#849:
Brian E.:
Let me tell you about my wonderful Canadian Tire experience. In 2012 I bought a Mastercraft drill press on sale. I gave it general use but soon noticed it had some limitations including a looseness in the spindle, but I was willing to work around them. Over time I noticed the gear mechanism was getting louder and the spindle play was becoming worse. It finally got so bad that I contacted Mastercraft. I was told to take the drill to a repair depot in Calgary for warranty repair. I drove to the “repair depot” and found a multi-home building with no address on it. When I telephoned the depot number I got “a guy” who told me he wasn’t there, and to leave the drill in a truck located in the back yard. He would get to it when he got back. Wrong thing to tell a retired police officer in one of the highest crime neighbourhoods in Calgary. I left and drove to my nearest Canadian Tire Store. After a not so great conversation with a manager, he agreed to replace my drill with a newer model, if I paid the difference in price. I needed the drill so I paid.
I set up the new one and it appeared not too bad, with the exception of the spindle wobble. It was tolerable however and I lived with it for four months. Then I tried using a Forstner bit to drill a hole in a bird house. As soon as the drill bit touched the wood the wobble became dangerous. A new bit was tried. No luck.
Back to Canadian Tire. At this point I was fed up. I’d been through enough with these drills and wanted my money back. Unreasonable? Hard to say. How much should a customer take?
After I told the manager my ordeal he flatly refused and said it had to go for repair. Oh boy. Here we go again.
I ended up calling the Canadian Tire Customer Service line from the store. After a nice lady heard my story she put me on hold so she could resolve the issue. After a while on hold I was tossed back into a waiting cue. Unknown to me I was summarily and automatically transferred to… Mastercraft! They had no idea who I was talking to before, and for the third time that day I had to tell them my story of woe. Again, how much does a customer have to take. I was told once again that it had to go for repair.
I then phoned the Canadian Tire Customer Service line again to talk to the original person. They had no idea who I was talking to originally (do so many people would there that they could they not have asked???). Apparently they don’t use their real names either. Guess what… I ended up telling the story a fourth time with the same result. There is more but those are the basics.
So far I have wasted many hours of my valuable time, been sent to the other side of the city to a so called repair depot, been disconnected and transferred from one person to another, all for a drill press that still doesn’t work. I do not want to be a Canadian Tire customer that badly!
I understand their repair policy, but after what they’ve put me through with a poor product, it could have been resolved easily by giving me the $125.00 or so of refund. I would have been a satisfied customer. I would tell people of my positive experience with Canadian Tire. As it is now, I will never shop there again (watch me) and I will go out of my way to tell other people what this company is like. I will lose them a lot more money than what that drill cost. I guarantee it.
One interesting thing I learned and a warning to all of you: Although Canadian Tire supposedly warranties its products, they are MAUFACTURER warranties. So, if you buy something there and it breaks the next day, it goes for repair and according to the form I read, it could take up to two months to be returned. Isn’t that comforting? “We stand behind the products we sell”. That’s what they say, only it’s waaaay behind. If you want security and a real guarantee on products, don’t shop at Canadian Tire.