DrNadia
byDrNadia, December 5, 2015
To start at the beginning – when the driver, Gift, arrived at my door, he unzipped his black bag containing my pizza and I immediately noticed the “Quality Promise” dot was black, and not red. According to the slogan below it, if the dot is black, the pizza is free. I therefore contacted the store to report this. A gentleman (later identified as Amith) answered the call and I explained that the dot on the pizza box was black. After hearing only my initial sentence, he immediately denied that the dot was black (without even any further explanation from me), saying that the dot must have been red immediately after it was taken out of the bag, and then turned black afterwards. I explained that the dot was black while the pizza was still in the bag. He then asked my name, which I provided to him, and then continued to interrogate me as follows:
Amith: What time did you order the pizza?
Me: I don’t know, I didn't take note but the till slip says 14:12, so it must have been at that time.
Amith: OK, so you ordered it at 14:15, and what time did your pizza arrive?
Me: About a minute before I called you.
Amith: Well I've been on the phone with you for over a minute already so how can that be true?! (Said in a raised voice with an accusatory tone)
Me: I said a minute before I called you, as in a minute before initiating the call, not a minute from this exact moment in time. Please don’t raise your voice and give me attitude!
He then asked to speak to the driver, which I allowed. The driver then confirmed telephonically that the dot was indeed black while still in the bag, before it was handed to me. The driver then handed my phone back to me, and Amith offered to replace the pizza. I advised him that I don’t want a replacement, because the slogan clearly states “your pizza is free” if the dot is black, not “your pizza will be replaced and you will wait another hour for it to arrive while you starve”.
He then started yelling at me, accusing me of wanting “free food”. I then asked what his name is - that portion of the conversation proceeded as follows:
Me: What is your name, Sir?
Amith: You can’t just take food without paying for it! Give the phone to the driver.
Me: No. This is my phone, if you want to speak to your driver again, you can call him on his cellphone. Now, I am asking you, what is your name?
Amith: Give the phone to the driver!
Me: Sir, I gave you my name when you asked me, so it is only fair that you tell me who I am speaking to.
Amith: If you wanted to know that, you should have asked me right at the beginning.
Me: Well I’m asking you now. Are you refusing to give me your name?
Amith: You only want free food!
He eventually gave me his name (Amith), and I then tried explaining to him that I would be paying for the pizza anyway, as this matter is not about free food (I didn't say this to him, but really, R80 is pocket change – the money does not concern me), but it is about Debonairs abiding by an advertised promise. However at this stage, I could not get a word in edgewise, as he continued to insult me and yell at me on the phone – I repeatedly asked if I could please finish my sentence, but he continued to cut me off and speak over me without listening to what I had to say.
After repeatedly imploring him to let me speak, he eventually stopped talking long enough for me to quickly reassure him that I would pay for the pizza (which seemed to be his only concern), but that I would be taking the matter further. If he had just been professional and polite at the outset, this incident would not have escalated to this point.
So to summarize, the main issues here are 1) the way Debonairs allows its staff to treat customers, and 2) the fact that the “Quality Promise” is actually false advertising and it comes with a catch – What Debonairs neglects to mention is that if you report the “black dot”, you will be treated like a criminal, accused of being a liar and reprimanded for “just trying to get free food”. If Debonairs, or rather Amith, the store manager at Debonairs in Umhlanga Ridge is not willing to abide by the so-called “quality promise” then perhaps that promise should not be advertised!