Location: Ontario, Toronto
Industry: Restaurant
Visited Alleycatz on March 1, 2008 to celebrate a friend's marriage. Reservations were made for 7:30 but a group of us arrived late...around 8:30. Our entire group was 22 people, in total, 6 of us arrived late. They didn't hold the 6 seats for the late-comers, (understandably...they gave away the table) however, (and luckily) there was still an empty table in the dining area when we arrived. BTW, this place is located near Yonge & Eglinton in Toronto.
Upon arrival we ("the late ones") were accosted at the door by a slimy-looking middle-aged man and his henchman. He rudely told us that we had to pay a $10 cover charge (did I mention it was 8:30?). We happened to be ahead of a group of other strangers who tried to bypass us. He screamed at them to step back while he kept snapping his fingers at us for $10 each.
We explained we were with the "wedding group." He asked if we intended to order dinner. We said, "yes." He said, "too late, dinner is almost over and kitchen will be closed. Pay me $10 each." Reluctantly, we paid him the $10 cover each.
We sat down at the open table in the dining area and subsequently watched the rude man leave his post the front door allowing new customers to walk in without having to pay the $10 cover (we counted 8 before the fumes coming out of our heads started to obstruct our view).
A waitress came to our table to ask if we wanted to order. We told her that we were advised that dinner service was over and also had to pay $10 cover at the door. She advised that we could still order dinner if we wanted and that their policy was to charge $10 cover after 9pm. We complained, again, about having to pay cover especially since we arrived before 9pm (at 8:30), and about the man at the door who spoke to us extremely rudely. She sympathized with us and told us that she's tried numerous times to reason with the man but it "doesn't do any good." When we probed more about the man, she advised that he is the owner of Alleycatz.
We told her we wanted to speak with the owner and she said she would let him know. She later returned to our table stating that he was "tied up" and would come out when he had time. We were still angry about the situation and although we ordered a few drinks, we refused to order food until we spoke with him.
Still waiting for the owner to come to our table, the hostess (a blonde woman) came to us and asked if we had ordered or had been served. We told her we had not ordered any food and that we were dissatisfied with the fact that we were forced to pay $10 cover and also told that dinner service was over. The hostess advised that their policy was to charge cover after 8:30 and tried to convince us that everyone is charged if they arrive after 8:30.
The hostess also told us that we had to order food in order to continue sitting in the dining area, if we weren't ordering food, she would have to ask us to move to the standing room around the bar.
Our waitress returned shortly after our exchange with the hostess and asked what she said to us. The waitress apologized for how "they" were treating us and gave us some more time to think about what we wanted to order. I'm not sure if this was a intricate charade between the owner, hostess and waitress…but I prefer to think that our waitress was being sincere. But…in the end…who really knows *shrug*
At this point we realized that we weren't going to win this battle. The owner doesn't care about customer service and the staff is feeding us lines about the time at which cover charge comes into effect. If it weren't for our friends, who were celebrating their marriage, we would have left. But, at this point, we really had no choice. We ordered a few appetizer dishes and an entrée: spring rolls, grilled calamari, artichoke & cheese dip, and steak & frites. The food was average; nothing amazing.
The owner never came to our table to address our concern. An act of an coward, if you ask me. Thinking back, he probably sent the hostess do his dirty work.
On Saturday nights, the place features a live band and around 10:30 or so the band came on to do their first set. The dinner service was ending and the bar crowd was filing into the space. I'll have to admit, the live music was great. Set a great atmosphere and, frankly, it's always great to hear a good, live band. The place got busy...more and more crowded…to the point of being extremely uncomfortable.
The latter part of the evening was better for us. We didn't focus too much on the treatment we received at the door and the night did end on a good note for us. But looking back, I have to say that overall the service was horrible. Never been treated so rudely at the door of an establishment. The owner obviously has no respect for his patrons and has no understanding of "customer service." If it wasn't because we were there to celebrate our friends' marriage we would have walked out. Food was average; overpriced for the quality. Owner and hostess were rude, unwelcoming and pretentious.
The policy about charging $10 cover is fair, but when it's communicated inconsistently and in a rude tone…it just leaves you feeling ripped off. Our group ended up spending upwards of $1000 at Alleycatz that night…something that I don't feel the establishment deserved based on how it treats its customers.
I'll acknowledge the live band was awesome...but kind of wished someone would've called the fire marshall because the place was packed with so many people it would've been way beyond what any fire code would allow.
On principle, I would not want to visit this establishment again in the future and would discourage others to do the same. The shame is that the same owner also owns the pool hall/restaurant across the alley and the 2 places basically have the Yonge/Eglinton area cornered. Hmm….anyone thinking about opening a bar/lounge in this area? If you are considering it and you're committed to top-notch customer service; let me know---I'd love to give you my business.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Chrysler - Bad Manufacturing, Unreliable & Poor Quality Vehicles
Annoyed By:
chrysler
Location: Ontario, Waterloo
Industry: Automotive
Company: Chrysler
Annoyed by: Poor Quality, Bad Manufacturing and inability to make things right mv
Industry: Automotive
Company: Chrysler
Annoyed by: Poor Quality, Bad Manufacturing and inability to make things right mv
So we signed a lease contract with Chrysler that legally binds us to pay Chrysler the terms set our in agreements. Therefore i believe taht Chrysler should provide us, the customer with a reliable, quality vehicle in accordance with that same contract.
I have a Fully Loaded 2005 Grand Cherokee Ltd 5.7 HEMI.
