You can't buy that!

Favourite Man and I popped in to an Altec Autopage shop recently to find out about a Neotel package. We knew exactly what we wanted, just needed to find out how to apply for it.

Well we got a nervous young chappie to assist us, who sat us down and then started shuffling papers. First he got up and retrieved a few more, then put them away, took them out again, stacked them, opened a file, closed it. No matter how many times we asked for that specific package, he tried to sell us something else. The cheapest, the lowest GB per month, everything but what we asked for. We even pointed it out on the brochure in front of him - which led to more paper shuffling and umming and aahing.

Eish!

Finally he went and found a Neotel application form. We'd asked for business one, all he could come up with was a personal one - which has none of the information one would put down for a business application at all. When questioned, he reckoned you just need to fill it in as a private individual and add the business information... where?

Needless to say, no application to Neotel was made there.

Favourite Man later phoned their call centre. After half an hour on the line to them giving info, the call died - seems they have a limit on their call time that automatically kicks in. He phoned back, was told by someone else that they couldn't actually take down that info. And of course there's no way to retrieve forms or apply online via their website.

I've run into this often lately. People go all out to advertise a product or a service - and then they don't want to sell it to you! They make it as difficult as possible to buy it, to sign up for it, or to even get any concrete info on it. You'd think with the economy doing what it is, you might want to bring as many customers on board as you can, right? Apparently not.

Quite mind-blowing (and numbing) really.