Active since Feb 2015
I placed an order with Firstshop.co.za on 19 Dec 25 at 10:19. At 10:21 I received a mail from Gerrie Brittz thanking me for my order and telling me it is being processed and prepared for courier delivery. May I add that this is for one roll of cricut vinyl, so not a big, complicated or difficult order to prepare and send with couriers. On 22 Dec at 08:03 I receive a mail again from Gerrie Brittz telling me that due to the warehouse closing over the festive season, my order will only be dispatched on 06 Jan 26. The same day 22 Dec at 13:26, I receive another mail from Gerrie Brittz telling me, “Great news! Your order is now on its way to you.” with delivery time estimations etc. I never received anything over the rest of the December period, so I just assumed that probably, it will arrive early in Jan. On 02 Jan, I received a mail asking me to review the roll of vinyl I received from FirstShop.co.za, but as per above, I have received NOTHING! On Monday, 05 Jan, I responded to the last mail received from Gerrie Brittz, indicating that I have received my order and need to review the product, but in fact, I have received nothing and would like a delivery update asap! I then tracked my order number through their website, and it showed that my delivery is still in transit, but expected delivery is 23 Dec 2025! On Tuesday, 06 Jan, I called their support line and spoke to a lady who took my order number and told me that they will call me back shortly with a delivery update. I never heard a word back from anyone. I then received a response to my mail sent from Tyrell Abraham in logistics, telling me that he is following up on a delivery ETA with the couriers! On Wednesday, 07 Jan, I called their support line again and spoke to Julia, who then proceeded to tell me that she needed to find out regarding the delivery of my order because she can see feedback was requested, but there was no update from the couriers. I informed her that I think this is shocking service and disgusting the way that I have had to make multiple calls and nobody can give me a straight answer regarding my order that was supposed to arrive 23 Dec 25 already and nobody calls back when they say they will! She assured me that she would contact me back and she did, telling me that they are very sorry and the couriers will deliver first thing in the morning, which is 08 Jan, in the morning. Shortly after I also received another mail from Tyrell Abraham, telling me that the couriers advised that delivery would take place on 08 Jan. Well, here I am, 08 Jan 26 at 20:07 at night typing this ********** experience with no delivery once again. Whoever is reading this, I highly recommend that you stay away from First Shop / firstshop.co.za. They are clearly a **** business that continually make excuses and blaming couriers for parcels that just don’t ever arrive, but surely if your couriers service is this poor, you would change couriers or better yet, considering my parcel haven’t been received and clearly nobody knows where it is, send me a fresh parcel, because it sure as **** isn’t my problem that you don’t know what you are doing or what is going on! DON’T make the same mistake as me. Save yourself the frustration and go somewhere or ANYWHERE else! I definitely have ZERO TRUST that my parcel will ever arrive and quite frankly, this was meant to be used before Christmas as per their own system indicating delivery on 23 Dec, but even now on 08 Jan, nobody has a fu$&ing clue where they are or what they are doing!
Will NEVER buy from here again! Owner is a ****, putting up banners for Family “Specials” and specials for Mondays and Tuesdays only and even has little pamphlets on the counter for the same specials, but when we tried to order the “special” we were told “no specials”, but yet it clearly states available all day and the biggest joke is that we ended up ordering the exact things that the special consisted of, so availability was not the issue here! Staff has a bombastic attitude and basically rude. Never again!
