Complaint: poor service in getting my new contract activated

<p>Good day</p> <p> </p> <p>I am lodging this complaint for poor customer service received at the Vodacom Shop Canal Walk. I have now been stuggeling to get my contract activated for over a week!</p> <p> </p> <p>Last week on Tuesday 6 December 2016 at about 16h00, I went to Vodacom Shop Canal Walk to get a new contract. I then met with a consultant, Tashwill Windvogel. I explained to him that I currently have an old prepaid phone, and that I now want to get a contract. I advised him that I have my own new phone, a Samsung S Mini and that I would like to do a SIM swop as well. He then asked me: “What SIM card do I want?”. Are you joking me! I told him one that will fit in Samsung S Mini as I have said. He went and collect a Macro SIM.</p> <p> </p> <p>The offer that I opted for is the More data 2G deal of R259. Tashwill then told me that there is a problem since the offer is ending that day on the 6th, and that the prices might changes. I told him that its nonsense since I am at the shop at the day that the offer is still valid and that Vodacom should honour the deal at the same price. I app**** for it, hoping that I would be fine. I was told to wait 24 hours and Vodacom will call me to come back in again to sign the final contract in order to activate it together with the Caller ID.</p> <p> </p> <p>Tuesday night my prepaid phone stopped working and I was happy as this meant the new SIM was active and so I switched on my new phone just to learn my airtime that I had is gone. My understanding was that this is due to the PUK and SIM that was activated and I was willing to wait until the next day in order for it to be finalized.</p> <p> </p> <p>Wednesday late afternoon at about 18h, somebody called me from Vodacom Shop, who I think was Tashwill. He then asked if it was me that app**** for the contract yesterday? I said yes. He did not even confirm my name! He started the conversation off with: "Ma’am there is another problem. The deal I opted for ended yesterday and Vodacom can’t process my contract as Vodacom is waiting for the vetting of the new prices ". I was very upset with this. Who starts a conversation with the word “problem”? This should not even exist in a customer service consultant vocabulary to a client!</p> <p> </p> <p>I told this person (Tashwill) what I told him the day at the shop. Why can’t Vodacom not process my contract application as the deal was valid at the time. Just because Vodacom processed my application on the next day 7th of December, it is no longer valid? What if you go shopping at a special or sale on the last day it is still valid and the next day the shop call you back to say, sorry, you must bring the goods back since we only received your payment the day after. No! Well, Tashwill was so flustered, he just said okay the prices will be the same, but that it will take another 48 hours. Way should I be inconvenienced by this? The fact that Vodacom does not have a contingency or action plan in place in scenario’s like this, should not be the customer’s problem! But now they made it my problem, because now I will be without a phone for 3 days! I can’t call, I can’s SMS because I don’t have data. I am cut off from the outside world. And the reason why I chose Vodacom, is because of the good coverage. I was however still able to receive incoming calls and messages.</p> <p> </p> <p>Thusday went by by with no word, SMS or call from Vodacom. At 17:00 I called the shop from a landline to find out if there is any progress. I did not get the lady’s name I spoke to. I stated my query and she asked me to hold. I hold. I hold for a whole 15 minutes with dead silence in my ear. Then I’ve had it and I dropped the call. A whole quarter of an hour and the lady could not pick up the phone again to say something, not even sorry but do I mind holding a bit longer?</p> <p> </p> <p>Then Friday went by as well. Friday afternoon, the 9th of December, I went down to Vodacom Shop Canal Walk myself to speak to someone, ready to fight this battle. I was welcomed by a lady consultant. I expressed my concern about the delay in my contract being activated and that I am tired of calling and no body being able to give me an answer. I demanded an answer before I will leave the shop. She told me she would not be able to help me and referred me to Lauren, another consultant who will assist. A few minutes later Lauren called me over to a desk and told me that my application has been approved. It went through on the system that morning. Once, again, why did Vodacom not informed me of this? I did not receive a call or SMS to say I must come in. She again went through the contract with me, asking me if I am sure that I want this plan because if the data is used up, anything above will add to my bill at the end of the month. I told her I am aware, and that I would not have chosen this deal if it is not what I wanted! Again, I signed another piece of paper for my contract to be activated. I was advised by Lauren that this will take another 24 to 48 hours to be activated since Vodacom has to send this now to head office for processing. She said I will get an SMS once it’s activated but that it can be tomorrow, she don’t know. I asked her to put in a request as urgent as I really want this to be finalized. This has now been 3 days pending.