Service with a frown and sigh

I would like to share what happened to my husband and I yesterday (Sunday, 19 July 2020) at the Woolworths in the Village square. Before I can tell you the story, I will first need to tell you what happen to us at Woolworths Canal Walk, 3 weeks ago.

My husband and I got married December last year and were blessed with Woolworths cash gift card vouchers from many of our friends and family. We decided not to use it but rather save it till we move into a house that will surely need some new items. We moved into a house in Vergesig, Durbanville at the start of July. We went to Woolworths in Canal Walk and bought some items for the house. We were met with a not so happy face and sigh when we presented the gift cash cards as method of payment.

We decided then and there, for risk of going through that embarrassment again I will purchase everything we needed with my Woolworths store card and then pay it off with the gift cards one time. So that “one time” came yesterday when we went to the Woolworths at the Village Square. After purchasing the last goods (To the value of the gift cards) and swiping my Woolworths store card I then asked the cashier to please clean my account with my gift cards. After giving him the first card, there seemed to be a problem and he called for a lady (Could have been a supervisor or manager). She said to me that I am not allowed to pay my account with a gift card. This came to a huge shock to me as I did not know this and have done this before.

I asked her, how is this possible? It is a cash card. She said that I should not see it as cash as I cannot use it as I please (Like paying off my account). I told her, if I knew this, I would never have made credit on my store card. It looked then as if she wanted to reverse the old transactions for me to pay with my gift cash cards and then called a man (Which was the manager). He did not greet us. He said to her, that we cannot reverse it “You remember what happened last”. She turned around gave my card back and said thank you and walked away, dismissing my husband and me.

And here I am, feeling miserable, helpless and sad. I have these Woolworths vouchers, which Woolworths do not want you to use or make you feel less worthy for using them, and to top it of I now have a account to pay off which I did not plan or budget for. I honestly did not expect this level of services from an international company. In times like these, service is the only thing that sets you apart from others. I do not want to feel this way ever again, and if that means not supporting your brand again, so be it.