What happened to Canadian Tire? senseless store policies

[fishindevil]

I always have had no problems myself at any Canadian tire stores and I shop there all the time for pretty much everything and I have taken lots of stuff back too !!! But I go to the store in Lindsay all the time and no probly !!!! They are one of the superstores when it comes to fishing tackle and have more selection than most tackle stores I don't think their policies are any worse than any of the other big box stores or any better but I do find they are a lot better than years ago and will go the extra mile to keep you happy and keep you as a returning customer !!!!!

[fish_fishburn]

Don't get me started. The Pembroke store sucks(bait and switch) and most expensive tackle in town, no stock on sale items etc. I rarely shop there any more.

[BillM]

So many people have these unreal expectations from the guy making $10hr at Crappy Tire. Do your research beforehand, find the best price (regardless of store) and be done with it. As for trying to warranty items that were abused etc, shop at Costco, they'll take back anything without question.

Edited July 25, 2013 by BillM

[ketchenany]

My son in law runs a CT dealership, hear all sort of horror stories on what people try to return, best is a package of screws missing only the ones they needed!

[porkpie]

My son in law runs a CT dealership, hear all sort of horror stories on what people try to return, best is a package of screws missing only the ones they needed!

 

 

There is this too! People have become very slippery in what they try to return. I have heard it from people I never expected too.... Yep, I used it and took it back, etc. etc. I can only imagine the stories someone working in retail could tell! I also personally don't believe that a store should have to accept a return on something that has been damaged as a result of abuse. Wether it be jumping a bike off a ramp, or smashing a fishing rod off of a bridge abutment, or into the side of the boat causing a failure. These are operator induced, and not a fault of the vendor. People who expect a retail outlet to eat the value of the product that they have misused are being unrealistic in my opinion.

[BassMan11]

So many people have these unreal expectations from the guy making $10hr at Crappy Tire. Do your research beforehand, find the best price (regardless of store) and be done with it.

Exactly, I rarely go anywhere to purchase something without doing a little research on the item. I don't want to rely on someone else who could have no clue about it. Nothing but good things to say about CTC though. Never had an issue. I find when you take stuff back, the way you present your issue has a lot to do with whether the help you out or not. But maybe that's just me.

[Fish Farmer]

HAHAHAHAHA

Hay Beans, They would just look at his avatar and think this guy means business

 

I think it's just the store management, I don't have a problem with our CT. Just sometimes they don't have the sale items in stock and tell me to go to another store. As for auto service and garage work charges is another story, I go else where.

Edited July 25, 2013 by Fish Farmer

[lew]

Hay Beans, They would just look at his avatar and think this guy means business

 

Heyyyy, what's this, pick on Lew week ???

[Fish Farmer]

Heyyyy, what's this, pick on Lew week ???

[outllaw]

as consumers we all want it cheaper.

guess what quality on many consumer goods are substandard offshore products.

along with that knowledgable folks of products are a rarity in box stores.

I used to enjoy my ct store . like I said USED TO

[ccmtcanada]

Because many stores are franchises, each individual owner can treat their customers as they please.

 

In fact, all the stores are franchised. There are no corporately run Canadian Tire stores. Each independent Dealer can "interpret" the customer service policies as they see fit unfortunately. Because of that, you will have your good and bad stores. Calling the 1-800 customer service line will almost always fix your problem though...they are not connected to the store and have the "power" to compensate customers no matter what the store told you.

[bare foot wader]

as a former crappy tire employee during my teenage years (and walmart too) I don't consider my expectations unrealistic....I would like to buy something you have on your shelf...I would like to return something 2 days after purchase with a receipt because it was defective...lifetime warranty exchange....

 

but I've seen lots of ridiculous returns too, buying a massive bbq for the wknd for a family reunion and then returning it, which was allowed.....buying a 3 pack of video games and returning them individually for 3 times the price at walmart....I also got a return of about 2 dozen rapalas to put back on the shelf, but they had opened the boxes carefully and swapped the lures with the cheapest lures I've ever seen, dollarama lures maybe? girl at customer service obviously had no idea what a rapala looks like

[SirWhite]

I still believe they can turn it around. Canadian Tire money and their return policy keep me coming back, their employees and crap tools keep me from going there all the time.

[adempsey]

Price is their biggest problem - or really, their marketing strategy. The stores near me just did a mini-makeover and tripled their housewares section. Why? Because they price them ridiculously high and have these "amazing" sales on them. So, I am sure they sell a lot pans and blenders these days. That seems to be how they operate the stores now. I think it's absurd and I rarely purchased anything not on sale there.

 

Case in point. I was shopping around for a hedge trimmer, saw a Green Works model at CT that had good reviews and was on sale for $129 ($20 off). Looked online, in stock at my store, head over to find none in stock. Went to a second location, they did have it but really started to wonder if it was worth the $130 (ya, don't take me shopping, lol). Decided it was still over priced and checked out my second choice, a Black & Decker model that got decent reviews. Looked around online with my phone for price comparison and found the exact model a lot cheaper elsewhere - it was $119 at CT and $79 at Lowes. Guess where I bought it?

[Big Cliff]

I too have seen some real abuse with items being returned to CTC since I worked in small engine repairs. Chain saws being returned because they wouldn't start; piston and rings blown out of it from lack of oil in the gas. Lawn mowers that wouldn't run. Crank shaft and blade bent from hitting a steal post or something. More than half of the stuff that CTC sent us for repair had been damaged by improper use. I don't blame them for being a bit hard core on the return of items. My personal experience has ALWAYS been positive!

