Woolworths South Africa
Reviews and Complaints

I made my first online Woolworths order this week. When it arrived on 19 January 2021 it was short of two items.
Humus 180g and organic double cream yoghurt.
The dispatch note stated
"These Items are out of stock"
You won't be charged for them
Yet my bank account was charged the full order amount and yesterday no refund came.

I emailed [protected]@woolworths.co.za yesterday about this and had no reply.

Yesterday afternoon 19 January I went to Customer Service at Woolworths, Longbeach, Noordhoek and asked a manager there if I could collect the two missing items and take them for free as I have already paid for them. I had the note with me saying I would not be charged for them, when I actually was.

His response was most upsetting.
He said I could not take the items I had already paid for and he could get arrested if he allowed me to.
I found his response both unprofessional and very unhelpful.
Even other staff at the shop commented his behaviour was not good.
I told him I was very unhappy with the customer service he gave me.
He looked as if he did not care one bit how I felt.

The managers name I believe was Cedric (or Cecil) Jonkers.

Today I see my account has been refunded with the amount for the two missing items. Although I had no notification of this nor any rely to my email from [protected]@woolworths.co.za
Thank you
Judith Briant

I bought a pack of veggie Crisps today at Woolworth Foods in Upington. When I opened the pack there where barely crisps inside. As it was my first time buying this product it really disappointed me to see this. Woolworth Foods did not satisfy my needs in any way. I always hear good things about Woolworth Foods, but when I decided to buy something there this is what I got.

One multiple occasions I have been told by cashiers at Woolworth's grocery department to unpack my own basket as it is my job to do so. Has anyone else experienced this? On one occasion, a cashier actually sat and refused to unpack my basket while I had multiple other bags in my hands. What is the deal with this? It is completely unacceptable, especially when you are paying more for a supposedly better shopping experience & quality.

Good afternoon

Without sounding like a total negative Nancy I thought I'd let you know how absolutely disappointing your ladies fashion is. Everytime one is browsing through one of your many stores there is someone else complaining. Since when do ladies 30yrs + like wearing clothes with Disney characters all over them.
Quite frankly everything is hideous!

Crop tops can/should be worn by teens & at a push 20somethings.

Your Country Road, Trenery & Witchery clothing is beautiful but sadly can only be afforded by a miniscule portion of the population.

I do hope that the 2022 summer/winter season brings something a little more appealing.

Good afternoon. I have been a very loyal Woolies customer for over a decade now however the quality of kids shoes has deteriorated so much it is appalling. I have encountered the following:
- Takkies for my two boys, both pairs are peeling off.
- Not to mention the sandals that I bought, the glue came off within 2 days of my boy wearing them.
- Slippers that I bought a month ago, same as above.

I am very disappointed to experience such for such a reputable company like Woolworths. I used to recommend it but now I am not so sure anymore!

I am very disappointed with your customer service. I got a woolworths voucher and I was told that I cannot use it. It has terms and conditions. The voucher stated that I get R50 discount if I spend a minimum of R300. I did spend that amount but I was told I can't use it at the point of sale.
I guess the cashier was one of the new employees. Hence, she told me I can't use it. Please make me understand why don't you inform some of your staff members about your promotions. I am very disappointed with your customer service.
I expect to hear from you soon.

I have lodged a complaint before with ref # [protected]-[protected]. Also lodged a complaint at Cedar Square, Fourways that all their chicken is halal. I feel discriminated against. You have a section clearly labelled halal but nothing for us Christians/ Jews who don't eat Halal.

I have been to many of your branches hoping to find non halal meat but I was disappointed that everything is labelled Halal. Why is that?

I would like to see chicken which is not halal in the Fourways area please.

With reference to Woolworths Pasta, I recently noticed that the 8 minute cooking time as indicated on the package does not permit for the pasta to cook al dente during the 8 minutes.
It now takes 16 minutes to cook the pasta.
Please advise possible reasons for the increase in cooking time?

We have been loyal Woolies customers for years. Despite them not being the cheapest place to shop we believe in quality and their vision. Being a governing body teacher we always shop for specials, obviously. Woolies have some very good specials and we love that even more in this economy. The past year hoever I have been getting fed up, things are marked as on promotion/special, for example, yesterday 2 x 400g cheese for R100 instead of the normal R65 per 400g making it R50 per 400g, great goes in basket with other specials. Just to get home and see that the rang it through on the normal price R65 x 2. And if this was the first time this had happened, fine BUT this has has been happening now numerous times.

