Tag Archives: Customer

Ride the Rocket!

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Empty Toronto subway car.

A couple of weeks ago, the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) was in the news after a horribly frustrating morning of delays, due to switch issues, maintenance problems, and emergency alarms being pulled. While I realize that these challenges are experienced on a far too regular basis, for those passengers that rely on the TTC for their daily commute, I wanted to share some positive thoughts on the organization.

Although I am not a daily TTC user, I often take public transit when travelling downtown to events or meetings, as it is easier and less stressful than driving in a car. I’m able to sit and talk to my friends and family without having to focus on the road, and I don’t have to worry about finding parking.

Though the TTC undergoes plenty of maintenance, I have experienced minimal delays when travelling on the system and when delays do happen, I’ve found that the employees have done their utmost to get us moving again. Generally speaking, my trips have been smooth and comfortable and more than once I’ve found myself lulled to sleep by the swaying subway cars.

In more recent times, I also had the opportunity to use the TTC app, which provided me with accurate information regarding the bus schedule, allowing me to maximize my time visiting someone at the hospital, while also getting me to my destination on time.

My only two complaints would be the quickly rising cost of the fares and the added cost of parking at a TTC lot – why charge for parking when you’re trying to encourage people to leave their cars at home and take public transit?

One last thought…although becoming increasingly rare, I truly enjoy the look of those TTC operators who still wear the more formal “peaked” uniform hats (like the police or ship captains wear). These hats exude a more professional image, resulting in an increased level of respect from customers for employees and the industry.

The TTC has certainly had its share of ups and downs, but for more convenient and relaxing rides, consider taking the rocket from time to time.

Toronto Transit Commission
www.ttc.ca
416-393-4636

 

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Go-Getter Customer Service for Go-Karts

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Go-karting track at 'Go-Karts @ Polson Pier.'

For quite some time, I’ve been wanting to take my daughter go-karting. While I realize that there are a number of indoor tracks in Toronto, I’m a bit of a traditionalist and I think it’s more fun outdoors. Although I’ve always been driving past one of the tracks up north, a friend recently told me about an outdoor track, right here, in the city, named ‘Go-Karts @ Polson Pier.’ Indeed, it seemed very promising.

Last Sunday I called the location to gather more information. The phone was answered by an older gentleman by the name of Bob, who also happened to be the owner. Bob was friendly, polite and patient in answering my many questions regarding the hours of operation, pricing, age and height restrictions, and whether it was busy (because I didn’t want to drive down and end up waiting for hours).

When he learned that it was my daughter’s first time he kindly offered us the management special, which brought the price down, considerably.  When we got down there, we met Bob, who came out to shake our hands while the employees set us up with tickets and helmets.  My daughter went with the two-seater car first before feeling comfortable enough to go out on her own. Within a few laps, she was zipping around the track like Emerson Fittipaldi, and having a great time.

The racing equipment and the track were clean and well-maintained, and the staff were pleasant, polite, and friendly.  Furthermore, Bob added to our visit by making it more personal and memorable.

After our fun on the track, we headed back into the downtown area for a bite to eat and some ice cream, which was the perfect end to a great afternoon.

I highly recommend visiting this track for a fun and somewhat different activity.

Go-Karts @ Polson Pier
416-778-5278
www.gokartsatpolsonpier.com

 

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Crazy for Cubana Cuisine!

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Signage of La Cubana restaurant.

Over the last few weeks, my friends have expressed a fondness for Cuban food, so I decided to take them to a Toronto, Cuban restaurant that I had recently been introduced to. The restaurant, named La Cubana, currently has two locations – each with slightly different menus. For their first visit, I took them to the one which I had visited, on Ossington Avenue.

The experience I had there was different from anything else! From the minute you walk in and see the decor, you can tell that it is different from normal restaurants. The main dining room is set up with an old-style lunch counter, complete with a bar and high chairs. There is nice Cuban music playing in the background, adding to the relaxed and open atmosphere.