This vehicle over the last 18 months alone has been into the shop 12 times. The vehicle is regularly serviced (in accordance with my agreement with Chrysler) but due to the manufacturing of the vehicle and the parts suppliers I have had (not an fully inclusive list, but you get the jist) the Starter Motor replaced twice, the battery, the Crank Shaft Sensor Sensor Replaced, The P/S Pump & Pulley Replaced - each of these have been replaced under warranty as expected but these are things that should not have gone wrong on a vehicle of this age and as such the car had to be placed on a FLATBED TOW TRUCK each time and returned to the dealer. This last breakdown occurred last week in the middle of nowehere, in -10 celsius and with a 10wk old baby.
This car has also had to have new 'LIFETIME' guaranteed brakes replaced THREE times at the front and TWICE at the back due to faulty parts.
We should not have to pay $900 per month for an unreliable vehicle and I will be doing eveyrthing in my power by going through CAMVAP and yourselves to ensure that these kind of problems are brought to the attention of Chrysler so that they never need happen again.
With the social networking tools that are available to us today (such as Facebook) and www.ihatebadservice.ca) we should be able to provide pressure on companies like Chrysler so that they start to live up to their side of their very own contracts and agreements.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Definitely the FIRST and LAST time we ever visit a Bad Boy store
Annoyed By:
Badboy Furniture
Location: Ontario, Barrie
Industry: Retail
On December 8th, 2007, my husband and I purchased a leather couch, loveseat and chair set from the Bad Boy store located at 42 Caplan Ave in Barrie, Ontario. We were thrilled to find...what we thought was a good quality set....at a reasonable price and very excited to have the set delivered.
On December 11th, 2007, our set came. The delivery men brought the set in, and left without unwrapping it and inspecting the set. While a little annoyed by this, I didn't think anything of it. When the delivery men left, I began unwrapping the set and immediately saw a large gash on the couch (in the material at the bottom) and a gash in the leather on the loveseat! I was a little shocked, especially when these were coming directly from the warehouse and were brand new! We didn't continue to unwrap the items knowing they were damaged pieces.
I called the Barrie Bad Boy store that day and they offered me no assistance and advised me that I had to call the warehouse on Fenmar Drive. I called the warehouse and spoke to a person by the name of Diwanti who wanted me to allow a technician to come to my home to repair the set. Can you imagine my shock when Diwanti said this? This was a brand new set and someone wanted me to allow it to be repaired? I refused repair, advising Diwanti that I had paid for a new, undamaged set and I expected a new, undamaged set to be delivered. Diwanti finally agreed and advised that someone would come to exchange the couch and chair on December 13th.
On December 13th, 2007, two men came to deliver a new couch and chair. The men unwrapped the two pieces of furniture and immediately noticed the couch had a slit in leather. The loveseat appeared to be fine from 5ft away but close inspection showed tiny holes in the leather and another cut at the top of the cushion. We were once again advised by the delivery men to call the warehouse.
At this point, I was at my wit's end. Two separate deliveries, and both times we were given damaged pieces of furniture!
I called warehouse that day, (December 13th) and again spoke to Diwanti, who once again encouraged us to have the damaged unit repaired by technician. I again refused and was not impressed at all that this was happening all over again. Diwanti advised another delivery would be made on December 18th.
On 18th, the same truck dropped off yet another couch, the third couch to be delivered and took the damaged couch. They unwrapped the couch before leaving and advised that if there were any further issues to call the warehouse. After a quick inspection by my husband and myself, we saw another slit in the leather and on the underside of couch. Another slit in the leather of the third couch that had been delivered to our home! You would have thought that after the first two, someone in the warehouse would have first checked the couch before sending it to our house. At this point, we had had enough. We called the Barrie store and left a message for the manager Gerry. He called us back on the following day, December 19th. He said we needed to call warehouse and get a 're-select'. He advised us to use the damaged set over the Christmas holidays and for us to come back into the Barrie store on December 28th to get a new set. He said he would give us a deal on a new set for the major inconvenience we had just endured. The manager advised us that he had a certain set in mind that he said might be more suitable for our family.
We went into the store on December 28th to see this new set that he had chosen and were stunned to see that it us was of considerably inferior quality than the set we had purchased. It was even less money that the one we had purchased. We refused the set he offered and wanted a better leather set - something comparable to the set we purchased. He advised that a new set we had chosen would cost us another $1300.00 on top of what we had already paid.
Where was the promised deal there? We advised Bad Boy that we wanted our money back and for them to come and take the old set away. And once again we were told to, yes, you guessed it, 'Call the warehouse'.
After three defective couches my husband and I wanted our money back so we could shop somewhere else.
How could a company as large and reputable as Bad Boy offer such poor quality furniture and worse, poor customer service! We have had three damaged couches and loveseats delivered to our home, and have had nothing but hassles and broken promises from both the store and from the warehouse.
At the beginning of January, my husband and I wrote and couriered a letter to the CEO of the company Blayne Lastman. We did not hear from him and we were then directed to speak with Omar, the Customer Service Manager at their warehouse. He refused to give us a refund, and said he would personally inspect another replacement couch and loveseat himself and deliver it on Tuesday, January the 22nd and once it arrived to our satisfaction he would compensate us for the major inconveniences. We waited all day for the delivery and then the drivers called me from outside our home and said they didn't want to drive in our driveway in case they got the big truck stuck in the snow. Okay...once again I was a bit upset about the whole thing but these things happen and they were to make another delivery on Thursday, January the 24th. On the 24th the delivery men dropped off the "new" set and they inspected the bottom of the couch themselves prior to bringing it into the house. The driver informed me that this set was also damaged. Not knowing what to do I asked them to bring both pieces inside the house. I explained the situation and the delivery men said it had not been inspected at all. I wrote on the invoice that the items arrived in damaged condition and the drivers definitely witnessed the damage. At that point I jumped on the phone to Omar and was very upset. The driver told me that I should call CEO Blayne Lastman at the Kennedy location to discuss this matter further if I wanted someone to really help me. Mr. Lastman was at that location but failed to take our calls. Soon after the Customer Service Manager called us and told us that the delivery men are not allowed to say anything to the customers about inspections. He then asked me to send him photos of the damaged goods.
