By Choked

I am a graphic designer who works part time and homeschools my daughter part time. I bought a HP Pavillion dv44-2160us Notebook in May 2010.

In October of 2010 the screen of my Notebook starting shorting out. I called the service center, they said, “No problem it’s under warranty. Send it in for repair. It should be a 3 - 5 business day turn around.” I had a school deadline and couldn’t send it in for three weeks not knowing how long it would actually be until I saw my Notebook again. That was a wise decision in hindsight!

The day the deadline was met, Nov. 12th, I sent the Notebook back to HP via UPS.

I received an email that said my laptop had been fixed and shipped back to me. It arrived back Nov. 16th IT WAS THE WRONG COMPUTER. They sent me SOMEONE ELSE’S Notebook!!!

When I called the customer service line, they didn’t believe me. Luckily I had written down my own serial number. It was the only thing that convinced them.

Much confusion - they didn’t know WHERE MY UNIT WAS!

The service center called me and asked me to ship back the incorrect unit which I did on Nov. 17th.

Since that time I have had nothing but run around. Many phone calls to the ‘Case Managers’ who they all insist is the ultimate authority - right below the CEO - no he doesn’t have a boss (isn’t THAT a dream job!) My Case Manager, Nazir, finally tells me they have found my unit on Nov. 24th and they are just having their engineer check it out and make sure all is working before sending it back to me. They will also extend my warranty for 1 year to compensate me for aggravation. He promises to call or email me with a UPS tracking number later on the 24th or on the 25th for sure.

I finally phone him back at 4:30 p.m. PST of the 26th. I can’t get through (usual scenario) I leave a message and inquire when he is off today. I am assured he will be there until 8 p.m. PST. I don’t hear back from him so I call again at 6:30 p.m. PST and am told he has gone home early. NO RETURN CALL - no notes on the file to show WHERE MY UNIT IS!

I am beyond choked and highly recommend you think twice before ordering from HP Canada online. You have no store to yell at. It is all done via phone or internet and there is no boss or manager to escalate too.

I am beyond choked.

By JB

Here’s an interesting way to try and boost profits:

My wife purchased some appliances on her Sears card for about $800. It was a do-not-pay for 3 or 6 months. Credit limit was $1000. Sears sends her a monthly statement noting that her credit limit was reduced to $500, therefore she was over-limit and a $25 charge appeared. She called Sears and the first person there argued that the $25 over-limit fee would NOT be reversed! And next month another $25 fee would be charged. She finally did get it reversed, we paid off the the DNP, and are now canceling the account. We won’t deal with Sears ever.

By Samantha

In August I received a gift card for Glow Hair & Nails in Calgary that was worth approximately $50. In Oct I went for a pedicure, and after my pedicure was finished, I tried to pay with my gift card. The manager/owner began to tell me that she just recently purchased the company and that the previous owner did not pay for any of the outstanding gift cards. She said they have hired a lawyer but cannot find the previous owner, and that they have already received over 100 cards since they’ve taken over. She would not accept my card, and said “her girls have to be paid”, and that she would give 10% discount. I paid the bill and walked out of there fuming. Is it just me or is that the risk you take when you assume another company’s name?? Why should the customer be penalized for their poor business decisions.

By WR

I’ve shopped at Sears Canada for over 25 years. Even though their prices are often a little higher, their money-back guarantee made it worth while. But apparently they no longer guarantee their products.

I purchased a pair of slippers for my grandmother as a gift. She needed one size bigger so I ordered a larger size through the catalogue and planned to return the other slippers on pick-up. Well, they refused to take the slippers back because I missed a deadline I didn’t even know about by 5 days. Even though I explained it was a gift and I was ordering the same slippers one size larger (so I wasn’t asking for my money back), they wouldn’t budge.

So now I’m out $52.00 and Sears no longer has a loyal customer! In the past 25 years I have purchased furniture, appliances and clothing through Sears because I could count on the fact that they back their products. But that is no longer true and therefore they won’t be getting any of my business in the future!

Unfortunately in not even offering an exchange they have a return policy that is less then some of the worst stores in Canada. Shame on you Sears!

By Sela

I bought a treadmill a week ago. On the first hour of use I noticed that the running belt keep coming of center and the equipment makes to much noise. I tried to contact TEMPO the manufacturer. Initially there was a recording saying we are experiencing high volume calls please call us again in the next business days.

I tried again and again when I finally was waiting for the a representative. After waiting for 45 minutes my call was disconnected.In the next day after the purchase I went back to the Canadian Tire that I bought the equipment from. For my surprise the manager said that they wouldn’t do a refund!!!

