I NEED TO RANT ... must I sit back and accept it ...

-          ...when my mobile phone service provider, CELL C, assured me last week when I renewed my contract that the phone of my choice WAS in stock and would be couriered to me within 7 days, and  today, 7 days later, I have received no phone, no phone call, no sms!  When I phoned CELL C today to inquire, I was told that there is no stock … and no expected date of delivery of stock …

-          ...when a representative of First for Women Insurance Company undertook to phone me back FIRST thing this morning to make some policy adjustments and then didn’t … I had to make a call to the rep  at 11 am this morning to find out why he hadn’t phoned … his excuse … he came in late, then had meetings to attend.  Could he not have phoned or sms’d to say he’d phone later? 

The very fact that I got to speak to him when I phoned him means that he did have the time to call me back when he came out of the meeting …. FIRST FOR WOMEN?  YEAH RIGHT!

-         ...when my electrician from Platinum Electrical has made four appointments to do a minor repair (for him) at my property, and not kept one of them, nor phoned beforehand to reschedule or afterwards to apologize for the non-appearance!  John, is that the way to do business?

-           

-          ...when a  CLICKS SAFEWAY hand held stick blender didn’t even last nine months before it stopped working, and when I enquired at my local Clicks store in Montclair the arrogant male employee told me “Lady, you get what you pay for!”  Yet when I bought it I was told that it was not as expensive as the other branded ones as Clicks didn’t have to pay for the brand name but that the quality was equal to any of the others that were double the price.  The blender is now in the bin, I will NEVER buy another SAFEWAY product again …

-          ...when a new release digistamp image released this week is uncannily similar to one  I drew in July 2010 … the overflowing bubbles in  the bath on legs, fallen over wine bottle and spilled wine, lady with curly hair and a bandanna, and the two ladies are even facing the same way, with their head angles the same …. Co-incidence? 

Why …

… do call centre agents keep on saying “sorry” and then not following up by doing something to rectify the problem?

… do people say “I’m sorry you feel that way” in such a condescending way  as if it’s my problem  and they have pity on me … don’t they realize that it’s THEIR fault  that I feel that way cos they caused the problem in the first place?

… do people not keep to their word, appointments, and practice what they preach?

...do people do things without thinking first how their actions could negatively affect those around them?

What happened to the South Africa government’s request that their policy of “Batho Pele” be extended to the private sector too …

Is it so difficult to implement these principles ?

Batho Pele requires that eight service delivery principles be implemented:

• regularly consult with customers
• set service standards
• increase access to services
• ensure higher levels of courtesy
• provide more and better information about services
• increase openness and transparency about services
• remedy failures and mistakes
• give the best possible value for money

Am I being unrealistic in my expectations?

Am I being delusional if I expect that anything will ever change?

Do I sit back and accept, or do I exercise my right to free speech and speak out ?

rant over .....