As per the Customer Service Manager's request I emailed the photos to the company. I also decided to tape our phone conversations because it was being implied that my husband and I were to blame for this nightmare. Omar responded to the photos with: "I looked at the product, I have been doing this for many years. We ship alot of this product. The one in your living room...I think it sucked. The other three I think there were no issues with them. I think you looked too deep. The picture that you sent me...I have never seen those kind of pictures come from customers. You are never going to get a perfect product. I work in a factory. If you go into the factory and say I want this specification you will get a perfect product. When you get a mass produced product, when they make thousands and thousands of them it is not going to be perfect, okay?".
We then told him again that the couch and love seat had holes, puncture marks and the seams were ripping. He once again said: "You expect more than you purchased". I have several photos that clearly show the damage, and I would be more than happy to share them with anyone who is thinking of purchasing from this company. When I asked if he would buy a new car with dents and scratches on it he clearly said "no". Why are we, the consumer expected to accept leather furniture that is clearly defective? This is not a case of "customer expectations". It is clearly a case of a company that will not stand by their customers or the products they sell.
We have demanded a refund and they want to charge us with a 25% restocking fee on something that was defective from the beginning. They are going to charge us over $400 to take a damaged couch back to their warehouse!! This is absolutely ridiculous!! My husband even offered to have a couch set shipped up to the Bad Boy Barrie location so they could open up a set with witnesses and see what condition it is in. The Customer Service Manager refused and said that we would not find a perfect item. I think that statement speaks volumes.
We think that this matter should have been resolved by Bad Boy but after a month of the run around and the accusations, it is clear that this company will not take responsibility for their products. It is pretty pathetic that we have to post things on the internet in hopes of getting some vindication for being so poorly treated as a consumer. It sickens me to know that this company recently won an award for Toronto Retailer of the year. I heard rumors of their items being re-furbished and of low quality and had I investigated those claims prior to walking through the doors, I definitely would have never purchased from this store.
We have done our part, and we expected Bad Boy to do theirs. To stand by their products and more importantly, their customers. This will definitely be the FIRST and LAST time we ever visit a Bad Boy store. However, it definitely won't be the last time I speak out against this company, as I have filed a claim with the Government of Ontario's Consumer Protection Agency.
Industry: Retail
On December 8th, 2007, my husband and I purchased a leather couch, loveseat and chair set from the Bad Boy store located at 42 Caplan Ave in Barrie, Ontario. We were thrilled to find...what we thought was a good quality set....at a reasonable price and very excited to have the set delivered.
On December 11th, 2007, our set came. The delivery men brought the set in, and left without unwrapping it and inspecting the set. While a little annoyed by this, I didn't think anything of it. When the delivery men left, I began unwrapping the set and immediately saw a large gash on the couch (in the material at the bottom) and a gash in the leather on the loveseat! I was a little shocked, especially when these were coming directly from the warehouse and were brand new! We didn't continue to unwrap the items knowing they were damaged pieces.
I called the Barrie Bad Boy store that day and they offered me no assistance and advised me that I had to call the warehouse on Fenmar Drive. I called the warehouse and spoke to a person by the name of Diwanti who wanted me to allow a technician to come to my home to repair the set. Can you imagine my shock when Diwanti said this? This was a brand new set and someone wanted me to allow it to be repaired? I refused repair, advising Diwanti that I had paid for a new, undamaged set and I expected a new, undamaged set to be delivered. Diwanti finally agreed and advised that someone would come to exchange the couch and chair on December 13th.
On December 13th, 2007, two men came to deliver a new couch and chair. The men unwrapped the two pieces of furniture and immediately noticed the couch had a slit in leather. The loveseat appeared to be fine from 5ft away but close inspection showed tiny holes in the leather and another cut at the top of the cushion. We were once again advised by the delivery men to call the warehouse.
At this point, I was at my wit's end. Two separate deliveries, and both times we were given damaged pieces of furniture!
I called warehouse that day, (December 13th) and again spoke to Diwanti, who once again encouraged us to have the damaged unit repaired by technician. I again refused and was not impressed at all that this was happening all over again. Diwanti advised another delivery would be made on December 18th.
On 18th, the same truck dropped off yet another couch, the third couch to be delivered and took the damaged couch. They unwrapped the couch before leaving and advised that if there were any further issues to call the warehouse. After a quick inspection by my husband and myself, we saw another slit in the leather and on the underside of couch. Another slit in the leather of the third couch that had been delivered to our home! You would have thought that after the first two, someone in the warehouse would have first checked the couch before sending it to our house. At this point, we had had enough. We called the Barrie store and left a message for the manager Gerry. He called us back on the following day, December 19th. He said we needed to call warehouse and get a 're-select'. He advised us to use the damaged set over the Christmas holidays and for us to come back into the Barrie store on December 28th to get a new set. He said he would give us a deal on a new set for the major inconvenience we had just endured. The manager advised us that he had a certain set in mind that he said might be more suitable for our family.
