MY TAKEALOT LITANY OF WOES

Order: I ordered a Megamaster 320 SSS gas braai, a cover for the braai, firelighters and a gas bottle from Takealot and specified delivery to my house.

Payment was by credit card i.e. the equivalent of cash for Takealot

Problem: Nowhere did it state that the braai will be delivered in parts and will have to be assembled by the buyer.

I should perhaps have anticipated this, but having dealt with @home where all merchandise is assembled by the company on delivery and checked for any flaws I assumed that this is how reputable companies work.

Delivery The delivery was scheduled for Tuesday between 08H00 and 17H00 and eventually arrived at 15H40.

Problem: In 2021 a nine hour window for delivery is absurd – other companies such as Pick n Pay narrows it down to an hour.

What makes it worse is that I am the only one living at this address – I was unable to leave my house for almost eight hours

Assembly I found two very capable gentlemen to assemble the braai on Wednesday at a cost of R450 which I thought was reasonable

Problem: During assembly they noticed that the front plate was damaged and that the paint was chipped in three places.

Return at the Takealot depot in The Wood Mill Stellenbosch I decided that, although I am not happy, I can live with the damaged paint but not the damaged front plate. So I went to The Wood Mill in Stellenbosch to request as replacement.

Problem: Once there I was told it should have to repack it in the box it came in (for one little plate?) and that I should have logged the return on their website – goodness knows how I was supposed to have known that.

Once I have done that it became apparent that I have to return the entire braai not just the damaged plate

And I was told that it had to be repacked in the original box to be returned.

Return Selection Foolishly I selected a replacement. Having done that I realised that I can receive another damaged braai and then I have to go through the entire cycle of paying R450 for assembly and R450 to have it taken apart again.

Problem: It took me more than two hours to get through to an agent to try and change my selection – only to be told that no change if possible, but that I can refuse to accept the merchandise upon delivery.

Having phoned again to make sure I understood correctly I was for the first time told that the box must be clearly labelled with the return code and the inscription of the item inside, Repacking the Braai Once again I contacted my friendly helpers to take the braai apart and repackage it.

Problem: Another R450 out of my packet to deal with Takealot’s damaged merchandise

Collecting the Braai The braai was scheduled to be collected on Friday between 08H00 and 17H00.

Problem: Another nine hour window which is completely ridiculous and have me unable to leave my house, but even worse - at 16:22, eight hours and 22 minutes into the nine hours I was informed that delivery is rescheduled for Monday between 08H00 and 17H00. No explanation and no apology offered.

Trying to determine a time within an hour or two hour period Most annoyed I phoned Takealot on Friday and on Saturday and on Monday to try and get more clarity on the delivery time. I was not prepared to spend another 9 hours waiting.

Problem: On Friday afternoon I was informed by the agent that several people are working to resolve my problem before the close of business and that delivery may be before 7 or Saturday morning – that was the last I heard of her.

On Saturday I was informed that Friday’s agent escalated the problem to the wrong department, but he will find out and phone me at 11:00. When I eventually got hold of him at 11:30 he informed me that the courier company’s offices were closed, but that he’ll escalate it to his manager. Needless to say I have not heard from the manager.

I phoned Monday morning to try and determine a time for the delivery – apart from an email that he is attending to the matter I never heard again from the first agent I spoke to. I then phoned again and the second agent informed me that there is no delivery to or pickup from Stellenbosch on Monday and that it will take place Tuesday before 12.

Speaking to the agent about cancellation of the replacement braai (see below), I was told that the pickup of the return will be on Wednesday. He did narrow it down to between 8 and 12. At this point I was beyond furious and demanded to speak to a manager. Needless to say no manager ever phoned me.

I did receive two emails later informing me that collection will be before 5 Tuesday. At four o’clock I emailed both agents back to enquire about progress and received confirmation that it will happen Tuesday still. Needless to say that did not happen. It is now Wednesday morning and the braai is still on my stoep.

On Wednesday approximately at 11:50 the braai was collected. What is most pecu**** is that on Wednesday 14:43 I received an SMS stating that my return is rescheduled for collection before 5:00 pm on Thursday. And a minute later I received another SMS stating that the collection of my order has been delayed and that they will reschedule.

Impact of the inability to determine a reasonable delivery time and to adhere to it: I am the only resident at the delivery and pickup address and during the given timeslot I am confined to my house. Tuesday waiting for delivery 7 hours 40 minutes Friday waiting for the pick-up 11 hours Saturday waiting for the pick-up 3 hours 30 minutes Monday waiting for the pickup 2 hours Tuesday waiting for the pickup 11 hours Wednesday waiting for the pickup 3 hours 45 minutes Total waiting time 40 hours 45 minutes

Replacement Braai Tuesday morning I received an SMS to inform me that a replacement braai will be delivered before five. I have been trying to cancel the replacement since last Wednesday. I phoned again on Tuesday and the agent assured me that the replacement will be cancelled

Problem: Between six and seven I had the courier in front of my door to deliver the replacement braai. Clearly I refused to accept the braai and no, he was not able to pick up the return as he only does deliveries.

Wednesday morning I received an SMS to inform me that a replacement braai will be delivered before five.

Problem: Compared to Takealot Eskom is beginning to look like a very well-managed company

Refund: I have received SMS messages stating that the refund will be credited to my account.

Problem: I do not have an account with Takealot and after this experience understandably I do not want an account with Takealot.

However the last agent a spoke to promised that the refund will be paid into my credit card – somehow I am not overly optimistic…

Overall Impression The agents are all very friendly, but • Very few seem to understand the business process and during most phone calls the current agent end up apologizing for the previous agent’s actions.

• Feedback is a huge problem and the only thing most of them seem to be good for is apologizing. The only exception seems to be a gentleman called Sizakele Mondi and Dawn Peters who actually responded to all my queries.

The internal communication platform seems to be email but there is clearly no process in place to ensure that the intended recipient read the email and take the appropriate action.

The courier company’s systems seem to be in complete disarray and this probably contributed to many of the problems.

Will I buy from Takealot again: The only purchase I will consider will be small items that I will be able to collect from the depot and physically carry to my car. Never ever again will I buy anything from Takealot that involves a courier company.