Yes, Takealot don’t care...
CUSTOMER SERVICE: GROUP OF 35 000 UNHAPPY SHOPPERS NOT THE BEST OF JOBURG
In a rage after a parcel was clearly tossed over the low fence and left there.
These days when I want to buy anything my first port of call is Takealot. Well, it used to be, until this week. It’s a fantastic timesaver and at more than R20 a litre of fuel, cheaper than wheeling it to the mall.
The big butt in the retail twerk and the secret to success for business is customer service above all. And that doesn’t mean answering the phone within a few seconds only. It’s the entire value chain that matters. The few interactions I have had with Takealot have never sprouted questions about the company’s level of care – until this week.
After ordering a reasonably expensive item online and paying R70 for next day delivery, drop-off day came and nearly went without receiving the goods.
It was only when I started choring later in the day that I discovered the parcel, unwrapped with a huge smiley Takealot sticker on it, laying on a strip of lawn where the dog ablutes.
The parcel was clearly tossed over the low fence and left there. And this after my wife requested the driver to place the parcel at the front door while we were at work. And you cannot miss the front door. I couldn’t check the contents; it was a gift and the box sealed. And after wiping the dog poo off the box, the pricey item was wrapped. I was rather livid.
As most consumers do, I turned to the company’s page on Facebook to post a complaint. But surprisingly for a company of major size, as the highway-side warehouses leads you to believe, customer posts are disallowed on its page. The Takealot Facebook presence is a one-way street to push sales. Not service.
It’s no surprise that a separate
group, 35 000 strong, was born. It’s called Takealot Don’t Care. It made for such interesting reading that my little moment of annoyance paled in comparison to posts about other people’s experiences.
What left me speechless was that nobody at Takealot seems to have considered joining the group and responding to the unhappy customers, or even those seeking assistance that have turned to the group with questions about using the platform, as they are unable to ask Takealot any questions on social media.
The only available space on the retailer’s page to complain or ask a question is beneath its ads. That’s what one customer suggested to others in the Don’t Care community. The post read: “I commented on every new ad until they responded.”
With more than 800 000 likers on its Facebook platform, it may not be the easiest community to manage, but I have worked at a company with well over a million likes and followers on its page where even the simplest query was responded to within at the very most, a couple of days.
And it could be really simple. Scrolling through the posts on Takealot Don’t Care there’s a customer who made a mistake on his order form, worried about the impact on delivering his goods. There’s another who complained through existing channels about a short, delivered order and shared her frustration with the retailer.
After taking pictures of the tossed over the fence item I received, and fully intending to make my consumer voice heard, I gave up after reading the goings-on in the group.
Instead, I saved the picture in a folder and marked it, Takealot Don’t Care.