Makro: Check your slips before leaving / overcharged and unprofessional service

Wednesday 27th October , typical day for me, passing time to get my kids from school, so I decided to go to Makro to do 2 things:

1) return of items I bought the previous Saturday (23rd October) and;

2) to bring to their attention that I had been charged the full retail price on and item that was on promotion. It was an underwear item so I alert the ladies at the returns desk to which they advise me that, overcharges are dealt with at the cashier till and when I walk through the store I can check if the same item is still there that I can show what the price was compared to what I was charged.

So I do my return and was handed a slip ( credit note) which I was not aware of, so I walk in, see the underwear item, take one and proceed to the cashiers till. A standing in the line I realise hey at returns I wasn’t given cash back but they did ask me to verify my card so I should just pop by there again to see if I will be credited on my card. So I get to the cashier till with the underwear that and explain my story:

• there were 2 cashiers which what occurred to me as a training experience • The approach to me being there was that I am at the wrong till, so I said “but I’ve been sent here by your ladies at the return desk as they couldn’t do it there, because apparently the supervisor needs to do the overcharge” then suddenly they call the supervisor and they explain what needs to be done. ( they are not speaking English, so I am none the wiser.) • They ring up the box of underwear using the credit note ( my return I did) and give me R30 change. I tell them its wrong. The underwear is not mine yet they want to give it to me, so I explain that I grabbed it to verify the price on the slip. I need like R100 change. ( original cost R299,promotional price R199) • Its like I was explaining it for the first time… annoyed now as I have to leave time is running out and I have to fetch my kids. • So they again discuss the matter…. Redo and calculating on phones, again which seems to be a training experience because the supervisor had to explain a few times what the transaction was about in order to make the till balance. Any way the guy front the trainee I guess put the R30 back, puts money on the counter, the supervisor walks away to verify my slip, she ask have you go your money and I say yes, which I’m actually not sure if it’s the right amount, cos I need to go. I could tell it was over R70 and I just leave. • I go back into returns on my way out ( step 1 all over again) to ask will the return be credited to my card, they say mam we gave you a credit note. They show me what the credit note looks like I say I don’t recall. The ladies at returns were really help full so they tried to cancel the credit note before it gets used. Only to find out it was used at the till when I did the underwear transcation. So I apologise because I obviously did have the credit note with my other slip. They request the detailed transaction at the till because according to them they had refunded me R239. Now I’m irritated. • I tell the girl I’m not going back to that till because they don’t know what they doing…. But I go with her as she printed a transaction history to verify that there is a mistake. So in my mind it will be a easy resolve.

We get to the till again I am approached with such annoyance that I’m back there, then they insist they gave me the R239 and separately R80. So they request to check my bag, I open my purse I show them R80, then they say they must search my bag. WHY MUST YOU SEARCH MY BAG, IS MY WORD NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!! AND I NEED TO LEAVE!!!! I am so annoyed at this point and they put in a request for camera footage, I say do your thing and call me but I need to leave, I’ll come back. I’m truly thankful that I had to leave because I would have gone bat **** crazy in that store, if I had the time. I was addressed as a child and with complete disregard and disrespect. So I ask you this if the transaction was correct why did you refund me for the full amount of the underwear when I have the underwear at home, so you giving it to me for free then???? I am not concerned about the transaction anymore, yes there were more than one occasion were money passed hands and it’s clear that 1+1 doesn’t make 2 and that your people DO NOT know what they were doing. What I do have a problem with is being accused of lying and more seriously *****ing…. And being totally humiliated in front of other people, as the debate got quite heated.

Then requesting to search my bag, so I had other cash in my purse, would you insist that that was the money you gave me ( Cos I did have R1500) in my bag which I had to pay the school when I fetched my kids. I actually wish I had the time to see how that would have gone down…. And would that make me a ****? This kind of service is totally unacceptable. I received a call at 16h00 of which I missed. Probably to tell me they’ve reviewed the footage. I have not heard from them again. For the rest of the week I have been totally upset by this experience. I may be short in stature and look like a child but I am 37 years old with kids, I suggest Makro invest in training their staff on customer service and people and emotional intelligence in general. I will not expose which company and influence I have on an experience like this and to further upset myself and let this poor service continue to upset me will be a complete waste of my time. I took the time to write this complain as it wasn’t the first time I got overcharged and actually thought you know what this has happened before so maybe its time you bring it to their attention. What I thought would be a fair and just experience, turned out to be a complete nightmare. So to everybody, please check your slips before leaving and if you need to return, please speak to a manager.

I wont even expect a call after this.