We went into the store on December 28th to see this new set that he had chosen and were stunned to see that it us was of considerably inferior quality than the set we had purchased. It was even less money that the one we had purchased. We refused the set he offered and wanted a better leather set - something comparable to the set we purchased. He advised that a new set we had chosen would cost us another $1300.00 on top of what we had already paid.
Where was the promised deal there? We advised Bad Boy that we wanted our money back and for them to come and take the old set away. And once again we were told to, yes, you guessed it, 'Call the warehouse'.
After three defective couches my husband and I wanted our money back so we could shop somewhere else.
How could a company as large and reputable as Bad Boy offer such poor quality furniture and worse, poor customer service! We have had three damaged couches and loveseats delivered to our home, and have had nothing but hassles and broken promises from both the store and from the warehouse.
At the beginning of January, my husband and I wrote and couriered a letter to the CEO of the company Blayne Lastman. We did not hear from him and we were then directed to speak with Omar, the Customer Service Manager at their warehouse. He refused to give us a refund, and said he would personally inspect another replacement couch and loveseat himself and deliver it on Tuesday, January the 22nd and once it arrived to our satisfaction he would compensate us for the major inconveniences. We waited all day for the delivery and then the drivers called me from outside our home and said they didn't want to drive in our driveway in case they got the big truck stuck in the snow. Okay...once again I was a bit upset about the whole thing but these things happen and they were to make another delivery on Thursday, January the 24th. On the 24th the delivery men dropped off the "new" set and they inspected the bottom of the couch themselves prior to bringing it into the house. The driver informed me that this set was also damaged. Not knowing what to do I asked them to bring both pieces inside the house. I explained the situation and the delivery men said it had not been inspected at all. I wrote on the invoice that the items arrived in damaged condition and the drivers definitely witnessed the damage. At that point I jumped on the phone to Omar and was very upset. The driver told me that I should call CEO Blayne Lastman at the Kennedy location to discuss this matter further if I wanted someone to really help me. Mr. Lastman was at that location but failed to take our calls. Soon after the Customer Service Manager called us and told us that the delivery men are not allowed to say anything to the customers about inspections. He then asked me to send him photos of the damaged goods.
As per the Customer Service Manager's request I emailed the photos to the company. I also decided to tape our phone conversations because it was being implied that my husband and I were to blame for this nightmare. Omar responded to the photos with: "I looked at the product, I have been doing this for many years. We ship alot of this product. The one in your living room...I think it sucked. The other three I think there were no issues with them. I think you looked too deep. The picture that you sent me...I have never seen those kind of pictures come from customers. You are never going to get a perfect product. I work in a factory. If you go into the factory and say I want this specification you will get a perfect product. When you get a mass produced product, when they make thousands and thousands of them it is not going to be perfect, okay?".
We then told him again that the couch and love seat had holes, puncture marks and the seams were ripping. He once again said: "You expect more than you purchased". I have several photos that clearly show the damage, and I would be more than happy to share them with anyone who is thinking of purchasing from this company. When I asked if he would buy a new car with dents and scratches on it he clearly said "no". Why are we, the consumer expected to accept leather furniture that is clearly defective? This is not a case of "customer expectations". It is clearly a case of a company that will not stand by their customers or the products they sell.
We have demanded a refund and they want to charge us with a 25% restocking fee on something that was defective from the beginning. They are going to charge us over $400 to take a damaged couch back to their warehouse!! This is absolutely ridiculous!! My husband even offered to have a couch set shipped up to the Bad Boy Barrie location so they could open up a set with witnesses and see what condition it is in. The Customer Service Manager refused and said that we would not find a perfect item. I think that statement speaks volumes.
We think that this matter should have been resolved by Bad Boy but after a month of the run around and the accusations, it is clear that this company will not take responsibility for their products. It is pretty pathetic that we have to post things on the internet in hopes of getting some vindication for being so poorly treated as a consumer. It sickens me to know that this company recently won an award for Toronto Retailer of the year. I heard rumors of their items being re-furbished and of low quality and had I investigated those claims prior to walking through the doors, I definitely would have never purchased from this store.
We have done our part, and we expected Bad Boy to do theirs. To stand by their products and more importantly, their customers. This will definitely be the FIRST and LAST time we ever visit a Bad Boy store. However, it definitely won't be the last time I speak out against this company, as I have filed a claim with the Government of Ontario's Consumer Protection Agency.
Terrible service and rip offs!
Annoyed By:
Telus
Location: Manitoba, Winnipeg
Industry: Transportation
Company: Telus
Industry: Transportation
Company: Telus
I've been a customer with Telus for over 6 yrs now. Just last November I decided to buy a Blackberry because it is essential for the industry I work in. Approx three days ago I discovered my charger wasn't working. I took the phone in to a Telus Service Center at Portage Place in Winnipeg. I was told the charger portal on the phone was damaged, they'd have to send the phone in for repairs. I was then called, approx an hour later and told that they in fact DID NOT send the phones to be repaired, but because there was "physical damage" on the phone, they'd take my phone and give me a REFURBISHED phone in return at the cost of $125!!!
When I asked the manager of the store who's policy this was, he told me RIM. When I called RIM, they told me it was in fact a TELUS policy. When I called the manager back to confront him for LYING to me, I found out that not only did I have to PAY $125 for a REFURBISHED phone, when my Blackberry was only a few months old, but when I got my "new phone", my warranty went from 1 year to 90 days! What a money grab! I will NEVER sign a contract with Telus again, I'm not even able to get my PDA repaired... What a scam.
