Guest-0556
Posted by an unregistered user
I recently (Aug 16th/11) took my 2004 Infiniti G35 in to Canadian Tire on Douglas Street in Victoria, B.C. so it could be checked out for both Provincial and Federal Inspections. I purchased the vehicle from the USA and in order to have it legally registered in B.C. I had no choice but to go there as they are the only automotive places that you can get the Federal Inspection done through. Having only just acquired the vehicle I was not familiar with the security system but did make them aware that the vehicle had to be in neutral with the clutch depressed in order for it to start. The keys were left with the service technician at the counter and I left.
About an hour later I received a phone call from the same technician (Ken) who advised me that upon their mechanic putting the vehicle up on the hoist the vehicle's windows went up and the doors locked. I advised him to use the key fob to open it. Ken promptly advised that the keys had been left in the ignition so this wasn't possible. I did not have the spare keys so had no way to open it either and advised of this.
Ken then asked me what I'd like to do? I was a little taken aback as there seemed to be very little choice in the matter; I needed the inspection done and what else was there to do but get the vehicle opened?? Ken then told me that a tow truck could be called to open the vehicle but Canadian Tire would not be responsible for the costs involved. After some discussion he advised that he could not change this as he wasn't the manager and the manager had gone home for the day. When I went to pick the vehicle up at 5 pm the only thing that had been done was the Provincial Inspection as they'd run out of time to do anything else. The daytime running lights had not been put in and as a result the vehicle failed. In addition they told me a new wiper blade was required for the driver's side and the brake light on the rear window deck wasn't working and needed to be fixed. Due to these reasons it failed the Prov Inspection. I was left to pay the $51 tow bill due to the keys being locked in. Needless to say I didn't want them touching my vehicle again. What type of professionals leave keys sitting in the ignition, particularly when they don't seem to know what type of anti theft devices the vehicle may have? After speaking with my brother inlaw who runs a Kal Tire I learned that his staff always leave keys on the windshield due to this very reason. In his words, "You never know what system is in a particular vehicle so why would you chance it?" I had to take my vehicle into a different Canadian Tire and when I told them to make sure the keys weren't left in the vehicle they advised that they never leave keys in due to this very thing. When I spoke to the manager of the Canadian Tire on Douglas Street he stated that they always leave keys in the ignition because, "If there's a fire in our shop and we need to remove the vehicles quickly we need to know where the keys are." I wonder when they last had a fire in their shop?? Further, wouldn't you be more concerned with evacuating the building rather than the vehicles inside? This response was nothing short of insulting as it made no sense. I asked them why they wouldn't leave the keys on the windshield as they'd be easily found to which they fell back on saying it was their policy. In short, I had no satisfaction from dealing with the management of this location. I would encourage everyone who reads this to think twice before parting with your hard earned dollars in this location. The Broadmead location was astounded to learn about my experience and couldn't believe that I ended up paying the tow bill to get the keys out. It's not like I had any choice. My parting comment to the manager of Douglas Street Cdn Tire was that they were going to recieve $51 dollars worth of grief from me by way of the social media sites. Please forward this to everyone you may know and hopefully save another poor fool from being ripped off due to the incompetence of the staff at this location.
Thanks!
About an hour later I received a phone call from the same technician (Ken) who advised me that upon their mechanic putting the vehicle up on the hoist the vehicle's windows went up and the doors locked. I advised him to use the key fob to open it. Ken promptly advised that the keys had been left in the ignition so this wasn't possible. I did not have the spare keys so had no way to open it either and advised of this.
Ken then asked me what I'd like to do? I was a little taken aback as there seemed to be very little choice in the matter; I needed the inspection done and what else was there to do but get the vehicle opened?? Ken then told me that a tow truck could be called to open the vehicle but Canadian Tire would not be responsible for the costs involved. After some discussion he advised that he could not change this as he wasn't the manager and the manager had gone home for the day. When I went to pick the vehicle up at 5 pm the only thing that had been done was the Provincial Inspection as they'd run out of time to do anything else. The daytime running lights had not been put in and as a result the vehicle failed. In addition they told me a new wiper blade was required for the driver's side and the brake light on the rear window deck wasn't working and needed to be fixed. Due to these reasons it failed the Prov Inspection. I was left to pay the $51 tow bill due to the keys being locked in. Needless to say I didn't want them touching my vehicle again. What type of professionals leave keys sitting in the ignition, particularly when they don't seem to know what type of anti theft devices the vehicle may have? After speaking with my brother inlaw who runs a Kal Tire I learned that his staff always leave keys on the windshield due to this very reason. In his words, "You never know what system is in a particular vehicle so why would you chance it?" I had to take my vehicle into a different Canadian Tire and when I told them to make sure the keys weren't left in the vehicle they advised that they never leave keys in due to this very thing. When I spoke to the manager of the Canadian Tire on Douglas Street he stated that they always leave keys in the ignition because, "If there's a fire in our shop and we need to remove the vehicles quickly we need to know where the keys are." I wonder when they last had a fire in their shop?? Further, wouldn't you be more concerned with evacuating the building rather than the vehicles inside? This response was nothing short of insulting as it made no sense. I asked them why they wouldn't leave the keys on the windshield as they'd be easily found to which they fell back on saying it was their policy. In short, I had no satisfaction from dealing with the management of this location. I would encourage everyone who reads this to think twice before parting with your hard earned dollars in this location. The Broadmead location was astounded to learn about my experience and couldn't believe that I ended up paying the tow bill to get the keys out. It's not like I had any choice. My parting comment to the manager of Douglas Street Cdn Tire was that they were going to recieve $51 dollars worth of grief from me by way of the social media sites. Please forward this to everyone you may know and hopefully save another poor fool from being ripped off due to the incompetence of the staff at this location.
Thanks!