To whom it may concern, I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding an incident that occurred between 20–24 October involving Courier Guy and their locker-based service, Pudo. What began as a routine parcel drop-off turned into a multi-day ordeal marked by technical failures, misinformation, false accusations, and a staggering lack of accountability. The Initial Failure On Monday, 20 October, I booked waybill LD–RQKXP7. The following morning, I attempted to deposit the parcel at the Shell Hugo Pudo locker. The screen rejected the six-digit pin (155835) provided via email by Courier Guy, stating it was invalid. I returned to my office and checked the WhatsApp tracking link, which displayed a seven-digit pin (1558350) for the same waybill. Confused but hopeful, I tried again—this time at the Total N1 City locker. Again, the system rejected the pin. At this point, my client was waiting for the parcel, and I was forced to contact Courier Guy via WhatsApp support. I selected the “in front of locker” option and was eventually told to rebook the parcel under a new waybill while they “investigate” the original. I comp**** and created waybill LD–SCXUAU, depositing the parcel under this new reference. The Refund Runaround I asked about a refund for the failed waybill and was directed to email support@pudo.co.za. I sent a detailed message with screenshots of my WhatsApp conversation and explained that someone had apparently deposited a parcel in Somerset West using my original waybill—despite me being based in Goodwood. Monisha from Pudo responded within 30 minutes, stating the parcel had been collected and was en route. This was demonstrably false: I had deposited the parcel less than half an hour before her reply, and she was clearly referring to the Somerset West parcel. I clarified this, and she rep**** asking if I had deposited the parcel—again ignoring the evidence I had already provided. Eventually, Monisha admitted she had misunderstood and instructed me to email support@pudo.co.za to request a refund—ironically, the very channel we were already communicating on. I sent another email, this time less composed, reiterating the situation and demanding accountability. Two days later, Bernice responded with a photo of my parcel, insinuating that I had no grounds for a refund. The image clearly showed the original waybill scratched out and the new one written in pen—because I didn’t have a permanent marker at the time. Again, I explained this, and again, I was met with silence. The Client Fallout and Internal Chaos On Thursday evening, my client contacted me, confused and frustrated by multiple contradictory delivery notifications: out for delivery, returned, cancelled, rebooked, and so on. On Friday morning, I called Courier Guy Cape Town, who refused to assist and redirected me to Pudo. I then spoke to Kathiso at Pudo, who was polite and genuinely tried to help. Shockingly, she admitted that even she was being given the runaround internally. She spoke to six people—five refused to help, and the sixth only agreed after she begged him. She wouldn’t give his name, clearly under pressure. I asked to speak to a manager and was transferred to Savannah, the floor supervisor. I explained everything and made it clear that I would be pulling all business from Courier Guy across every company I’m involved with. Savannah promised to escalate the matter personally and “make sure there’s hell to pay.” She assured me I’d receive a follow-up call. I never did. The Final Insult While on the phone with Savannah, I received a call from Emilio, who casually asked, “So what’s the problem after you deposited your parcel in Somerset West?” This, after I had explained repeatedly that I never deposited anything in Somerset West. The insinuation was not only false—it was insulting. To date, I have received: • No refund • No apology • No explanation • No follow-up call • No accountability Courier Guy’s culture appears to be one of indifference, deflection, and systemic incompetence. I’ve supported Courier Guy for over five years. I’ve asked for bags and stationery repeatedly—only to be told they’re unavailable or must be paid for. Other couriers supply these without hesitation because they value their clients. Courier Guy clearly does not. Even your drivers admit the dysfunction. When I asked for bags at the Total N1 City garage, they said, “We don’t know why the office is so f-d up.” They directed me to the garage shop, where the staff were equally frustrated—having been given 10 bags and told to distribute them to every client who asked. Conclusion Yes, my client eventually received his parcel. But the cost—in time, frustration, and professional credibility—was unacceptable. This wasn’t a one-off error. It was a cascade of failures across every level of your organization. And the fact that no one has contacted me to retain my business speaks volumes. I expect a full refund for the failed waybill, a formal apology, and a written explanation of how this situation was allowed to unfold. If Courier Guy wishes to retain any shred of credibility, now is the time to act. Sincerely, Ludwig
I highly recommend that you rather go anywhere else! Absolutely shocking experience from start to finish. Placed my first test order for 18 shirts directly with George the owner on 11 March. Told me that my order would be ready in 48 hours. Asked for an invoice to pay with excuses all the time, but eventually got my invoice and paid immediately. 17 March I am told that there is a delay on my order because Durban flooded. After a long message to him, suddenly my order was again on track for delivery and received it on 19 March. 4 out of the 18 shirts was incorrect sizes and I made him aware immediately upon receipt. No response back at all on my query. On 24 March I am told that he is trying to find my shirts (but it was delivered to me already) only to find out that he sent “replacements” for the incorrect sizes and now cannot find any waybill or tracking regarding these replacements and I am just sitting waiting like an idiot! 25 March he sends a message that he wants to refund the 4 incorrect size shirts. This is not helpful for someone that is looking for a steady supply of shirts and I offer to instead place another order of shirts. I place another order for 11 shirts and state that only 7 must be invoiced as the 4 is owing as incorrect supply and the additional 7 is at least something extra to make the courier worth while. 26 March I am told 7 working days. 04 April I am told that my order is ready, but 4 of the 11 shirts they do not have in my colour (yes it took 10 days to let me know that the colour is not available) and I requested the 4 to be replaced with 4 plain white in certain sizes. 08 April I am told that I will receive my waybill number after lunch time for my order sent. 10 April I speak to George and he says he left the order to see if he can have the original 4 colour requests in time, but now he will just send the rest without, but I gave him replacements for the 4 shirts 6 days earlier! 11 April I ask about my order and told it left on the 10th. 14 April I ask about my waybill for my order. Eventually get the waybill number showing it only left the Saturday and not the Thursday as stated! Received my order 15 April, but instead of 11 shirts, it is only 4! Incorrect sizes and colours! This must be a joke or something!
