Mismanagement at Shoprite: A Costly Experience

On Sunday, November 10, 2024, I had a business meeting scheduled for 11:30 AM. Since I didn't have my bank card, I opted to use Cash Send to my own number to fill up my empty bus. I went to the Shoprite Kempton Park Money Market, where the queue was not long, and I was around number seven. When I reached number three in line, I could see the cashier and another customer. The cashier kept banging the cash drawer, and after waiting for nearly 20 minutes, I approached her to ask if there was an issue with their system so I could look for an alternative. She rudely told me to let her do her job, which I understood and stepped back.

After eight more minutes, the cashier called a lady who was making a deposit, and then I called for the withdrawal. The agent asked for my number, which I provided, and then asked me to enter the PIN on the speed point, which I did. She then said she needed to call the manager to authorize the transaction. The manager authorized it but mentioned that he received an error, and the system took him back to the main page of their software. They asked me to provide the voucher number again, and I did, but this time the system indicated that the voucher had been collected about a minute ago.

From that moment on, I was taken from pillar to post. We called Standard Bank, and the bank confirmed that the voucher had indeed been collected and sent the store the proof. The manager called their finance department, who advised that their procedure required them to give me my money. However, the manager kept insisting that the problem was with the bank. I called my business meeting and was told that they would shift my meeting to the last in line if I could make it before 12:30 PM. The manager confirmed that he would resolve the issue by then, but up until that time, he had not resolved it and had been in and out of their cash office.

While I was on my way to the meeting, I received a call informing me that they had unfortunately decided to go with other people who had pitched their ideas, and they could no longer wait for me. This is how I lost a deal that was 80% sealed.