Devil May Care Attitude

I honestly agonized a very long time, to pen this complaint on this platform.

Nevertheless, the mere fact that I took the time to pen this letter thou, should bear testament to the serious light in which I view the matter.

My complaint revolves around a vendor, which does business mainly with our University of Pretoria (UP) students.

I was made aware last year of a grave injustice perpetrated against mainly students and the matter reared its head again this year. The business owner apparently charges whoever uses the pay point services an extra service fee of up to R10. This is for every time they use their card to pay for a purchase and this is in addition to the charges levied by your own bank for that particular transaction. Which is totally ******* and not allowed as per the Consumer Protection Act.

I see it in the sense that should any person be “Ripped-Off” at a rate of between R5 and R10 per transaction and this store does more than 100 transactions per day, as many students use the store, then this store is making a huge “Killing” each day, in this manner.

I am a lecturer and after conferring with many of my students, this has been the “Status Quo” for the longest time.

These students, for the most part, have no other option, as they essentially have no other place close to the university to print their assignments and have most of their other paperwork done, as the university itself does not provide these services for students on the precinct.

These students are most often oblivious of their Consumer Rights.

Feeling empathy for these students, I took it upon myself to confront the owner regarding their “************” business practices.

I approached the Owner/Manager (Ms. Annie Nguyen) regarding her “************ Business Dealings”, but I however found her to be unapproachable, rude, aloof, and quite hostile.

I then duly informed her that it was “Day-Light *******”.

She has this inherent condescending manner of speaking and is not open to discussing and/or acknowledging her business practices.

She even had the audacity to challenge me to report to whomever I want, as she is “not answerable to anyone”.

The manner she also treats her staff leaves much to be desired, as I can only surmise that they have no other option but work under those conditions, due to the current prevailing unemployment situation in our country.

I could only deduce that she is a law unto herself, as she stood her ground and was very brazen in her interactions with me, and seemed confident that there would not be any repercussions resulting from her conduct. While standing in the store, I could only surmise that this person had the propensity for this bad behaviour and probably subscribes to the notion that certain sectors of the community do not have the fortitude to complain and pursue a matter when they are treated with such disdain, hence her brazen, rude, and condescending attitude and was treating customers in this manner with impunity in the past.

People probably simply resign themselves to the “Status Quo” prevailing at the business, in the interest of “Keeping the Peace”.

In my opinion, the Owner/Manager has no grasp of proper Customer Service, whatsoever.

According to her, I was in the wrong in confronting her and she was going to let me know this “In no uncertain terms”.

The worst thing was that the Owner/Manager, in the process was being argumentative, sarcastic, and essentially daring me to stick my complaint.

I was totally taken aback by her combative and condescending demeanour, as she had such an antagonizing attitude.

If this is the treatment that the students of the University of Pretoria are subjected to, then I am afraid it leaves much to be desired.

I subsequently took the matter up with YOCO Technologies, whom are the owners of the apparatus used by the “************ Shop Owner” to perpetrate this crime.

This done to ostensibly inform the company of the ************ deeds done on their devices, as this “Daylight *******” could not be perpetrated in any other manner.

Effectively making them (YOCO Technologies) complicit in this “*******”, as they are allowing it, by not removing the devise from the vendor, as a form of punishment. However, the management of YOCO Technologies, were indifferent and simply done nothing and seemed to have no appetite to remedy the situation in the interest of the students which are affected.

Nothing gets done and the “************ Shop Owner” continues unabated. No one at YOCO Technologies, even bothers to call you in order to remedy the matter, but rather the complaints are closed on their computers as soon as they are opened and seems accustomed to treating complainants in this manner with impunity in the past. What YOCO Technologies is effectively telling me, but not in so many words, was that the students’ problem with the vendor, was not their concern and that we should go sort out our issues on our own.

It makes them (YOCO Technologies), by virtue of their association with the vendor, complicit in the "crime" perpetrated against an otherwise ill-informed student society.

Furthermore, after conferring with my fellow colleagues, some also using the services of the store from time to time, they all concur that it goes totally against the grain of what “Fair Treatment” and “Good Customer Service” are all about.

This issue smacks of prejudice, which invariably leaves a bad taste, and I am sure that YOCO Technologies would agree that not a single student or any other person using their services through various vendors has to endure this atrocious level of treatment. In light of the above, it therefore also begs these questions; • “How many other customers are being subjected to similar treatment, but opts to rather not pursue the matter, because they might not have the fortitude to do so?” • “Is it beneficial for the poor student society, to be a customer of the business, when they are subjected to this level of treatment and alternatively would the YOCO Technologies management, personally tolerate this kind of treatment were they in our position? • “Are all customers, being treated in a fair and equitable manner, which is in line with the ethos and the values, which YOCO Technologies aspires to for the customers who use the services of their vendors?” • Will, we be justified in escalating the matter to an alternate dispute resolution body in the event that the matter does not get resolved amicably via this internal process? It is unfortunate that I had to proverbially; “Rock the Boat” in order to air my grievance, but I need the YOCO Technologies Management to “PROPERLY” remedy this situation in the interest of fair and equitable customer treatment.