Canadian Tire review: automotive

Canadian Tire,

My battery warning light came on in my car on Friday November 15, 2019 and since I had bought the battery only 10 months ago (January 2019) and it is still under warranty, I called CAA Quebec (from whom I had bought the battery) to check it.

The CAA technician came to my house on Saturday November 16, 2019 and did a diagnostics check on the battery, and reported that the battery was fine and it was probably the alternator that had gone bad. While checking the battery, the engine started sputtering and that confirmed that it was not a battery problem. We decided to have the car towed to the nearest Canadian Tire (No. 318) at 213 boulevard des Grives, Gatineau, QC J9A 0C7 (819-778-1881) to have it checked.

The car was towed, and by the time I returned home a technician named Gabriel from Canadian Tire - who said that he was the supervisor on that day - called me to say that I need to buy a new battery before they can assess the problem with the car. I had already told the technician at Canadian Tire when dropping off the car that the battery was not charging, and explained in detail the reason I brought the car in.

Anyway, I told the Gabriel on the phone that I had the battery checked before dropping off the car and the battery was fine, it is not a battery problem. He insisted that I needed to buy a new battery because my battery is no longer good. I told him that my battery is new and still under warranty so I will call CAA Quebec to have them come and replace it. He got angry and said I cannot bring my own mechanic into their garage. He was so irate I could hardly get a word in edgewise. I had to raise my voice and demand that he allows me to speak. When he finally did, I explained that it's not my own mechanic, it is CAA Quebec from whom I bought the battery and it is still under warranty and since he is insisting that I need a new battery, I will call CAA to come and replace it. He got very upset at me on the phone and I asked him if he was interested in helping me or if he just wanted to make a sale. He admitted at that point that he was there to make sales too. I was shocked by his response and it was clear that he was upset because he was trying to get me to buy a battery and he didn't succeed.

He started to make several excuses about the car being inaccessible. I told him to just remove the car from the garage if it's a problem for the CAA technician to enter. By that time, I had CAA Quebec on the way to replace the battery. When we got to Canadian Tire, Gabriel refused to let the CAA technician look at the battery. I asked him to remove my car from the garage so the CAA technician could have access to it. He got very irate and told me that he would remove my vehicle from the garage but he would charge me an inspection fee of $99.95 and he rudely told me that I should never bring my car to this garage again because they will never touch it!

I was basically held hostage and could not have access to my car until I paid the inspection fee of $99.95 plus tax. I found this unjust, unreasonable, and downright unethical! The technician did absolutely no work on my car. He did not inspect it, he simply tried to start the engine which was dead by this time and diagnosed (incorrectly, I might add) that I needed a new battery, and he already knew when I was dropping the car off that the battery was not charged.

In addition, when I got my bill, on which Gabriel wrote his account of what happened, I noticed that he incorrectly wrote the date as November 11, 2019 instead of November 16, 2019.

Anyway, I paid the money in order to get my car and had to get it towed AGAIN, to another garage. This garage checked my car on Monday, November 18, 2019 and diagnosed, CORRECTLY, that it was a faulty alternator, just like the CAA technician had said. The alternator was replaced, and my car has been working fine since. I am including the receipt from this garage as proof.

This is just proof that Gabriel at Canadian Tire was trying to rip me off by getting me to buy a new battery which would have been an unnecessary expense. And he did succeed in ripping me off by charging me $115(tax included) just for having my car in their garage for a few minutes. In addition, I had to pay for towing services twice in one day, and used up my CAA Quebec benefits unnecessarily, which reduces the number of times I can call them in the future when I might really need help!

A mechanic who is customer-service oriented, would have boosted my battery in order to do the diagnostics. Had he done that; he would have realized that my battery was fine. And even if I did need a new battery, a part of the diagnosis would have included him telling me that I need to change my battery. But how incompetent can a mechanic and by extension a garage be, to tell a customer that if he does not buy a new battery, he would not be able to diagnose what is the problem with his car. That in my opinion is gross incompetence, and did not inspire my confidence in the ability of these mechanics to properly repair my car.

A customer with a car that is not working is already in distress. Gabriel added to my distress by piling on unnecessary expenses, in addition to not being able to tell me what was wrong with my car, which was why I brought it to them in the first place!

In light of the above, and the fact that there is now evidence that there was nothing wrong with my battery and the Canadian Tire technician was incorrect, unethical, and rude in how he dealt with me, I would like some compensation from Canadian Tire, at the very least, a refund of the money I paid.

I am a loyal Canadian Tire customer and have been for years. If you check my records, you can see that I have a credit card with you, I have serviced both my cars at your garages, I have bought tires, skates, helmets, bicycles and other gears for my children, and many household items from Canadian Tire. My children love Canadian Tire, when they see the ads come on the TV, they feel connected to the store, because we've shopped there so many times with them. To be treated so disrespectfully and unfairly by a company that I've been so loyal to, hurts me to the core.

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