Braai Culture (shocking service delivery)

Braai Culture (shocking service delivery) I purchased a “Chef” Mini Spit Braai, on-line, from Braai Culture for R4,500 on promo (normally R5,100) on the 6th November 2020, dispatched on the 10th November and delivered from Cape Town to me in Kempton Park on the 17th November. Here were the issues with this spit braai: 1. The packaging wasn’t in great shape – the one side of the spit pole was protruding through the packaging 2. There was no instruction manual nor warranty card 3. The knob to turn the gas on and off was very difficult to turn and when eventually got it to turn it only moved from the 12 o’clock position to the 9 o clock position (anticlockwise – 90 degrees) – if turned down a little the flame went out 4. The gas heater panel within the spit was very difficult to ignite – went through two full Bic Braai lighters to get it going. I tried several gas bottles including a brand new Cadac bottle with no Joy 5. Heat was insufficient – used it once for one chicken and it took just over 2 hours to cook 6. There was a high pitched whistling sound coming from the back or underneath the spit braai, which sounded like a leak – obviously a safety concern 7. The next day it just failed to ignite at all. 8. The door also did not align with the base perfectly and leads extended cooking time through heat loss Here is the chain of events: 1. 6th Nov – Ordered “Chef Mini Spit Braai” from Braai Culture for R4,500 2. 10th Nov – received confirmation of despatch 3. 17th Nov - Received Braai (Tuesday) 4. 20th Nov - Tried to use for first time (Friday) 5. 23rd Nov - Sent email to Braai Culture (Chrisna) – with concerns 6. 24th Nov Re-sent another email to Braai Culture 7. 24 Nov - Stefanie Nel from Braai Culture responded with apologies and will be in contact 8. 24th Nov - received another email from Stefanie telling me that I should get in contact with the “Chef” agent in Fourways to 9. 24 Nov - I sent an email back to Stefanie saying this was not acceptable and I wanted it to be collected and refunded as I had a function to cater for on the weekend. 10. 24th Nov - Stefanie responded and said she will sort this out for me 11. 25th Nov – received a call from Sean Nel (director Braai Culture) – said that a refund was not possible as the unit was used. I informed him of all the issues and it was not really sued as it did not work as it should. Still Sean insisted we get the unit to the “Chef” agent in Fourways and they would collect it from me. I made it clear I was not happy with this but to speed up the process and save some money on a courier I agreed to drop the unit off at the agent in Fourways 12. 25th Nov - I thoroughly cleaned the unit and placed it back in its original packaging and stored it in my garage 13. 26th Nov - Had to purchase another unit from another supplier (Benoni Gas) as we had a function on and required a Spit Braai. 14. 27th Nov – requested address of agent from Sean but did not reply so I Googled the address myself 15. 27th Nov – I dropped the braai off at JHB Braai and Fireplaces in Fourways – with Tommie and notified Sean at Braai Culture. Tommie had a look at the unit while I was there and immediately noticed that there was something wrong and the Gas Knob on other units at his store could turn a full 540 degrees counter clockwise instead of just 90 degrees. He mentioned he would have to send it in to the manufacturer for repair and this would take a few days. 16. 1 Dec – I had to call Tommie to see if he had any news – he said yes the manufacturer (Chef) found factory fault and the manifold needed to be replaced at their cost. It was mentioned that the unit would be repaired and as a refund is not possible I would have to sell it privately as a used item (for around R3,500) to recoup my money! 17. 3 Dec – received an email from Sean asking o I had received feedback from Tommie and that he would also follow up – that was the last I heard from Sean (a Director at Braai Culture!) 18. 7 Dec – I called Tommie again to see if the braai was repaired – he said there was a bit of a delay but he would be in touch as soon as he received it back 19. 10 Dec – I called Tommie once again and he said the part should arrive tomorrow and does not take long to fit (20 mins) and would be in touch 20. 14 Dec – Today and I still have not heard anything from anyone In short I paid almost R5,000 for a “Chef” Mini Spit Braai from “Braai Culture” in Cape Town four Weeks ago that I have not been able to use, that no-one really seems to care that I have been out of pocket and without something that I paid a substantial amount of money for… ABSOLUTELY UNNACCEPTABLE! I will now post this note on Hello Peter and share with as many people involved in “Braai Culture”, “Chef” and “JHB Braai and Fireplaces” that I possibly can including lodging a compliant with the Consumer Goods and services Ombud (CGSO).