They said that a RA (return authorization) was needed from the manufacturer and that would take fewdays. Now after many calls they are saying that I should deal this the manufacturer. No return for this item!!!

By Ashley

I needed a new pair of glasses, as my new prescription I was given by my optometrist is stronger than my current prescription. I had heard a lot about Clearly Contacts on SC and other areas on the web, and decided to give them a try. I ordered two pairs, one regular pair of glasses, and one pair of sunglasses, and used the coupon code I found on SC. I received my order 4 days later, and the glasses were great quality!

However, the frames were too large for my face and didn’t look right on me. I called their customer service department (which has excellent hours too by the way!) and asked if I could return them and place a new order. She promptly sent me a prepaid Fedex label to ship them back, and said that they cover the cost of shipping for returns! The return process was quick and simple, and I was only on the phone for maybe 10 minutes. I placed a new order a few days ago and am waiting for my new glasses to arrive. I’m very happy with their customer service and the quality of the glasses they sell. I highly recommend them!

By Tina

Recently there was a posting on Smart Canucks regarding using the Buy2/Save $5 coupons for the $1.44 Secret or Old Spice anti-perspirant to get them for free. I wanted to warn anyone planning on redeeming their coupons at Rexall that they will not be accepted if they are more than the value of the product. I found this out the hard way at the Barrie location.

I brought 7 items to the register so the total was $11.38, but she would not accept my 2 coupons as she would be “giving me money”. I pointed out that I would be giving her money as the total was over $10 and that Rexall would be re-imbursed the $10, but to no avail. I asked if she could adjust the coupon value to $2.88 instead of $5 so there would be no price difference but she said she couldn’t.  She then stated that taking the coupons for more than the price of the product would be “theft”. When I told her I took offence at being called a thief just because I am trying to use a coupon she said “Oh, not you, Rexall would have an internal investigation, so I would be in trouble”. She offered to help me choose Secret products that were not on sale so that I could use the coupons, which was very nice of her, but by then I had had enough Rexall for one day.

P.S. I redeemed both coupons the next day at Zehr’s. Secret $2.49 X 4 =$9.96-$10 coupon = -.04. I hope Zehr’s does not launch an internal investigation over those 4 cents.

By Suebee

SOLUTIONS: YOUR ORGANIZED LIVING STORE

Their mission is to create a positive, organized and inspiring place to shop & work. While making an exchange, at the new Newmarket location, on Sept 14th, the sales associate handed me a pen to fill out the required paperwork. I removed my yellow leather wallet from of my purse to pay the difference and noticed that my fingers were covered in blue ink. Imagine how alarmed I was to notice that I had gotten ink on my wallet. My wallet was less than three months old.

Their first solution: discount my $24.00 purchase. This does not equal the amount I need to spend to replace my wallet.

Their second solution: a $50.00 in store gift certificate. There is nothing in the store that I needed or wanted. All I wanted was my wallet replaced!

Their third solution: After a week they decided to have the wallet professionally cleaned.

Their fourth and final solution (after two weeks): The wallet could not be cleaned. I was to be given the purchase price of the wallet. My predicament was this — I purchased the wallet in June while visiting an outlet shopping mall in Atlanta, GA. I was able to prove this by providing the original receipt. I paid $29.99 plus tax (USD). To replace the wallet locally, it will cost me $65.00 plus tax for a total of $73.45. The difference is $39.63. So, unless I add another $39.63, I cannot replace my wallet.

Their response to me: They can’t believe I am making such a fuss over an old wallet. It is not their fault that the pen leaked. We are being more than fair by giving you what you paid. My response to them: My wallet is not old. It was your pen. Your sales associate handed me the leaky pen. All I want is my wallet replaced. I am very angry and feel that I have been treated unfairly. I do not feel that Solutions is honoring their mission statement. Many phone calls were made, including to the owner of the company. You would think that when a customer takes his or her dissatisfaction this far, regardless how small, that the owner would surely take this matter seriously. Boy was I disappointed! He was told that I was not happy with this settlement and that the story would be made public. His answer was “Go ahead. I don’t care!”  So, here I am letting you know.

Does this sound like a positive and inspiring place to shop?

By Catherine

Yesterday I was out shopping to find a particular item I had never bought before, it was recommended to me by someone I know. My first stop was Canadian Tire at Shoppers world (only because it is closest to my house). After staring blankly at the rows of products I saw someone walk down the aisle and quickly looked to see if I was lucky enough to encounter a sales associate but sadly it was just another shopper. I left without buying what I was looking for (or ever seeing one associate on the sales floor) and headed over to the new Home Hardware on Hansen just off of Queen near Rutherford. I was greeted by 3 different people- one associate helped me find exactly what I was looking for (and for a great price) then apologized for making me wait while she ran to the back to check with someone else about the product. I told them I was so pleased with their service and friendly attitudes. I actually left there smiling! I will definitely go there for any of my household needs and suggest the rest of Brampton do the same! Be sure to check it out- Home hardware on Hansen just off of Queen st. ! LOVE IT!!