The Future Is Friendly?? NOT WITH TELUS!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Computers has had to be wipe 5 times and still doesn't work!
Annoyed By:
Dell Canada
Location: Ontario, Hamilton
Industry: Technology
Company: Dell
Industry: Technology
Company: Dell
I purchased a Dell computer on February 2, 2006, with a warranty ending in 2010. The computer I purchase is a Dimension 3100 Series. I have had to wipe this computer 5 times due to is not working. Have called their tech support more than I care to remember. One person had me on the floor for over 10 to 15 hours pulling out parts and still couldn't fix the problem. Another person from customer care supervisor told me last week he was going to send me a new system, and found out he lied.
No matter how many times you have tech support helping you trying to fix this computer it doesn't work. I have contacted the Dell in the USA, and have had no satisfaction.
No matter what the tech do, the computer still doesn't work. They will not replace this computer and I have lost work over this computer and they expect to be paid for a computer that doesn't work.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Staples - Free Paper for Inkjet Cartridge Offer
Annoyed By:
Staples the Business Depot
Location: Ontario, Oakville
Industry: Technology
Company: Staples
Industry: Technology
Company: Staples
Staples is offering to give you a free pack of printer paper for every empty inkjet cartridge you turn in.
I went to the Oakville store (Dorval and QEW) and they said the offer had expired. After wandering around the store, I found the current flyer outlining the offer.
After waiting in line (again), I showed the flyer to the clerk and he agreed to honour it. When I complained that the packs he handed me were torn and damaged, he said "What do you expect for free?"
Great customer service!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Dairy Queen workers' hijinks on web shock owner: The mooning video
Annoyed By:
Dairy Queen
Location: Newfoundland and Labrador, St John's
Industry: Restaurant
Source: CBC News
Check out the video here:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/nl-pitts-dairy-20080117.mov
The owner of a St. John's Dairy Queen franchise reacted with disgust when informed of an internet video that showed his employees goofing off on the premises — in one case mooning through the drive-thru window.
A worker at a St. John's Dairy Queen dropped his pants at a drive-thru window, in a phone video posted to a Facebook group. (CBC News)
A camera phone video posted in December to a Facebook group involving employees of the Topsail Road Dairy Queen shows some of them cavorting in the empty restaurant.
In one scene, an employee drops his pants and bares his bottom outside the takeout window. Then, he does the same before the camera.
"Oh man, you gotta wipe that now," a co-worker advises him, apparently in vain. The employee continues about his work, without — at least immediately — washing his hands.
The video also shows a snowball fight behind the counter, where food orders are prepared and served. Christmas decorations are visible in the video.
Messages posted by former and current employees also made comments about the questionable handling of food at the restaurant.
Franchise owner Albert Buott reacted angrily to the video when informed of it by CBC News.
"Good God almighty," he said. "Where's my managers? Who's allowing this to happen?"
He described the employee hanging a moon outside a drive-thru window as "disgusting," and said he would investigate.
Shortly afterward on Thursday, the video was removed from the Facebook group.
A provincial food inspection official said dropping one's pants behind a restaurant counter is a health-code violation.
Inspectors, as well, will be contacting management at the Dairy Queen restaurant.
Industry: Restaurant
Source: CBC News
Check out the video here:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/nl-pitts-dairy-20080117.mov
The owner of a St. John's Dairy Queen franchise reacted with disgust when informed of an internet video that showed his employees goofing off on the premises — in one case mooning through the drive-thru window.
A worker at a St. John's Dairy Queen dropped his pants at a drive-thru window, in a phone video posted to a Facebook group. (CBC News)
A camera phone video posted in December to a Facebook group involving employees of the Topsail Road Dairy Queen shows some of them cavorting in the empty restaurant.
In one scene, an employee drops his pants and bares his bottom outside the takeout window. Then, he does the same before the camera.
"Oh man, you gotta wipe that now," a co-worker advises him, apparently in vain. The employee continues about his work, without — at least immediately — washing his hands.
The video also shows a snowball fight behind the counter, where food orders are prepared and served. Christmas decorations are visible in the video.
Messages posted by former and current employees also made comments about the questionable handling of food at the restaurant.
Franchise owner Albert Buott reacted angrily to the video when informed of it by CBC News.
"Good God almighty," he said. "Where's my managers? Who's allowing this to happen?"
He described the employee hanging a moon outside a drive-thru window as "disgusting," and said he would investigate.
Shortly afterward on Thursday, the video was removed from the Facebook group.
A provincial food inspection official said dropping one's pants behind a restaurant counter is a health-code violation.
Inspectors, as well, will be contacting management at the Dairy Queen restaurant.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Canadian Tire
Annoyed By:
Canadian Tire
Location: Ontario, Sudbury
Industry: Retail
Company: Canadian Tire
Industry: Retail
Company: Canadian Tire
I had brought my car in to have my roaders and barrings looked and and possibly fixed, i had left for an hour then when i came back the mechanic told me it would cost me 950 to repair my car, i was shocked and i didnt understand, he told me i needed 4 new tire and a new rim on the left front side. I then asked him if he had looked at my roaders or barrings and he said no, he then said he could not look at other parts of my vehicule because he had already seen damaged parts that needed to be fixed i then asked to speak with the manager, the maneger was extrmely rude and told me i was a danger to everyone on the road and needed new tires, i did not dissagree with the man i just wanted my barrings and roaders looked at first, i was very dissatisfied with the service, i was then charged the 30 dollars for the mechanic looking at my car, even though i did not even get a brake expection or my raoders and barrings looked at.
