SureThingBoss

New member
I have worked at a CT for 5 years now in western Canada, and I have seen the good service and the crappy. I musy say, the store I work at is quite good at honoring and correcting customer complaints regarding price discrepancies, flyer stock being in stock, rainchecks honored months after, questionable warranties etc.

In that, I must add we still get customers who want to call (and I encourage them too) Customer Relations. One particular incident I want to address to you all:

A customer bought two bikes for her children. Three days later, she brings one in because it is not shifting. Explained, that bikes are not returnable but we have an adjustment period and warranty on parts (we attach warranty papers to all bikes we sell), the customer told us she brought this bike to have someone try and look at this at a competiter. The competiter says it isn't fixable, at least at his level (he doesn't carry the parts specific for this bike).

Customer is adament on refund. Finally, get her to a gree to have us look at the bike and see what the problem is. I let her know that if parts.were.needed,.to expect a two week delay because it comes from back east. We did a full inspection with the customer there as witness and went over a few things noted for the condition of the bike. She signed the bike into our custody and we went into the back to see about the shifter (needs to be hung on rack and customer needed to go to work). We determined the shifter was indeed defective. We swapped shifters from the exact bike (our store unsold stock, and ordered part for that bike) and bike was good to go after one hour of it being dropped off.

I let the customer know and she seemed thrilled on the phone. That night she tried the bike in the parking lot with her daughter and her daughter still could not shift. No one was on shift at the time to relook at the bike and the customer again wanted a refund. The manager said we would have to look at it the next day. She said fine and left. A littke bit later, the grandmother of this girl comes in and yells at a sports employee (who was not involved and had no knowledge of the incident) and threatens to sue and picket outside the store until we give a refund. We then gave this woman customer relations number and asked her to leave.

So, we relooked at the bike, and determined nothing wrong with the bike. Its a grip style shifter and the daughter was younger than the age group for this bike so this bike was just not a sufficient bike for her. Between myself and the dealer, we opted to give her a refund card or exchange for a different bike because this bike is unuseable for her (we would take a loss on this bike). So the dealer personally showed her a few bikes and even tried to work some more expensive bikes down to a price point that the customer would be happy with. We ordered in a bike for her, assembled it and tuned it and the customer didn't even look at it.

Customer relations calls us to find out whats up with this complaint and we told them what we were already doing for the customer. They say we are doing what we should and they will leave it at our level.

We issue a refund card for the bike. She comments about her son's bike and the chain keeps falling off and wants a refund now for this bike. Having not seen this bike yet, we recommend her bring it in. She does, we tune it, let her know if she is still not satisfied we will give her a refund card on this bike as well. She brings it in, we tune it up (required a tension adjustment) showed her what we did and why it did that to begin with and send her on her way. She leaves saying it better not fall off again.

Throughout the process this customer admits her son rides the bike rough, admits she should have spent more money on a better bike and admits daughter is too weak to shift. Not entirely bad things, but a good reminder to consumers:

Do not buy impulsively or what looks cool. Fit appropriate to the age and type of riding the user intends to do. You do get what you pay for.

And staff: help the customer find what will work for them, and if you do not know, do your research! Do your elearning, ask other staff. It is important to try to sell correctly, not just sell anything!

Consumers: we will try to help you, but please remember, not every CT has the patience we executed in the above incident. The problem lies not just with CT but all workers in all fields. If you don't care about your job, why would you care to work at it? Excellent service is provided by people who strive to be excellent.

We do not make our products nor make the warranty. We most definetely have been burned in the past with people 'renting' our products so we are careful about what we except as defective.

As for privacy concerns, At our store we do not ask for photo id for returns, but we do. ask if you do not have a receipt to provide your phone number and address for record and that is just so that we know there isn't anything fraudelent going on. I personally only ask to see ID if I am delivering a prepaid item from the warehouse to your house or when you pick up to ensure the correct customer got their correct belongings, or when you forget your bank or credit cards (in which i compare names and signatures) but no info from your id is recorded.

I only add this info so maybe other CT employees on here will pay attention and treat the customer a little better. I am just one employee at a small CT, but sincerely, I apologize that other CTs do not know how to handle certain situations.

I started reading this site not long ago, but it motivates me to do a better job. I think its ridiculous that staff come on here and insult customers saying they should read their receipt and they are ignorant because they do not know our policies. It is our job to accurately describe the policies and treat each person with respect. I am not saying you need to stop what you are doing and explain each warranty or policy to each customer but use them as selling features. engage in the customer. Most common complaint on here isn't that the customer didn't get what they wanted, its that they felt they weren't valued as a customer.
 

CT Challenger

New member
Yet another fascinating, self-serving post from those who stand to gain from Crappy Tire's misdeeds.

Here's what I take away from this:

- Someone who admits to working for Crappy Tire claims that there is at least one CT store that doesn't suck quite as much as all the others.

- However, this anonymous person has only said that this paradise of a store is located somewhere "in western Canada" - not exactly 'news you can use', LOL!

- At least this person is willing to admit that, at Canadia Tire, all "bikes are not returnable" - which is welcome change to all the other CT Rep's who deny that such policies even exist.

- Their only advice about buying a bicycle: "Do not buy impulsively or what looks cool. Fit appropriate to the age and type of riding the user intends to do. You do get what you pay for."

But they avoid stating the most important points:

1) Don't buy from a bicycle from a store where they are all "Non-Returnable"
2) Don't buy from a retail chain that sells junk.


This claim of "We do not make our products nor make the warranty"? Totally untrue.

CTC is involved in every stage of requirements, pricing, distribution, warranty work, assembly and service. If they wanted to, they could procure quality bicycles with 100% refunds, proper assembly, prompt service and decent warranties.

But, that would cut into their profits. After all, that's all they really care about - don't kid yourselves!
 

CT Challenger

New member
Now, why would The Moaner be reading this old thread on this Tuesday evening? Bored with posting Troll messages on all those other threads?
 
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