POOR SERVICE!

On Thursday, I contacted Woolworths Customer Care to request assistance with online shopping and to understand the process required to update my mother's details on her account. I explained that the email address linked to her profile is her former work email address. Unfortunately, following a stroke, my mother is no longer employed and no longer has access to that email account. I further explained that I now manage her affairs and needed to update the account with my email address. The consultant who assisted me with this request was exceptional, professional, and very helpful.

The problems began when I contacted the Online Shopping Department regarding an OTP issue that was preventing me from checking out an online order I was attempting to place on my mother's behalf. I was assisted by a consultant named Shameelah Abrahams. Over the course of approximately four hours, I was transferred between multiple departments without resolution. Eventually, Shameelah advised that the matter was beyond her control and would need to be escalated to the IT Department, with feedback expected within 24 hours.

During these interactions, a consultant from the Finance Department informed me that because my mother was unable to personally come onto the call, no assistance could be provided until she was "fully well" again. The consultant then disconnected the call. Given my mother's medical condition, this response was both unreasonable and insensitive.

On Saturday, I called again at approximately 10:30 AM and once more spoke with Shameelah Abrahams. The same cycle repeated itself: transfers between the Online and Finance Departments, with each department referring me back to the other. By approximately 3:00 PM, after several hours without progress, I spoke with a Finance consultant named Nokuthula. Despite my attempts to explain the extensive efforts I had already made to resolve the matter, she threatened to terminate the call, stating that I was raising my voice and not speaking respectfully. I had clearly communicated that my frustration stemmed from repeatedly being transferred between departments without anyone being able to explain why an OTP generated by Woolworths was not functioning correctly.

On Sunday at approximately 2:00 PM, I contacted Woolworths yet again and encountered the exact same situation. The Online Department advised that Finance needed to assist, while Finance insisted that Online was responsible. I spoke with Ziyanda from Finance under reference number ***. She advised that she could not assist me. When I requested written confirmation of this via email, my request was ignored.

I was then assisted by Owlethu Kalipa. After spending a considerable amount of time attempting to resolve the issue and refusing to end the call without a clear resolution, I was informed that the matter would once again need to be escalated to IT. When I challenged this, I was advised that the IT team was unavailable to handle my query at that time.

I subsequently requested to speak with a manager. The manager refused to take the call and instead advised the consultant that they had spoken to me the previous day, which is entirely untrue. The consultant then relayed the manager's instruction that my mother would need to contact Finance directly to resolve the issue. At this point, I genuinely struggled to understand which part of "my mother is unwell following a stroke" was not being understood.

Despite this, I made arrangements to get my mother onto the call. However, shortly after doing so, the call was disconnected.

It is important to note that on Thursday, while engaging with various Woolworths consultants, I had my mother on a separate line for most of the interaction. I asked her to remain available despite the fact that speaking for extended periods is extremely difficult for her due to her condition. My intention was to demonstrate that I fully understood the security requirements and was willing to facilitate any necessary verification process.

However, after subjecting my mother to hours of stressful discussions that ultimately resulted in no resolution, I was unwilling to put her through that experience again. Her recovery requires her to avoid unnecessary stress, and it is deeply concerning that Woolworths repeatedly insisted on her involvement without offering any practical accommodation for her medical circumstances.

Additionally, Che Rodrigues, a Team Leader within the Online Department, advised his agents that the issue could not be resolved without my mother's direct involvement. This was despite the fact that the actual problem relates to a Woolworths-generated OTP that is not being delivered or accepted, rather than any failure on our side to comply with security requirements.

After several days, numerous phone calls, countless transfers between departments, conflicting information from staff members, unfulfilled promises of escalation, and a complete lack of ownership of the matter, I remain unable to place an online order for my mother. The level of service received has been disappointing, exhausting, and entirely unacceptable, particularly given the medical circumstances involved.