By Sheena Smith

I had my battery replaced in my car last night which took 3 hours. I was told that it usually takes around 20-30 mins to change a battery. I had a bar that they had to take off to replace the battery which I was charged extra for and it was only a matter of unbolting it. It took 1 1/2 hours to have the battery checked and then another 1 1/2 hours to put a battery in. This was my first visit to a Canadian tire auto centre and it will certainly be my last. One comment made by a customer service person was that the mechanic did not like to do that particular job and no one would tell him to do it. Great job having staff like that.

By Jenn

Virgin Mobile charged me twice in a month for phone service.  The first time I tried to call their customer service line to get it rectified, I was on hold for over 30 minutes.  I had to hang up.  I’ve since tried calling again and I get the automated message they are very busy and are having long wait times.  I sent an email and got an response 1 month later telling me the best way to reach them is by calling….How on earth am I going to cancel my phone when I can’t even get a hold of them?

By Pokey

My husband and I went to Canadian Tire to return some sandwich makers that you use on the fire.  We used them one time and they melted.  We do have another one that we bought years ago that was just fine.  So we took them back to get our money back as it was obvious that they were defective.  We went to the Customer Service desk and we were given a slip of paper and told to go to the department manager.  We went to the department and the department manager looked at them then and she went to speak to another associate.  She spoke with another associate and he would not come to talk to us but told the “department manager” that they have never been returned before therefore they would not refund us.  My husband asked to speak with another manager.  Another manager came and asked us if we had a reciept and we said no.  He then asked us how we paid and we had paid cash.  He told us that they cannot track cash payments and that they would not take them back.  My husband asked to s
peak with the Store Manager.  The Store Manager came and was totally igmorant yelling at my husband and telling him.  Telling him that if we did not have a reciept he did not know when we bought the item and that we would not be getting a refund on the items.  Needless to say that we are not going to be ever going to Canadian Tire again…..

By Terry

I bought Popeye 10 pieces chicken yesterday at Military Trail.  On the coupon states 5 thighs & 4 legs when I got home there were 7 thighs and 3 legs. The servers did not give me an option plus some of the chicken was raw on the inside( the thighs of course) and it made my mother sick. I will not purchase Popeye chicken ever again.

By Colin

I purchased a 25 Cu Ft refridgerator from Sears Canada Yorkdale Store in September, which was too deep for my cabinet space. I then purchased a counter depth one 20.9 Cu ft from Sears to replace the big one day later. The first fridge was delivered and setup by two small Indian guys. Two bigger Black guys showed three weeks later and said they could not pick up the old one and deliver and setup the new smaller fridge because it was too big. They said that it was a three man job and it was the first day on the job for one of the delivery guys.

My complaint is specificially the way this whole thing was handled. I was told that the new fridge would be delivered on Friday Sept 24th. It was not because it arrived at the warehouse too late. I was then told that it will be delivered on Tuesday, Sept 28th between 5 and 9 p.m. The truck came at 3 p.m. and left. The delivery was then scheduled for Oct 2nd and, you guess right! The delivery still was not completed. Now they are asking me to take another day off on Wednesday Oct 6th. Is FOUR Days off for an appliance delivery a reasonable expectation?

By kdespati

I love the idea of being able to save a bit of money and reduce our families waste by buying reusable water/sippy cups.  We’ve tried the no name brands, but found that the Rubbermaid ones seem to work best for us.
The only drawback is that my 4 year old always could drink that  amount of water in the sippy box in about 2 seconds flat (especially on a hot prairie day) so we decided to buy the larger  20 oz Sip Bottle.   Perfect - until after 2 uses my children lost the straws.

My quest to replace the straws began with visits to many mass merchandiser with no luck, trying to use a regular straw; not even close to a fit.  Finally I emailed Rubbermaid Canada who said that the straws were available for purchase online at Rubbermaid.com but only for US customers.

Really?  The Sip Bottle is advertised as  ”RefillReuse beverage bottles are the perfect substitute for disposable water bottles so you can drink more and waste less”  I am not sure how it is better or reusable if I can’t replace the straw needed to drink from it.

I guess that unless you are in the US this product is nothing more than a very expensive disposible water cup that will likely last longer in the land fill than a juice box or water bottle.