No response to complaint - SAB

After much deliberation I finally made the time to firstly find a helpline for complaints at SAB, and then to write a letter explaining my disappointment in some of their product (Castle Lager NRB's) bought over the festive period. I initially logged the complaint letter directly on the Castle Lager site (online correspondence) and as there was no email address I then followed this up with the same letter to SAB on their main site. It is now well over a week since the letter 27th Feb - (their response below).

Hello, We’ve received your request from the SAB website. An agent will be in contact with you shortly. Thanks, The South African Breweries Team

It has now gone beyond the initial complaint about the quality of their product, which caused me much disillusionment, but the abject disdain with which they treat their (previously) loyal customers. Other than the automated response, I have not heard a single thing from any department within this monolith of an organisation. This not only leaves a severely sour taste in my mouth (similar to that of the Castle bought in December) but annoys me as they had an opportunity to address a very loyal customer who had plucked up the courage to report a poor batch of their product in circulation, including batch numbers, expiry dates and stores involved.

I am not certain where else to raise this issue. Please see original letter below:

To whom it may concern, Firstly, I am not certain if this is the correct forum for this type of correspondence but if it isn’t I would appreciate being advised and I will then direct it towards the correct channel. I am a sport loving South African who has been drinking Castle Lager for over 35 years. I have been exclusively loyal to the brand during this period to the extent that I am ridiculed by my friends as being one of the last surviving Castle drinkers. I own various Castle memorabilia and promote the brand to friends and family. I noticed that during December 2017 that there was a difference in the taste of the beer but it did not deter me from buying Castle whether I was out or at home. During the later part of December, on two separate occasions, I bought the promotional 18 pack of NRB’s from local outlets (Pick n Pay Plattekloof and Tops Plattekloof). Both of these were undrinkable and both had the same expiry date of 21 April 2018 (I could however, not determine the batch number). My immediate response was that there had potentially been a ‘bad’ batch and having been in the manufacturing, retail and logistics industries in the past I realized that this does happen. For a period I reverted to drinking Hansa at home but continued drinking Castle whenever I was out (never had a problem at any restaurant or pub). I recently however, bought a case of NRB’s at the Tops in Welgelegen and much to my dismay have discovered that there are good and bad beers in the case. The expiry date on these beers is 16 June 2018 and the batch number appears to be ??1’01:09.1. One of the bottles was in fact only half full and has some sort or ‘residue’ around the base of the cap (I will try and attach a photo of this). I really am not sure what the solution to this is but for me to continue to not only drink Castle, but also continue as an ambassador, I will need some sort of explanation as to what the reasons are for this severe drop in quality. I will retain the ‘evidence’ should any representative of SAB require this as proof.

I look forward to your response. Disillusioned Castle drinker. Warren Hewitt **********