iStore Canal Walk

I recently needed to renew my cell phone contract with Vodacom as my existing device had stopped working. I had a look at the catalogues and after much internal debate, I decided to bite the bullet and opt for a new iPhone 11.

* Wednesday 5th February @ 20:00 pm I went to the Canal Walk Vodacom store to upgrade my contract. I was informed by very helpful staff that they were out of stock of the iPhone 11 and they recommended that I visit the iStrore and do the upgrade there.

* I walked upstairs to the iStore to renew my existing contract with Vodacom. The gentleman that assisted me mentioned that it was too late (20:30 pm) to do the renewal and that I should come in the following day.

* Thursday 6th February - I visited the Canal Walk iStore at 20:00 pm and sat down with one of the iStore employees, where we agreed to the Vodacom plan I required and confirmed that they had stock of the device I needed. A quote was given to me at this point of R550. The employee went to the back office and came out to inform me that the system was down and that they would be able to process my renewal the following day.

* Friday 7th February - I visited the iStore at 10:00 am to complete the application and was then informed that the prices had increased since the previous evening. The new price was R200 more per month than the original quote. The new lady helping me with my contract said she would speak to Vodacom to try sort it out. I was filming a wedding that weekend and urgently needed a device to fly the drone etc. I made the urgency clear to lady helping me. I didn't hear back from them by 6pm that evening so I visited the physical store again.

* I spoke to the assistant manager who informed me that he was not aware of any system downtime the night before. He was also not aware of the query raised on my phone. He mentioned that he would need to speak to his HQ to escalate the matter and resolve it with Vodacom.

* On Tuesday 11th February I followed up with the manager who then informed me that the deal can not be re-opend and that Vodacom would not open the deal.

* I then contacted Vodacom call center and spoke to one of the managers. I explained the situation to her and within a 10mins my new device was on order - Very professional and completely hassle-free.

From what it appears iStore didn't even make an effort to resolve the issue. When I asked them for the communications that they sent their HQ about my request they say they can't give it to me. I've escalated further but my mails have been received with silence. It's so unfair that they just brush off someone having to pay an extra R200 a month for their inept professionalism.