Extremely Disappointing Service - No one in store with Authority to make decisions.

Extremely disappointing experience I have had with a television purchased from your Longbeach (noodhoek) store last week Sunday.

When I got home and set up the TV, I discovered that there was already a profile set up on the device. This immediately indicated that the TV had previously been used and was not brand new as expected when purchasing the product.

I contacted the store and spoke to a lady named Benita, who advised that arrangements would be made for the TV to be collected on Monday. Unfortunately, nobody contacted me and no collection took place.

I then went into the store on Tuesday to follow up and explained that no one had collected the TV or contacted me. I advised that I would be able to bring the TV back over the weekend instead.

Benita also advised me that she would inform management that I would be coming into the store over the weekend to return the television, as she would not be on duty herself, to ensure that there would be no issues when I arrived. However, when I got there, nobody appeared to know anything about the situation regarding the television or the prior arrangements that had supposedly been communicated. This resulted in further delays, confusion, and frustration.

Yesterday, on Mother’s Day, I drove to the store in terrible weather to return the TV, only to be informed that the paperwork when i purchased the tv had been completed incorrectly. After spending a significant amount of time waiting, I was eventually provided with another TV — however, when tested, that replacement TV was scratched and clearly not in acceptable condition either.

I was then told that no other TVs of the same model were available and no alternative product could be offered. As a result, after spending approximately two hours in the store, I was forced to leave with the original TV I had attempted to return in the first place.

Due to us having spent approximately two hours in Pick n Pay trying to resolve this issue, we were forced to cancel our Mother’s Day lunch reservations. Instead of the day I had planned, we ended up having pizzas for Mother’s Day, which was extremely disappointing and not at all how I intended to spend the occasion. The entire experience caused unnecessary stress, frustration, and completely spoiled our Mother’s Day plans.

In addition, the inconvenience caused by this situation has been substantial. I initially had to unpack and mount the TV onto the wall brackets myself. Once the issue arose, I then had to remove the TV from the brackets, repackage it, and transport it back to the store.

After all of this, I was forced to take the same TV back home again. This means I now have to remount the same TV onto the brackets simply to be able to watch television while waiting for Pick n Pay to source another unit from a different store. Once a replacement TV eventually becomes available — with no clear indication of when that will be — I will again need to remove the TV from the brackets and install the replacement unit.

As a single woman with no one available to assist me, this has been extremely difficult, physically demanding, and highly inconvenient.

I would also like to make it clear that I understand the staff members who assisted me in the store yesterday were trying their best to help resolve the matter, and I do not place blame on them personally. However, it was evident that they did not have the authority to make decisions or provide a practical resolution. Surely there should always be a manager available, or someone with the necessary authority, to make discretionary decisions in situations such as this. Given the circumstances and the inconvenience caused, I believe an alternative television of similar or better quality should have been offered, even if it came at a slightly higher cost to the store, as a reasonable customer service resolution.

This entire experience has been incredibly frustrating and unacceptable. I have now had to travel to the store three separate times regarding this matter, wasted fuel and time, and ultimately had my Mother’s Day plans completely disrupted and spoiled.

Given the inconvenience, poor service, and the fact that I was initially sold what appears to have been a second-hand TV, I believe the appropriate resolution would have been for Pick n Pay to provide a suitable alternative television of the same quality or better value.

I would appreciate this matter being escalated and resolved urgently. I look forward to your response and a fair resolution to this situation.