The menu is simple and straightforward and includes many types of pop, Cuban sandwiches, meal plates, appetizers and desserts. Bread and buns are baked fresh, in-house, and everything is served hot, fresh, and quick. The food is always properly cooked and well prepared, with diverse (and tasty) flavours.

On top of that, the servers are all extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and able to provide detailed descriptions of the various dishes and recommendations.

Near the end of our dining experience, the restaurant ended up having a problem with the internet and consequently, it affected their credit card machine. The bill took 10 minutes to produce, and the servers, empathetic to our situation, took a drink off of our bill.

For a taste of Cuban cuisine without travelling, check out La Cubana!

La Cubana
416-537-0134
www.lacubana.ca

 

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Dyson Leaves the Competition in the Dust

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Image of a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

Based on the advice of a few friends, a number of years ago my wife and I bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner for our new house. The purchase ended up being a great decision, and we liked it so much, that we later went and bought another smaller, handheld Dyson, to clean up smaller messes, dust, etc.

Although Dyson is typically more expensive than the average brands of vacuum cleaners, I truly believe it is worth the investment. The vacuums themselves are engineered extremely well, ergonomically designed, easy to maintain, and don’t have a lot of complicated parts. In fact, given all the benefits, and how pleased I was with the home vacuum cleaner, we also decided to buy a Dyson for the SQM office.

Although our office Dyson vacuum has always been very well maintained, a few weeks ago we began to experience some problems with it. In particular, the rotating brush, or “head” of the vacuum stopped rotating. Naturally, we first tried to fix it ourselves because Dyson products are usually very easy to take apart and put together, but no dice. Our next step was to call Dyson and tell them about our problem. The representative answered the phone quite promptly, asked and answered the necessary questions, collected the model number from us, and told us it was still under warranty. Without hesitation, they offered to ship a new head directly to us.

The process of fixing equipment that was still under warranty was painless, and the new piece was shipped to us, just as promised. Unfortunately, our problems didn’t end there. We quickly discovered that we could not remove the old piece from the hose part of the vacuum. After placing another call to Dyson they offered a new hose piece since simply removing the head was no longer an option for us. A few days later, the hose piece arrived, safe and sound, and we were successfully able to switch the parts out and fix our office vacuum.

Dyson seems to have the perfect recipe for success: great quality products, amazing customer service, and a commitment to stand behind what they sell.

Whether you’re looking for a vacuum, their bladeless fans, or a hairdryer, consider Dyson as a long-term, worthwhile investment.

Dyson
1-877-397-6622
www.dysoncanada.ca

 

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Es Delicioso, El Catrin!

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Tacos on the patio at El Catrin.

A few weeks ago, I was told of what was promised to be one of the best Mexican restaurants in Toronto. I was a little hesitant to go because it happened to be located in the Distillery District, where I haven’t had the best experience with restaurants. During past visits to other restaurants in the area, I have found that the food wasn’t that great, the service was slow and unattentive, and prices were through the roof! With that being said, I was told this place was great and after my arm was twisted, we ended up going.

As we approached the location, the first thing I noticed was the patio. It was big, it was beautiful, and it set the perfect atmosphere for a nice dinner. The patio was decorated with all sorts of lights, making it seem almost festive. Once we entered the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by a wonderful hostess, and taken to our reserved table inside the dining room, which was already set up and waiting for us. Within minutes, our server came over and introduced herself. She was extremely enthusiastic, cheery about having us, and constantly making suggestions and recommendations based on her personal favourite items and restaurant best sellers.

With regards to the food, we ordered a variety of items to share – and everything was delicious! The tacos were delectable, and the guacamole was absolutely heavenly…my mouth still waters just thinking about it!

When the bill came, I was delightfully surprised to note that it wasn’t outrageously expensive (like I was expecting). In fact, I was so impressed with the overall service and food that I personally spoke to the manager to tell him how enjoyable the evening was. It turns out it was only our server’s first week and the fact that she provided such amazing and attentive service spoke volumes about El Catrin’s ability to scope out good, hardworking people and train them well.

