Frustration with Princess Auto in Canada

[Brenda Novakovski]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd see if anyone else has had this problem with Princess Auto in Canada. Here in Saskatoon they moved to a huge, brand new store. We are under the gun to get our second rental Trill up and running and have had nothing but grief trying to obtain supplies from this outlet. We have had similar experiences in the past so when they put up this new store I was hoping things would be better.

Nolan purchased two LED red marker lights over two weeks ago. The matching amber LED marker lights were not on the shelf and we were told to come back in about a week. I phoned just this past Thursday to see if they were in yet. The person on the phone told me that her computer told her there were 18 on the shelf and 60 in the back. She was kind enough to check to see if that was actually true. She came back on the phone and told me there was nothing on the shelf but to check back the next day or Saturday.

We went into the store today, Saturday. Still no amber marker lights. I flagged down an employee and asked. I was told, yeah, they're probably still in the back and not put on the shelf yet. No offer to get them out, look to see if they were, in fact, in the store - nothing. Frustrated I took the red marker lights which I had brought with me and promptly got a refund. Also went to find a 2 ton bottle jack - one was up on the highest shelf, out of the box and no way of getting to it.

We went to Canadian Tire and purchased everything we needed. I don't get it

Brenda

[Morgan]

Brenda,

If you can find an email address for their customer service (corporate) forward your email to them. I'd use it as written.

It may not help; depends on the corporate culture.

[Brenda Novakovski]

Brenda,

If you can find an email address for their customer service (corporate) forward your email to them. I'd use it as written.

It may not help; depends on the corporate culture.

Hi Morgan,

I went on their site and sent an e-mail to them. I'll see if they respond.

Brenda

[Roy in TO]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd see if anyone else has had this problem with Princess Auto in Canada. Brenda

Must be a geographic thing. I've gotten everything I ever went to Princess Auto for and usually end up with a rain check at Canadian Tire. Service can be poor in both, but that is the state of the retail industry, with the notable exception of Staples who have been making an effort in the last year in customer service.

Have you ordered from PA on line yet? It's worth a try if you know exactly what you want. We have and it was straight forward with relatively quick delivery. I prefer to go in person to browse at all the neat stuff.

Roy

[Benny K]

I don`t have a problem in Winnipeg stores with them.....good stock in both.....the only thing is the quality of the merchandise, power tools, etc., but it`s like almost everywhere else....off shore suppliers.....of course if you want something real cheap, expect the quality to match the price.....at least the warrantyabout being satisfied is better than most places....you can always return anything you bought without a hassle if you don`t want it ...Benny

[Maggie O.]

There's a Lowes a half hour north of us. The place is a zoo and gives me a headache. There's a lowes a half hour south. No customers and an eager helpful staff. It's like shangrila. It's in a lower population area, and the difference is amazing.

[Brian B-P]

My Princess Auto and Canadian Tire experiences have been much closer to Roy's than Brenda's. Princess auto is not convenient for me to get to and of course there are lots of things I'm looking for which they don't have, but they have had what they were advertising; on the other hand, I have needed to get a raincheck at Canadian Tire a few times.

While there are not a lot of staff in our Princess Auto, each time I have asked one for assistance they have been helpful. Most Canadian Tire staff could be working in a grocery store and it would match their skill and knowledge just as well - of course this doesn't matter when you know what you want and can find it.

A few months ago some of you might remember me asking about cheap solar panel charge controllers... the cheap and available one was from Canadian Tire and I ended up with rainchecks from half a dozen Canadian Tire stores, but only one of them ever called me to tell me that they came in. There are stacks on the shelves now.

I agree the individual location matters; inventory control and service are all about the people providing them.

[Joe MacDonald]

I think Princess has been expanding way too fast, they don't seem to be able to keep up with their customer demand. I average a 50-50 success rate with them, and have not had much better luck with their on-line. When I did try it, it took me about 1-1/2 months to get everything I ordered.

[adamp]

Kitchener PA recently moved to a new store. Same troubles as you are describing though. The staff are nice and will go dig around for you though. I have noticed that if the computer says they have it, and it is not on the shelf (therefore 'out back') there is a reluctance to go look 'out back'. My biggest peeve with them is when I stop in to pick up something on sale, the shelf is usually cleared out, and none are 'out back'.