Canadian Tire

james_squared

Hello,

I don't normally like giving praise to large chain stores, but I feel that I must do so this time. Here's my story:

We had the front wheel bearings repacked (as well as some other repair/maintenance work) in Guelph, ON in June of this year. We then moved across the country to Prince George, BC in the middle of August. In order for us to get insurance in BC, we needed to get the truck safety inspected. (We had just done this in May in Ontario, and it had been registered in BC before, but that's another complaint).

Anyway, the mechanic in PG went through the process and said we needed to have our front bearings repacked in order for us to pass the inspection. Needless to say, I was a bit pissed off. I went into the garage and the mechanic showed me the problem and I agreed that the work needed to be done (it HAD to be done for us to get insurance, which we needed to do right away, as we could only use our Ontario insurance for 30 days while in BC.)

Well, it ended up costing me just over $160 for the mechanic to repack the front bearings.

Of course, I complained to the Service Manager about this problem and he told me that he would contact the Service Manager in Guelph to see if he would warranty the work done in Guelph.

Well, I'm happy to report that they did. So, I get the $160 or so put back on my card and I'm a happy camper.

It's too bad it all went so smoothly. I was getting all geared up to talking to local media and making an "I hate Canadian Tire web site." I was learning how to make a guest book and a 'refer a friend' script. We were also prepared to boycott Canadian Tire for the rest of our lives. Oh well, I'm sure another chain store will **** me off not too soon into the future. (Of course, we boycott Wal-Mart at present, but that's just because I hate Wal-Mart for various reasons that I don't want to get into.)

Anyway, I will never use the Canadian Tire in Guelph again. I will also recommend to people who live in Guelph to not go there.

The mechanic there who did our work obviously didn't do it very well. The PG mechanic said the Guelph mechanic tightened up our lug nuts so tight (boy did that hurt...) that he didn't think he would even be able to get them off. Also, a mechanic at Guelph stole two (2) of our lug nuts, but we weren't too sure when that happened so we didn't complain.

Moral of the story: I am happy that Guelph honoured their work, but I will never get service done in Guelph again. Sometimes using a large nation wide chain store is good for covering their warranty, especially if you plan to move soon.

James

SOLID

I think since Walmart landed in Canada stores like Canadian Tire have really had to pull up their socks to compete. Primarily in the area of customer service, competative pricing etc. My local Canadian Tire is right across the street from Walmart.

I have a quick Canadian Tire story for you. My neighbour at the lake this summer seen me chopping wood one day, so he came over and told me to try his axe. It was actually a "Maul", thats an axe with large weight on the back of the head for splitting logs. It worked great, makes splitting fire wood so much easier. I wanted to buy one of my own so one day while checking out the Canadian Tire Flyer I seen they had all their Axes and Mauls on for half price. I expected the flyer to run for a week so I stopped at Canadian Tire the following Saturday to pick one up. I couldn't find them so I grabbed a flyer and I couldn't find them in there either. I asked a clerk and he said the flyers only run until Friday. I thought that was kind of strange. Anyway I thought I'd look at them anyway so when I found them they still had a sale tag on the shelf where they were hanging, I thought my lucky day. So I gabbed one priced at $34.95 and went to pay for it. When the checkout clerk scanned it, it still came up $34.95. I told her on the shelf they were still marked at half price. She went to the shelf pulled the sales card off and brought it back to the till. As she is writing up the adjustment she calls the floor manager, and she says to him he gets $10.00 off, so I said no it was supposed to be 1/2 price, she says no it was our mistake so you get another $10.00 off. So long story short I got the item for around $7.00. Good deal.

__________________
G3 Desktop 266, 60G HD, 416 MB Ram<br />G3 Desktop 266, 4 G HD, <br />G3 Desktop 233, Dual 4 G HD<br />Performa 6300 CD (Retired)<br />PPC 6100/60 upgraded to G3/300, 2.1G HD, 72 MB Ram<br />PPC 6100/60 upgraded to G3/300, 2.1G HD, 72 MB Ram<br />PPC 6160 AV upgraded to G3/330, 2.1 G HD, 72 MB Ram<br />IMAC 233 Bondi, 4G HD, 190 MB Ram (Died)<br />IMAC DV 400, 10 GB HD, 320 MB Ram<br />eMAC, G4 800, 60 G HD, 256 MB Ram, Super Drive<br />4 X eMac, G4 700, 60 G HD

SpanishJoe

I've had my share of horrid CT experiences when it comes to cars. Here's a short list:

- New tires. Waited 4 hours at the store, and they put on the wrong ones. They were almost 2 inches too wide and a different brand entirely. When I refused to drive away with them, they replaced them with the right ones, rebalanced, and were completely done in 20 minutes. Translation : it only takes that much time, and the 4 hour wait (1/2 day off, no pay) was just to irritate me.

-New CV boots, which is basic maintenance. Took them 6 hours to install. Boots broke off after 50 km ("universal" holding clips were faulty). Replaced, but had to pay for labor. Boots broke off again, but this time after 1600km drive to Winnipeg. Needed a whole new front axle this time. Had to pay for labor, again ($450), and another 1/2 day off. 100 km later, the boots broke off and the seal which connects to the tranny started to leak. Gave up and took it to Honda for a $600 repair.

