by Surfkate

Hello.  today,  i went into my neighbourhood canadian tire store - they would not honour their price as in the flyer and as posted on their shelves. The manager directed me to the “fine print” on the flyer and I have sincerely feel ripped off - So, be aware, check the fine print at Canadian Tire - i chose the only item on the shelf that was Dr. Sholls, there were about 6 of those shelf price tags, “sale tags”, saying Dr. Sholls foot spa 19.99  - when i objected to the 69.99 price i was charged at the check out and subsequently asked to see the manager, he approached me and said nothing, only looking at me, then saying “okay, okay, i’ll go look” - he then sent someone else out with a Sunbeam replacement, and the employee told me that there was a mistake: the price tags and flyer should have read : Lancaster and Sunbeam foot spa - not dr. Sholls foot spa - when I asked to speak to the manager (again) i was told I would have to wait, waited 10 more minutes and the manager approached and said “what now”, literally.  He was defensive and advised me to contact customer service, which I did, see below and I will keep you updated as/if this develops.  Won’t be going there again.
thanks.

by Laura

Many of us have fond memories of skipping through Magical Kingdom as a youngster.  Riding Dumbo, meeting Mickey Mouse and singing ‘ Its a Small World’.  Back in January, I was lucky enough to share the experience with my son for the first time.  Unfortunately just before we were about to leave the theme park he lost his beloved new Mickey Mouse car.  We fought through the crowd to get to one of the stores on Main St..  At the last moment I decided to buy a lovely pewter Mickey Mouse key chain.  It was very unique in that the head swivelled around and the legs and arms moved too.  Sadly, a couple months later I looked at my key chain and noticed that the head had separated from the body.  Lucky me, I now had Mickey Mouse’s pewter head hanging from my keys like a deranged cartoon bounty hunter.  A few weeks later the pewter coating started coming off revealing a copper metal underneath.

Disheartened, I spent hours on Disney’s website trying to find an email to contact customer service.  I found one for Disney Store and thought they could maybe help.  I explained the situation and was told ‘DisneyStore.com only accepts returns of merchandise purchased through DisneyStore.com.  Should you wish to return an item that was not purchased at DisneyStore.com, please contact the Disney store where the item was purchased for further assistance.’.  I was frustrated as Walt Disney World is not only a two hour plane ride but also $75 American to get into the theme park.  So I persisted and reexplained the situation and was given a long distance number to call.  My husband called and was flatly told ‘we have a 90 day return policy’.

The lesson I’ve learned: If you are set on going to Disney, don’t buy their souvenirs.  If you forget and buy one of their souvenirs, make sure the item goes through a rigorous test before or shortly after being purchased.  Don’t bother trying to email them, call them at 1-407-363-6200, option 4, for returns and be prepared for a snotty costumer service agent.  Do this all before 90 days or else you are SOL.

by Lydia

I went to your Delta Superstore with a good intention.  I went to customer service with a bar of mozarella cheese that is moldy that I have purchased Jun 29/09 with a expiry date of nov 17/09.
I did not have my receipt with me.  I was hoping just to get the cheese replaced and tought not having  a receipt will matter and make you aware of the bad product I have bought for $3.00.

the response I got from cust. service is-  I have to take it back to the store where I  bought the cheese which is about 10-15 mins. drive. because they may have a problem with refrigeration and that they have no poroblem at their store, or that I may have left it in the car and cause the cheese to go bad.this is a $3.00 value of purchase.(I bought the cheese at your king george store), since we were at the delta store to look at the bbq we tought returning it will not make a diff. where you buy or purchase the item. then I asked for the manager cause the cust. serv. clerk did not look at my problem nor did not try to understand what I was trying to explain.  I asked for the manager and the manager’s response was - they don’t take back dairy products and more so not having a receipt that I have to take it back to the store where I have bought from.

My frustration is - I was not trying to return and get money back, I wanted the store to be aware that this is a 3 week old product that I have purchase, expiring in nov/09 and has turned really moldy with a cost of $3.00. and all I wanted was a replacement.  Driving to the originating store will cost more than replacing.

I felt no emphaty and no understanding from the clerk and the manager with what I was trying to convey.  Could have been just a simple make the customer happy for a $3.00 value of cheese.  !!!

In my frustration and rather than going into an argument and creating a scene.  I resulted in throwing away my cheese in the garbage.

I have been a long time customer of superstore. I have returned items with and with no receipts with values of more than $3.00.

by Lucy

I purchase a charcoal smoker, when I went to assemble the main drum was dented, the top would not go on properly.

