I am sure you all have horror stories to tell about the service you recieved at Canadian Tire... Here's mine:
Let me start with the fact that I often shop at Canadian Tire. I love camping and there is little other option when shopping for camping supplies. I also have routinly had my oil changes done there. A few weeks ago I needed to get an imissions test in order to renue my sticker. So I took the car to Canadian Tire for the service. I was well aware that the car might fail the test because my engine light had been coming on periodically for a few weeks. They test the car and sure enough it failed. So I asked the mechanic "what do I have to do know?" (my car had never before failed emissions so I really had no idea what you do when it does fail) His reply was... "You have your car put on the diagnosics machine to find what the problem is, then you have the problem fixed" He asked if I wanted them to do the work. Now like everyone else I have heard horror stories so I told him that I would be taking my car to another mechanic to have the work done. On the form there is a $$ amount printed and I asked what that amount ment. He told me that the amount was the top amount I would have to pay to have the problem fixed and if the car failed again I would get a conditional pass. So off I trott to my mechanic and spend $600 (more than the amount on the form I was given at Canadian Tire) to have the problem fixed. Diagnosis... clogged valve. So a total of 16 hours later I return to Canadian Tire with my brand new valve and a form saying the diagnostics are clear! Yay I'm gonna pass! During the first test the car failed the driving portion of the test and passed the idol portion. I should mention that the mechanic at Canadian tire was giving me attitude about not getting the work done in his store. He asks me how much I payed for the diagnostics. Which was less than Canadian Tire charges... My partner and I go to wander the store while they do the test and are called back to the service counter less than 5 minutes later. Again we are given attitude! (the car had not even been tested yet) They ask where I got the work done.. how much I payed... why I didn't have them do it... etc... So finally they test the car.. They return with the paperwork and guess what? It failed again! Fuck! The first curb idol reading was 0.38 (a Pass) $600 later it read 3.39! So my first question is: How is that possible? Their responce "your mechanic must have messed up! You should have got the work done here!" I pulled out the diagnositic reading that my mechanic gave me less than one hour before which showed a clear reading and again asked how is it possible that the reading jumps from 0.38 to 3.39 in less than 24 hours and after I had work done on the car. I guess because I am a woman an inquiry such as this is unreasonable, because I never did get a responce to my question. The mechanic just said I should have had the work done at Canadian Tire! Now I would have to pay $90 to have it run back through diagnostics to see what the problem was. Even though it had been run already less than an hour before! My next inquiry... Don't I get a conditional pass because I spent MORE than the required amount of money? Now is a GREAT time for the mechanic to tell me that I had to have the work done by a mechanic that is Air Clean Certified! Translation the $600 I already spent means nothing! No conditional pass. No exceptions. (Shouldnt they have told me this information BEFORE I had the work done?) To say I was PISSED would be an understatement! I took the paperwork and walked out. The next morning I drove the car right over to Midas and payed AGAIN for another test. To state for the record I did not do ANYTHING at all to the car before this third test! No Diagnostics, No work, No nothing! I showed the previous paperwork to the owner of Midas and asked him the same question I asked the mechanic at Canadian Tire and WOW for the first time in two days my breasts didnt get in the way of a str8 answer. So on the emissions machine again.. and guess what? It PASSED with flying colors! the curb idol that read 3.39 (fail) now read 0.00. The owner of Midas informed me that it is not uncommon for ther to be glitches and get an inaccurate reading like the 3.39 I had seen the previous day. He siad that when it happens it is CLEAR that there was a glitch and at Midas they simply run the car again without even informing the customer and it always passes the second time. Now I dont have a penis but even I knew ther was a problem with the second reading! The numbers didnt make any sence at all. Canadian Tire was simply trying to get me to spend more money in their automotive department.
I will no longer be shopping at Canadian Tire! Not for my camping needs or my automotive needs. The Service Department at Canadian Tire is supposed to be doing just that! Offering service! They are so concerned with getting you to spend more money in their department that they fail to see. if they provide good honest service they would have return customers. Canadian Tire has not seen or heard the last of this. I expect that they are going to reimburse me for the second and third test at least! I would advise anyone who currently shops at Canadian Tire to think twice about the decision, make the choice to go somewhere that offers more honest service and who will look past the fact you don't have a penis and still talk to you like an adult!
