SA Rocks

Did you know that there are literally hundreds of organisations in South Africa that offer complaints services to provide assistance with resolving consumer complaints and grievances. Our partner in the Don’t Complain Campaign, getclosure, describes these remedy providers as “champions”, “enforcers” or “facilitators”.

Champions are organisations that pursue complaints on behalf of customers. The National Consumer Forum is one example. Well-known consumer journalist, Kim Novick on radio station 702, is another example.

Enforcers are organisations that have power conferred by legislation to impose decisions that are binding on customers and their suppliers. Examples include the Consumer Court and regulators such as the National Credit Regulator. Another example would be the Ombudsman established in terms of the Financial Advisors and Intermediary Services Act.

Facilitators are organisations that provide services to assist the resolution of customers’ complaints against certain suppliers but that do not have powers conferred by legislation.  Examples include industry-based ombuds such as the Press Ombudsman and in-house ombuds such as the Mail&Guardian Ombudsman. Another example is the South African Tourism Services Association (SATSA), a voluntary association that undertakes to investigate complaints against its members.

Getclosure, the online complaints management and consumer affairs portal, has compiled a useful list of remedy providers with their contact details:

Facilitators

Champions

Enforcers

It’s worth noting, however, that most of these organisations prefer for you to have attempted to resolve the complaint yourself. We recommend the following:

1. Attempt to sort out the issue with the service provider on the spot. (Check out our guide to complaining effectively.)
2. If you get no joy – submit your complaint to getclosure, who will make sure that the correct person in the organisation receives it.
3. If the supplier is being particularly obstinate, escalate your complaint to the appropriate remedy provider.

So the next time you feel like you are one lone voice shouting into gale when you are trying to resolve a tricky customer service complaint, remember there are a number of organisations you can turn to for help.

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That’s right, people of South Africa, don’t complain.

Definitely don’t complain if you don’t want:

• better service
• better value for money
• to get what you pay for
• to stop being ripped off
• safe and secure products and services
• to stop receiving pesky sales calls at all hours from pushy sales people
• tourists to return to our beautiful country and to tell all their friends to book holidays here
• to educate your children on how to effectively demand better service
• to make a change

I’d like to challenge the notion that South Africa is a nation of whingers. We’ll grumble into our glass of wine at the bar on Friday night, and mutter into our beers over our Sunday braai about poor service and how we are ripped off. But how often do we take deliberate action to improve the situation? From complaining effectively and following complaints through to resolution, to promoting a ground swell of public opinion that stops supporting poor performing suppliers and starts holding them accountable for their lack of service delivery.

Inspired by the recent US election campaign urging the American public to “Don’t vote” if they didn’t want change, SA Rocks, in conjunction with getclosure, the online complaints management and consumer affairs portal, today launched an initiative to motivate South Africans to become conscious consumers, and to educate them on how to complain effectively.

The campaign aims to help consumers to affect and effect positive change. This includes:

• Getting better service and value for money.
• Holding South African companies accountable for what they promise and what they agree to give in return for your money.
• Preventing others and yourself from being ripped off.
• Helping make South Africa a holiday destination with world-class service, as well as natural beauty.

With less than a year to the start of the FIFA World Cup, the clock is ticking for South African businesses to prepare for the anticipated estimate of in excess of 500,000 visitors, all of whom we want to return home having had positive experiences.

By not complaining though, South African business will continue to deliver the same level of service – service which is very often sub-standard.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

That’s all very well, but what is the best way to go about complaining about poor service? Once you have established that you do indeed have a legitimate complaint, here are a few handy hints about tackling shoddy customer service without losing your cool, and still arriving at a satisfactory outcome. Read more…

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED IN THE DON’T COMPLAIN CAMPAIGN?

Firstly, complain and encourage others to do the same. If you experience poor customer service, speak up. If you need a hand, the getclosure site is a quick, easy and effective way to have your complaint delivered to the organisation. On the flipside, if you experience spectacular service, make an effort to compliment the organisation involved. You can do this via getclosure as well.

Visit our Don’t Complain page and download one of the badges to help spread the word. Add the badge to your website, blog, Facebook page or Twitter stream.

Most importantly, be cognisant of service levels in South Africa. Understand why they are important, and hold people and companies accountable for their performance. It’s your hard-earned cash being spent, after all.