Lies, problems, no service, no follow up - Customer Service the Future Shop way
Annoyed By:
Future Shop
Location: Ontario, Mississauga
Industry: Technology
Company: Future Shop
This is a copy (99%) of an email I sent to the Toronto Star today regarding the "fun" I have had of late with Future Shop:
On December 24, 2007 I went on line to order some of the boxing week special items at Future Shop. My desire was to order a replacement fridge, stove, washer and dryer … stainless steel for the kitchen appliances, and plain white for the laundry pair. I had planned on the Maytag laundry pair, a GE stove and an LG fridge.
That night was the night that the website e-commerce portion crashed. I spent three hours that night waiting and watching (and reading the increasingly frustrated rants of other customers on the FS community site). Eventually I was able to order the fridge and the stove, but not the washer and dryer.
I went to my local FS the morning of December 26 to order the washer and dryer. At the time, I asked that the delivery be set to coincide with the fridge and stove delivery, although I did not know what that date would be. The order was placed by the sales associate. He asked about the pedestals for the pair, and I indicated I needed to check on space first. A delivery charge was added to the order, similar to when I ordered the other two items on line. The salesperson indicated that this could be reversed when the delivery happened. Delivery was scheduled for January 3, 2008.
I returned to the store on December 27 to inquire about the pedestals. I was told by the same associate that they were not in yet, but that I could pay for them to get the best chance of having them show up. They could not be sure that the pedestals would be delivered at the same time as the washer and dryer. I paid for the pedestals, with the salesperson putting the order in after reviewing my original order.
I returned to the store on January 2 to check on the status of the pedestals, and was told that the hoped for delivery of the next day would not be possible. I also at that time had the delivery rescheduled for January 15 (including the pedestals), and added on the option to have my existing washer and dryer taken away, for which I paid $40.
I went to my local FS again on January 3 in the evening. I wanted to change the fridge that had been ordered on line to a larger (and more expensive) one. I waited for 15 minutes in appliances with no-one showing up, then hunted down a cashier to assist. She paged someone (Chris) to appliances; I waited another 10 minutes with no-one showing up. She then went to hunt someone down. The person who came back indicated that they could order the fridge but could not do anything about the one ordered on line … I would have to call customer support (CS) for that. I declined ordering from him, as I wanted to make sure that I did not end up with two fridges. The timeframe for delivery was between noon and 9 PM; the associate said that a more definite time would be provided to me in the pre-delivery call I would get the day before.
I called that night to CS and spoke with a person (Chad, employee xxxxx). They indicated that if I placed the order on-line they could put the cancellation order in. They were also going to update the requested delivery to be January 15 so that all items would show up the same day … thereby providing a single delivery charge (I was now up to three of them – one for the washer/dryer, one for the fridge/stove, and one for the replacement fridge) and making sure I did not have to reserve two days for the delivery. I was told this should be possible. The CS rep said he would contact me within 3 to 5 days to confirm all of this, and indicated that the credit to my card for the cancellation would take 7 to 10 days.
By Saturday, January 12 I had not heard from the CS rep and was getting worried. I called in (waiting about 20 minutes again for someone to pick up) and spoke to another rep (Ruth, employee xxxxxx). They indicated that the cancellation for the first fridge had not been put through, that the second fridge was scheduled for delivery on January 21, and that they could not be sure that the replacement fridge could be changed to be delivered on the date of the other deliveries. She said she would put the request through. I expressed my extreme displeasure … it got me nowhere.
I received a call from the delivery company the night of January 14 saying the delivery was going to be as planned the next day. They could not tell me if the replacement or original fridge was being delivered. They also indicated that they could not give me a better idea of the delivery time (despite what the sales associate said). They gave me a number to call in the morning to get the better idea of the delivery time.
I called the number they gave me at 10 AM – I did not speak with anyone, but had to leave a message. I did so, giving my name phone number and street name and asked to be called back. No one called back.
No one had showed up by 6 PM so I called through again. The person I spoke to said it was out for delivery, and should be there by 9. Shortly after 9 PM it had not arrived, so I called the number again … no one was there – they closed at 9 PM.
A little after 9:30 the delivery truck showed up. It had the original fridge on it (not the replacement). The pedestals which the salesperson had ordered were also the wrong ones – I had ordered a Maytag set, and the pedestals were for a Whirlpool set. The delivery and installation person indicated that they would NOT work for my Maytag set. Therefore, I declined the fridge and the pedestals. Oh yes … and they did not have notice that they were to take away my old washer and dryer … I showed him my sales receipt for it and he then took them away.
So … the summary:
- The salesperson in store ordered the wrong pedestals for my set.
- The on line CSR did NOT cancel my original order as he had promised
- The on line CSR did NOT arrange for the delivery of the replacement fridge on the same day as the other items
- The salesperson in store (or someone) did not make sure the delivery company knew to take away the old washer and dryer.
- I have been charged 3 delivery charges
- The charge for the cancelled fridge is still on my credit card
- I did not get a clearer timeframe for delivery on the pre delivery call
- The call the next morning to ask this was left ignored with no call back, despite my request to get a call back.
- The call just after 9, by which time the items were to have been delivered, was unanswered as they were closed … I do not understand this – how do you find out if the delivery was lost, delayed or something else if you cannot get through that night?
- I had to go back to the store to get a credit for the pedestals – another 45 minutes out of my day. They could not yet process the credit as they needed to email / call with the warehouse. They did credit one of the delivery charges (their's, but not the web site ordered ones). The salesperson told me that the pedestals would work fine … that they are from the same company. Given the choice of believing someone who delivers and installs them versus someone who works in a store, I chose to decline this and have the cancellation and credit to my card processed.
