I went to the Spar Tops bottle store on Malibongwe Drive, Robindale, Randburg to buy beers. I took a crate of returnable bottles, Windhoek Draught 660 ml, wanting to get a full crate. I was informed that since they do not have an entry on their computer for a crate, they charge by the bottle. Calculating their price, including the refund on the returned bottles, comes to R224 per crate. I took this up with their management, who informed me that is the way they do it. The manager admitted that this amounts to gross overcharging of their customers. The Malanshof Tops charges R160 for the same crate of beer, including the reund. Thus they are overcharging by R4 per bottle on a R10 beer, or 40%.
I have left a voicemail on the Spar Customer Care number, 086 032 3141 but have had no response.
As I understand it, the objective behind buying beer in a crate of returnable bottles is to get them at a better price, not to get ripped off the way they do it. Clearly, I will never shop there again, and urge all consumers to do the same.
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