Nox D

Poor Service – Store Manager Oupa Ntai birch acres Square Tembisa

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction with the service I received on 27 May 2026 at your Birch Acres Store. I visited the branch to return items that I had purchased over the weekend. Upon arrival and after greeting staff, I was assisted by the store manager, Mr Oupa Ntai (Employee Number: 3165). Unfortunately, his conduct throughout the interaction was rude, dismissive, and highly unprofessional. When I requested assistance with a refund, I was informed that the area manager was not available to provide a reference required to process the refund. This explanation was surprising and unacceptable, as the store was fully operational with staff present, including a store manager. At the very least, I expected a genuine attempt to assist me. Instead, Mr Ntai stated that he would not do anything about my refund request and told me that I should “assist myself,” claiming that I was asking too many questions and that he would not entertain me further. He then walked away and left me standing at the door without any further assistance. Still seeking clarity, I proceeded to the till and waited my turn. While I was waiting, Mr Ntai loudly shouted across the store, in front of other customers, stating that he would not explain anything to me or explain himself further to me he owes me nothing he said what he said and that's that , that he is the store manager, and that I would leave without a refund. He further made remarks implying that he is accustomed to complaints from customers like me and that reporting him would make no difference, as head office would not take any action against him. This behavior was humiliating, intimidating, and completely unacceptable. I was eventually assisted by Ms Noluthando Ngomane, who demonstrated excellent customer service. She remained professional, respectful, and made genuine efforts to explore all possible options to assist me. Despite her willingness to help, Mr Ntai continued to interfere and stated that if the partial exchange required dispensing any money, he would not approve it and that we were wasting time. He again repeated that we could report him, as nothing would come of it based on past complaints against him. As a long-standing customer of your store, I felt deeply disrespected and undermined. This experience wasted a significant amount of my time and caused me to arrive late to collect my son from daycare, resulting in additional costs. To date, I have still left haven't received my refund. I am extremely concerned by Mr Ntai’s confidence in providing such poor service and his repeated assertions that no disciplinary action would be taken against him. This raises serious questions about whether this behavior is known, tolerated, or endorsed by the company, and whether store managers are adequately trained in customer service and conflict resolution. I was then kept in store and only released when everyone let and he proceeded to attempt to take videos of me when I was calling him out on his behavior