Afrihost & Vuma — thank you for the masterclass in customer service. 👏

It really is amazing how quickly the conversation changes when a customer mentions the words “refund for downtime.”

Suddenly, the explanation is: “Unfortunately, we don’t refund for power outages.”

Fantastic. So I pay my monthly subscription in full, but when the service isn’t available, I’m simply expected to accept that it’s not your problem.

Let’s get this straight:

I’m not paying Eskom for my fibre service. I’m paying Afrihost.

And I’m certainly not paying Vuma so that their infrastructure can simply become unavailable whenever there is a power interruption.

If the infrastructure requires backup power to remain operational, then perhaps Afrihost and Vuma should invest in making sure those backup systems actually work.

Because telling customers “we don’t refund for power outages” is a very convenient way of avoiding responsibility — especially when the customer is still expected to pay 100% of the monthly bill.

Imagine going to a restaurant, ordering a full meal, receiving half of it, and then being told:

“Sorry, the kitchen had a power outage. But don’t worry, we still expect full payment.”

Apparently, that’s the fibre industry’s version of customer service. 😂

So, Afrihost and Vuma, perhaps the next time a customer calls about prolonged downtime, instead of explaining why they won’t compensate them, explain what you are doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Because “not our problem” might be a convenient answer — but it’s not exactly a great customer-retention strategy.

Pay in full. Receive service when it’s convenient. Accept the downtime. No refund.

What a business model. 👌