Late delivery and excuses

I placed a order on the 20th of August for two items, which I need as a gift for someone by the 29th of August. I figured that is enough time to allow for delivery, and Takealot has always delivered within a day or two. So, I do commend them for their good service in the past, but that created an expectation that I could expect delivery within a reasonable amount of time.

Nevertheless, I waited. I received an SMS two days ago that the item would be delivered by 28 August 2019 before 17:00. This, I was still willing to accept. At noon on the 28th of August they sent me a message saying they were unable to deliver. I called, and they said they would sort it out.

Later on, they contacted me again and advised that they can't make the delivery today due to me not being available. Not only was I sitting here waiting for them for 4 hours, but there is a gardener working here, as well as an entire team of construction workers. Any one of them would have called me if someone had asked. All of them can attest to the fact that I was here the whole morning. I might have been on a call or something, but I was definitely here.

Takealot did agree to deliver the item by noon tomorrow, which helps alleviate my problem, but now instead of going home and preparing at my own pace. I have to grab the item and rush to my friend's place to get it there in time. This is not the level of service I have come to expect from them.

I will definitely consider my options more carefully in the future. I will admit that they still aren't the worst out there.