Took the smoker to the store, they give me a refund and I went and purchase another one (I had a party the next day really needed a smoker) got home started to assembled the second smoker and 2 parts were missing
I got this box from the shelf myself, whent back to the store explain the situation and the employee told me he would give me a refund and I could get another box from the shelf. I refuse - told him that all boxes on the shelf were open and properly returns because of defects, I asked him to give me the missing parts from the smoker that I return earlier, He went to the back of the store and give me missing parts.

Needless to say I will not go to Lowes anytime soon, I did not like my experience, the employees were very helpfull, the problem is, return items should be sent to the mfg. not back on the shelf.

I don’t live close to the store so it took me a good 20 minutes each time to return these items. And since I can’t lift anything heavy I had to get my son to go with me.

Lucy

by Biddie

I have been a customer of The Real Canadian Superstore since it opened in Alberta.  My son & I were in store # 1566 on July 9, 2009 & upon leaving the store my son was stopped by a gentleman at the exit door.  My son was taken back by this as we have never been stopped leaving one of your stores before.  I have to admit that my son is not subtle & develops a rude attitude very quickly so when he was asked to stop, he basically stated “What the f— for?”  The gentleman asked him for the receipt.  My son attempted to keep walking & he was again asked for the receipt.  At this point, my son yelled at me as I had already walked through the exit door.  I passed the receipt through the small opening left as the door was closing & then opened the door manually & went to stand beside the gentleman.  I did not hear what my son said but I’m sure that he was rude & the gentlemen looked at him & said “If you don’t like it, don’t come back”.  Even though I had not heard what my son had said, I definitely heard this gentleman tell my son not to come back.  When I challenged him on this statement & the way he was talking to my son he told me “If you don’t like it don’t come back”  At that point, I was infuriated at the lack of respect & customer relation skills of this gentleman so I took my receipt out of his hand & left the store.

On July 10, 2009 I returned to this store with my daughter to speak to the store manager regarding the incident the day before.  I was disgusted to find out that the gentleman that I had dealt with on July 9, 2009 was actually the store manager.   I attempted to speak to him about how he had treated my son & I the previous day.  As I started to speak, he interrupted me & told me that I did not hear the whole initial conversation with my son.  I then stated to him that I know how rude & obnoxious my son can be however, that did not give him the right to degrade & demean another human being.  I again attempted to speak with him to try & somehow resolve this or to at least receive some acknowledgment that the situation could have been dealt with in a more appropriate manner.  This gentleman attempted to take over the conversation & turn it all back over onto my son (who certainly is responsible for being rude) & would not let me speak.  I forcefully then asked him to stop talking & listen to what I had to say.  He then said he would listen but within less than a minute he was again interrupting me by talking about having a responsibility to his 400 staff & 5000 customers.  I let him know that I did not have a problem with loss prevention as I have worked for a major Canadian retailer as an inventory control supervisor & know how much money that can cost a company.  This gentleman still showed me no respect & would not listen.  I let him know that I was contacting Head Office & lodging a formal complaint against him.  His response was “Go ahead, I’ve had lots of complaints laid against me” as he walked away from me.  This situation was dealt with in front of the Assistant Manager & the staff at customer service.  It was very apparent that they were all embarrassed to be there & the Assistant Manager would not look at me at all.  As this gentleman walked away, I said “this is the disrespect I am talking about”.  He completely ignored me & waved his hand in the air as if to say “get lost” & kept right on walking.

At no point was there any acknowledgment that  he had been disrespectful, no attempt at any type of resolution, no apology & no assumption of responsibility for the role he played in this situation.  Furthermore, to be disrespectful to the same customer twice in 2 days is beyond belief.  this type of behavior.  If this gentleman treated me this way both times I had contact with him, I have to wonder how he manages his staff & what other customers have been offended by him. As I have managerial & supervisory experience I was absolutely appalled at this man’s behaviour.  As a manager you have an obligation to your staff to set an example & it is your responsibility to deal with complaints in an appropriate & respectful manner.  I guess I have to ask  “What kind of reputation does Loblaws/Mayfair Foods wish to portray to their customers?”

After my experiences over the last two days, I have decided that my grocery dollars will be better spent elsewhere.  I will not return to the Superstore for anything that I have always purchased there.  I will be transferring my husband’s prescriptions from your pharmacy as well.  My children are in support of me & will not be purchasing their groceries, gas, liquor or cigarettes from any of your stores either.  I would think that in times where people are pinching pennies & watching where they spend their money, retailers would ensure that their customers are treated with respect & that any complaints are dealt with in a reasonable & fair manner.  Where has the idea gone that without customers, retailers & their employees don’t have a job?

