Takealot, another flagship sinking

Seeing our largest e-commerce retailer fall into such disarray is truly unfortunate. At one time, it was Amazon's only real competitor in South Africa's customer-centric online shopping market.

However, that has turned into a worsening reality, with poor-quality products or the inability to deliver the advertised products. Due to the slow pace of deliveries, it is more convenient to pick up your orders at delivery points rather than wait for them to arrive, and even when you do take the chance on delivery, the drivers complain about how poorly they are paid and the long hours they are forced to work. Making you question whether you should become part of the problem or just get it on your own instead.

In my last three orders with Takelot, not one was delivered according to what I ordered. When it's not products not matching what was advertised, it's items that don't work. Consequently, you have to return the item/s back to the drop-off centers at your own expense. What I find most frustrating is that customers are charged for delivery on orders that they pick up themselves. As a result, we do your work for you while paying for it ourselves.

My heart breaks to see another South African Flagship company limited by poor service delivery and even worse management decisions, but perhaps that's the trend in our country.