Monthly Archives: June 2015

Canadian Tire Does Their ‘Bit’

Well, it would appear that, contrary to popular belief, I can sometimes be kind of right. In one of my last posts, I discussed what I believed to be a bright future on the horizon for our nation’s beloved Canadian Tire. It would appear to me that, if my most recent visits to the store are to be any indicator, that the future is bright.

A few years ago I purchased a Mastercraft screwdriver from my local Canadian Tire. Eventually, one of the pieces managed to go missing. I cannot take all the blame, however, as the bit I was using did not properly fasten into the screwdriver. As anyone who does their fair share of handi-work knows, you’re going to need a Phillips-head screwdriver every once and a while. To solve my dilemma I went to my nearest Canadian Tire with the screwdriver and all of the bits in hand.

I arrived expecting to be put in touch with their supplier and having to wade through the many levels of bureaucratic nonsense that often accompany a task as simple as getting a replacement part. However, much to my surprise, and delight, I was informed by the first employee I approached that all Mastercraft products come with a lifetime warranty and was told to go pick out any other screw driver I wanted. I went and found another screw driver that I felt was an adequate replacement for the faulty one I was returning. The store took back the old one and gave me the new one, no questions asked, absolutely free.

Here I was, having gone in expecting to have to deal with countless customer service representatives and employees, leaving in a fraction of the time I had expected. Once again, within weeks of my last visit, I had gone into a Canadian Tire expecting a headache and instead left having one of the most pleasant customer service experiences I’ve had in a while. So thank you Canadian Tire for not driving me ‘screwy’ and doing your ‘bit’!

 

Canadian Tire

1019 Sheppard Avenue East

Willowdale, ON M2K 1C2

(416) 226-4411

 

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Ricoh Coliseum Keeps Fans Happy On and Off the Ice

A few weeks ago my nine year old daughter and I had the pleasure of attending the Maple Leafs season ticket holder’s annual skating party at the Ricoh Coliseum. My daughter and I love this event and look forward to it every year. We arrived at the home of the Toronto Marlies decked out in our Leafs jerseys and matching Marlies toques. After spending close to an hour on the ice, we skated off to the change area to remove our skates and take a breather. Since we were rushing to get back to our car, we did not have time to check whether we had all of our belongings, and it so happend that my daughter lost her beloved toque, and needless to say, she was devastated.

My daughter has always loved leaving the house in matching hats with her dad and the prospect of no longer being able to do so left her quite upset. So we returned to the Coliseum and began to search. Despite spending what might seem like, to some, an unreasonable amount of time searching for a beanie, we still could not find the toque. One of the employees at the rink saw us looking around frantically and, despite his best efforts, was also unable to find her toque.

Instead of simply apologizing for the inconvenience and calling it quits, this employee went above and beyond his call of duty and tried to find us a replacement toque. Unable to do so, the employee returned with Marlies baseball caps, pens, and a backpack.

As a Hail Mary, we took a final look around and we were approached by another employee. This employee apologized to us for being unable to find the my daughter’s toque and left us her business card. A few days later I emailed her, just to see if anyone had been able to find the toque, and she informed me that they could not find it, but instead, she had found a replacement that she was having couriered directly to me. I was thoroughly impressed.

Here was an example of two employees who took a bad situation and, through their efforts and dedication to excellent customer service, turned it into an overwhelmingly positive one for myself and my family. While Toronto sports franchises are, now more than ever, certainly not without their difficulties, it is through the actions of employees like these and their dedication to customer service that will keep us fans of our teams for years to come.

Ricoh Coliseum
45 Manitoba Drive
Toronto, ON M6K 3C3
(416) 263-3900

 

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