We donʼt stock what we advertise? Too bad - take it or leave it.

Saw a special in a Pick n Pay flyer in the local newspaper. Sony headphones, MDR-ZX310AP, along with a set of earphones, both for R299. So I took the time to drive to the Greenstone Pick ʼn Pay Hyper just for that product, but of course, walk into Audiovisual and the special is nowhere to be seen. I had to pull out a photo from my phone of the ad, and then the guy went to two separate places in the department to bundle them together. I also bought something else as well while I was there. But I left the store and examined the headphones, and guess what? Not the MDR-ZX310APs as advertised, but rather the cheap MDR-MX110s (R199) instead. Took it back for refund, but it cost me trip and time. When I said perhaps I could pursue the special at another store, I was told they DO NOT STOCK the advertised model at ALL.

Now, I wouldnʼt be writing this review if the salesperson had been very apologetic about the discrepancy, and empathetic toward the time, fuel, parking, etc. that I spent just to get to the promised special, but he was completely dismissive, interrupting me and talking over me the entire time. When I said "thatʼs not much of a special if itʼs the cheap model," he interrupted to say that itʼs still a special because it would normally cost R50 more. When I said, "well, itʼs not THE special that was advertised..." he interrupted with "well thatʼs the one we have." When I asked for the manager, he started walking me there, but every time I spoke, he spoke over me, angering me more and more until I said "I didn't f#*#* travel all the way here to get the wrong product and be dismissed with 'well we don't have it'..." then I automatically became the bad guy for venting my frustration. He told me not to swear at him, and I had to slowly to explain that there is a difference between using a swear word in a sentence out of frustration, and swearing AT someone, but no, I could not get a word in edgewise - at the start of every sentence, I was summarily interrupted. The customer. Eventually I told him to shut up while I'm talking - one person talks at a time, it's basic manners! And then he abandoned me, highly offended.

Shame on you, Pick ʼn Pay for A) advertising something you donʼt even stock, B) not having your staff even aware what is on special when the customer arrives - they should know those leaflets backwards!, and C) not training your staff to be apologetic and empathetic when a customer comes out to your store specifically for an advertised product and it doesnʼt exist, instead of arguing and interrupting with your basic "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude.

I did eventually chat with the department manager, Bongani, who was polite and apologetic, but that privilege, besides costing me an additional 30 minutes, didnʼt get me my time back or the special as advertised, so itʼs only appropriate that I warn everyone I can on social media.

I opted for a refund on all my items, not just the falsely-advertised one. Between Game and ComputerMania and another store, I was able to get the tech gadgets the kids want for Christmas.