I have e-mailed a complaint to the customer service department in Ontario.  So I await their response

by Tell Me About It

I really don’t care for the rip-offs at Sears — it makes my blood boil.  I HATE THIS COMPANY AND WOULD SUGGEST IF YOU CAN … BOYCOTT SEARS.

Anyone know how to get ahold of anyone in management to actually complain, or do they care?

Latest … I had cashed in my points from purchases in time to get a gift card … hmmm.  Well, I’ve been in the store many times but thought, no need to buy anything just yet.  Don’t see any clothes for my daughter (who’s 2), nothing for me … “I’ve got this card, but why spend it right away”… anyway, the day I go to spend it last month and put it towards my already reduced purchase … won’t scan.  Cashier contacts the office … is told that the card expired.  If I had used it within a couple of months after expiry they still would have honoured it, but they couldn’t honour it now  — too long.  Heck.  I had made purchases to get the points in the first place.  What a sham. Have to say, wasn’t the cashier’s fault that she was set up and I tried to be calm with her.  She was really a sweet helpful lady and told me that Sears is now owned by Chase Manhattan bank or some other financial company or other.  I can’t remember. She really tried to help me as I racked up to her all the rip-offs Sears has caused me.

I really DO HATE SEARS for all the grief and monetary losses to them over the years.  I would love to boycott Sears yet I’m a large woman and it’s still one of the only places I can shop (via catalogue) for any 1/2 decent plus sized clothing.  They hold a monopoly on my home appliances too.

Mind you, I have recently discovered some very nice lines on the Shopping Channel and have moved some business that way.

Anyway, time and time again with Sears … THIS CUSTOMER IS NEVER RIGHT.  My husband and I bought a mattress from them 9 years ago.  Well, it popped a coil that went through the mattress.  Guess what — they had to have record of the purchase — heck, it says Sears warranty on the mattress, why would I lie?  Then, they had to send the “Bed Doctor” out to take a look and coaborate that the mattress did indeed have a hole in it caused by a spring.  Well, I was to call — you know what I got from being told on the mattress that it was warranteed for 10 years — THE YEAR I BOUGHT MY MATTRESS (2000/2001) at that time the warranty was pro-rated.  Therefore, for every year I’d had the mattress it decreased in value — I was eligible for all of $350.00 towards the purchase of a new mattress.  And, they told me that they would tell the store that I would be coming in to make a purchase of a new mattress with that amount applied …. NOT.  Would you believe, they actually had the audacity to call me back and see if I was going to use that money.  (I can’t swear, but I’d like to here).  Now, apparently too, the later models, there is no depreciation on a mattresses’ value.  Or, so I’m told.

Other things:  I had a service warranty on my washer and dryer — do you think they ever pay me a courtesy call to remind me that the year is up and they should do service … NOPE.  When I read the fine print on my washer - the hose should be replaced apparently every 6 years — I told the appliance man — I wanted a new hose — (the machine’s 9 years).  Then the company called to tell me the service warranty was expiring.  Do you know what they were asking on a 9 year old machine — $240.00 bucks a piece I believe — that $580.00 for 2 items.  I laughed at the rep.  — can you imagine, I told  her “for that money, I’ll be investing in a new machine when mine breaks down”.

What # are we up to … I got stolen , yup, I say stolen $500.00 by Sears.  I was hhmming and hawing about going on a cruise (now this already goes back over 10 years — see what a bitter taste the company leaves in my mouth).  Without knowing whether or not I had the vacation time available to take off, I inquired about a cruise.  Well, the cruise would have been coming up.  And, pushing sales gal, I let her convince me to up my Sears credit limit.   She informed me that if I gave the card number she would put in the request to hold a ticket on the plane, but NOTHING would be official until I came in to sign for the ticket.  Well, that sounded okay because I couldn’t guarantee I’d get the time from my boss to go.  As it turns out, I have to take a bus to get to the store, had changed my mind and when I get there, … what do you know.  The tickets are already printed out in my name.  I DON’T WANT THEM.  So, what happens next, I’m charged the deposit fee.  Now, in hindsig
ht, I realize that you can purchase items over the phone on your card, but the sales person had misled me to believe no transaction was going to be formalized until I was in.  If that wasn’t enough — she wasn’t the one telling me it was a manager who really appeared to snicker.  I was out the $500.00 deposit.  (Mind you, my parents recouped me that since they were the ones who’d eventually talked me out of going and pursuing my opportunity to get the time off in the first place).

I HATE SEARS.