Watch this space for more news, tips and events.

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It’s all very well rabbiting on about South Africans needing to stop whinging and start being constructive about tackling poor customer service, but what is the best way to go about complaining about poor service? Here are some top tips from getclosure, who we are partnering for the Don’t Complain campaign.

Once you have established that you do indeed have a legitimate complaint, here’s how to tackle shoddy customer service without losing your cool, and still get a satisfactory outcome.

Raise the issue immediately – obviously first prize is to have your problem sorted out then and there. Free car hire on your next holiday is not the same has having the car you booked provided on time, clean and in good working condition.

Be clear on what the problem is and how you would like it to be fixed. “I asked for my steak to be medium rare, not well done, please would you replace it?” is far more productive than “Your restaurant is a disgrace and I’ll never eat here again!”

Stay calm. As frustrating as the situation may be, you are more likely to get a good response if you remain polite and assertive. Remember you are speaking to another person.

If the person you are talking to is unhelpful or seems unable to do anything about your request, ask to speak to someone more senior in the organisation. Unfortunately many companies still don’t empower their staff to quickly rectify complaints using their own initiative.

If you have the patience to deal with a call centre, take down the details of whom you spoke to, the time of the call, and a reference number. This will make follow-ups easier (and is useful info to include if you lodge a complaint on getclosure).

If you still don’t arrive at a satisfactory outcome, or can’t stand to deal with call centres , submit your complaint for free at getclosure and the online service will get the complaint to the appropriate person in the organization that can do something about it.

And join our campaign to raise customer service levels in South Africa – find out more here.

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As part of the Don’t Complain campaign we are running with getclosure, we would like to showcase South Africa’s top performing companies. While getclosure never publishes the names of any companies it receives complaints about (this is not about naming and shaming, and all about improving customer service, remember) it does publish the compliments it receives about South African companies.

We’ll be publishing a selection here for the duration of the campaign. And I know the next time I am choosing somewhere to spend my money, I’ll be checking out this list to see who is also going to be giving me amazing service.

Supplier: MTN
Supplier Branch: Pavilion Durban
Customer: Catharina Groenink
Date of Occurrence: 16 October 2009
Compliment:

The staff at the MTN Franchise dealer, top floor at the Pavilion in Durban, is so helpful and friendly. Always smiling and always willing to help with no effort. What a pleasure to deal with the lovely ladies there. Big asset to MTN. Well done.

Supplier: Vodashop
Supplier Branch: Sandton Village Walk
Customer: Cornel Ridgard & Willem Prinsloo
Date of Occurrence: 23 October 2009
Compliment:

We had a problem with a laptop which was bought on contract from Vodashop in Northgate on 30/12/2008. Mr. Van Zyl was the salesman but he moved to the Vodashop Village Walk. On Friday 23/10/2009 we took the laptop to him at Village Walk in Sandton to have it checked out. As he was quite busy at the time we left the laptop with him and left. To cut a long story short, we could not fetch it in time before closing. Mr. Van Zyl took time out of his Friday evening with his family to meet us in Cresta and return the laptop, problem solved without hassle or complaint. With service in S.A. always in question, this was really a very pleasant surprise and experience! Compliments to Shaun Van Zyl and we would definitely stay customers wherever he goes. Thank you.

Supplier: Standard Bank
Supplier Branch: Durban North
Customer: Bruce D Bennett
Date of Occurrence: 22 October 2009
Compliment:

Hi. I would like to compliment your branch and the fantastic job you keep doing. Every time I enter the branch, the staff is always happy, helpful and kind. Problems are resolved quickly and without fuss. One is always directed straight to the correct person to handle a query or complaint and that makes for a wonderful experience in the bank. I always leave the bank feeling like I have achieved what I went there to do. You don’t get service like that anywhere else.

Thanks a mil guys for keeping the bank’s flag flying high.

Supplier: FNB
Supplier Branch: Riverside
Customer: Johan v Wyngaard
Date of Occurrence: 22 October 2009
Compliment:

I want to compliment Debbie, branch manager of FNB Riverside branch, Nelspruit. I took my account from Standard bank to FNB at the beginning of this year, and I just had the best service ever. She is always willing to listen if I would call, always walking the extra mile and going out of her way to meet me the clients banking needs even it means sacrificing her private time. I have already referred a lot of my friends to FNB Riverside, and will continue to do so because with service like this it is only a pleasure to do with the bank. Thank you Debbie. Keep it up.

