@SMERNO = LAME

No good deed goes unpunished. I needed a new battery for for my iphone XS Max. I was on my way to iStore in Table Bay Mall Cape Town, when I walked past Smerno. I've always liked their name and logo. I understand the crazy rent these small businesses pay in big malls and chose to support them. I enquired if they can put in a new battery and made sure they were going to use an original. I make an effort to support local businesses but this time it was a mistake. (PS. My phone had never been opened before.) I paid the 1k for the new battery. After fetching my phone with a supposed original Apple battery, my volume buttons and silent switch never worked. To go back to a store is always a pain but I had no choice. I eventually went back. They wanted to charge me another 1k to fix it. I couldn't afford it. I felt they should fix it for free but I'm too understanding most of the time and never spoke my mind. Daniel their "technician" rather showed me the screen shortcuts. I'm a very patient and polite person and took back the phone with no complaints. The on screen shortcuts are a pain after a while but continued to use the phone until the camera stopped working. I took it back and they charged me another 1k to fix the camera. I paid it. He mentioned to me that he also fixed the volume buttons. I was happy until I tried them, they were hard and weren't "pressable" and the mute switch still never worked either. So I went back for I think the 4th time and asked him to look at it again, all the while trusting that they were eventually going to sort me out. I was told to go elsewhere by some friends but didn't want to explain my story to a new "service provider" and didn't want Smerno to blame someone else for their own F up. I was told by Daniel that someone else had opened my phone and broken the volume buttons and switch and there was a sticky tape that was behind the battery that "wasn't theirs". Exactly what I was afraid of. Strange cos they are the only one's who worked on it. They wanted to charge me a 1k again. I left it again. The scenario played through my mind over and over again for a month or so until I felt I should go back (5th time) speak my mind and inform them that they had now crossed "my line" and I was going to give them a bad review on hellopeter and other social media platforms. I was told by the owner that "you have to do what you have to do". Nice. So here I am "doing what I have to do" *** customer service and *** attitudes from both the owner and Daniel. Oh yes and its not an original Apple Battery - lol. Go figure. Poor. *** gedagte.