DSTV customer service... astoundingly short-sighted priorities.

Take note, Mr. Mawela (CEO of Multichoice/DSTV)... an experience I've had with DSTV customer service once again demonstrates why it is that the future prospects of your company are bleak. As a long-time customer of DSTV/Multichoice, and having faithfully paid my DSTV account on time every month for more than a decade, I would have expected more from DSTV in terms of how they chose to unsatisfactorily address the issue I recently raised with them regarding my account.

Not having realized that my monthly DSTV fee had a few months ago increased by R10/month during the time of my April - May 2024 DSTV billing statement, I had since that time inadvertently allowed an "in arrears" aspect of my account to develop to an amount of... now, get this... R40. This paltry amount unknowingly (to me) being in arrears was enough for DSTV to cut off my service, thereafter notifying me by SMS that I would need to pay a 'reconnection fee' in addition to the R40 which I apparently (although unknowingly) did indeed owe to them.

Interestingly, DSTV has seen fit (and obviously feels it appropriate) to call me multiple times over the same past few months for the purpose of trying to convince me to purchase insurance from them to cover my old DSTV decoder box. Despite my having declined their sales offer, and despite my having asked them numerous times to stop calling me for this reason, they continued to do so repeatedly. Yet... when it comes to the imminent disconnection of my DSTV account over a paltry R10/month payment error made over the past few months, they cannot be bothered to warn me of such pending action either via SMS, or during one of their many unsolicited phone calls which they continued to make to me during that same period. It certainly shows where it is that their priority is focused.

Just on the principle of the matter, I called DSTV customer service to ask them if, under the circumstances, it was really their intent to charge me a 'reconnection fee'. After "checking with his team leader," the DSTV customer service representative told me that yes, despite the totality of the circumstances at hand, it was indeed their intent to charge me the reconnection fee accordingly. Again, my focus was not on the amount of the nominal 'reconnection fee' (I spent nearly as much for just the airtime I used on the phone call to them, including extended hold times), but rather on the principle of the matter.

DSTV is certainly able to in this case have it their way... for now. However, their approach to dealing with long-time, faithfully paying customers such as myself in this way does really seem quite short-sighted on their part. Given the new-customer acquisition costs and other related challenges that they are now facing, I am beyond surprised that they would choose to deal with me as they did. It has been in the back of my mind (as it has with many of their other customers, I'm sure) to at some point consider 'cutting the cord' with DSTV in order to alternatively transition to using one of the many available online TV streaming services, but now with this current experience I've just had with DSTV, I will indeed be making a point to accelerate this transitionary process. With this very disappointing DSTV experience, the sooner I can now 'cut the cord', the happier I'll be... and I'll certainly be urging others to do the same.

Of course, as many know, all customer service calls with DSTV are recorded. For their sake, I hope that DSTV management will review my call with them (call initiated at 13:06 on Sunday, 25 August on DSTV tel. ***), and have their customer service training department use it as a training aid for how NOT to treat a long-time, faithfully paying customer. DSTV needs to understand that when their company disappears into irrelevance with their shortsightedly indifferent customer service department leading the way, ALL DSTV employees will lose their collective jobs and livelihoods. And based on how it is that DSTV is choosing to demonstrate the extent to which they clearly do not at present adequately value their customers... I do indeed believe that day will come.

Will DSTV recognize the wake-up call that's now in front of them, and begin to value their customers any more than they do at present? Who knows... but I'd say it's a rather doubtful prospect.