Takealot of Disappointment!

Item: takealot.com
Rating: 1

I just sent this email to the only 2 email addresses I could find on Takealot's website. I'll just leave this here and let you be the judge of whether or not you'd like to use their services... Dear Takealot, As a huge fan of your brand this mail comes as not only an unpleasant surprise but a massive disappointment as well. I have utilised your services several times, each time receiving only the best service – and this includes during the festive season of 2015, however, the same cannot be said about your brand and its services (or lack thereof) during December 2016. I am not an unreasonable individual and I am fully aware of the chaos that comes with the Christmas season, but this is no excuse for allowing the wheels to fall off as badly as they did – which resulted in me having to delay my holiday plans due to the lack of communication and absolute neglect from Takealot. Here is an overview of my dismal experience: I ordered and paid for a number of goods on 15 December, 2016 and was given a scheduled delivery date of Thursday, 22nd December. I was due to drive from JHB to DBN at 05h00 on the morning of Friday, 23rd December, in order to miss traffic where possible and avoid driving in darkness for majority of the trip. As mentioned previously, my order was promised to me by the 22nd which worked out well considering that would be my last day at the office, where the parcel is scheduled to be delivered. By 17:00 on Thursday the 22nd I had not received my parcel nor any communication from Takealot whatsoever with regards to an explanation for delayed delivery or even a revised delivery date. I expect this level of service because I have received this level of service in the past, with each and every one of my previous orders. Having thoroughly checked your website, there was no customer care number to call and due to your non-response to an email I sent on Wednesday 21st at 14:32, I gathered that sending an email is a futile exercise. I resorted to checking 12 month old emails from past orders in order to obtain ANY contact number to call for an indication of where my parcel is and when I can expect to receive it – because Takealot didn’t see it necessary to keep me updated. Eventually finding a number, I was on the phone with a less than enthusiastic consultant for 20 minutes – looking for nothing more than a delivery time for the morning of 23 December, seeing as the fate of my holiday now **** with Takealot. The consultant advised that she had escalated the matter and someone would be in touch with me first thing in the morning. Due to the urgency of the situation I offered to collect the parcel myself from whichever warehouse it was being stored at to prevent any delays with my imminent travel plans, but I was reassured that the parcel would be delivered the next morning. At this point I am sure it is glaringly obvious that the contents of the parcel were crucial for my Christmas holiday in DBN and therefore I could not leave without it. At 07h10 the next morning I’m back on the phone for another 9 minutes which proved to be a waste of time as I am told that the parcel is with your courier partner, SkyNet, and all attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. I am also told that the parcel was last tracked at their Elandsfontein warehouse. Just for the record, I called the Takealot offices 5 times that morning each call ranging between 10 – 20 minutes long. Eventually I am given the number for SkyNet couriers and after two failed attempts to call their offices, I resort to googling the address and taking it upon myself to fetch my parcel. Their warehouse was 5.1 kms from my home. After waiting for 40 minutes for assistance, I am told that my parcel has already left on the delivery van – just in case my experience hadn’t been onerous enough already. The warehouse manager called the driver and it was established that they were in Pomona Road, Kempton Park. I took down the driver’s details including the registration number of the van and off I went on my 2nd attempt at collecting my parcel that Takealot had failed to deliver. This little trip was another 12 kms from the SkyNet warehouse. I had still not received a single word from Takealot at this point about a delayed order or any follow up on the escalation of my enquiry from the day before, or my email from the 21st. I ended up leaving JHB at 14:30 on the 23rd, resulting in my being stuck in immovable traffic caused by a massive road block on the N3. I reached my destination in Durban at 11h30 that evening after driving for majority of the trip in complete darkness. No, I cannot pin the road block on Takealot but I certainly wouldn’t have been stuck in that traffic – and had to drive through the night – had I received my parcel when I was promised it. And this is above and beyond the use of my own personal airtime, petrol and time wasted on chasing a parcel that was supposed to be delivered to me on the 22nd – a service that is included in the price I paid. In conclusion, I received several routine “follow-up” emails from Takealot during the following week requesting my feedback on the service and confirming delivery of my order but it was all too little, too late, I’m afraid. As mentioned in the beginning of my mail I am (or was) a fan of your brand, I always entered your competitions and spread the ‘Takealot word’ via my social network platforms because I enjoyed being a part of something that actually worked for a change, but this appalling experience has left me feeling nothing more than acrimony and apprehension towards the Takealot brand. Once again, I am just a number and Takealot is just another disappointment.

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