One final story — did you know that the same item in the store can be cheaper than the item in the catalogue.  They don’t necessarily have to be charging the same price.  I found this out when I went shopping with a friend.  I got the exact T-shirt she had boughten in the catalogue cheaper and reduced for a price lower than hers.  With the ticket incident still fresh in my mind, I told her not to let it rot and do something about it — somehow she succeeded where I always fail with this company and she got $50.00 back in merchandise coupons.  Good for her, but made me even more ticked.

Please, don’t get me wrong, I always have a level head when I’m speaking with the staff.  IT’S SUCH A COMPANY WITH SUCH A BUREAUCRACY AND I’M FINALLY RELIEVED AND GLAD TO GET MY FRUSTRATIONS OUT HERE IN A PUBLIC FORUM.  Thanks for listening.  I hope no one’s had it so bad with Sears as I have and hate them …my uncle even was employed with them for many many years.  I’d love for them to set things right and replace the wrecked bed this time … what they can do without paper trail anymore on the cruise stuff isn’t likely, but at least to treat me as the very best customer.

Other suggestions of places to shop so that I can boycott Sears would be great.

Also, reading the comments about Wal-Mart.  My hubbie has worked for them for over 14 years.  They do listen to the customer so make a complaint to Head Office.  Also, they would rather serve the customer than themselves.  Sorry for the bad experiences.  Not all’s true what you hear/see/read hear in Canada.  What I will say those is some stories — PEOPLE HAVE NERVE and it only takes one or two to wreck it for everyone.  My husband can tell a story of a person who (when the old policy was they would accept ANY returns, without receipt) of a person who literally had bought an outfit for Valentine’s Day and returned it day after Valentine’s … used.  Of course, they even got their money because that was the policy!

Now, I always check receipts. As Cam indicated, a lot of stores will make scanning errors — I’ve caught a few myself.  For this reason, as Zellers has, I often scan before I buy and I know where I picked up products, know if it looks like they’ll be a discrepancy and try to be a wise consumer.

That obviously doesn’t hold with my continuing to shop at Stupid Sears.

Love to hear comments about experiences with that store.

by Dea

When I moved into my condo last year, I noticed that there were some really nasty stains on the cream coloured carpet - red wine, spaghetti sauce, and who knows what else, but it was so gross and disgusting.

I finally decided/remembered to buy something to clean it up, and I bought the Woolite Power Shot. I followed the directions, and voila! the stains were completely gone and the carpet didn’t have white spots that come with the “bleached effect”.

I am thrilled to have clean looking carpets! I would recommend this to product to everyone who wants to clean their rugs or carpets.

My only complaint would be that for $7 or so that I paid for it, it didn’t really go far. It cleaned up about 5 stains and the whole can was empty.

But… a great product nonetheless!

by Catherine

We bought a brand new mattress at the Brick In brampton on Kennedy. WE were told we had to have a frame with center support in order for our warranty to be valid on the mattress. We chose the least expensive one since we had already dropped $1000 on a mattress (a huge investment for a couple just starting out). First of all, the metal frame was very complicated to assemble (despite it’s simple appearance). I emailed the company who makes the frame and they sent me the same useless instructions that were on the box. Eventually we assembled it correctly but found that sharp metal corners were exposed and the plastic caps that come with it to cover these dangerous edges did not fit the corners at all.

Again, I contacted the manufacturer asked for a set of 4 that fit - he explained that I only need two but I further argued that the edges are sharp on the top and bottom of the corners- I have been cutting open my feet on both the top edge and bottom edge. He sent me a set of 2 that were exactly the same as the ones that came with the mattress that didn’t fit.

More recently the plastic foot at the head of the bed broke apart leaving the mattress slanted and the metal post digging into my carpet. I called the brick and they sent over a “technician” who said he’d order a new plastic post to replace it. That was approximately a month ago and since then the one on the other side broke too. I am sorely dissapointed and disgusted with the quality of this god-awful frame. I will be going to Ikea this weekend to invest in a better one. I am also very dissapointed with the lack of action from the Brick. I will not be shopping there again.

Here is the frame:

http://www1.thebrick.com/brickb2c/jsp/catalog/product.jsp?id=850G&navAction=jump&navCount=1

by Carolynn P.

I purchased an expensive kitchen from Lowes. They came from the manufacturer in great condition and looked great.  Unfortunately their installation crew couldn’t read plans or use a level. It was improperly installed and they have ruined 3 cupoboards, my appliances don’t fit and the structure of the island is in question.  I have been without a kitchen for weeks and they have still not resolved the problems.  Right now I am regretting my decision to choose an american company new to Canada.  Buyer Beware, check installers references!

by Cheri M

W10 Colours Ltd, owned by Miriam Binns of Scarborough has charged me twice for something I ordered, promised a full refund if I was not happy and now has refused to give me a refund.

