Vodacom Repair Shop Fourways - WORST service I have ever received!!

Vodacom’s slogan "the future is exciting, ready?". I really want to believe that the future for Vodacom Repair Shop Fourways Mall would be somewhat exciting however, after today’s experience I am incredibly enraged at the level of service I have received. To my displeasure and in the hopes of there being a slight improvement here is a summary of the customer "experience " Vodacom has provided.

On the 24th of September I went to the Vodacom repair store to enquirer if I was eligible for a free screen replacement as my screen, although functional, was cracked. After hopelessly wandering around the store I eventually went to the tree ladies on duty. Two of them were on their phones and did not acknowledge me. No, "how sir, can I help you?" or even a slight nod of acknowledgement. Instead they carried on their phones in the hopes that someone else would attend to me.

After explaining my situation more than once another lady who was assisting another customer over heard my query. She then jumped in and advised the lady who was assisting me to go to the back and check the policy on a cracked screen for a Huawei P30-After much reluctance this was done. After I proof read the policy, I was then told that because I fall within the dates for a free screen replacement. I was told that i had until the 12th of October to to book my phone in for the free repair. My IMEI number had apparently confirmed this. An enquiry that could of been resolved in less than 2 minutes took almost 30 minutes due to the staff reluctance as well as lack of technical and policy knowledge respectively.

On Sunday the 30th of September, after organizing a spare phone, I attempted to book my phone in as per the information provided from my previous visit. I again, walked in with the hopes of receiving a better service. Again, it was a let-down to say the least. I walked in and the ladies who were in store to attend to customers like myself were on their phones. I had to walked up to the desk, greet the ladies and then ask for assistance. They were still on their phones not phased. The one lady sitting behind the counter got up in her casual wear and walked out the store with packets in hand. I am assuming that this was a friend. Once the friend had left, I was then attended to.

Yet again I had to explain my query and then ask the lady to check the policy. She did so and I was told I did not fall in the date range for the free screen replacement; I should rather try claim through insurance. Out of frustration due to the lack of activeness, rather than proactiveness, I decided that I would then pay for the screen repair. My phone was then booked in for repairs.

On Thursday the 3rd of October I collected my phone. Upon initial inspection all was well. To my displeasure, I soon found that my finger print sensor was not in working condition. The sensor would not pick up an attempt let alone my finger print.

On Saturday the 6th of October I came back into the store to have my phone issue sorted. I came into the store once again and asked to speak with the manager directly. The ladies and the front desk looked at each other then looked at me as if I was asking too much. I asked 3 times if I could speak to the manager. With reluctance, the manager came out from the back room and listened to my complaint. There was no empathy for my issue at hand and there was also no solution provided to even slightly to improve my already frustrating customer experience. It was up to me as the customer to ask what needs to be done about the already unpleasant issue. I was then advised that this is now a warranty issue. There was no further explanation as to why this would be a warranty issue. I still questioned how this as the sole reason for my finger print sensor was due to their repair centre - surely tests should be done on the repairs? After back and forth on the matter I then asked if my phone was backed up. After advising that my phone was not backed up, I was then told that I need to go to the upstairs store to back up my phone on a USB. Surely as a manager of a service provider you would take it on your own to assist the customer and offer to take the customer to the other store and assist with the backup. Instead I had to go back upstairs and explain my situation once again. After the long wait and even helping another gentleman that came into the store in hopes for assistance-my irate self decided to leave the store and complete the backup myself.

Even after advising the employee and the manager at the repair store, I was going to write a review there was zero empathy shown. I was just another Vodacom customer who was asking too much. I asked the same manager and employee who I spoke to at Vodacom Repair Shop Fourways to give me their names. A lady by the name of Charity mumbled her name to me twice before I confirmed her name with her.

I personally feel that I am just another one of the 71000 reviews that have complained on this platform about Vodacom. That is exactly how I was treated -just Another 1/5-star customer. Just another contributor to the 67% of Vodacom customer who have had a similar experience. Surely Vodacom should be investigating the root cause of the issues especially considering that the in-store employees are supposed to be brand ambassadors? Is this an acceptable level of service or am I as customer simply asking too much? is it too much to focus on the issue at hand?

I understand that repair faults are common but the after-repair service? is that a manufacturers fault too? I would like my query attended to and i hope that after this review, no Vodacom customer would have to experience the level of disappointment that I have.

This review will be updated as my phone issue has still not been resolved as I must now do a back-up and return to the store tomorrow to book it in for another repair. Hopefully the update will be on a more positive note but I highly doubt this as nothing has changed if anything it has gotten worse since my first initial visit to this store.