SAA sucks

To my fellow SA community; I have always been a proud supporter of South African born and bread companies and the services they offer. But with utmost shock and disappointment, I have received the most appalling service from SAA of late. Let's start at the beginning of this disgusting journey: Last year November I booked tickets from OR Tambo to Cape Town International for my husband, 2 little girls and I. The flight was booked for December 2017 and unfortunately my husband took ill and got diagnosed with adult asthma which declared him unfit by his medical specialist. I immediately informed SAA and asked to please put the tickets on hold for me with the valid and legal doctor's note. After spending about half a day on the phone with them being transferred from one extension to the other, they still had the audacity to ask me for the hospital admission letter as proof of my husband's illness. As if the legal doctor's note is not enough. Might I add that our returning flight was booked with BA and we had no such issue at all. They gladly assisted me and extended my tickets for 12 months. Eventually SAA agreed to extend but for 6 months only. Our alternative date was now booked for 13 April 2018 @ 7am. I arrived there with my 2 girls (4 & 6 years old). At the check in counter, the lady informed me that the surname of my ticket and that of my ID is not the same. I have a reason for this, when I joined the SAA Voyager programme back in the day, I was not married as yet, and my ticket was obviously booked under the registered name lodged at the time of me joining SAA Voyager and my ID obviously in my married surname. They refused blatantly to allow me onto the flight, even with me presenting my certified marriage certificate. The supervisor was called and she was even more rude and abrupt. Causing me to burst into tears and eventually my girls also started crying. And still, the rudeness prevailed. With me crying, the other check in assistants were sitting there, laughing at me. I, with my two girls have never felt so victimized. I have never in my life experienced such bad and unemotional service from any service provider. I had to physically buy another ticket for myself at a cost of R2700 in order to secure my flight with my two girls. And then, the cherry on the cake, no kiddies meals on the flight. I am so disappointed in SAA and will not recommend nor fly with them ever again. Employing the wrong caliber of people will have detrimental effects on any company. If they really wanted to, they could have assisted me. And might I add (again), the flight back with BA presented me with no issues at all.