Vodacom is not able to offer support for new phone

I renewed my contract with Vodacom having been a loyal customer and supporter for well over 12 years and chose the New Sony Xperia E4G. Nice phone and within my price range. Within the first week I noticed the battery was not working as expected and knowing that batteries take a few charges and discharges to reach full capacity and not wanting to return it on a whim, I kept going for the fist week. On day 8, which would happen to be the day after I can return the phone for a swap out, it became apparent that there was a problem. I booked it in at the Canal Walk Repair Centre and was told 7 working days. Almost 3 weeks later and Vodacom nationwide apparently has no spares to fix the phone. How on earth do you release a phone onto the market and expect customers to pay hard earned money for it and then also get locked into a 2 year contract, only to find that the can't offer support for their core business? I don't care how new the phone is. If you sell it you need to be able to repair it.<br> I will most likely remain a loyal customer, hopefully not blindly, but how about proving to loyal customers that they are appreciated and their support is worthy of good service.