Incompetence at Vodacom and lack of assistance

I am extremely frustrated and disappointed in the lack of competence at Vodacom and its partner stores. I went to Game to apply for 2 Vodacom contracts and 1. ) Couldnt get approval for any of the contracts when I more then qualified for it. After asking the Game consultant several questions and helping them figure out what needs to happen to approve my contract, they together with Vodacom took 4 days to move my number from prepaid to contract before approving my contracts 2. My mum also app**** for a contract on the day I eventually got mine approved and when I tried helping with her sim swap, the Vodacom consultant began processing the sim swap on my no. This meant that if I hadn't picked up what was going on, I would have lost everything on my existing sim. He then told me the sim swap request had been cancelled which it hadn't been - thankfully his colleague helped resolve the issue mins before I stood to lose all my sim data. Furthermore, this error rendered the sim we bought, useless hence, it could no longer be used. This meant making a special trip to vodacom to buy a new sim. 3.) At no point did Game tell us that the 3 contracts we were taking would not have caller ID and that a separate charge would be applicable for this service. I have been a vodacom customer for years and have never had to pay an amount over and above that what was advertised just so I can see who is calling me. As a prepaid customer the service is completely free. So I am being penalised for committing to vodacom for another 2 years. After complaining to two consultants at customer care, I was basically told they cannot do anything about this and that we need to pay an extra R10 for each contract each month. That's an extra R30 a month. The consultants do not take the time to understand the customers complaint but rather tell them what has been "scripted". One consultant asked me to go back to Game. When I asked that Vodacom liaise with Game and flag my compliant, I was basically given the impression that doing so would achieve nothing. I further explained to the consultant that I have spent hours over the past week trying to sort things with both game and Vodacom and that I have a newborn and dont have the luxury of time to run around. To make matters worse, I explained that I am being admitted to hospital the following day and will be spending the next day doing a battery of tests before my operation so dont actually have time to go to Game. I have been diagnosed with cancer and have a gruelling period of treatment and recovery that will follow my operation so I mentioned to the consultant that I will not be able to go anywhere for a few weeks at least- she didn't care about that and insisted I go to Game. She even used the word insisted.

I am extremely upset for how I have been treated for being a loyal Vodacom customer for the past 18 years. I am very upset that the fact that caller I'd would no longer be available - was not communicated to me, neither was the extra charge. While the cost may appear nominal, it is the principle of the matter and the disgusting attitude of vodacom that has been incredibly disappointing and frustrating. At no point did any consultant bother to apply their mind and offer any feasible solution. I felt like a robot was speaking to me as I kept hearing the same response.

It is disgusting that this is how a customer can be treated and that the consultants could not apply their own intelligence and offer solutions especially based on my difficult circumstances which has now rendered my unavailable for several weeks. In the meantime, how am I supposed to know who is calling me and how do I return calls considering most no longer leave voice messages? I cannot believe that in 2019, one has access to a service that doesnt allow you to view who is calling you. Why on earth is this so called "chargeable" service not automatically included in the cost of the monthly contract cost? I cant imagine that anyone with a cellphone would not want to know who is calling...