FORMAL COMPLAINT – Absolutely Unacceptable Service at Truworths Eden Meadows

Dear Truworths Customer Care / Management,

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the absolutely appalling and unacceptable service I received at the Truworths Eden Meadows store today, 17 August 2026.

I am honestly disgusted and extremely frustrated by the manner in which I was treated, and I feel that this experience warrants immediate attention from senior management.

I specifically travelled all the way from Boksburg to Eden Meadows today because I had identified a watch online that I wanted to purchase as a gift, and according to the online store information, the item was only available at your Eden Meadows branch. I therefore made a deliberate trip to this particular store for the sole purpose of purchasing this item.

Your Google listing clearly indicates that the store closes at 18:00.

I arrived at approximately 17:00 – a full hour before the advertised closing time.

To my complete disbelief, the store was already closed.

I approached the entrance and attempted to speak to the consultant inside. Instead of receiving any assistance, I was forced to stand outside and communicate with the employee through the glass door. The consultant refused to open the door or allow me into the store, despite the fact that it was still an hour before the advertised closing time.

I explained to her that:

I had travelled from Boksburg specifically to visit this store;

I was there to purchase one particular watch;

The watch was intended to be a gift;

I had gone out of my way to come to this branch because the item was showing as available there; and It was only 17:00, despite your advertised closing time being 18:00.

Despite all of this, she simply refused to assist me.

I then requested to speak to the store manager, expecting that someone in a managerial position would at least have the courtesy to listen to my concern and find a reasonable solution.

Unfortunately, the interaction with the manager was even more disappointing.

The manager came to the glass door with her hands in her pockets and simply told me, “The store is closed.”

I explained that the information available online clearly stated that the store closes at 18:00.

Her response was essentially, “Yes, well, we closed.”

I then explained again that I had travelled all the way from Boksburg, that I only needed one item, and that I needed the watch because it was a gift.

Rather than demonstrating any willingness whatsoever to assist a customer who had travelled a considerable distance based on the store's advertised trading hours, I was simply told to buy it online.

To make matters worse, when I expressed my dissatisfaction with the way I was being treated, the manager proceeded to tell me to “go ahead and lay a complaint.”

So I have.

And I am doing so because this is not acceptable customer service.

I completely understand that stores may have operational circumstances that sometimes require them to close early. However, if that is the case, customers should not be expected to bear the consequences of inaccurate trading information, nor should they be treated with such blatant disrespect when they raise a legitimate concern.

If the store was going to close at 17:00, then the trading hours should have reflected that.

Instead, I re**** on the information provided by Truworths, drove from Boksburg to Eden Meadows, incurred fuel and travel costs, arrived an hour before the advertised closing time, and was essentially dismissed at the door.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that I wasn't asking the staff to conduct an extensive transaction or remain open for another hour. I was trying to purchase ONE ITEM that I had specifically travelled to the store to collect.

The attitude displayed by both the consultant and, particularly, the manager was completely unacceptable. There was no attempt to apologise, no attempt to find a solution, no acknowledgement that the advertised trading hours were different, and absolutely no sense that my time, money or inconvenience mattered.

Instead, I was effectively told: “We're closed. Buy it online. Go ahead and complain.”

That is an astonishingly poor way to treat a paying customer.

I therefore require the following from Truworths:

1. A formal explanation as to why the Eden Meadows store was closed at approximately 17:00 when the advertised closing time is 18:00.

2. Confirmation of the actual trading hours applicable to the store, and why these were not accurately reflected online.

3. An explanation as to whether staff are authorised to close the store an hour early and, if so, under what circumstances.

4. A formal response regarding the conduct and attitude of the consultant and store manager, particularly the refusal to assist me and the manager's dismissive instruction that I should simply “go ahead and lay a complaint.”

5. Confirmation of what Truworths intends to do to address this incident and prevent it from happening to other customers.

6. Given that I travelled from Boksburg to Eden Meadows specifically because your online information indicated that the item was available at that branch, I would also like Truworths to address the unnecessary fuel and travel costs I incurred as a direct result of this experience.

I appreciate that a company may not ordinarily reimburse a customer's fuel costs. However, in this instance, I made the journey specifically in reliance on information provided by Truworths, arrived well within the advertised trading hours, and was turned away because the store had apparently decided to close early.

I therefore believe Truworths needs to take responsibility for the customer experience created by its own inaccurate information and its employees' conduct.

I am not writing this complaint because I was simply unable to purchase a watch.

I am writing because I was made to feel like my time, effort and business were completely insignificant.

I drove from Boksburg to Eden Meadows, spent money on fuel, made the journey specifically for Truworths, arrived an hour before your advertised closing time, and was met with a closed door, a consultant who would not even open the door to assist me, and a manager who showed absolutely no interest in resolving the situation.

That is not the level of service I would expect from a reputable retail brand.

I would appreciate this complaint being escalated beyond the store level and reviewed by the appropriate regional/customer experience manager. I would also appreciate a written response addressing each of the concerns raised above, rather than a generic apology.

I look forward to hearing how Truworths intends to address this matter.

Disappointed does not adequately describe my experience today. I am extremely frustrated, inconvenienced and genuinely appalled by the level of service I received.

I made the effort to come to your store.

Unfortunately, your staff couldn't even make the effort to open the door.