In addition to the about double charge (which she said was a bookkeeping error, amounts were charges over 30 days apart), she, as a partner in Ace Lifestyles, Hazelton Lanes, made two unauthorized charges to my credit card, once in May and again in June.  I waited almost a month for the credits to appear on my credit card transactions.

These stores W10 & Ace Lifestles are at Hazelton Lanes and I would suggest caution when giving her your credit card to Miriam Binns.

This issue is under police investigation right now.

by Mel

I am currently in the market for a used car and have been checking out many used auto dealers in the tri city area. Unfortunately, I work a lot so my boyfriend and I had to check out cars on a day it was raining. We went to Auto Vatche because of the selection in our price range. When we arrived there was a note stating he would be back in 5 minutes - no problem. He pulled up shortly after with no apology for keeping us waiting, but whatever. I never expected incredible customer service from a used car place, but the owner at Auto Vatche made us feel like we were bothering him.

We test drove one car, and decided we didn’t like it very much, so we asked to test drive another. He became incredibly impatient and asked us how many cars we intended to test drive today. We told him we saw two more that we liked, and we would probably be back Thursday to make a purchase. When he heard we weren’t spending any money at that moment, he told us: “You know what, come back Thursday. It’s raining and I’ve been here all day and I just want to go.” We were astounded!!!!! We are here to drop some cold, hard cash on a car and he tells us he doesn’t want to help us! We will NEVER be back!

I personally suggest going down the street from this horrible place, to Advanced Auto Brokers. They treated me very well, and even though I didn’t end up getting a car from them, they definitely made me want to give them business because of their helpfulness.

by Danielle

I switched over to Rogers for my cell phone when I moved (I was with Fido whom I loved, but did not have in my area and Rogers was a sister company, so I was allowed to switch my contract over without penalty)

I had ordered the black razor on a 2 year term.  Here are just a couple of things that went wrong;

1) I got the silver razor (which they had in store, and I was waiting for the black one to come in)  Well I got stuck with the silver.  No big deal.

2) They got my name completely wrong which caused a lot of problems when I tried calling them to sort it out.

3) They put me on a 3 year term (not what I asked or signed for) and then was told that I would have to pay for cancelling the 3rd year.

4) They provided me with a long distance number.  One that belonged to a city 2 hours away.  When I called about this I was told that they did not have Rogers in my area (I live down the street from them) and that is why I got the long distance number.  Well then I didn’t I stay with Fido I asked.  Finally I got someone else.  Then I was told, yes we have Rogers in your area (duh) but YOU will have to pay to have your number switched

5) Every month and I mean EVERY month, there was something wrong on my bill (my sister’s too) and I would have to call and spend forever on the phone to get it sorted out.

This isn’t even all of it.  However if you are lucky enough to have FIDO….They are great!!!

by Andit

Last Thursday, my Mom got a call saying that there was a problem with her Visa.  The caller never identified himself, but said he was calling from Toronto Dominion Bank (first red flag, since the standard tag is TD Canada Trust).  When my Mom asked which Visa he was calling about (she has 3 she rarely uses, don’t ask), he asked her to give him the numbers so he could identify which one he was verifying.  My Mom refused, saying that she preferred to go to the bank to get things straightened out in person, but the caller kept insisting it had to be done over the phone.  My Mom finally hung up the phone.

The next day, she went to the bank to warn them about the phone scam, but the teller showed no interest.  I made a call to someone a bit more senior in that branch (it used to be my home branch), & he apologized for the teller’s indifference & thanked me for bringing this to his attention, but he’s not sure what all they can do.

Thought I’d post to let folks beware that this scam is out there again (seems to come round every few years).  My parents are located in Scarborough ON (east end of Toronto), not sure if the scam is run locally or they pick phone numbers out of a hat.  Not sure if they knew my parents had a Visa or if it was a guess.

by Anne

My husband and I bought a new condo from Tridel 3 years ago in the North West end of Toronto for $289,900- and got ripped off. We did not get appliances and received cement floors with no carpet and no bathtub and toilet and no kitchen sink. Walls were not painted. A woman named Jenny from customer service said those things were not on your purchase agreement so I won’t get it. She said that she was Italian and she said to ask a lawyer. My lawyer said the sales person ripped me off by not allowing me to let lawyer review agreement first. The reps name is Raymond Chiu. I made claim with Tarion and they did not believe it. Tarion said all Tridel condo’s include these items. Tridel lied to Tarion and said I made this up. I took pictures and sent it to Tarion. What is a married couple to do when she is not believed by Tarion. Tridel gives only the names of satisfied customers to be included in their surveys so that they can be #1.