Supplier: Virgin Active
Supplier Branch: Bedfordview
Customer: anonymous
Date of Occurrence: 21 October 2009
Compliment:

I would like to compliment this gym on their flawless service. I go to many gyms in jhb, and I have found Virgin Active Bedfordview to have never disappointed me. They do what they say and have never let me down. Remarkably clean and hygienic, and the temperature is great. Many gyms are too cold etc and flues etc are caused, but at Virgin Bedford its really comfortable and usually the same temperature of the outside so I never get sick moving to my car. The studio floors are perfectly clean, it’s amazing. I run my hand across the floor and only pick up tiny amounts of dust I’m so happy at this gym, and I wish it was 24/7 so I could live in the gym great work, outstanding, and if I have a suggestion the gym is quick to listen, I also feel respected by the staff. “The front desk is not great, but certain individuals such as ‘power’, I don’t know his full name, but yes Mr ‘Power’ is great!! Once he even made sure the temperature was great for me during my pre-season training to represent South Africa! He is great!! Wonderful gym, please keep up the great service

Supplier: Home Affairs
Supplier Branch: Krugersdorp
Customer: Thabo
Date of Occurrence: 20 October 2009
Compliment:

I applied for my replacement ID on 19/09/2009, on that day it took me about 15 minutes to complete my application and I was notified that I will get my new ID in four weeks. Today I received an sms to fetch my ID, the process also took about 5 minutes and I had my new ID. All my information is correct. Thanks to the staff at Krugersdorp home affairs, that’s what I call good service.

Supplier: Cell C
Supplier Branch:
Customer: Paul
Date of Occurrence: 20 October 2009
Compliment:

I was really impressed by the phone call I got. Oddly enough how you handled my complaint has actually improved my opinion of Cell C tremendously. Thanks for the call and the information on how and why it happened.

Supplier: First National Bank

Supplier Branch: GERMISTON
Customer: LUCKY TSIAME
Date of Occurrence: 16 October 2009
Compliment:

Thank you very much and continue with the good work you are doing to help people

Supplier: Edgars

Supplier Branch: Centurion Lake
Customer: Sajidha Hoosen
Date of Occurrence: 13 October 2009
Compliment:

I received excellent service from Hendronicca Mamabolo. I was looking for a specific type of cap for my three boys and Centurion Lake was the third Edgars branch I approached. The caps were not yet on the floor and Hendronicca knew exactly where to find them at the ‘back’. The lifts were out of order and she came back panting with a smile and the caps in her hand. I am very thankful for her dedication to satisfy her clients.

Supplier: Lancin Bikes

Supplier Branch:
Customer: Gerhard Bekker
Date of Occurrence: 13 October 2009
Compliment:

Thank you for assisting me in repairing the Big Boy scooter. Thank you for replacing the battery for use with no cost. Thank you for being reasonable in acceptance of the fact that the wire defect created the voltage problem.

Thank you again

Supplier: Matrix Warehouse

Supplier Branch: Olivedale
Customer: Paul
Date of Occurrence: 12 October 2009
Compliment:

This was the most recent case of my awesome experiences with this particular branch of Matrix Warehouse. On Saturday the 10th, my laptop hard drive was giving me troubles. After calling about 8 different suppliers the Olivedale branch of Matrix Warehouse offered me the best price and was one of the only suppliers who could tell me when they’d get stock. He even called me when he went to collect the stock from the supplier on Monday morning, and most graciously offered to help me after their store had closed if I wasn’t able to make it to their shop. (There was a heavy rain storm, and traffic was a nightmare)

Their staff have always been incredibly friendly and really knowledgeable. It makes it a pleasure to deal with people who seem to care about and understand your problem or query. I’ve been involved in computing and computers for an age, and work as a software developer, so I usually find that I have to struggle to get staff at shops to understand the problem and then to help with a solution. These guys got it straight away and were incredibly helpful. I can’t say enough positive things about this store.

Supplier: Talk4Less

Supplier Branch: National
Customer: Chris Barnard
Date of Occurrence: 9 October 2009
Compliment:

Speedy feedback from Monde at the helpdesk. Always friendly and willing to help. They are phoning back as promised.