The owners interactions with potential clients is shocking. When subscribing to their newsletter you receive a "welcome" voucher which doesn't work when placing an order at all! This is why I contacted them, with my very big order ready in the checkout cart, and got told by the owner that I am rude for expecting a response (from multiple contact channels) after waiting hours on end! Not one apology for having to wait 18 hours for a response, no instead I get told that I must be patient and I am being rude! Not once was I rude other than calling her out on her bad attitude towards a potential client, which she then deemed rude! Not worth supporting at all. They only have good reviews on their facebook page, because the owner blocks clients that will potentially give negative feedback and delete negative comments.
I have always appreciated my defy appliances and have come to appreciate the quality and after sales service. My fridge is an old double door defy and still going strong.
I signed up for their mailer and received a 10% discount code via the first e-mail for my first order. I decided to place an order immediately and when entering the code on checkout, it showed that it is not valid! I tried a few times, even increasing my order at some point, thinking that my order is maybe to low for the code to apply, although it was never mentioned in the e-mail at all! I then contacted them via their WhatsApp channel from their website at 12:59, the auto responder states, "We will respond as soon as possible". I waited till 14:19 (1 hour 20 minutes later) thinking that maybe they missed my message via WhatsApp and then contacted them via their Facebook messenger. I am quite excited to place the order, but still here nothing from anybody, so at 16:30 (nearly 2 hours later), I decide to respond to their latest facebook post and make them aware that there is some pending customer interaction on their other channels! I then wait patiently till 19:14 (nearly 3 hours later) and I decide to write an e-mail where I log a complaint asking whether someone mans the social lines or is this a **** business that even the voucher doesn't work? At 20:30 (an hour later) they respond to my message on their post saying that they deal with hundreds of orders and hundreds of messages everyday and I must be patient! No apology for the delay in response or anything humble from a business that value their clients! Was I not patient? Your auto responder says "as soon as possible", but if the norm is closer to a day or two or three then why not adjust the responder to say "we will respond within 24/48/72 hours!"? I would've gladly waited if this was the auto responder timeline indication! Nevertheless, I responded apologizing for being part of their excessive work load and daily contacts (making me feel guilty for contacting them to support them!) and mentioned that I have still not received a response on any of the other channels regarding my actual issue! The next day (today) at 06:58, I receive a response to my e-mail. The owner literally made her e-mail signature "The Boss Lady/CEO", that says a lot in itself! The response however says a lot more stating that they are incredibly busy and a little patience goes a long way!! Uhm I was patient! I was decent! I want to support you and was quite happy to receive any response regarding my issue! Yet, there was no apology for the delay, in fact, another message filled with attitude stating that me, the client, is the problem as they are terribly busy and I should this keep quiet and wait till they eventually decide whether I am deserving of their time! This is textbook new south african business ethics. The person sitting at the till that barely greets you or the guy that is paid to be a salesman but sits and watches videos on his phone instead, this is the new standard. If the customer points out unacceptable service then it is either ****** or the client is wrong and should've been more understanding or patient! Let's quickly do a timeline check, when I received this mail at 06:58 from the owner, I still didn't receive a response on my query on WhatsApp from yesterday 12:59 and the owner had the audacity to tell me that I have to send her the voucher code again, when it was sent via two other channels already, instead of her checking there to resolve the issue with some grace. I still haven't received a response on my messenger message from 14:19 yesterday. Two channels and no responses, even after responding to a facebook post and then sending an e-mail. You "Boss Lady/CEO" had every opportunity to deal with this gracefully and with kindness, but you chose to instead attack me for asking some assistance regarding an issue with a voucher that YOU sent me! Anyways, I responded to her very uncalled attitude filled email in this exact way: Hi Monique I appreciate you taking time to respond to me during your very busy schedule. I used your WhatsApp contact from your website yesterday at 12:59 and still have not had any response on there. Thinking that maybe someone missed it, I sent a message via messenger at 14:19, I still have not received any answer there. I then thought maybe if I make someone aware via a response on one of your posts, then they will check the relevant channels and respond, this was at 16:30. I then thought let