It makes me feel used and taken for a ride. I am to the point where I feel I won't buy from Woolies anymore. Which is sad because we save and only buy clothes form Woolies and buy most foods from you as well (not meats though, way too expensive). I am very upset. It happens every single week, many times I watch and pick it up and open my mouth, but sometimes you are too tired and don't notice after working long hours.

So dissapointed, this kept me up last night, seeing as one really does not have the financial means to overspend and it is just wrong to have customers buy products under such false impressions:(

Good day

I am a frequent Woolies shopper. I love the quality of products you have.

However I have one complaint.
Your special on ice creams are always not available. This is really frustrating as it is good value for money.

My 5 children always maintain that Woolies ice cream is the best. So the specials add more value and savings to your trolley when shopping for 5 children.

The managers refuse to give me an alternative. Although they know me well from frequenting their stores Viz Ballito Junction and Lifestyle. However always impressed with their services.

I just wish some alternative arrangements can be made if you don't have stock.

Kindly be advised I live 45 min away from Ballito and can not always return to purchase when stock is available.

Kind regards
Sybil Dunn
[protected]

Bought bananas on 7 Nov with expiry date 8 Nov 2021. Opened at 18h30 on 7 Nov 2021. Attached is a view of how terrible the product was. 4 of the 6 or so bananas was like this.

This is not the first time bananas have not lasted to at least expiry date.

Bought from Checkers the other day. Selected 4 and the last one was 5 days old when eaten and was fine.

Checkers here we come.

These pictures say everything...
Woolworths has acknowledged this incident and offered a R150 voucher but I cannot actually get any response from them regarding what this green item is that I ingested whilst drinking this granadilla juice.
I have received an email from customer service regarding this but goes around in circles and does not actually tell me what this is.

My husband and I had a somewhat disappointing and confusing experience with Woolworths in Baywest. My husband received a gift from his grandmother in the post for his birthday which consisted of 2 pairs of shorts from Woolworths with the tags still attached. Unfortunately the shorts were hopelessly too big so we decided to take it in to Woolworths to exchange them for a smaller size. When my husband had found suitable items to exchange for the large shorts he was told that they can't assist him as the shorts had been removed from their system a month prior. We asked what does that mean and were told that because the items had been removed from the system, "they aren't even worth 1 cent" and that they refuse to exchange the items. That seems like a very bold statement for a retail store that constantly boasts the best quality in everything that they sell. I'm somewhat confused by the statement that was made, what does that tell us about the quality of the items they sell to us, the public, if THEY DON'T even want it back. We have received gifts of clothing in the past from other retail stores and have never had any issues in returning the items provided we still had the tags. Yet, Woolworths refuses to assist us. My husband phoned their head office to complain and was told that he should have brought it back a month earlier. Have I missed the latest news, has the time machine finally been invented?!?!? I checked, it hasn't sadly... Perhaps Woolworths should change their Customer Care department into the captain hindsight department. At least you would know what to expect before attempting to contact them. Let me save you the call, their response is "We can't help you". My advice for people who STILL shop at Woolworths is to not purchase a gift for anyone who is on the other side of the country, be kind and purchase a gift elsewhere where customer care does exist, otherwise the gift you purchase might end up being about as useful as an ice cream toaster. From what I have seen in other Woolworths reviews, other people are getting fed up with their lack of customer care. This Woolworths in particular downsized recently, yet they still make no attempt to provide a pleasant shopping experience. Sadly, many businesses have closed due to the effects of the pandemic. Are these the signs of the last days of Woolworths? Perhaps, we'll have to wait and see. One thing I know for certain is that we will no longer be supporting Woolworths due to their bipolar tendencies and self-focused, questionable policies. We would rather support other small businesses and retail stores that know the value of true customer care.

I recently purchased Long Life Full Cream Milk and is disgussed with the taste of the milk. I normally buy this product and never had issues but it is watered of and tastes badly.