Without a doubt, I would return for the amazing food and extremely hospitable service. Whether after a walk in the Distillery District, on a warm summer night, or in the middle of the winter, El Catrin makes for a great dining experience!

El Catrin
416-203-2121
www.elcatrin.ca

 

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Driving Success with Excellent Customer Service

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Maple Nissan Dealership Photograph

For many years, both my wife and I have been driving Nissan vehicles, and I’ve been very happy with them. In fact, I’ve been so happy that I bought out both leases and kept the cars longer then I might normally have.

Several years ago, I went to Maple Nissan in Vaughan, since I had an issue with the tire pressure sensor in one of my vehicles. I rarely contact the dealerships as I have a few trusted mechanics that I go to for all my work, but for something like this, I did my research, and learned that it’s better to have the actual Nissan factory product, which is significantly pricier than after market products.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and the tire pressure sensor came on again. After checking the pressure in the tires and discovering they were all fine, I thought, there is a good chance that this was a problem with the sensor. Since the initial repair was done less then two years ago, and was somewhat expensive, I decided to follow up with the dealership. I called them up and introduced myself to the Service Manager, Matthew Grieco, and told him that I used to deal with one of his colleagues who no longer works there. I explained the issue to Matthew and told him I was a bit upset since it wasn’t too long ago that I fixed the sensors for the first time.

Matthew told me to come over to the dealership so they could make sure that this was in fact an issue with the sensor and have a look at what they could do about it. We then arranged a specific time and I headed to Maple Nissan.

As soon as I arrived at Maple Nissan, Matthew was there to greet me and had one of his mechanics take a look at the vehicle. After about 15 minutes, Matthew told me that they were reprogramming some of the sensors and this should take care of the issue. While I was glad that the problem seemed relatively minor, I was prepared for a hefty ding of a diagnostics fee (anyone who’s been to a dealer knows the feeling of receiving the dreaded bill at the end all too well). However, Matthew told me it was no problem and not to worry about a charge. Matthew said he was glad to take care of the problem and apologized for the inconvenience.

In a day and age when most automotive dealerships are making money off of service, Matthew could have easily charged me for diagnosing the problem but he took care of it, and kept me very pleased. Since then, I have told a few friends how great the service is at Maple Nissan. At Maple Nissan they stand behind their product and provide excellent customer service. It goes without saying, if I ever need to buy another Nissan, I’ll go back to them.

Maple Nissan
(905) 417-7211
www.maplenissan.com

 

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Putting the Sunny Into Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

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Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Last year I wrote about Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre when my father was taken there after a car accident. Fortunately, my fathers visit only involved a short stay in the emergency room. In more recent times, my aunt fell and broke her hip and was transported to Sunnybrook by ambulance. Unfortunately, this was not a three or four hour visit but ended up involving surgery and a stay as an inpatient.

During this time, I saw firsthand how Sunnybrook’s outstanding service and commitment to health care extends far beyond the emergency room. Whether it be the Emergency Room nurses, the orthopaedic surgeon, the ward administrator, ward nurses, dietitians, and a host of other staff, Sunnybrook takes it upon themselves to ensure extra special attention and care is taken for elderly patients. The staff went above and beyond accommodating special requests such as finding my aunt food that would meet her needs, answering my numerous questions and taking the time to provide me with updates so that the family would feel as comfortable as possible.

Perhaps the most surprising sign, of how in tune Sunnybrook employees are with the needs of the people who come through their doors, can be exemplified by my interaction with the security guard working in the emergency room. While most security guards would have just sat there being seen and not heard, this gentleman said, “I hope your day gets better,” as I was leaving. His comment clearly showed compassion when dealing with people and it demonstrated that he understood if somebody was in the ER, they were probably not having a great day.

In a time when health care professionals consistently blame a lack of government funding for an inability to do their jobs, I never once heard such comments or got that feeling from any of the employees working at Sunnybrook.

The only thing that could have made my experience better would be better parking rates and longer business hours at the Tim Hortons in the hospital!

To the Sunnybrook Medical Team, thank you for all you do!

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
416-480-6100
www.sunnybrook.ca

 

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