-Oil change: Oil filter FELL OFF as I was pulling away from the store. Oil everywhere. Unbelieveble.

-New muffler.
-5 months later, new muffler. Rusted out.
-5 months later, new muffler. Rusted out.
-5 months later, new muffler, this time from Honda.

And that's just a sampling. There have been bright spots, though - they've done a few spot repairs with no charge - like a faulty tire valve, a leaking gas tank plug and a couple of other small things. And I'm in there all the time shooping for tools, sporting stuff, etc. I hate the place when it comes to auto service, but I live there on saturdays. It's like KFC - you know it's bad for you, and it makes you grease-sick, but you just keep coming back for it...

-SJ.

__________________
"Dr. Penfield, I smell burnt toast!"

CubaMark

First a couple of links on Wal-Mart, which you may find interesting:

http://www.maquilasolidarity.org/cam...mart/index.htm

http://www.maquilasolidarity.org/cam...terinabox1.htm

Having sold my car many years ago, I have no horror stories to report vis-à-vis CT's auto repair service.

I do know that if I want something, they usually have it, and I *do* "walk the talk" and shop Canadian whenever possible.

Here's an interesting link on CT:

http://www.transnationale.org/anglai.../163398479.htm

(think we can talk Steve J. into moving north and making Apple.Ca the HQ? I'm sure he'd like MacNutt's neighbourhood...)

[img]smile.gif[/img]
M.

__________________
Supporting great Canadian software: www.celtx.com
Saving the Web from Adobe: ClickToFlash
iWork Users: Apple Keynote Users Group

Brainstrained

My favorite CT car story occurred about 10 years ago.

I was going on a long car trip and the beast was due for a tuneup. So I took it to CT in the a.m. and picked it up early in the afternoon. Went home, packed the trunk and stopped at my local full service for a tank of gas while loading up on junk food for the road.

When I get back to the car the gas jockey has the hood up and the dipstick in hand.

"Hey," he says. "You've got no oil in here!"

CT auto service is now only used in an emergency when on the road. That way, if they screw things up when I get home I can raise hell with the local dealer.

__________________
"Ooohhh! My brain hurts!"

Britnell

Canadian Tire? Service?? Never again. Just too many horror stories, including failing to tighten the oil drain enough so the oil ran out on the diveway.

Replacing a clutch, and knocking a hole in the manifold.

Repairing a CV joint and needing it replaced again after 1 month.

Nope, I stick to a local garage. Better rates, and a free loner car.

Canadian Tire might be good for stuff in the stores, but I won't have them do service anymore.

M

__________________
Necessity is the excuse for every infringement of human freedom.<br />It is the argument of the tyrant and the creed of the slave.<br /> -- William Pitt, 1763

ShadeofIndigo

STAY AWAY FROM CANADIAN TIRE for Service & Repair, especially the ones in Cambridge (Main and Dundas). Long story short, messed up my VW. Had to get tires replaced under warranty, did not have original Goodyear performance tire in stock. Advised to look online for tire I wanted. Next morning went in and had a jerk. Would not honour price match for special order Michelin's I wanted, screwed around with the warranty, and cost additional money cause apparently the rear disc was bad for the alignment while I was in VW the day before. I ended up with Uniroyal's which are satisfactory but I didn't want those tires in the first place. Incompetent, rude staff.

RunTheWorldOnMac

I am a CTC fan but would NEVER take my vehicales there. Did once for an oil change; oil on inside of door and punk took my brand-new civic SIR for a tour around the parking lot. I reamed them out and hopefully he got fired! The mechanics there aren't the greatest. Best to pay the extra $ and find a good mechanic!

Cheers,

Scott

SINC

I recently bought a new windshield wiper blade for the drivers side of our Windstar van for $13.95. For whatever reason, I could not get it to work. I went back into the service department and they send a guy out who popped it on in about 30 seconds, which was great. The not-so-great part came when they invoiced me an extra $9.54 for the installation.

Yep, 9 bucks plus GST for 30 seconds work. I summoned the store manager who told me it was a standard charge. I then informed him that his $9.54 would be the last he ever saw from me, and I had shopped at that store for 20 years. That didn't even make him flinch. I now shop at Wal*Mart for auto stuff.

__________________
Visit my website: St. Albert's Place

"When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty."
Never squat with your spurs on.

Macified

CT aren't exactly budget mechanics. Sure they don't command the fees that VW wrench jockies do but they aren't cheap.

I got a remote car starter for Christmas 2 years ago. It was an "off-the-shelf" unit from the local CT. Took it to be installed only to find that they don't actually install them. Winter passes so I don't bother installing. As we get into next winter I start seeing signs for remote starters $149 installed. The signs are from no-name little shops that I don't know if I can trust. Go back to CT and they still don't install in most locations. Winter passes again. This winter I go to the new local CT and they have an installer. Again, local signage sets going rate for stater unit and installation at around $149. CT price $299 + harnesses for your model of car at nearly $80. The starter was bought two Christmas's earlier (and is still the current model) on sale for $149, add $375 for installation and we are over $500 for a CT installation. Their only excuse is that they actually pay their mechanics were the other little shops don't. WTF!?! How many installers do you know that work for free. My starter is sitting under the seat of my car if anyone wants to come and steal it.

__________________
“Maybe some day somebody will call me "Sir" without adding "You're making a scene"!!”
-Homer Simpson