Even you, Brutus

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Originally posted by DesiTiger

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Originally posted by tamtru

when in today's world Businesses spend so much money to retain customers !!

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Sadly, I haven't found this to be the case in Canada. 80% of businesses I've dealt with in the past 3 years have been Rude, Indifferent & plain disinterested in treating their customers well. It feels like the business is doing you a favour, and not the other way around.

Some Examples:

1. BMW Dealership selling me a car with 2 keys, one of which is not the right one - they claim it's not their problem and I need to buy a new key for $250.

2. Rogers Video charging me $6 a month a mythical second box, that even they acknowledge doesn't exist, but after 2 years of constant tug-o-war, are not willing to correct.

3. Telus selling me a phone with a sepcial offer of a $75 Futureshop Giftcard. Phone arrived in 1 week, Gift card took 4 months and countless e-mails, phone calls & threats to customer service. Their explanation: Futureshop doesn't have Gift Cards to give them.

4. Purolator driver arranges to meet with me at 9:30 AM to deliver a package. Shows up at 11 AM. In the meanwhile, several calls to the station are met with an indifferent attitude.

The list is endless but the common theme to all cases - NOT ONE SINGLE APOLOGY from anybody for making a mistake.

Oh, and did I mention that you can never take the word of a customer service agent for anything? Having an issue? Multiple calls to customer service can and do result in multiple (and often conflicting) answers.

I've yet to experience the "Friendly Customer Service" & "Customer is King" factor in Canada, that I once took for granted in the United States.

Why can't Canadian businesses provide atleast the same level of customer services as the US, when they are charging almost double the prices than their American contemporaries?

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There's no point comparing Canada and the USA. Canada is a socialist country that is a much smaller economy than the capitalist USA.

The "customer is the king" in USA because there is cut throat competition in every sphere. In Canada, we have oligopoly - there are a few companies in a sector that largely work with each other than compete against each other. Telecom, Cable etc you name it - there seems to be "virtual" competition that does not really benefit the consumer.

I had never heard of paying a "banking fee" until I came to Canada. Of course, there are banks like PC and Ing that are revolutionizing that sector too and providing a choice to the consumer. So, things are changing ... but I don't expect it to be like the US.

This is what Rudi Guliani had to say about the private medical system in the US. "If you want US to adopt a medical system like the socialist Canada, where will the Canadians go for medical treatment?"

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Originally posted by ash_canada

Canada is a socialist country that is a much smaller economy than the capitalist USA.

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Originally posted by tamilkuravan

DT,
Nice to have you back after a long, long time.
TK A

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Microsoft - Which end of the stick do you want today?

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Originally posted by Iceberg

This is what Rudi Guliani had to say about the private medical system in the US. "If you want US to adopt a medical system like the socialist Canada, where will the Canadians go for medical treatment?"

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Originally posted by ash_canada

Canada is a socialist country that is a much smaller economy than the capitalist USA.

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Here is another glaring example of the Shoddy customer service (and attitude) that seems to be defining Canada's service culture these days:

My contract ended with Fido on November 1st 2007. On November 26th 2007, I signed up for a new service with TELUS and ported my number over. I get an invoice (and got charged via debit) from Fido for service charges for the month of December. I called customer service and was told that this was due to automatic billing and I'll be refunded the money by mid January.

I called yesterday to inquire when I will be receiving a refund and guess what? Not only were the customer service agents (I spoke with 3 just to make sure I was hearing this right) extremely rude, the new story was that I won't be getting a refund as I am supposed to give Fido a "30 day notice" before I can cancel my service.

To add insult to injury, they (Fido) didn't have a supervisor available (and they never do) and if I wanted, they could "request the supervisor to call me in 48 hours if possible".

What the hell? Are we living in a free country? I've never had to give a "notice" to any company in the States if I wanted to switch services.

So basically, even if you are not satisfied with a company's service, you are literally held at ransom by their idiotic business policies. And what does the Canadian Government do in such cases to protect consumers? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

THREAD HIGHJACKERS - FYI, I am not bashing Canada and praising the United States, I know that the grass always seems greener on the other side. However, having lived in the States and being an informed consumer, I must admit that in this case, the grass IS greener on the other side.

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Microsoft - Which end of the stick do you want today?

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Canada is a socialist country that is a much smaller economy than the capitalist USA.

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