Vodacom Tygervalley - 6 weeks Screen Repair Disaster

I took my iPhone 8 in for repairs to the Vodacom Tygervalley branch on 27 or 28 November 2018. I asked for a quote that I can forward to my insurance. I had to repeatedly ask for it. I went back to the shop on 15 December 2018, where they informed me the phone had been fixed long before 15 December 2018, but they never communicated the information to me. I find it extremely unprofessional. I got the phone back and paid for the fixing of the phone in full that same day. (R4600)

On 17 December 2018 I returned the phone to Vodacom Tygervalley branch since the motion sensor was not working. They determined that the Quality Check was not performed properly by the repair shop, and effectively it was not performed by them either. If it was a patient at a hospital, the doctor and/or nurse would have been sued for malpractice, for discharging a patient that is still sick.

I informed them that I am going on holiday and need the phone by 19 December, or alternatively they can provide me with a new phone, since it is their fault that the process is being delayed. Neville Kelly the store manager said that they will try their best, and refused to give me a new phone. Instead he provided me with a loan phone which is an iPhone 5. This loan phone does not have insurance cover. They told me if I lose the phone or damage it in any way I have to pay R5500.

On 18 December I received a SMS that stated the job will be fixed in 2-3 days. I had to constantly phone Neville Kelly to get updates on the status of the repair. Neville Kelly constantly told me that he will phone me back, but he never did. I had to phone him again and again. I spent countless hours following up since he cannot do his job. Needless to say, my phone was not fixed before I went on holiday. I told them that they should mark the job as urgent and it must be fixed before 28 December 2018, since I will be back in Cape Town, before I go to Windhoek. Neville Kelly promised me that this will be done on my return.

Upon my return my iPhone 8 was not fixed, and I asked the store for a new phone. Again they refused. On 7 January 2019, I received a SMS that said that my iPhone 8 is still being repaired. It has now been more than 6 weeks of which they had 28 working days and they still have not fixed my phone. Never in my life have I experienced such unprofessional service, and lack of insuring customer satisfaction. When I told Neville Kelly that I am going to the newspapers he said I should go ahead. Vodacom in general provides satisfactory service, but this particular store is substandard due to the store manager's arrogance, lack of professionalism, and general poor management.

Consequently I was not able to make use of a phone for a large part of the holiday since the loan phone they gave me was not insured, and I was scared it might get damaged, lost, or ******. I also was not able to take quality photos on my holiday.