(updated below)
I have very strong opinions on issues like change, customer service and corporate feedback.
For months I railed against retailers who steadfastly refused to remedy the change situation. I whined incessantly about Innscor in general, and Nando’s in particular, regarding their practice of pricing their products for change, without providing the change itself!
Innscor tried to do something about this by introducing their coupon system in lieu of small change, which is a remedy but ANYTHING BUT A SOLUTION.
It might be helpful, but the long and the short of it is that MY money ends up having value ONLY at an Innscor outlet, like Chicken Inn or Nando’s or Pizza Inn or Baker’s Inn.
Innscor then managed to negate this ‘value addition’ by tagging on an extra 20 cents onto their soft-drink can prices. Now considering I buy my cans for around 80 cents in the supermarket, which seems a fair retail price, I find this price hike unjustified and destructive.
Personally, I would buy a can with my food, but now I’d rather go elsewhere. It becomes highly ironic, particularly at the Samora Machel food court, to order my food, take my receipt over to the service station shop meters away and buy the cans from there.
Do I believe Innscor care? Not really, but that’s their prerogative.
The thing that’s bothering me today is far more annoying, though. The reason I always whined about not getting change from Nando’s is because I have always patronised Nando’s.
Really, there’s nothing like a Nando’s chicken burger, or a half chicken (leg portion) with peri-peri chips. That stuff is awesome.
So someone, please, please explain to me why Innscor have refurbished the Pomona food court, the closest to my house and therefore considered my ‘local’, and removed Nando’s only to replace it with Chicken Inn?
Is it because Chicken Inn is cheaper? Are they cynically trying to push volumes? Is it some sort of franchising thing they’re arguing about with the South Africans?
I doubt they got feedback from the community begging for a Chicken Inn, because I frequently patronised that Nando’s and have seen neither hide nor hair of either sign or questionnaire. Yes, I know that rhymed!
This is a travesty, and ranks up there with all the other rubbish Innscor have thrown my way over the years.
I have been a loyal consumer of their products, but I will make this vow – I will not enter the Pomona food court again, because you cannot tell me that what Innscor passes off as ‘spicy wings’ can take the place of anything on the Nando’s menu.
It makes no sense, and I will cross my fingers and toes and various other appendages in anticipation of a reply from the Innscor powers.
That’s if they give a damn.
UPDATE: So Nando’s came back to us in the comments, and many thanks to them for shedding light on the issues we mentioned here.
“Pomona has been under refurbishment over the last few months and we certainly got a lot of ‘fowl’ feedback on that because people hadn’t seen our sign “Hot Chicks are grilling the builders to bring you a new Nando’s” yes…best believe it we are not going anywhere! Nando’s has not been removed from Pomona, we will be clucking about the opening very soon.”
So someone’s listening, and that’s always good to know. Also, yay Pomona!