The entire process seems to be set up to serve the profits and needs of Future Shop with little concern for the customer. From what I can see, there are 4 parties involved in my orders – Future Shop (the store), Future Shop (the website), the delivery arranging company, and the delivery company. None of them seem to communicate with each other.
I find it astonishing that I could have received such consistent poor service, pack of lies, mistakes in ordering and delivering, and lack of response.
I would love to hear what Future Shop has to say about this, and what they can do to satisfy my level of upset. Regardless, I can guarantee that I will never order something from either Future Shop or Best Buy that I cannot carry out of the store… this process was just too damned painful and time consuming.
Mike G. from Mississauga
Industry: Technology
Company: Future Shop
This is a copy (99%) of an email I sent to the Toronto Star today regarding the "fun" I have had of late with Future Shop:
On December 24, 2007 I went on line to order some of the boxing week special items at Future Shop. My desire was to order a replacement fridge, stove, washer and dryer … stainless steel for the kitchen appliances, and plain white for the laundry pair. I had planned on the Maytag laundry pair, a GE stove and an LG fridge.
That night was the night that the website e-commerce portion crashed. I spent three hours that night waiting and watching (and reading the increasingly frustrated rants of other customers on the FS community site). Eventually I was able to order the fridge and the stove, but not the washer and dryer.
I went to my local FS the morning of December 26 to order the washer and dryer. At the time, I asked that the delivery be set to coincide with the fridge and stove delivery, although I did not know what that date would be. The order was placed by the sales associate. He asked about the pedestals for the pair, and I indicated I needed to check on space first. A delivery charge was added to the order, similar to when I ordered the other two items on line. The salesperson indicated that this could be reversed when the delivery happened. Delivery was scheduled for January 3, 2008.
I returned to the store on December 27 to inquire about the pedestals. I was told by the same associate that they were not in yet, but that I could pay for them to get the best chance of having them show up. They could not be sure that the pedestals would be delivered at the same time as the washer and dryer. I paid for the pedestals, with the salesperson putting the order in after reviewing my original order.
I returned to the store on January 2 to check on the status of the pedestals, and was told that the hoped for delivery of the next day would not be possible. I also at that time had the delivery rescheduled for January 15 (including the pedestals), and added on the option to have my existing washer and dryer taken away, for which I paid $40.
I went to my local FS again on January 3 in the evening. I wanted to change the fridge that had been ordered on line to a larger (and more expensive) one. I waited for 15 minutes in appliances with no-one showing up, then hunted down a cashier to assist. She paged someone (Chris) to appliances; I waited another 10 minutes with no-one showing up. She then went to hunt someone down. The person who came back indicated that they could order the fridge but could not do anything about the one ordered on line … I would have to call customer support (CS) for that. I declined ordering from him, as I wanted to make sure that I did not end up with two fridges. The timeframe for delivery was between noon and 9 PM; the associate said that a more definite time would be provided to me in the pre-delivery call I would get the day before.
I called that night to CS and spoke with a person (Chad, employee xxxxx). They indicated that if I placed the order on-line they could put the cancellation order in. They were also going to update the requested delivery to be January 15 so that all items would show up the same day … thereby providing a single delivery charge (I was now up to three of them – one for the washer/dryer, one for the fridge/stove, and one for the replacement fridge) and making sure I did not have to reserve two days for the delivery. I was told this should be possible. The CS rep said he would contact me within 3 to 5 days to confirm all of this, and indicated that the credit to my card for the cancellation would take 7 to 10 days.
By Saturday, January 12 I had not heard from the CS rep and was getting worried. I called in (waiting about 20 minutes again for someone to pick up) and spoke to another rep (Ruth, employee xxxxxx). They indicated that the cancellation for the first fridge had not been put through, that the second fridge was scheduled for delivery on January 21, and that they could not be sure that the replacement fridge could be changed to be delivered on the date of the other deliveries. She said she would put the request through. I expressed my extreme displeasure … it got me nowhere.
I received a call from the delivery company the night of January 14 saying the delivery was going to be as planned the next day. They could not tell me if the replacement or original fridge was being delivered. They also indicated that they could not give me a better idea of the delivery time (despite what the sales associate said). They gave me a number to call in the morning to get the better idea of the delivery time.
I called the number they gave me at 10 AM – I did not speak with anyone, but had to leave a message. I did so, giving my name phone number and street name and asked to be called back. No one called back.
No one had showed up by 6 PM so I called through again. The person I spoke to said it was out for delivery, and should be there by 9. Shortly after 9 PM it had not arrived, so I called the number again … no one was there – they closed at 9 PM.
A little after 9:30 the delivery truck showed up. It had the original fridge on it (not the replacement). The pedestals which the salesperson had ordered were also the wrong ones – I had ordered a Maytag set, and the pedestals were for a Whirlpool set. The delivery and installation person indicated that they would NOT work for my Maytag set. Therefore, I declined the fridge and the pedestals. Oh yes … and they did not have notice that they were to take away my old washer and dryer … I showed him my sales receipt for it and he then took them away.
So … the summary:
- The salesperson in store ordered the wrong pedestals for my set.
- The on line CSR did NOT cancel my original order as he had promised
- The on line CSR did NOT arrange for the delivery of the replacement fridge on the same day as the other items
- The salesperson in store (or someone) did not make sure the delivery company knew to take away the old washer and dryer.