me send an email and yes, a complaint, at 19:14 and at 20:30 rather than an apology, and a response via the initial two channels, I received an excuse via your facebook post, but still no response anywhere else. However this is the second response where your attitude towards a client is quite something special, the first being on your facebook post! There is nothing wrong with my patience, I can assure you, however the last I checked, if I reach out to a business that I would like to support, I expect a timeous and reasonable response. An apology for the delay in response goes a long way and some humble appreciation for the people that support you. I know quite a few people (and businesses) that support you and I will be sharing this interaction with them as well! I am sure that I am not the only client that gets these bombastic responses from you and your business. If you are as busy and productive as you say, then I am certain the Boss Lady/CEO can afford additional social media and contact channel assistance? You have no idea who I am and my intentions behind my purchase, but you already alienated a potential relationship and oddly enough, you DEMAND patience and respect for your time, but have NO RESPECT for the clients that contact you and spend their valuable time trying to get in contact with you/your business! The code is DEDR-V5YA-C7SI although truthfully, this entire experience has left quite a sour taste. Have a wonderful day! I do not think that my response was unwarranted based on the now two unprofessional and attitude filled responses I had to receive and this from a privately owned "small business" that I wanted to support! From the owner of all people as well! This is the type of response I would expect from a staff member that is fed up etc. This was the OWNER / BOSS LADY / CEO Monique Abrams response to my mail above! I am also the one who replies to the Whatsapp messages, so I do try my best to get to everyone as soon as I can. I do have a social media manager, but she also has other clients, so your needing an immediate response is also uncalled for. You are welcome to tell people how terrible our service is because your messages weren’t rep**** to as quick as you wanted. To be totally honest with you, we would rather not have rude clients, so you are welcome to shop elsewhere. Our autoresponders to all our messages say that we will get back to you as soon as we can, but clearly less than 24 hours does not suit you. What a shocking response! I was not impatient at all! The timeline in itself speaks for that! Yes I wanted to place an order, which I will never do now and never support such a **********ly rude business owner who clearly doesn't value clients, because she has reached a level of income where she is no longer interested in handling clients with decency and respect! If your standard is to respond to people within 24 hours, then why oh why could you not change your auto responder to reflect this!!!??? Then there would've been no issue as the timeline is made clear to everyone! But soonest can be an hour, day, week, month, year...... Should clients just sit back to see which is the acceptable period based on how busy you are? No. You don't want to make a time commitment, because you want to respond when it suits you and not what is best for your client! This was made clear in your first response via email! If I had to respond to my own email that I sent asking whether someone mans the lines and whether the business and voucher is a ****, then this would've been what I would've responded! "Good Day Sir I am so sorry that there was a delay in response, we have been exceptionally busy and have had a bit of delay getting back to clients. I can assure you this is not the norm, which is why our auto responder states soonest, but we will always try assist as quick as possible. I can assure you that we are a legit business and the voucher you received is very real. I have already taken the opportunity to check your other messages on whatsapp and messenger and found the voucher code there. I will look into this for you and get back to you within 24 hours. Thank you for taking time to contact us, we apologize for the voucher issue and will sort it out for you! Have a wonderful evening further!" THIS is what a humble business response is that VALUES EACH and EVERY CLIENT! Your attitude STINKS BOSS LADY/CEO MONIQUE ABRAMS! For those who wonders how it is possible that I can have such a complaint, I must have done something that I am not mentioning, NOPE this is exactly what happened and I have all the screenshots! Why do they only have positive reviews on facebook you ask, because I barely finished reading her last email and wanted to go to their facebook page and rate them sharing this experience and BOSS LADY already blocked me on facebook! So yes, only positive reviews because others are blocked and comments deleted. Sadly, I wasn't joking when I said I knew plenty people and businesses that purchase from them and not only have I shared all this with them, I have shared it with family who is not blocked on their facebook page, who went and reviewed poorly and shared this outrageous experience. Let's see how long before they are blocked as well and comments deleted! Shocking, absolutely shocking! Do better BOSS LADY CEO MONIQUE!