My name is Maro, card no ************ 2912- phone [protected]. went to Woolworths [protected]@Carnival as I usually do after work. Picked a few items that I needed, juices, granola, baby clothes, and just one item for me. went to the tills to pay then boom... 3 tills open but only one cashier was helping the customers. I waited for a few minutes until I saw 2 ladies busy on the computers just at the corner. I asked politely who can help us as it was late, the one lady came to the till and looked annoyed. I unpacked my stuff in the trolley.

After scanning, I handed my Woolworths card and she swiped, handing back the slip for me to sign, she told me that the signatures are not the same and asked her why today, as I'm always using the same card at the same shop. Yooo I felt like a criminal today, she then call her superior who they were together starring at the computer and not helping the customers. she checked and asked me to sign again, of which I did and it was my only signature. Yoooo guys I never feel humiliated like that in my life. I was angry as I waited in a long queue, had to call them to help us and I was treated like a criminal. I returned the staff and was given the merchandise return slip after waiting for so long. Thanks to your cashier, Konkwane Ndlebe, and her unprofessional supervisor, that my family dinner is ruined. My merchandise that cost R768.79 WAS RETURNED, just like that.

By the way, it's my husband's account but I'm paying and using it as I'm an additional member. I'm so pissed off.

Ms. M Mofokeng refused to use my- My School card when I was purchasing items at woolies Carlton Centre on 30 October 2021.

She mentioned that systems have changed, you could tell that she was in a hurry and did not want me to waste her time by asking her to process my card.

I use my card the same way I use it at other Woolworths stores without any problems.

By her telling me that the systems have changed was insulting my intelligence as I used the same card on the same week at Woolies Jabulani Mall.

Till op [protected]

Hi.. I'm going on a road trip tomorrow morning at 6am..I was at Woolworths cavindish this morning bought me pack of high leg panties for my trip...I was so happy I got the only large size left on the rack...only small sizes left... now as I'm unpacking this pantries it looked rather big but the size on the packet is large...but inside the packet it is xxlarge... how disappointed am I now...I don't have new panties for my holiday...I am so upset... cavindish is closed already.. kindly assist with feedback as I know they don't exchange panties..

My wife, son and ordered food at the Northridge Woolworths Restaurant in Bloemfontein today, 24 October 2021.

Upon receiving our orders, we both felt unhappy. My wife ordered a chicken and avocado sandwich.

I ordered the salmon sandwich on rye bread. I noticed that the two slices of bread were partially stacked on top of each other. I then removed the top part and to my surprise discovered that the bottom slice of bread that was partially covered by the top slice of bread, had virtually no salmon on it. I brought this to the attention of our waitress, Theodora and she reported it to the chef. After some time, the Manager, Frikkie Jones.

Frikkie then approached us with both orders and asked us what is wrong with the orders to which I replied that he should tell us what was reported to him.

Not only was Frikkie extremely impolite and hostile, but he was trying to justify why there was no salmon on the bottom slice that was covered. I pointed out to him that it was misleading and a poor use of resources to place most of the salmon on the top slice and very little on the bottom slice.

My wife explained that the chicken on her sandwich was simply too little for the size of bread slices. He said to my wife that the bread slices just happen to be big, and that they weigh the portions of chicken and salmon. This we understood. It left us wondering if the portions of salmon and chicken had indeed went weighed as per Frikkie's response.

Apart from the poor quality of the food, I also tool exception when Frikkie, who in earshot from our table, told the chef the I said that they are "cheating" me. When he returned to our table, I pointed out to him that he had misrepresented me and I then again explained to him what I had said in the very first instance.

I find that the manner in which Frikkie Dela with this matter - the poor quality of our food - is simply unacceptable, and not consistent with the quality and value for money that Woolies associates itself with.

Alas, I will not go to that restaurant ever again.

Woolworths Mthatha Mall always run out of trolleys. Staff here even don't have enough care for customers. They always tell us that they ran out of trolleys. How are we supposed to shop without trolleys?

First time I ordered at Woolies online, I was debited twice I just went to my bank for that and they sorted it out for me. I placed an order once more online - now they claim my order was delivered but I didn't get or sign for it, when I try to call them they say its out for delivery and they give me yet another different story. No one seems to know what really happened to the order/delivery. I'm very disappointed with the service I have been getting at Woolies Online