There's bad customer service, and then there's Translux

<p>I cannot begin to describe the pathetic service I've been subjected to by Translux consultants telephonically, via e-mail and face-to-face for the past week. All this over a simple refund request. I booked two tickets online for passengers travelling from Cape Town to King Williams Town. I then paid via the online SID portal linked to the Translux website. I received confirmation that the payment had gone through successfully and an SID online agent also confirmed this when I followed up just to be sure they received it.<br /><br />About an hour later, after I hadn't received any confirmation of the booking from Translux, I followed up with a call. I was then advised that Translux banks with FNB and because I made a payment from Nedbank it would take approximately 48 hours for the payment to reflect on their side, therefore the booking has been cancelled. This, although I had paid within five minutes of making the booking online. <br /><br />The lady then advised that I therefore need to send them proof of payment and then they will re-book the ticket, while they wait for the payment to reflect. At this point, I'm gobsmacked because I've booked with Greyhound previously online and their payment system accepts eft/credit card immediately and they confirm my bookings straightaway without having to even follow up with a call. I was to learn that this was only the beginning of my headaches.<br /><br />I thereafter discovered that there's a bus strike underway and therefore decided to leave the tickets as cancelled, and rather request a refund. I've dealt with the Cape Town office at Old Marine Drive, the King Williams Town office as well as numerous consultants telephonically, as well as Christine Jacobs via e-mail. <br /><br />Christine, to whom I sent my documents and requested a refund, advised that for an eft payment, I could wait up to 6 weeks for the finance department for the payment to be processed, to which I objected and told her I would rather go back to the Cape Town office, which I had already dealt with and they advised they ran out of cash twice and there was no manager on duty.<br /><br />I then asked one of the two passengers I had booked for to take the proof of payment and my ID to the Cape Town office, as I wouldn't be able to make it on the day I had advised Christine I would collect a cash refund. He was advised they are offline. He then boarded a bus to King Williams Town. <br /><br />When he requested the refund from the King Williams Town office on 19 April between 4 and 5pm, the gentleman on duty, who only identified himself as "Shoes" when asked for his name, refused to give out the refund and adamantly stated to me when I called and to the person I had booked for that he only follows his manager's orders and according to his manager, who is based in East London, he cannot issue the refund, because the notes from Christine say the cash refund will be collected from Cape Town. Bear in mind, the Cape Town office was offline the previous day.<br /><br />I then called the Translux customer service office on ********** 304. That office then called the "Shoes" gentleman at the King Williams Town, on the passenger's cell number (They acknowledged that the KWT office might not pick up their call if they call them on the office line - imagine!). Shoes still refused and said he doesn't recognise that number and would not issue the refund. The passenger then had to board a bus back to Cape Town at 5pm with no refund. He had to withdraw cash at an ATM that's far away from the station in order to pay for the ticket.<br /><br />On his return to Cape Town on 20 April, with the hope that that office would assist, he was once again asked to wait for the manager as the consultants couldn't assist with the refund. This is where I contacted Christine who had written the notes in the system that the refund would be collected from the Cape Town office. She flatly denied that she had done so and told me that she had forwarded my documents to another department as I had requested to go the long EFT route of getting a refund approximately in 6 weeks. I then sent her a quote from her own e-mail of exactly what she had written to me. I haven't heard from her since.<br /><br />Pathetic service to say the least. I'm going back to Greyhound, promptly.</p>