Supplier: OK Furniture

Supplier Branch: Hazyview
Customer: Relax Mhlongo
Date of Occurrence: 7 October 2009
Compliment:

The management of Ok Furnishers are truly remarkable and they resolved my complaint within 36 hours with the goods in my hands.

Thank you!

Supplier: Iclix
Supplier Branch:
Customer: Renee
Date of Occurrence: 7 October 2009
Compliment:

Thank you Monique for your speedy services, everytime we call you are there to assist with any problem we might have. You are a star.

Supplier: Phonesured
Supplier Branch:
Customer: Lorraine Uppink
Date of Occurrence: 5 October 2009
Compliment:

Well done Fatima from Phonesured!! Thank you.

Supplier: Bench & Patio World
Supplier Branch: CAPE
Customer: ANDREW
Date of Occurrence: 1 October 2009
Compliment:

Good quality and value for money

Supplier: KFC

Supplier Branch: Pavilion-Durban
Customer: Nqobile Prudence Hlophe
Date of Occurrence: 1 October 2009
Compliment:

I have never ever eaten something like this before, people often say I’ll get tired of KFC and I respond by saying that’s when I get tired of living, my gosh, my dad says when my mom was pregnant with me she used to eat KFC all day everyday and that’s how I got to looove it so much, my school books are labeled with a KFC sticker, when I grow up I wanna open my own KFC, thanks a lot especially for the lovely meat.

Supplier: Cape Town Fish Market
Supplier Branch: Ushaka
Customer: Jacqueline Vos
Date of Occurrence: 24 September 2009
Compliment:

What fantastic service we received from “CTFM Ushaka”, We all went out as a family (9 people) we come form Jo-burg.
Our waiter Sboniso was outstanding, we have never received service like this. My sister is 5 months pregnant, due to the high demand of oysters from the afternoon rush they were out. But the Manager “Indras” made arrangements that my pregnant sister’s cravings were fulfilled. We are so impressed with your restaurant. We as family are so greatful. Thank you so much for the outstanding service. We highly recommend this restaurant to all our family and friends. We will definitely be returning next year. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supplier: Game
Supplier Branch: Somerset Mall
Customer: Justin Maans
Date of Occurrence: 22 September 2009
Compliment:

I phoned Game to enquire about a microwave. I spoke to a salesman, Sam. He was very efficient and could give me the price and specs of the microwaves instantly. I asked him to keep one and I was on my way. When I got there, the microwave was already waiting in a trolley for me. I could just collect, pay and off I went. I spent 5 minutes in Game to make my purchase. It was the best service I have ever experienced in Game.

Supplier: Logo Electronics
Supplier Branch: West Beach
Customer: Rob Watson
Date of Occurrence: 21 September 2009
Compliment:

Well done to the Logo team for the exemplary service and willingness to that extra mile to solve my PC problems in the shortest possible time.

Supplier: Woolworths
Supplier Branch: DUNDEE
Customer: SHAWN MINNY
Date of Occurrence: 20 September 2009
Compliment:

We went to Woolworths on Sunday in Dundee and it was an unbelievable experience – I have never in my life been treated so well or seen staff with better manners.  Even the security guard at the door greeted me so friendly and wished us a great day when we left. Everyone in store was so helpful it was a great experience. I am from Vryheid and I will make a point from now on to travel to Dundee to buy at this shop. Thank u so much.

Supplier: Honda Auto Sandton
Supplier Branch: William Nicol Drive & Peter Place
Customer: Regan McKenzie
Date of Occurrence: 15 September 2009
Compliment:

I have recently received what can only be described as Exceptional Service from Joe Kirsten and his team at Honda Auto Sandton. Through no fault of mine, my new Honda CRV (3 months) was damaged on their premises. After discussing the options including repairing the vehicle, Joe decided that he would replace my vehicle with a new one with exactly the same specifications. I received this vehicle 5 days later and can only say that I am ecstatic. I do not believe you receive this level of service as a norm throughout the world and can only extend my praise and thanks to Joe for offering service at another level. Needless to say I am a fan of Honda and love my CRV!