[Canuck2fan]

CT's are definitely YMMV. Some franchisees are of the opinion that customers are an interuption of their work, where as some realize we are the reason for it.

 

I have two stores I go to. One is in the city where I work the other is in the town where I work. The town store is super small and they don't have the room to have the full inventory but they WILL order anything and bend over backwards to make you happy. One example is a customer on my bread route asked if I could pick them up an item since he knew I travelled by a few stores on my route. EVERY store was sold out by 8:30AM the morning the sale started. The town store owner heard me ask for the item shortly after 8:50AM he apologized gave me a rain check even though the flyer said NO RAIN CHECKS allowed on the item, because he said it was Bull that the corp had put an item like that on sale then only had 3 sets for stores his size.... Also, he said it might take some time or it might not happen because it was an item they didn't normally carry. Long story short they got a similar item in the flyer about 6 months later for 20% more.... I got a call saying if I wanted the different item for the same price as my rain check, it would be at customer service for me the morning the sale started if I called back by 9PM the night before. How do you beat that? I will tell you when I came into pick it up they had someone carry them out to my vehicle as I paid that is how LOL.

 

The city store has all the upgrades and a fairly new owner (who is probably mortgaged to the hilt) so they aren't quite as friendly or helpful. My favourite pet peeve there is, if you ask an "associate" (I just use the first 3 letters myself in reference to their expertise) for an item they will say I have to check the computer. If there is less than 3 on the computer they don't want to go look because of phantom stock. So you have to take a rain check that their own system they actually have LOL.

 

So if I need something from CTC I just shop in the town store....

[misfish]

Here,s whats going to get interesting here in Barrie. Both stores (north and south) have gone gungho with their fishing and hunting section. Way over priced IMO. When Cabelas gets up and going,I wonder what they will do as far as pricing. Will they match,or just ignore the competition, and stay pat on their prices?

Edited July 26, 2013 by Misfish

[Dan668]

I dont even want to type out what i experienced today at canadian tire today. What a joke of a store.

[Dabluz]

Over the past few years, I,ve had a few problems with the fishing department at CT. I live in a region where brook trout are like perch elsewhere. They are all over the place. No bass or sunfish and no perch. Just brook trout. However....the CT store does not cater to brook trout fishermen like it could. There are lots of lures and other tackle for bass and walleye but not very much for brook trout. No 2, or 3 or 4 lb test line except Trilene XL in 4 lb. No selection of Panther Martin lures even though Panther Martin says they sell them. Very small choice in good hooks for brook trout. No light weight jigs. No small reels or light weight rods. No slim slip floats. They do sell illuminated floats for 12 dollars but do not sell the lights that go into the float so I made my own lights with DEL 3 volt dc lights from Dollarama that fit in the float. They do not sell 28 gauge shotshells even though up here, we shoot ruffed grouse and spruce grouse sitting by the side of logging roads at 15 yards .

 

When I asked if they were going to order stuff for brook trout, the answer I get is that it's not in their computers so they cannot order it. The department manager can no longer order special items or even suggest that the store stock them. Everything is now decided by somebody in Toronto who probably never goes fishing and if he does, it's for deep water fish in the great lakes or bass.

 

I no longer buy at CT. I sometimes look at the prices when I visit the stores (there are 4 within 45 minutes of where I live) and buy over the internet for way less and have it shipped to my door. I did buy a bunch of jigs with interchangeable weights last year. On sale for 33 cents per package. I bought all they had....lol.

 

Walmart is even worse than CT. They rarely liquidate fishing items.

Edited July 27, 2013 by Dabluz

[misfish]

LOL I hear ya. The south end one here has half an isle (20ft) of musky baits stacked. No musky here,but we do have a great steelhead river,but that section is like 4 ft wide and limited..LOL

 

This is bad marketing.

[Bill Shearer]

I have absolutely no idea how the CT stores in specific areas order any of the product they sell. The owners should be aware of area resources, but I believe they are folks who have money to invest, but are from different areas than the stores location. They may not be remotely interested in fishing, hunting, etc. They just want to carve out a living.

There is how the problem arises. IMO

They entrust the ordering of our sports to folks who don't fish or hunt etc.

and that is why we get what we get. Unusable aisles of merchandise in the stores.

Disaster for the owners. Frustrations for the customers.

Edited July 27, 2013 by floatman55

[BillM]

LOL I hear ya. The south end one here has half an isle (20ft) of musky baits stacked. No musky here,but we do have a great steelhead river,but that section is like 4 ft wide and limited..LOL

 

This is bad marketing.

 

What else do you want for steelhead though? Hooks, shot, floats, ... It's pretty simple, lol.

[danc]

I've found my local CTC better now than in the past. I haven't had a problem returning anything including a $300.00 battery powered quad runner that I bought for my grandson last year, just a few days before the one year warranty ran out. They gave me a brand new one. Last summer I returned some swimming pool filters (wrong size) that I bought a year earlier, with no receipt. No problem. In the past however, I had some issues with them. All retailers can take a page out of Cabelas books. They aren't the #1 outdoors retailer on the planet for no reason. They will make you happy no matter what.