Unprofessional and sub-par service: PSD

Initially I called and called, eventually getting through and requested a quotation for 9x Gel 100aH Sun-God slimline batteries on the 8th of December 2022 - a week from their closing date/time. After calling back the following day, Carmen sent me a quote (which included a delivery fee of R850) and I immediately made payment, after verifying the banking details. Two days thereafter I placed an order for 3x small solar panels and after receiving the quotation, I again made payment and requested that these items be delivered together.

A few days later (the day of their closing), a delivery vehicle arrived and offloaded only the three panels. We called and called, but to no avail. Cellphone numbers, E-Mails, landline numbers - nothing worked. We were forced to wait until they opened this year, the 9th of January (a full month after we paid). We never received a single response to the numerous E-Mails, or even an apology for the lack of communication with respect to our order (which was over a month old).

We called the moment they opened their doors in 2023 and no-one could tell us where our batteries were. Eventually, after several E-Mails and messages, a young man (Tristan?) called to let us know that their stock had not arrived, but they could order another brand for us. After confirming the specifications were identical, I agreed and a few days later the units arrived and were delivered. On arrival, we noted that the inserts were for lead-acid batteries and one of the units was heavily calcified on the one terminal. We called them to let them know and asked if they could collect. They mentioned that they did not have facilities to collect faulty units and asked that we bring it through from Johannesburg to Centurion. Hesitantly, we took the DOA unit through and after waiting 45-minutes, we left for Johannesburg, empty-handed. Just before we left, I made a point of stating that as I had paid for delivery, that the replacement unit would need to be delivered to Johannesburg.

Three weeks later, I received a message stating that the unit was ready for collection. I responded that this was unacceptable, given that I had already brought the unit all the way back to Centurion for a replacement. Candice then responded, insisting that I would need to collect the battery, or I would need to pay for the delivery. I responded and told her that their company must take responsibility for what happened and that this whole interaction, made we want to return everything to them. She responded, citing that "the 7 day return period as you purchased these batteries on the 11-01-2023, so we wont be taking them back.". I had actually purchased them in 2022, but had only received them a month later - which is apparently normal for this company.

She went on to state that "One of the batteries were faulty which we have now sorted out for you, you paid for courier to get it here as well.". Again, I didn't pay for a courier to bring it to them, I brought it myself - expecting a replacement (which is what I was told, when I called in to report one of the units were DOA).

Candice then again offered rather condescendingly that she would "do a quote for the courier to collect it from our store and deliver it to you.".

Then things went from bad to worse, as she chose to hone in on my previous statements where I requested that they take responsibility for the products they sell and requested that the director call me to discuss the matter. She even went so far as to insert single quotes around portions of my response, such as ‘taking responsibility for our product’, justifying that they had taken the requisite responsibility by merely sending it back to their supplier. She then went on to add insult to injury by asking me to "advise where we are not taking responsibility?" and that this was not "not a fair statement".

At this point, it seems blatantly obvious that this company only cares about their bottom-line, the bare minimum in terms of service and they have little, to no sensitivity training for their staff. I will never deal with these people again and anyone who feels they deserve to be treated with decency and respect, should avoid them at all costs.