Canadian Tire — Local services in Vaughan

I was at the Maple location today in the automotive service area trying to get a new battery for my car, even though the last battery I purchased from them was less than 3 1/2 years ago.

After the service advisor, Tony tried to “rip” me off for a couple extra hundred dollars… I managed to sort through that, which, became very stressful. He was trying to charge me for unnecessary expenses and then double charge for the installation of a battery. When it came time for me to pay for the battery, the auto service cashier had left for lunch.

I was asked to go and pay at the regular cash; which wasn’t a problem for me, until I got to the cashier. I had a very small, blue Walmart grocery bag that had a bottle of water, sunglasses and some personal medical documents that I had in my car, so I put them in the bag before leaving the car for service.

Cashier processed the invoice. I paid it and then she refused to give me my receipt and documents so that I could go and retrieve my keys and get home.

She insisted I show her what was in my bag and initially I was about to, and then realized that she had no legal authority to do so. I told her I had not been in the store. I came directly from the service area, and unless I could fit a tire in that bag, there was really nothing for me to put in the bag along my way.

We debated for a good five minutes to the point where she made me so angry, and I was so frustrated that my I was asking to speak to a manager.

One of the cashiers from customer service saw what was going on and she was motioning me to open my bag; which I refused.

Then I was told not to be so loud… So I told her I would kindly leave as long as she gave me my paperwork as she was infuriating me by holding my receipt hostage, to the point where I just could not stop asking for a manager, so that I could get on with my day.

I like to know where the legal authority comes from for any store to search your bag? Especially since the Charter of Rights, section 8, strictly prohibits this!!

I am more than middle-aged and definitely don’t look like somebody that would be stealing anything. I was offended first by the fact that the service advisor Tony tried to take advantage of me by inflating my service costs and then I had to deal with a nasty cashier who refused to give me my paperwork, unless I showed her what was in my bag!?

This is outrageous behavior. At some point in time, it would not surprise me if somebody actually took legal action against Canadian Tire for such behaviour.

I am still extremely angered and this happened this morning and ended with the cashier at around 12:40 this afternoon and here I am at 8:20 PM and I am still furious about the way I was treated today.

I have been going to this location since at least 2004, but I don’t see how I could ever step foot in that location ever again after the way I was treated today.

Extremely...

I love Canadian Tire as a brand, but this store doesn’t represent the brand very well.

I’ve visited over a dozen times, each time the store is disorganized and looks like it’s closing down or under construction. The aisles aren’t as clearly organized nor marked in comparison to other stores, and stock is often low vs comparable sized stores. I frequently find myself going out of my way to a further store as stock at this location is always low or inaccurate.

Staff aren’t very helpful. They seem quite young, but having managed young retail staff before, I’m confident this is a coaching/leadership issue.

In my most recent visit, there were 2 cashiers each serving one person. I waited in the line of one with one item in my hand. The gentleman in front of me was ordering something with a slip that seemed to take some time. The other cashier pulled numerous people BEHIND me that lined up well after me to tell them he could help them, even though he made eye contact with me numerous times and could tell I was only carrying one item. I can’t imagine why he went out of his way to help people that came after me but didn’t even bother to ask me. He wouldn’t know, but I had a sick (non contagious) infant in the car and we were on our way back from a doctors appointment, so every second mattered to me knowing my baby was patiently waiting.

When it was finally my turn, I scanned my points card and asked to use the funds on the card towards my purchase. The cashier acknowledged this request, yet when I went to pay and said the total seems wrong, she gaslit me and said it’s accurate, over and over. I wasn’t argumentative, just confused, but she was shutting me down quick so I just paid. Once I saw the receipt I realized she hadn’t used the money from my Triangle card and pointed it out. She said that she thought I only wanted her to add the points (??). Why would I ask her to add points to my purchase after scanning the cars, that request would make no sense.

Either way, she was not apologetic, not kind, and simply told me to go wait in line at customer service so they could fix it. She didn’t even offer to walk me over or have someone process the transaction quickly. Obviously, this wasn’t an option for me and I’d rather get back to my child, so I just left, but I’m quite disappointed in the experience as a whole.

I’ve had other questionable experiences with staff not helping me find items, directing me to the wrong place entirely, and being rude at the...

I’m writing to express my disappointment with how I was treated at this store today when I came to pick up an online order.

I’ve shopped at this location before and am familiar with the locker pick-up process. During checkout, I selected the “bring my own bag” option, as I’ve made the mistake before of not bringing one before. This time, I came prepared with a large IKEA bag that was folded flat and empty when I entered the store.

Immediately upon entering, the security guard stopped me and insisted I go to the returns counter to drop off my bag. He kept repeating this without allowing me to explain why I was there. Despite trying to speak calmly, I eventually had to raise my voice just to be heard and let him know I was simply there to pick up a locker order and had brought my own bag, as the store’s online checkout encourages.

Although I tried to let it go as a misunderstanding, the situation got worse. After picking up my order, I proceeded to exit the store and walked past two staff members at the checkout. They weren’t serving anyone and were busy chatting, yet they called me back for a bag check. At that point, I genuinely considered returning my items.

If customers are going to be treated with suspicion or assumed they are returning an item when bringing their own bags — especially ones that are visibly flat and empty — then something in this stores process needs to change. Staff should be trained on how to distinguish between a bag that clearly has items in it and one that does not. I felt unfairly singled out and embarrassed for simply following the procedure provided at checkout.

This experience was frustrating, avoidable, and not reflective of the otherwise positive aspects of the store. I hope this feedback helps improve how customers are treated — particularly those picking up online orders who are just trying to follow online guidelines.

That said, I do want to acknowledge that the order itself was handled accurately, as always, and the pickup process was quick and efficient. The store is well-maintained and clean, which I’ve come to appreciate from previous visits. Unfortunately, this experience will prevent me from...