So called customer service..... Well I wonder.

I really think that some companies are inclined to shoot themselves in the foot, and in this case it’s Tiger Brands, in the name of All Gold. I recently purchased a can of their Seville Orange Marmalade and when I opened it, the product was runny. Obviously during the preparation process the solution was probably not boiled for long enough, I have made marmalade in the past and this is usually the reason. So I took a shot of the data on the bottom of the tin and decanted the mixture into a glass jar that I was going to use for the contents. And I sent the image along with a description of the problem to the manufacturer on their email. (I also sent a message on their FaceBook messenger line). The automated email response demonstrates how seriously they take complaints. “A consumer care consultant will reply to you within 72 working hours.” The above extract from their automated system shouts very loudly, “within 72 working hours”. In our modern communication environment, 72 working hours is an awful long time. (However I am sure they are not alone in this regard). So I get called this morning, by someone from their consumer line, and after the usual pleasantries are exchanged, he starts asking me about the product. I explain to him that I decanted the product into a glass jar and I shot an image of the data on the tin so they had batch numbers Etc. I was asked if I still had the tin and I indicated that it had gone into the bin. I then get asked to take a picture of the contents of the decanted product, because it was needed to enact my formal complaint. Well, the ridiculousness of this request is mind boggling. I pointed this out to the so-called customer care line agent, and he suggested that I shoot a video so they can see the consistency. I said if they want the product to examine, they can come and collect it. By this time, I was getting wholly irritated. He also asked me about the size of the product, but my observations in the supermarket have been that there is only one tin size of this product, it is small. Under normal circumstances I would prefer to buy a larger tin. I then suggested that they should just come and collect the product, but I am told that they need the picture. I asked to speak with the MD as this scenario has now descended into the realms of the ridiculous. I was told that no one in management is available so I instructed this so-called customer care agent to get the MD to call me and I ended the call. The actual level of so-called customer service has generally gone down and this is a case in point. Now the complaining customer must jump through the hoops because of a product which they believe to be faulty. Probably most people would just use their runny marmalade and not point out product defects to the supplier, but I am one who believes that it is advantageous for a producer to know about problems. Since then, I can see that someone from their company has tried to call me one time, I was on another call and I have now been sent an SMS indicating that I should call them. Well to my mind one solitary attempt at calling me doesn’t constitute any adequate level of customer service. And if they have so many complaints that it takes a long time to deal with them, then they have a problem.