Service Please!

Every now and then I get into a store where the service just does not meet my expectations. Don't get me wrong, I know the limitations of our Previously Disadvantaged Individuals, so my expectations from them is quite low, but hey, is it my fault that the Limpopo province Education department decided to throw all the school text books away, instead of delivering them to the schools? Is it my fault that in 18 years the ANC Regime has been unable to deliver a reasonable level of education? Is it my fault that the PDI's have the mentality, and attitude of people born to beg? Be beaten? Be really stupid?
No.

So, I can be your best customer, or, if you wish I will be the customer from hell. I leave the decision to you as the service provider, salesman, customer facing person.

Saturday, 14 July 2012. LuckyL and I go into the local Makro store (LIU). We are on a mission here to procure, at the best possible price, with the minimum disruption a 30" flat screen TV, a DSTV decoder, and a wall bracket to mount the TV on the wall. All of the above items to be procured are for installation in the Matriarchs home.

We had done our on-line investigation before leaving home, and found what we wanted, at what store, and for how much. This should be a quick in and out excursion into the realms of the retail world.

A requirement here in sunny South Africa when you want to buy a TV, is that you must produce a valid TV license. It's stupid really, because a) The license fees go to the State owned (and run) broadcaster - SABC, and even though you might never ever watch any of the boring, politically incorrect, and grammatically challenged channels that they broadcast, you have to have a license to get a TV. OK, so we have one in the family. It happens to be on the Princess's name, but it's OUR FAMILY TV LICENSE!

So, armed with the TV license, my ID Document, credit card, debit card, and cheque book (you never know), the two of enter the bellows of the Makro monster, where people are spending money they don't have, salesmen are either non-existent, or un-knowledgeable, (or both) and the queues are not for the feint hearted.

We quickly move over to the area where we know the good we want to buy are displayed. We find a salesman - yup, PDI, but then today you don't find too many sales people in this kind of environment that are not PDI's. I have a very low expectation of / from him. "Do you have stock of this TV product that's on special?" "yes." "OK, get me one." And I need a DSTV Decoder, and a wall bracket. We get the wall bracket, look at the DSTV decoders, and don't find the model we want, so park that, we will get it elsewhere. OK, go get me a TV from the stock room. At this point he needs my TV License, and ID Document. The names don't match. License is on the Princesses name, and it's my ID. "Sorry, we can't do that", he says. I explain that I bought a TV from another retail this way a few month previously. All they need is to make a copy of the license, my ID document, then enter the Princesses ID number into the system to verify that the License is current and paid up.

Blank look. This is not how it's written on the blackboard which doubles up as his brain. "Call me a manager please, and we can resolve this," I say. Expecting that the manager might have a blackboard with side notes that would explain this deviation from the process, and take us through the next steps without hiccups.
Ah, I have too much faith in my fellow earth dwellers, and give too much credit where it's oh, so not due! I should in fact have asked for "Get me a white manager!", that may have been better, but I was not in the mood to insult the salesperson, yet. The PDI manager arrives. (How did he become a manager I have to ask myself? Is it because he's been with the company for the longest of all the other salespeople? Is it natural progression based on sales achievements. or, and I suspect this is the reason, it's the Makro way of getting BEE points! (BEE - LIU)

Anyway, I explain the situation to him. He says we can't do that, we need the ID book of the person named on the TV License. I know that's crap, but decide I'll take my business elsewhere. I really was not going to get into this with these cretins at this time.

My parting comment was "Ah, that's bullshit!", and I start to turn to go. His comeback to me was "Maybe you must take your bullshit somewhere else!" I heard it, but didn't react, well, not immediately anyway. LuckyL, who had been standing by all this time, went ballistic straight off the blasting pad. Calm to suicidal murderer in one second. "Come outside and I'll teach you about bullshit!" he says to the PDI manager. I spin around to check for reactions, and this fucking moron - who is a manager - and is standing with one of his salespeople - comes back with - "We go outside and I will fuck you up!"

That was my cue - ballistic in 1 second - I reach out for him with the sole intention to rip his head off, shit on his lungs through the now open cavity, and then report him for having bad breath! I intended to rip his arm off, and beat him with the bloody end. I really pictured how I would put his head through the front of a 40" HD LCD flat screen TV. But before I could deliver the 'coup de grace", we were surrounded by more PDI sales people than I ever imagined worked at this place!!!! I challenged him, a few times, he kept giving me lip, so at the first opportunity I had that I got within reach of him, I gave him what is affectionately referred to in South Africa as a solid POES KLAP!

The level of surprise on his face was priceless. The efforts of them who were trying to keep us apart increased tenfold. I was mad. This mother was going down! It took a few minutes for a white manager to turn up, take control. At this time - he who had the stinging face was telling the others not to let us leave - was on his phone, apparently to phone the police! Good idea I told him, then they can fuck you up as well!

The white guy (Risk Manager) calmed things down some, asked what was going on, got a bit of the story from me, and asked me for my details. "What for?" I asked, and he just gave me his card and said, thought I could maybe of help to you, but here's my card, you can contact me if need be. At this point I calmly said, tell that fuck to let me leave, before I really get pissed off. And that was that!!!! One of the security / salespeople (not sure what he was other then PDI) seemed to follow us out. Probably to get my registration number. No problem.

Yesterday I went onto the Makro website, and sent them this email:-

Makro StrubensValley
On Saturday morning I went to the above store with my son. We went to buy a TV, a DSTV decoder and a wall mounting bracket. I had the family TV license (on my wife's name) and my ID Book. I had previously bought a TV this way, so thought it would be OK, as the TV license gets verified online with the wife's ID number anyway. One of your salesmen told me it could not be done, as, according to him, the process had changed. I asked for a manager - some guy came over and said that's how it is, the rules had changed. My response was "That's bullshit"!(I accept that maybe it's not the way TV license checks are done, but that's a different discussion.) His response to me was "Take your bullshit and go somewhere else!" At this point I did not react, but my son called him out "Come outside and I'll teach you bullshit", or words to this effect. The salesman's response was "I'll fuck you up!" That put me on tilt, and I took him on. There were several Makro employees stepping between us, with him continuing to bait me, till I slapped him. Then he was all about calling the police, refusing to let us leave, etc. Eventually, the Risk Manager introduced himself, calmed the situation, gave me his card, and allowed us to leave. Well Done Mr. R/Manager - however, if this is the way your sales people talk to their clients, well, suffice to say I have cut up my card and will never be back. I am disgusted, and he's lucky to have got away with just a slap! Once outside I noticed one of the security people had followed us out, and probably made a note of my registration number. I don't have a problem with that either way, not too sure what he thinks he can do with a registration number. However,  I trust that Makro will, at the very least, make sure their staff know how to talk to the clients! Interested to hear your response in this matter.
Mr. X Xxxxxx - ex Client.


We went to another store, and bought what we wanted, with no problem. Methinks that kaffir was having a bad day, and I just gave him a reason to have a worse one!

Salagatle!