Small consumer helplessness, but the company gains

Helplessness #1
The other day, I went to a vending machine just after gym and popped a few coins in, R4.00 to be precise, nearly my last in the day's spend, and guess what? The worst case scenario that I have often toyed with happened: the damned stone-aged (snack) vending machine chewed my last coins, pretended with some tempting sound and a roll, to be serving me with a packet of cheese snacks. I didn’t even bother to call the P.R Vending cell number that was listed on the machine alongside an arrogant label that read: “… DO NOT SCRATCH COINS AGAINST THIS MACHINE”. To say the least, I was left looking like a maniac, kicking the machine and pushing it in all directions. I felt helpless. Because I knew there was really not much I could do at that moment to get my snack.

Helplessness #2
I’m on prepaid. Had a really bad experience with Cell C before defaulting forever on my contract – of a cellphone which was pick pocketed down-town Pretoria within a month of taking ownership. Well, this month end I’m finally paying up after they chased me for straight three years. I'm now on Vodacom (prepaid).

Back to the frustration. I had supported Vodacom so much that they decided to reward me with talking points (that I had accumulated every time I splashed on airtime vouchers). An automated sms said I could redeem my points for either 150 ‘free’ smses or get a discount on my next airtime voucher. I followed all the steps to redeem the said smses and completed the prompts. Then I started frantically sending smses to nearly any number on my phone saying 'wassup to the world'. Surprise surprise! I was using my own purchased airtime. And when I demanded my free smses, more like my earned points, I was told that I had redeemed them and they were subsequently used. Alas! I once again, felt helpless.


Helplessness #3
Izz still hasn’t got his drivers license. However, I’m going for my fourth learners license in 7 years on the 17th of May. This is after trying for months to secure a testing slot for the learners. The frustration: I got that date finally through the nightmarish eNatis via sms. All I had to do was go pay for my booking following a 1 minute eye test. The whole actual process is about 5 minutes. My test is to be at Centurion, Pretoria. I got to the queue at 9am. I queued. And queued. And queued. And queued. And finally just after 2pm I did my 1 minute eye test and paid my R67 reservation fee after waiting for about 200 people to go before me. I felt helpless as my sugar levels were dropping and the dizziness was settling in, whilst those in the know relaxed in their camping chairs stools amidst the snailing-snake queue. Inside the offices, many workstations were left cant without workers.

During that time, I heard how eNatis disappoints people day after day. One lady said she had to wait the painstaking 3hours three times, and just as she got to the door and was next to be helped, eNatis crashed and she was send away. Each time. Waisted effort. Helpless? Yep. And the government doesn’t give a hoot.

PS: This time I’m nailing that drivers license ‘thingy’ because the incentive is bedazzling: a never-driven before 2007 Mazda3 Sport 2.3 Individual ‘zoom-zoom’. Mmm! Nearly had an orgasm when I sat on its drivers seat the other day.

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"Judge of a man by his questions, rather than by his answers." - Voltaire