On Thursday, March 24, I visited the Alberton SPCA branch with two sickly puppies. On arrival I was asked where I lived and I stated that I lived in Meyersig Estate. An employee informed me that I would have to go to the Booysens branch or to a vet to get assistance, as this particular SPCA did not have an in-house vet.
This was all well and very informative until I asked where Booysens was. She asked me if I knew where Hennie something was, but having recently moved to Johannesburg I informed her that I had no clue where that street was and asked if she could direct me. Stephanie became rude for no apparent reason, telling me that no vet was going to assist my puppies as they were already sick and that if I didn’t know where these streets were, I didn’t deserve any help and I should then go consult my Tom Tom.
As I exited the reception I overheard her asking her colleague, “How stupid can one be, living in Meyersig and not knowing Booysens?”
I am writing this rather lengthy email because I feel that the SPCA should be aware of the people it hires. The SPCA is constantly asking for donations and this year I had chosen the SPCA as the organisation I was going to use, to teach my son the joys of giving and donating to causes in need. After my encounter with this woman, the donations I had planned on dedicating to the SPCA this year will no longer be assisting them.
Rude staff like her don’t realise that good customer service is what gets people to open up their pockets and give generously.
The donation I ended up spending at the vet would have assisted you, but thank you for the worst service ever, SPCA Alberton.
*Above letter has been edited .
The RECORD spoke to the manager of the branch in question: “We take every complaint seriously and it’s disappointing the lady in question went to the media before I had a chance to respond. I have every faith in my staff who deal with difficult situations on a daily basis and are only concerned with the welfare of the animals. In addition, the staff are under extreme stress at times which may affect their response. While we understand this is not acceptable and do not condone whatever transpired on the day, we are all human and make mistakes. We can only offer our apologies to the lady concerned and hope that she will find forgiveness in her heart and continue supporting the SPCA for a good cause. I have been hoping to talk with the lady, but did not have the opportunity to do so as I did not have her contact number.
We look forward to hearing from her again so that we’ll be able to demonstrate the far more regular courtesy and efficiency to our customers and visitors at our shelter,” said Kingstone Siziba, the manager.
