Horrible

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding an incident that occurred at the Dis-Chem Woodlands Mall branch in Pretoria East on 27 September 2026. I am extremely disappointed by both the handling of a pricing discrepancy and the manner in which I was treated by one of your employees. I am requesting that this matter be formally investigated and that I receive a written response. I was shopping in the Nivea lotion section when I noticed a promotional sticker displayed directly in front of the Nivea Q10 products. The promotion clearly indicated Nivea Repair & Care Body Cream or Lotion 400ml, with a price of Better Rewards member price of 2 for R166.50. I took two of the products and proceeded to the till. When the products were scanned, the price at the till was different from the price displayed in the store. The cashier, Keamogetsoe, excused herself and went to check the price. She returned and confirmed the displayed price after personally checking it. She then called her manager. The manager asked Keamogetsoe whether she had personally gone to verify the price, which she confirmed. The manager then called another employee, Kim, who was nearby. Kim initially spoke in Afrikaans and then changed to English. She told me that she could not give me the Q10 at the displayed price because it was expensive and that I should "just forget about it." I found this response unacceptable. If there was a problem with the promotion or an error in the displayed price, I expected the matter to be properly explained to me and handled professionally.I then asked the cashier if she could please give me the promotional price information so that I could take a photograph of it for my records. I was informed that Kim had taken it. I therefore approached Kim and politely asked her if she could please give it to me. Instead of explaining the situation or assisting me, Kim laughed at me and asked, "For what?" I explained that I wanted it for myself. She continued laughing and walked away. I then asked her directly whether she was laughing at me, but she continued walking away without addressing my concern. I found this behaviour extremely humiliating, embarrassing and disrespectful. I deliberately did not make a scene because there were other customers present and I did not want the situation to escalate. I simply wanted an explanation regarding a price that had been visibly displayed in your store. Fortunately, I had already taken a photograph of the promotional display, which I am attaching to this complaint. I therefore request that Dis-Chem investigate the following: Why the displayed price differed from the price at the till. Who's fault is it when the price was put on a wrong product? Why the promotional price information was removed instead of being shown to me when I requested it. Why I was told to "just forget about it" instead of the matter being properly explained to me. The conduct of Kim towards me, particularly laughing at me when I was asking a reasonable question about the advertised price. Whether I was treated differently for any discriminatory reason, including race. I am not making a conclusion about this, but the manner in which I was treated left me questioning why I was treated in this way. What action Dis-Chem will take to address this incident. Whether her conduct was consistent with Dis-Chem's customer-service standards and the expectation that customers be treated with dignity and respect.

I want to emphasise that this complaint is not simply about a pricing disagreement. I understand that genuine pricing errors can occur. My concern is the manner in which the matter was handled and, most importantly, the manner in which I was treated when I questioned the discrepancy. As a customer, I believe I am entitled to be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect. I would therefore appreciate a written response addressing the concerns raised above and explaining what action Dis-Chem intends taking following its investigation.