*********** & extremely bad service at all levels

My experience is about Gateway Mall (Durban) Shopping Centre.

I went to this particular store today (21.04.2024) to make a purchase of an iphone 15 plus. I had previously been to the store on 2 separate occasions (the previous two days) to enquire and get information about the contract process.

On the second day, I came into the store after 17h00. However, I was advised by the staff personnel that it is too late to start a contract process and I should return on the next day.

Despite this inconvenience and a lack of communication the first visit to the store to enquire about the contract process, I still went back into the store and dealt with the same sales consultant to avoid starting my query again from scratch.

Once I arrived at the store around 11am (this is the time I agreed with the sales consultant from the 2 separate occasions), he had another issue to attend to and we had to wait 10 minutes + before receiving his service.

He also was not fami**** with the contract process but insisted that he would be able to complete my application. Initially he left us with his assistant manager who started the process for us and loaded all my paperwork online. The sales consultant later returned and his manager assisted him to proceed and start the contract process on paper trail to process my application. Eventually the assistant manager left the sales consultant unsupervised and he continued the contract process. He kept on asking his colleague for assistance but his colleague's attention was limited because his colleague was also busy with another client that had arrived after me.

This client arrived after me but because he had a competent consultant his contract was completed and he received his phone ahead of me.

I kept on checking in with my sales consultant to ensure that he understood my request for an upfront payment of R10 000 yet he kept on being dismissive and said he has it all under control. I also asked him numerous times to ensure that the colour/contract and spec of the phone was correct and he advised that he had not gotten to that stage of the application as yet.

After a couple of minutes, my contract was vetted & approved by Vodacom. I once again proceeded to ask the sales consultant what the new premium would be then he suddenly admitted to forgetting to load my deposit of R10 000. Therefore, he was advised by his colleague to cancel my contract and re-start the entire process. However, I was already unhappy with this because of how long the contract process took in the first place and secondly this is likely to have a negative impact on my credit score because my profile is being vetted more than once, lastly it is a pure inconvenience and a reflection of incompetency within the branch.

As I anticipated, the system failed and kept cancelling the new applications of the contract. This is understandable as it was picking up a duplicate order/ suspicious activity due to the previous contract being approved. The sales consultant then called Vodacom and was advised to wait an hour + for the system to reset and complete a new application from scratch. He failed to inform me of this feedback hence I suggested that I will go eat at a restaurant and return after eating or once I receive a call from the sales consultant on the status of the new application. I was under the impression that he would work on the application in my absence as this was the new agreement which his assistant manager was also aware of because he had received permission from the assistant manager to complete the contract without me physically present. I left the store to go eat and I returned after an hour. Once I returned I was advised by the sale's consultant's colleague that had my sales consultant had left for lunch and did not to re-do the application again. I immediately asked for the store manager as this service was really disrespectful and I was clearly being undermined and potentially racially profiled too. I feel this way as I was the only client travelling with my mother which meant we were two black women who were given the least knowledgeable employee to handle our "complex" application. This is also a reflection of people management in the branch.

Once the store manager arrived, he listened to my issue then dismissed it by telling another staff member to simply restart my contract application then walked away. This further infuriated me as he did not seem bothered by the time I spent (3 hours+) in store versus other clients trying to make this purchase and he did not address the incompetency I had experienced . The store manager did not bother to clearly understand my complaint and he handled the escalation poorly. I then asked for the assistant manager as she was there initially when we started the contract process and she tried to apologize and notified me that Vodacom advised them to wait an hour before starting the application again. The assistant store manager only came to apologize because I was upset, shouting and causing a scene in the store. It had to get to me raising my voice to get assistance. The store manager failed his entire team and left his whole team in the firing line. Over and above that the store offered no other remedy but to restart the application process again which I refused as I was not willing to spend another minute in that store for the same result.

Due to the lack of respect, competency & urgency I opted to go to the istore in Ballito junction mall for a new set of employees. To my surprise the staff at Ballito were shocked at the advice I was given at the Umhlanga/Gateway branch about a buy-in deal (deposit). They were clear about the process of an older cellphone being a requirement for a trade-in purchase to lower the contract premium and that the value is dependent on the evaluation of the older iPhone.

The staff in Ballito was also shocked and asked to investigate the matter on their end as all stores need to communicate with one voice.

My concern now is what would have happened if the R10 000 deposit was loaded in Umhlanga without a cellphone to trade in, what else would have been wrong with my contractual agreement.

The Umhlanga Gateway istore has appalled me. Words can not explain the lack of urgency & competency I received from all staff in the store. It is mainly a reflection of poor management & people's skills by the store manager, assistant manager and sales consultant I dealt with.

I expected a fair remedy for my complaint and I wanted the head office to investigate and act fast. However, they also failed me and kept on offering the same solution to re-start the application process after I clarified that I will buy the cellphone cash & online for ease of shopping and high risk of time, fuel and poor experiences that I am likely to receive in store.

The head office escalations department also kept on calling the branches and not me as the complainant to address my matter at all. I found this very disappointing and a waste of my time to escalate the matter. The head office did not also offer me a remedy to make up for the bad service I received.

It is saddening to see this treatment especially because I still proceeded to purchase the phone online and still support the brand. However, they do not recognize nor treat their customers with the fair and due respect.

I am very disappointed and frustrated by this entire experience.