Disgusting service from Smeg. Poor life cycle on Smeg products

I am not sure how an expensive brand can have such appalling customer service and poor quality. I was so eager to own a Smeg toaster and kettle on the pretense of Smeg being an industry leader with products that display a sense of prestige. My experience with Smeg has been appalling and the representatives assisting me at the Smeg Service Centre in Linbro Park, Johannesburg were even more embarrassing. I dealt with 3 individuals who gave me the wrong information. Having had the Smeg kettle for less than a year and seeing the numbers peel off the temperature gauge was disappointing. On investigation by a Smeg representative it was insisted that I need a POP and only then would they assist me. This being all well that it is a Smeg product, I understood their reasoning as this product was fading away which I would assume it would seem as though one could have bought at a discount wholesaler or ******* store. When they could see it was their product and after some debate I was informed that they would get RAM courier service, to bring me a new kettle when they collect my inferior Smeg one. All this after I provided the Proof of purchase. However, this was all smoke and mirrors as this did not happen. I had to call several times before I landed up going to fetch the kettle myself due to their incompetence and lack of customer service. On arrival at the Smeg Service Centre I was pushed from pillar to post for 45 minutes and then being **** to again that the kettle I was being given without the “temperature variable gauge” (model: klf03) was in fact “better than the one I was returning” which had the temperature variable gauge (model:klf02). When I questioned this as to why I’m getting one of lesser functionality being the klf03 instead of the klf04 which would then be on the same level as my kettle I was having to return, I was told “the klf03 was the replacement of the klf02 and better.” The manager was in plain sight just a few meters away and didn’t even have the decency to get off his chair and walk over to apologize for the oversight and as for the representative, she didn’t even have the decency to show her face at the front desk again after trying to rob me of the kettle I should have been given as a replacement to begin with. Smeg sure thinks their customers are stupid. This says a lot not only about the poor quality of Smeg products but also the poor quality of customer service. After 2 trips on 2 consecutive days to the Smeg service centre and many phones calls and almost an hour later of waiting I was finally given the kettle that matched the functionality of my original product. After unpackaging the kettle at the Smeg service centre to make sure is was the right one considering Smeg had lost its credibility up to this point . I was told that they had to change the international plug to be replaced with a South Africa plug. This would have been acceptable had the plug head that was attached been the same colour as the cord and quality that Smeg advertises it has. Now I have a R3 500 kettle with a R3.50 hardware store plug with the barcode sticker still on the plug. So you tell me what I am buying when I purchase a Smeg product because visually Smeg stands out and thus the appeal and status one receives when having said item. With the poor quality temperature gauge markings on the Smeg kettle as well as the cheap plug and a somewhat concerning slanted “G”, I’m sure you can imagine me spending the money on a kettle that costs 7/8 times more than most yet does not even live up to its image and the customer service received thus far is disgraceful to say the least. Now that I have a store bought plug attached to the kettle cord where does the warranty stand? Unless Smeg has a box of random discoloured plugs to attach to apparently new products they know aren’t compatible in the country. So... I brought the above to Smeg’s attention and provided pictures to support my concerns, and awaiting their acknowledgement since Friday last week says a lot about the brand... at this rate think twice before purchasing a Smeg!