Bad service. Unreliable delivery / drivers

Have been using Takealot for years, but it seems recently their service in terms of delivery has become non-existent.

I needed a backpack urgently and required 24-hour delivery. It was scheduled for delivery before 17:00 the following day. However, all that happened is I received a message that an attempt at delivery has been made, but I was not available for collection and that I need to reschedule. I then contacted their support. The lady who answered was very professional and helpful. She created a note for the driver to deliver ASAP and added a secondary number they could reach me as well. An hour later, I receive the same messaged - that I was not available. I left the door open so I could hear if a person is in front of the gate, I was at home the whole day, my dog would have barked, I had both phones with me, expecting a call at least if they are unable to find my house, yet nothing.

It seems the issue here is the lack of control Takealot has over who does their deliveries and that anyone can just sign up to do deliveries now. On a previous occasion, an order's packaging was damaged. Luckly the items weren't, and I decided not to leave a bad review. However, this is the final straw. I really needed that product today and it showed me that I cannot count on Takealot anymore as there is no guarantee that I will get my product on time and not damaged.

Want my advice, start looking for another service with reliable drivers. Stay away from Takealot of you want service.