- I have been charged 3 delivery charges
- The charge for the cancelled fridge is still on my credit card
- I did not get a clearer timeframe for delivery on the pre delivery call
- The call the next morning to ask this was left ignored with no call back, despite my request to get a call back.
- The call just after 9, by which time the items were to have been delivered, was unanswered as they were closed … I do not understand this – how do you find out if the delivery was lost, delayed or something else if you cannot get through that night?
- I had to go back to the store to get a credit for the pedestals – another 45 minutes out of my day. They could not yet process the credit as they needed to email / call with the warehouse. They did credit one of the delivery charges (their's, but not the web site ordered ones). The salesperson told me that the pedestals would work fine … that they are from the same company. Given the choice of believing someone who delivers and installs them versus someone who works in a store, I chose to decline this and have the cancellation and credit to my card processed.
The entire process seems to be set up to serve the profits and needs of Future Shop with little concern for the customer. From what I can see, there are 4 parties involved in my orders – Future Shop (the store), Future Shop (the website), the delivery arranging company, and the delivery company. None of them seem to communicate with each other.
I find it astonishing that I could have received such consistent poor service, pack of lies, mistakes in ordering and delivering, and lack of response.
I would love to hear what Future Shop has to say about this, and what they can do to satisfy my level of upset. Regardless, I can guarantee that I will never order something from either Future Shop or Best Buy that I cannot carry out of the store… this process was just too damned painful and time consuming.
Mike G. from Mississauga
Monday, January 14, 2008
Rogers Customer Service
Annoyed By:
rogers
Location: Alberta, Medicine Hat
Industry: Telecom
Annoyed By: Rogers Wireless
Accepting Responsibility I would like to relate the following as a warning to those who expect some compassion or understanding from Rogers Wireless.
1 year ago my family moved from Nova Scotia to Alberta with our 7 young children & and a family friend who wanted to better herself. Arriving in Medicine Hat I decided as a family we needed to keep in contact and got a Rogers Family Plan with 4 cellphones. 1 for my wife, 1 for myself, 1 for the children & 1 for our friend with the understanding that all she was required to do was pay the bill. She lived with us, and my wife being the manager of a large national store gave her employment.
My first bill came to over $600 – the sales reps had given me unclear and inaccurate information concerning minutes on our plan, and after contacting Rogers they agreed, reducing the bill by $200 and putting us on a more appropriate plan.
I continued to pay the bills on a regular basis, receiving no money from our friend after repeated requests. For months this continued to the point where I eventually stopped paying her portion of the bill and contacted Rogers who told me that because the contract was in my wife's name we were responsible.
Eventually this friend's bill was $1400 calling Nova Scotia on a nightly basis. I informed Rogers on several occasions and refused to pay her bill. Eventually Rogers cut us off, even though I had paid the bills for the remaining family 3 phones & contacted Rogers explaining the situation.
The friend returned to Nova Scotia, Rogers sent me a letter stating they had bought out our remaining contract and we now owed $2800, and put it in the hands of a collection agency, just before Christmas 2008. My wife has an otherwise spotless credit history – to keep it that way I went and got a loan ( paying $3500) and paid this ludicrous bill.
I know and accept that ultimately with my wife's name on the contract we are ultimately reasonable, but Rogers could have shown a little compassion before Christmas time – they ensured my 7 children did not get what they wanted from Santa. I have this friend's cell-phone, her numbers, friends & family of her in Nova Scotia, would not be hard to prove in a small claims court, yet Rogers would not believe me nor were they interested.
I am now considering pursuing through small claims court.
Regards
Chris Ware
Industry: Telecom
Annoyed By: Rogers Wireless
Accepting Responsibility I would like to relate the following as a warning to those who expect some compassion or understanding from Rogers Wireless.
1 year ago my family moved from Nova Scotia to Alberta with our 7 young children & and a family friend who wanted to better herself. Arriving in Medicine Hat I decided as a family we needed to keep in contact and got a Rogers Family Plan with 4 cellphones. 1 for my wife, 1 for myself, 1 for the children & 1 for our friend with the understanding that all she was required to do was pay the bill. She lived with us, and my wife being the manager of a large national store gave her employment.
My first bill came to over $600 – the sales reps had given me unclear and inaccurate information concerning minutes on our plan, and after contacting Rogers they agreed, reducing the bill by $200 and putting us on a more appropriate plan.
I continued to pay the bills on a regular basis, receiving no money from our friend after repeated requests. For months this continued to the point where I eventually stopped paying her portion of the bill and contacted Rogers who told me that because the contract was in my wife's name we were responsible.
Eventually this friend's bill was $1400 calling Nova Scotia on a nightly basis. I informed Rogers on several occasions and refused to pay her bill. Eventually Rogers cut us off, even though I had paid the bills for the remaining family 3 phones & contacted Rogers explaining the situation.
The friend returned to Nova Scotia, Rogers sent me a letter stating they had bought out our remaining contract and we now owed $2800, and put it in the hands of a collection agency, just before Christmas 2008. My wife has an otherwise spotless credit history – to keep it that way I went and got a loan ( paying $3500) and paid this ludicrous bill.
I know and accept that ultimately with my wife's name on the contract we are ultimately reasonable, but Rogers could have shown a little compassion before Christmas time – they ensured my 7 children did not get what they wanted from Santa. I have this friend's cell-phone, her numbers, friends & family of her in Nova Scotia, would not be hard to prove in a small claims court, yet Rogers would not believe me nor were they interested.
I am now considering pursuing through small claims court.
Regards
Chris Ware
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