Supplier: Rocksole
Supplier Branch: Wale St, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
Customer: Emma
Date of Occurrence: 15 September 2009
Compliment:

I’ve taken three pairs of shoes to Rocksole to be repaired recently and have been really impressed with the brilliant service and how friendly and helpful the staff are every time. Keep it up.

Supplier: McCarthy
Supplier Branch:
Customer: John Renwick
Date of Occurrence: 15 September 2009
Compliment:

Many thanks to Urma Naude of McCarthy Customer Care. Thanks to her, management of McCarthy VW Constantia pulled out all the stops and I got my car back in record time!

For more compliments visit getclosure.

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Yes, that’s right, I made a silly pun regarding the much love-to-be-hated website Hellopeter. The reason? Well there is a new service that has launched called Don’t Go.

Personally I am very weary of this sort of service. I have a fair amount of issues with Hellopeter and think that any service of this kind can be used to abuse companies, clients and individuals.

I am very interested to see how this project turns out and what sort of reception it receives. For now let’s take it at face value and see if we can’t get our own back by taking a stand.

Let’s have a read and see what they have to say to SA Rocks:

Firstly, tell me a bit about the service that you are offering.

Our service is a real time customer complaint portal that allows consumers to vent their dissatisfaction about a product or service by simply using their cellphones. All you need to do is sms your complaint to 34040 with a pretext i.e Don’t go/Don’t buy/ don’t fly/ don’t drive, etc, followed by your account of discontent and off the sms goes. The messaging technology is supplied by Clickatell, a global provider of mobile messaging solutions.

How did the concept come about and how long has it been in the pipeline?

This came about when a friend and our families went on vacation in KZN. The kind of customer service we experienced there was less than enjoyable and we were sitting down and we said to each other; imagine if you could send an sms and complain right now; and that’s how the concept was born. It has been on the pipeline for the past twenty months. Initially we thought we could get it up and running earlier but the more we understood the dynamics of having a multiplatform and multi-network delivery channel the more involved it got. Fortunately we have a South African company that is more than capable to rise to such demand; Clickatell.

Is the focus of the service purely SMS or is there online presence to add to it?

Thanks to the ingenious South African inventions like Clickatell and local IT companies, our product is multiplatform, people can log their complaints on our website as well.

Hellopeter is a site with a similar concept that has a huge following. What are your thoughts on their service?

Hellopeter is a very good service and we found out about it during our research and we feel it has a role to fulfill in the market.

What flaws in the hellopeter model have you tried to correct with your service?

Dontgo is not a response to Hellopeter. Our service was created to provide all South Africans with an easy, instant way to make themselves heard about bad service and to provide companies with immediate feedback so that they can instantly address service issues.

Hellopeter has come under fire recently for not allowing companies to respond to complaints with enough ease, how easy is it for companies of any size to defend themselves or get involved?

Well, Don’t go allows companies the chance to make amends with the dissatisfied customer promptly. This involves e-mailing customer complaints directly to the subscribing companies at a cost of R89 per month to alert them about service failures. Non-subscribers are called and provided with the alerts for free the first time, and then have to pay the subscription fee for ongoing notifications. As we also ask for a lot of detail in the complaints, this can help companies pinpoint a specific area of service failure in the business down to the actual store level to address problems more effectively.

Do you think that South Africans like to complain a lot or is it a global phenomenon?

Complaining is seen as a very negative thing, but actually it is the first, very positive step to address problems with the products and services customers pay their hard-earned Rands for.

What about starting up a positive feedback equivalent of DontGo? How about MustSee?? Do you think that would work as well, or are we back on the complain a lot sentiment?

You will see in the first week of February, our website will be rejuvenated and will include The Wall of Shame and the Wall of Fame; these will highlight the worst and the best as indicated by the consumer. Yes, you can send; Do Go, Do fly, Do drive, etc to 34040.

Where is DontGo situated? Do you plan on taking the concept to a global market?

Currently we are situated in South Africa and we are intending to take the concept globally and thanks to Clickatell we have the technology to offer the same service anywhere in the world.

Can I complain about anything, anywhere, anytime?

For sure!

Do you have any final words for the SA Rocks readers?

Yes, we at Don’t go would like to say to SA Rocks readers, you do not have to wait till you get home to vent your discontent; pick up your cellphone and sms to 34040!

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