WATCH: Unexpected surprise for Cape Town man as mice nest in online order
In a case of 'what he ordered vs what he got' a Cape Town got more than what he paid for with his order.
Image: Se-Anne Rall/IOL
When a Cape Town man ordered his Palladium SP20 Hi Tech boots off a well-known online store, he never imagined the added extras his package would arrive with.
The customer, who asked not to be named, explained to IOL that while he was excited to open the package when it arrived, what happened next left him totally gobsmacked!
Instead of opening the box and unwrapping his boots, which sell for around R2,199, he found a mother mouse and her babies crawling in the box.
The scene that greeted a Cape Town man, expecting to unbox his pair of boots
Image: Supplied
"I placed an online order with Superbalist in mid-April. The package was delivered to my house a few days later. When I opened it, I immediately noticed something was wrong," he said.
The customer said the package was torn, and there were pieces of ripped paper scattered inside the box.
"There was also a strong urine smell coming from inside the box, it smelled like mouse urine.
"When I opened the first shoe, I saw more torn paper and dark droppings at the bottom of the box," he said.
Mama mouse
Image: Supplied
When the customer lifted the shoe, a live mouse jumped out of the boot.
"I ran to my room. I was completely shocked. I had to spend the next few minutes trying to catch this mouse. Not at all how I planned to spend my day," he said.
"I eventually caught the mouse, and when I looked into the box, I found eight baby mice, nestled inside one of the shoes.
"I could not believe what I was seeing. There they were, eight tiny, pink, live mice in my shoe that I was supposed to wear! It felt like a nightmare," the customer told IOL.
He said he immediately started to document the entire ordeal; from the condition of the box, the shoes and the mice.
"I contacted Superbalist and the person who responded was polite and professional. Expecting that this was a serious health-related issue, I thought this would be dealt with swiftly," the man said.
He said he did not hear back from Superbalist for several days after the first interaction.
"When they finally responded, their apology was followed by a generic discount code as a form of compensation that meant I would have to spend more money with them before I could redeem it. Beyond that, no further action was taken. To date, I have not heard back from them," he said.
What the customer ordered
Image: Superbalist
In a series of emails, which IOL has seen, between the customer and Superblist, the company claims that it is "reviewing [its] quality control and shipping procedures to ensure such an incident does not happen again."
Superbalist explains that the promotion code goes towards the customer's next purchase.
The customer said his frustration lies with the fact that this was not a case of the wrong item or a delay in delivery.
"This was a contaminated product. A live animal came into my home, from their warehouse. This is a serious health and safety failure, and I've been met with policies and templated responses," he said.
According to the Superbalist returns policy, if a customer is not completely satisfied, they can return the product and it will either be repaired or their account will be credited.
IOL has reached out to Superbalist for comment, we have yet to hear back from them.
IOL