</p> <p> </p> <p>Out of experience I knew I can write off the Weekend, sine nothing happens over Saturdays and Sundays. That was also the reason why I went on a weekday to Vodacom to apply for the contract, and not on a weekend as I knew this will just delay the whole process.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, again Monday went by with no SMS to say my contract is activated. I am now getting more agitated and frustrated. Yesterday, Tuesday the 13th of December at 12h30, I called Canal Walk Vodacom shop. Ashley answered the phone. I asked him to check the status of my application. Once again, he asked me to hold. I stopped him right there and said, no, you will not put me on hold for 15 minutes again with dead silence. I will hold but I want an update in the next 2 minutes. Ashley came back on the phone and asked if I can hold some more. Sure, I want an answer. After a few minutes, Ashley said, Sorry ma’am the system is slow. He will call me back before 17h00 with some feedback. I told him no once again. 17h is close off business for most people and nothing happens then. This must be sorted now! I asked to please call me back in 2 hours with an update at least. He promised to do so and I gave him my number again.</p> <p> </p> <p>So, to no surprise, the 2 hours passed, 3 hours passed. Then just after 16h30 I decided to call Vodacom back. I managed to speak to Ashley again. The reason why he did not call back? Sorry, Ma’am I forgot! Are you serious! Is this the customer services that Vodacom gives to its clients? It’s ridiculous by far! Ashley did not have the decency to call me back. I know people forget sometimes, but he broke a promise. The explanation that I then got from Ashely is that he can now see on the system that my contract is active. He can see the date is today the 13th, but no time. Apparently according to him, it take another 4-5 hours after the system indicates a contract is active before my phone will work. So because he can’t tell the time, he don’t know how long it will take. On his instructions, I restarted my phone and dialed *111*502# to check my balance. Nothing. My contract was not working! He said I should wait some more and if not working call back again. Really, how much more must I hear those words and wait some more? This has now been a whole 8 days!</p> <p> </p> <p>Last night I restarted my phone twice and this morning again, hoping some miracle will happen and I can connect. Nothing! Once again. This is now 9 days going on to 10 days!</p> <p> </p> <p>This morning just after 08h00, I have sent an email to the Service Manager on ********** according to a service card I picked up at the Vodacom Shop. It is almost 14h and I have not yet received a written response.</p> <p> </p> <p>Out of desparation, I called Canal Walk Vodacom shop again this morning around 10h and spoke to Bazzel. He confirmed that according to the system is active. I told him I was informed about that yesterday, but that somthing is wrong since I still can not connect and have no data. Bazzel suggested that I come in, once again, so that they can have a look at the phone itself as it is probably a setting that needs to be corrected.</p> <p> </p> <p>After hour conversation, I tried to connect to a WIFI network. And it worked! I could connect to the Internet and download an app. This means that it is not an internet setting that neeeds to be fixed since I can connect to the internet on WIFI. When I am not on WIFI, I get a no connection error. And I when I dial *111*502# the message says No Aritime, No SMS, No MB data!</p> <p> </p> <p>So, according to Vadacom, my contract is active, but where is my data! Was this even loaded on my contract? So I called Vodacom Shop again and spoke to another consultant, whose name I did not get. He said that I must speak to Bazzel since he activated the contract with him. I said, no, he is just the tenth person I have spoken to in over a weak, and this consultant was probably number 11! He spoke to Bazzel, who said that he remembered my call but that I must come in to the shop as mentioned. I told this new consultant that my data is not loaded. He said he can't help me and will ask Bazzel to give me a call back. I also give him my number again. To no prevail, no call back yet received.</p> <p> </p> <p>I am really tired of speaking to different people who don’t know what’s going on, or what the other one has been doing. I am really frustrated and so very disappointed in the service I have experienced thus far with Vodacom. Even though I was prepaid before, I was still with Vodacom since I can remember. My whole family is with Vodacom. We are loyal to you Vodacom, but you are not loyal to your customer’s.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please sort this problem out immediately! I would like to get feedback to this ongoing matter as soon as possible. My contract needs to be confifmed active, my Caller ID activated (which has also not been done), and my Data plan needs to be loaded.</p> <p> </p> <p>Thank you</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>