Do not, I repeat, do NOT purchase from them online. If you are at their shop in person, then that is up to your discretion, but I am in another part of the country. I purchased via their online store. Placed my order 23 June, I received an email stating my order is ready to collect. Sent my couriers multiple times to collect and have lost my collection payments with them as the couriers are sent away. I phoned and chose the online option and it just rings. I phoned again and chose Maraisburg where my order is apparently ready to collect and spoke to someone called Snymie who told me that the lady who handles online orders isn’t there and SHE must sort this out! He took my details and I haven’t heard from them since! Today is 08 July and order was placed 23 June. It seems that I need to accept that they stole my money with no intent to supply the purchased parts.
Do not, I repeat, do NOT purchase from them online. If you are at their shop in person, then that is up to your discretion, but I am in another part of the country. I purchased via their online store. Placed my order 23 June, I received an email stating my order is ready to collect. Sent my couriers multiple times to collect and have lost my collection payments with them as the couriers are sent away. I phoned and chose the online option and it just rings. I phoned again and chose Maraisburg where my order is apparently ready to collect and spoke to someone called Snymie who told me that the lady who handles online orders isn’t there and SHE must sort this out! He took my details and I haven’t heard from them since! Today is 08 July and order was placed 23 June. It seems that I need to accept that they stole my money with no intent to supply the purchased parts.
Do Not Buy from the Vodabucks Store! I purchased a product for R3600 on Friday. Received a purchase confirmation with a code to arrange delivery of the item. The code shows invalid on their own system. Their own staff told me that they don’t buy from Vodabucks anymore because they never received products purchased themselves and eventually gave up as they were given excuses and shoved from pillar to post. I got a hold of them via Facebook and they have done all verifications via messenger to determine that I am, who I say I am and the last message was, “we will let you know once we have feedback for you!” I eventually got a hold of an agent on Friday night who told me to phone back on Saturday morning, because the vodabucks store is closed and staff gone for the day, but they can see my purchase on the system. I phoned Saturday and spoke to someone, who told me to phone back today as queries is handled between 24-48 hours. I sent a message via messenger yesterday asking for an update and same response, “we will get back to you”. I phoned not minutes ago and the agent told me that issues take 72 hours and the person who told me 24-48 hours is wrong. I insisted on speaking to someone in a position of authority and I got transferred to the team leader who told me, issues are resolved 24-72 hours! So what is it now? 24-48? 72? Or 24-72? When I told him that the agent on Saturday said 24-48 hours and I must phone back Tuesday for my problem resolution, the team leader arrogantly answered that the person I spoke to does not exist! This sure seems like exactly what their own corporate staff member told me about! So long and the short of it is, “too bad, so sad”! I asked each agent that if they purchased with their own hard earned money a product that is thousands of rands at a retailer and got told, “we will let you know when you can get the item” would they be happy with it? The answer from all was “No”, but when I ask to please be helped efficiently and code rectified to have the product delivered, the answer remains, “sorry, you must wait”! I repeat, DO NOT BUY from Vodacom! You might be lucky and receive your products, but if this happens to me and their own staff tells me the same thing, then I am pretty sure someone else must have the same issue!
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