Canadian Tire... "don't start with me"
My starter just died today. Just replaced it, about 121 days ago!
Canadian Tire, from whom I got the starter, wants me to pay $40 for the inspection fee to determine for sure that's the source of the problem, (I'm 99.9% sure it is) and then, because the part it over 100 days old, for the labour to install a new one. (which will be provided at no charge under the warrenty)
Don't even get me started, CanTire. I accept that your staff ought to be duely paid for their work, but you shouldn't be passing it on to me because a part that was supplied to you was defective. Pass the bill onto the company you got the part from.
I'll be going to pick up the car in about an hour. Stay tuned for the update.
(Notice to any Canadian Tire employees: This post will remain up in its present form until this matter is deal with in a satisfactory manner. Once resolved, I will post my feedback on this blog, which on average, due to my association with various blogging communities, is viewed by over 50,000 people a day. Here's your chance to do some good PR...)
UPDATE: Well, it appears there was nothing wrong with the car. It was sitting in their lot, they had a couple of guys push it in the bay, checked it out, and the thing started up just fine. Problem is, that's EXACTLY the kind of symptoms my car displayed right before I had to change the starter the last time.
So, the only thing wrong now is the $41.83 missing from my bank account for the "inspection". Grrrr...
Canadian Tire, from whom I got the starter, wants me to pay $40 for the inspection fee to determine for sure that's the source of the problem, (I'm 99.9% sure it is) and then, because the part it over 100 days old, for the labour to install a new one. (which will be provided at no charge under the warrenty)
Don't even get me started, CanTire. I accept that your staff ought to be duely paid for their work, but you shouldn't be passing it on to me because a part that was supplied to you was defective. Pass the bill onto the company you got the part from.
I'll be going to pick up the car in about an hour. Stay tuned for the update.
(Notice to any Canadian Tire employees: This post will remain up in its present form until this matter is deal with in a satisfactory manner. Once resolved, I will post my feedback on this blog, which on average, due to my association with various blogging communities, is viewed by over 50,000 people a day. Here's your chance to do some good PR...)
UPDATE: Well, it appears there was nothing wrong with the car. It was sitting in their lot, they had a couple of guys push it in the bay, checked it out, and the thing started up just fine. Problem is, that's EXACTLY the kind of symptoms my car displayed right before I had to change the starter the last time.
So, the only thing wrong now is the $41.83 missing from my bank account for the "inspection". Grrrr...
posted by Christian Conservative @ 12:06 p.m.
7 Comments:
At Mon Jun 26, 01:05:00 p.m. EDT,
Joanne (True Blue) said…
Don't ever buy any electronics there either. You might be safe in the garden centre.
At Mon Jun 26, 01:16:00 p.m. EDT,
Christian Conservative said…
Thanks for the thoughts Sean, but I toasted the comment for lanuguage.
Please feel free to repost your thoughts, in "PG" compatable language. ;-)
At Mon Jun 26, 04:20:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
50,000/day reading your childish dribble? how about 50? i scream aloud everytime i click a header and discover you're the authour.
At Mon Jun 26, 05:25:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
Oh, don't get me started on Crappy Tire. I have never dealt with a more incompetent group of auto repair amateurs in my life. They totally butchered my car's electrical system. And when my power-amp suddenly stopped working after I had brought it in and I said that it was their responsibility to ensure that if it was working before, it should be working now, they threatened to close the car up and leave it as it was -- mid-repair. In the end, it turned out one of their mechanics took out a fuse and forgot to put it back in.
And don't even get me started on their customer complaints department... it is obviously designed to frustrate the customer into giving up, not ever trying to get the customer to feel satisfied.
As I will repeat forever, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES bring your car to Can Tire... they don't deserve the business.
At Mon Jun 26, 11:02:00 p.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
The Canadian Tire in Cambridge on Pinebush has always been really really good to me, and has been voted by the citizens of Cambridge as "best city garage" several years in a row. Not every Canadian Tire store is bad, and any mechanic would do exactly the same thing.
Having worked as a service writer in a garage for an operation of a fleet of over 5,000 pieces of equipment, I do know how mechanics have to work to diagnose problems. Sad thing for you is, on the starter it might have been something so small as a small piece of debris jamming the flywheel that fell out at one point and the thing jumped back to life.
As a consumer, you have a responsibility for realizing what the warranty is on an after-market part you buy and that once that warranty is over, you're outta luck. And in this case, since nothing diagnosable was wrong with the vehicle, there isn't even anything they can do for you to the parts manufacturer.
I'm sorry, I don't see any garage doing any differently. Yeah, it sucks when you have to pay money for it, but garages aren't donor clinics for their services.
And by the way:
Joanne, I'm intrigued by the notion of you buying consumer electronics at a Canadian Tire. I'd be more inclined to picture you in a less-mainstream store for your electronics needs while thinking about Lorrie Goldstein.
At Mon Jun 26, 11:37:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
See Blake, I agree with you that not every Can Tire store is the same, and no doubt that there are a few really great ones out there for auto service.
But, with my run in with the local CT and trying to get cooperation from the head-office... sorry, but when the head-office gives you the run-around after one of their service managers threatens you with leaving your car in pieces and the CT complaints department does nothing to mediate on the side of the customer (their motto seems to be "the beligerent service manager is always right"), I think that the corporation deserves to take whatever flack it recieves.
Nevermind that when you leave a complaint with the CT customer service department, you'll be lucky to hear from them anytime within the month... CT does not strike me as particularly a worthy corporation.
At Wed Jun 28, 01:38:00 p.m. EDT,
Joanne (True Blue) said…
Joanne, I'm intrigued by the notion of you buying consumer electronics at a Canadian Tire. I'd be more inclined to picture you in a less-mainstream store for your electronics needs while thinking about Lorrie Goldstein.
Lorrie belongs to Sara now. :(
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