vogue Revive Lounge in Tygervalley. She initially got an appointment for 10 August at 15h30. The spa contacted her later to ask if she could move her appointment to another day which she agreed to without any hassle.

The day before the appointment her 8-month-old son became sick with a high fever. She contacted the spa to ask whether she could move her appointment because she had to take her son to the doctor. She was told that once an appointment was made it could not be postponed or moved within 24 hours of the appointment without a cancelation fee being paid.

She explained the situation to them but they insisted that it was their company’s policy. Bear in mind that when they requested her to move her appointment there was no mention of appointments being cast in stone. She asked them if there was no way that she could have another day since she had already paid for the session. They refused to do so without her paying an additional fee of R500.

While I understand that company’s have policies to combat abuse and cancelation based on frivolous conduct by some patrons, one would expect them to have had a more empathetic approach to this circumstance. Instead, they further contributed to this young mother's stress of having to fork out more money for something she could not use when she was dealing with a sick son.

When writing to the company to ask that they consider their rigid stance, their management merely responded with what can be considered to be an arrogant WhatsApp that this was their policy and that they would not waiver it. Companies that I have worked for have waivered cancelation fees and rescheduled dates for the rendering of services due to unforseen circumstances. This is because we understand that there are things in life that are beyond our control and that we should not be penalized for. Had the company not requested that my daughter move her initial appointment, and had she not accommodated their request to assist them, she would not have been placed in this situation and would have been able to enjoy the services that she had paid for.

My family consists of 4 women who have many female friends and family and I can guarantee that none of them will ever use the services of Coco Vogue Revive Lounge. This is because it can be forthcoming of how a business views women by whether they have empathy for the struggle of women (which includes mothers). In this instance there was no empathy shown and one can therefore be forgiven for drawing the conclusion that this business has no regard for the well-being of its clientele or their loved ones.

As mentioned at the outset, it is sad that one has businesses such as these operating within South Africa.