Tuesday 21 August 2012

the power of a tweet

'Dear @picknpay why are you no longer selling Hellmans mayonnaise? Tis a sad day for us #expats'

What followed was a series of tweets from others with suggestions of where I could purchase Hellmans Mayonnaise and even a tweeter contacting her local store to ask if they had any in.

And then this morning the phone rang.

It was head office in Cape Town to explain that the Hellmans Mayonnaise had not been available to order in since March due to an issue with labelling. Hellmans is imported into South Africa, lots of other global brands are manufactured under licence here. Coca Cola, Lays (aka Walkers in the UK) and due to it being a global brand it needs to comply with the food regulation agency and therefore needs to be labelled 'contains egg' and 'produced in a factory that handels nuts'

Now all very well and good, but......I need my Hellmans Mayonnaise, so I added it to Hubbies shopping list for next month.

Then this pm I get a call from the manager at the local branch who has gone above and beyond in her mission to fulfill my needs, including calling local branches to see if they have any left in stock, sent out staff to rival stores to see if she could obtain any for me and then said she'll check out her local shops during the week and rest assured she will call me as soon as it comes back into stock.

So I feel a little foolish now, all that effort for me? one lowly customer, but it's the difference between writing a blog post and tweeting how fab @picknpay are and shopping elsewhere.

In the past when I've tweeted them about raw meat, poor hygiene or lack of education on storing products, they have always responded in this manner, with an explanation and what they are going to do to rectify the issue.

This is not service I've ever had from a UK supermarket.

17 comments:

  1. Loved shopping in pick'n'pay while in SA so really pleased and seriously impressed by the lengths they are going through to get you your hellmans but it is hellmans after all!

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    1. Exactly the other stuffthey call mayo is just badly disguised salad cream

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  2. I could not live without Hellman's Mayo either, there is no equivalent substitute at all!

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    Replies
    1. the other stuff labelled 'mayo' is more of a salad cream and very vinegary

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  3. Really very impressed by that! There's customer service for you, and now people who have never even heard of Pick n Pay before (me) know how good they are. If I ever get to SA (please, one day) I will shop there. Great post.

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    Replies
    1. It's now mid jan and still no sign of the dam stuff and PicknPay have lost interest

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  4. Did you ever find any?? I am also trying to get some - in the mean time I am making my own with a bamix recipe

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    Replies
    1. We had some sent from the UK, PicknPay say end of Jan but im not holding out for it, how's your homemade recipe going?

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  5. Not only Hellmanns but Kraft as well. both disappeared off the shelves together months ago. Briefly saw Kraft in new packaging recently then it vanished again. Always the same story "It's not available from our supplier" This from a family Pick 'n Pay store Very frustrating

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    Replies
    1. Its a european labelling requirement or something that i dont really understand, they say it will be back end of Jan

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  6. Stil no sign of the mayo and I've also noticed the cream in a can has disappeared

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  7. I'm devastated that it's gone too.they told me it was coming back in November and still nothing

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  8. Bring back Hellans, bring back Hellmans, bring back Hellmans (done to a toyi toyi).

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  9. The Hellmans Mayo gods have blessed us once again - it's back in PnP!!!!!

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  10. Phone unilever South Africa and ask them why do they sell hellmans made in South Africa in large tubs for catering but not is small bottles for average joe ? You can go and get a 4.5kg tub at makro ...last time I saw it was 99 rand

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