1 reviews | Active since Jan 2010
Unacceptable Service from Makro: Broken Promises, Defective Products, and Zero Accountability
I am writing this review out of sheer frustration and as a warning to other potential customers. My recent experience with Makro's online store and customer service has been an absolute nightmare, characterized by constant delays, defective products, and a shocking lack of accountability.
Here is a timeline of failure:
9th Nov: Ordered one headboard via the Makro app. Promise: Delivery by 18th Nov. Reality: Delivered 3 days late on 21st Nov.
19th Nov: Ordered three more headboards for my Airbnb, explaining the urgent need for on-time delivery. Promise: Two by 29th Nov, one by 1st Dec. Reality: Complete disregard for this schedule.
29th Nov - 1st Dec: The promised delivery dates came and went. Multiple calls to customer care yielded no real assistance or updates. Excuses were made.
3rd Dec: The two headboards finally arrived—late and defective. The quality was shockingly poor compared to the first: misaligned padding and loose buttons. It's clear Makro has no quality control.
Customer Service Nightmare: Each call was an exercise in futility. No one took responsibility. One representative even had the audacity to tell me it was "difficult for Makro to deliver between Gauteng and the Western Cape." Meanwhile, a personal package from Los Angeles, USA, arrived in SA within a week. Makro can't manage a local delivery in the same timeframe.
The Current Farce (7th Dec): Trying to cancel this disaster, I'm now told:
The two defective headboards can only be picked up on 8th Dec.
My refund will only be processed by 22nd Dec—holding my money hostage.
The final headboard is still "pending," seemingly lost in the system.
Impact: My Airbnb rooms for booked guests are incomplete, affecting my business and reputation. Almost a full month has been wasted.
Conclusion: Makro's service is broken at every level: logistics, communication, quality assurance, and problem resolution. They make promises they have no intention of keeping, deliver faulty goods, and their customer care is utterly powerless and unhelpful. Escalation to their head office (Walmart) has yielded no response.
Do not rely on Makro for anything time-sensitive or expect any form of accountability. A truly disgraceful performance from a major retailer.
We are truly sorry that you have received a damaged product.
I completely understand how this could be frustrating for you.
We will work hard to improve our services.
The courier will be in contact with your to collect the product.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused.
Regards,
Makro social media team.
My reply:
Your apology only addresses the damaged product, which is just one symptom of a far greater disease. You are missing the forest for a single, poorly stitched tree.
Let me clarify the real issues you continue to ignore:
1. Systemic Failure, Not a Single Damaged Item: Your focus on the "damaged product" is a deflection. The primary issue is your chronic failure to meet delivery SLAs, your broken logistics, and the complete lack of proactive communication with customers. Where is the accountability for promising dates (Nov 18th, Nov 29th, Dec 1st) and consistently failing to meet them? Where is the review of your procedures with suppliers and couriers? This isn't about one item; it's about a business process that is fundamentally broken.
2. Incompetence Compounded by Incompetence: Following your instructions, a courier arrived for pickup. They were, predictably, unprepared. They were not informed they needed to collect two king-size headboards and arrived without appropriate transport. I now cannot be available next week, and no one can tell me when a suitable vehicle will arrive. This farce proves your internal communication is as ineffective as your external communication.
3. Financial Hold and Executive Absence: Given this new delay, I assume holding my refund until the arbitrary date of December 22nd is of no consequence to you. Meanwhile, it is of significant consequence to me. The speed at which your system can approve a cancellation versus the glacial, inept pace at which it executes every subsequent step (delivery, quality check, pickup, refund) is telling. What's the old saying? You couldn't organise a ****-up in a brewery. It seems a fitting slogan for your current state of operations.
This is beyond the purview of a script-reading social media team. I require someone from senior management or the executive office who has the authority to take ownership and accountability for this end-to-end failure to contact me directly via phone at their earliest convenience. This situation requires an adult in the room.
The sequence of failures—from placement to delivery, to quality, to returns logistics, to customer communication—demands a serious explanation and immediate, coordinated resolution.
I await the promised call from a person of actual authority.
We are truly sorry that you have received a damaged product.
I completely understand how this could be frustrating for you.
We will work hard to improve our services.
The courier will be in contact with your to collect the product.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused.
Regards,
Makro social media team.
My reply:
Your apology only addresses the damaged product, which is just one symptom of a far greater disease. You are missing the forest for a single, poorly stitched tree.
Let me clarify the real issues you continue to ignore:
1. Systemic Failure, Not a Single Damaged Item: Your focus on the "damaged product" is a deflection. The primary issue is your chronic failure to meet delivery SLAs, your broken logistics, and the complete lack of proactive communication with customers. Where is the accountability for promising dates (Nov 18th, Nov 29th, Dec 1st) and consistently failing to meet them? Where is the review of your procedures with suppliers and couriers? This isn't about one item; it's about a business process that is fundamentally broken.
2. Incompetence Compounded by Incompetence: Following your instructions, a courier arrived for pickup. They were, predictably, unprepared. They were not informed they needed to collect two king-size headboards and arrived without appropriate transport. I now cannot be available next week, and no one can tell me when a suitable vehicle will arrive. This farce proves your internal communication is as ineffective as your external communication.
3. Financial Hold and Executive Absence: Given this new delay, I assume holding my refund until the arbitrary date of December 22nd is of no consequence to you. Meanwhile, it is of significant consequence to me. The speed at which your system can approve a cancellation versus the glacial, inept pace at which it executes every subsequent step (delivery, quality check, pickup, refund) is telling. What's the old saying? You couldn't organise a ****-up in a brewery. It seems a fitting slogan for your current state of operations.
This is beyond the purview of a script-reading social media team. I require someone from senior management or the executive office who has the authority to take ownership and accountability for this end-to-end failure to contact me directly via phone at their earliest convenience. This situation requires an adult in the room.
The sequence of failures—from placement to delivery, to quality, to returns logistics, to customer communication—demands a serious explanation and immediate, coordinated resolution.
I await the promised call from a person of actual authority.