I was looking for a new kettle to use at home, and I bought this kettle at Clicks, Humerail branch. It was a Clicks home brand kettle, the sort with the fixed power cord. One exactly like it has been in heavy use at the office for years already, so I figured it was a safe bet. Besides, it came with a 1 year guarantee.
It also helps things a great deal if the buyer retains their purchase slip and the appliance packaging to aid in such exchanges when necessary – a habit I’ve cultivated over the years. I usually staple the slip to the box and put it away until the warranty has lapsed before tossing it out.
Strike 1
Although the first kettle worked very well for the first three or four months, one day out of the blue, it began to trip the earth leakage switch, and after a little trouble-shooting to trace the problem, it came down to the culprit – the kettle! No matter where we plugged it in around the house, it would immediately throw the trip!
The following day I dropped in at Clicks to exchange the kettle. Fortunately Clicks has superb customer service, and without anything more substantial than a two sentence explanation, they exchanged it without any argument or delays! It was also a bonus that I’d saved the box (with the till slip stapled to it) so I had everything handy when needed. Since I figured the problem was the result of pure fluke, I took another kettle exactly like the first again. I again saved the box and till slip as before, just for in case! Problem solved, right? Or so I thought…
The new kettle worked great, and we figured the first one was just a fluke. Just a month later, however, this one also failed – this time, a loud electrical bang left a black scorch mark on the stainless steel tray it was standing on – and a few extra brown marks – the cats went into hiding for hours!
Strike 2
A day or so later, I took it back to Clicks in its box and showed them the photo I’d taken of the tray. By the manager’s reaction when they saw the kettle, I got the idea this was a bad batch of kettles… but again I was allowed to exchange kettles without any drama whatsoever!
This time however, I decided to avoid a repeat of this inconvenience, and chose a slightly more expensive cordless model from a different manufacturer. I paid in the whopping R39 difference.
Strike 3
That one lasted us very well until 2023, when it got dropped by accident – and being glass, smashed into a million pieces! In the end, I opted to buy a different kettle altogether at a different store – no reflection at all on Clicks in that regard, but no warranty in the world will cover that!
Conclusion:
While it was slightly inconvenient to make two trips to the Clicks branch for these comebacks, their friendly, understanding service more than made up for it. I would still recommend Clicks for appliance purchases without hesitation – and since they have such a good exchange policy, also their home brand appliances. Just make sure you keep the original box and your till slip.
In thinking about how to give Clicks a rating, I’ve decided on a satisfactory FOUR STARS.
The reason for this is their no-quibble exchange/refund policy. The only thing preventing me from giving them a full five stars was the unreliability of the string of first kettles we got, and the inconvenience of having to travel to the branch to return them.
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021