Bryanston Market — Local services in Johannesburg Ward 106

I have supported the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market online since the lockdown began last year. I love supporting their local vendors and the quality of the products they offer, especially the fresh produce. However, I have been encountering many hiccups along the way, such as issues with their online payment gateway, the delivery address being mixed with the billing address on their side, items out of stock, etc.

Some of these issues were handled very poorly to the point where I even had a lady put the phone down on me when I enquired the purpose of her call after the process was concluded on my part online, including payment. She kept firmly stating that I had not paid for my order and that it would not be dispatched, even after their own system had issued a payment receipt confirmation. This lady never apologised even after I brought this issue up with their team.

Logistically, the market asks you to place an order by Monday the latest for them to deliver on Thursday the same week. 2 weeks ago the market delivered my order excluding one of the main items with a note saying "refund". I had not been notified that this item was out of stock, and I had not received any contact a week later regarding the refund, so I emailed them. I sent another follow-up email today and got a response to say "check your bank statement".

This is not professional - I had at that point sent 3 emails to follow up on my refund, which should not have been necessary as the market should have refunded me without asking for it. Also, it is not correct to leave emails unanswered, especially as an online business. Lastly, it would be fair to acknowledge:

1. the inconvenience of not having a product in stock (which is not the end of the world, but at least communicate it to the customer), and
2. the delay on your response and the lack of confirmation that the refund had been made.

It is not my responsibility to explore my bank account daily until I see your refund there. However, it is an expected courtesy for you to submit proof of payment to me, the customer.

I will not be supporting the market again because this was not my 1st negative experience and I can honestly say there has been no improvement on their part to improve the experience for online customers. I have had wonderful experiences with other emerging small and local fresh produce suppliers, run by people who are passionate and gentle. The team behind the online store at the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market let me down as a customer and -in my opinion- is also letting their vendors down by providing a service that is not courteous...

I first visited the Bryanston market in the early 1980's & it has certainly stood the test of time. At one time I was there every weekend. It had been a long time since my last visit, just a matter of life. It seems strange to say it's the same but different. Different because the lay out has changed some stalls are the same quite a few have changed however, what is the same is that lovely atmosphere. Even on a cold day the stall holders have a ready smile & time for a chat. The stalls still have the most beautiful items on display. I can recall taking overseas visitors there on many an occasions. My favourite memory is going to a Christmas evening market, sitting on the patio having a lovely meal with my family & listening to the folk music, to add to the atmosphere the market had lights everywhere. I have to say I enjoyed it more than the winter Christmas market's in Europe. I have promised myself a visit to Bryanston market this coming Christmas, more likely even...

This review has nothing to do with the market itself as I can’t event find any information on it. I am someone who just recently found out about this market, so obviously I went searching for information on this market, when it’s open, is it only events, are they open every weekend. Why is it so hard for me to find information on this market? Social media accounts mention nothing about when the markets are, when they open, only posts about this recent Saturday (which makes me think it’s an event based market only). The website is complete chaos .. definitely not user friendly. I hate leaving bad reviews, but someone needs to sort this out. I’m so lost trying to find information, that I don’t even want to go to this...