Incompetence is a compliment to their service

<p>After my father passed away, I decided to have all the household effects placed in storage and flew in from abroad to have everything taken care of. Because many items of furniture were bespoke and made of delicate wood, we eventually settled on Stuttafords Van Lines because their very glossy brochures promised that the company was adept at handling the most delicate items.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although they were more expensive than other movers, I was happy to pay for the assurance that the people moving my precious belongings knew what they were doing. If I had the slightest clue of the impending nightmare, I would hired the cheap but highly efficient local movers in my area. </p> <p> </p> <p>We had specifically spoken to the consultant, Gordon Dempster, about the nature of the furniture (the delicate wood, etc.) and he assured us that there wouldn't be any problems. On the day of the move, I literally had a nervous breakdown and I wish that it was an exaggeration. </p> <p> </p> <p>I had my six-month-old baby with me, so I really didn't have time to walk around supervising the process. But if I hadn't marched around like an army general watching the movers like a hawk, I shudder to think of what would have transpired. First, I found a mover wrapping the precious wooden furniture in PLASTIC! Wood needs to breathe, so that is a disaster waiting to happen. I spoke to the "supervisor", who told him to remove the plastic. We subsequently heard that the usual material that was used to wrap wooden furniture was out of stock!</p> <p> </p> <p>The movers placed their sticky tape and other equipment on my furniture and all day I had to walk around telling them to remove their things. By 1pm, I had completely lost it and screamed at yet another idiot who had placed his tape rolls on a yellow-and-stinkwood cabinet. </p> <p> </p> <p>Items that shouldn't have been packed were packed in (despite that fact that I spent days prior physically labelling each item and each shelf, designated according to whether the item was to stay or go). The person responsible for this mistake couldn't read...that was clear after the supervisor had spoken to him. </p> <p> </p> <p>Meanwhile, I called the consultant continuously to let him know of what was happening. He seemed unfazed by my distress and simply told me that an operations manager was on his way. The operations manager did his best to salvage the disastrous situation, but the team he had to work with was absolutely pathetic. He (the operations manager) later told me that the team was probably unaccustomed to working with this tier of furniture...OKAY, so the very reason I had tasked Stuttafords Van Lines for the move was pointless!!! I was and am still absolutely furious with what happened. </p> <p> </p> <p>They are set to do an international move for me towards the end of the year (they hold all my belongings), but I would be an absolute fool to entrust them with such a complex task after the shambles I experienced in February. </p> <p> </p> <p>To this day, I have had no apology from the consultant, Gordon Dempster, for all the grief I had on the day of the move. To me, that demonstrates a lack of concern for the quality of service delivered to clients and a complete lack of ethics with regards to promises made. </p> <p> </p> <p>Stuttafords Van Lines is one of the companies in South Africa that reminds me how fortunate I am to live abroad in a country where service is quick, efficient, and excellent.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>