Canadian Blog Hop

I don't take part in too many blog hops, but, I thought this one would be fun. There are more and more Canadian bloggers popping up all the time and I love finding them.

If you are a Canadian blogger you can link up here and also get to know some fellow Canadians.

Zellers ~ Product reliability and customer service FAIL

Since I have posted close to two hundred product reviews in the last year and a half. I am pretty confident in saying I know what I look for when posting a product review. And, since I have a voice here I thought I would share my recent experiences with Zellers.

Zellers is a long-established department store here in Canada. It is part of a chain owned by the parent company The Hudson's Bay Company. I frequent the Zellers in Stratford Ontario. In recent years Zellers has had to pull up their boot straps with WalMart coming to Canada...or so I thought!

On November 5, 2010 I took my children to Zellers to buy their winter gear. After spending $290 dollars I walked out of my local Zellers with four pairs of boots, one snow suit, one winter jacket, one pair of snow pants, and several hats and mitts. We were all set for our impending winter weather.

However November didn't produce any snow. December did though! So the kids were excited to wear their new winter-wear. It is now January 9 and the kids have had 40 days wearing their clothing from Zellers. About a week ago I noticed that Matt's boots were coming apart at the soles.



We have since had to purchase a second pair of boots for him since his feet were wet and cold. (Not at Zellers.) I figured I would inquire with Zellers Customer Service Email as to whether they had a replacement guarantee on children's items. They responded asking for all the details of my purchase. Which I was happy to do, since I still have my receipt. They asked for the UPC# of the boot, day bought, transaction #, and method of payment. All, I could provide.

The next day I received a form letter saying they had passed along my concern to their buyers. While, I think that is a worth-while thing to do, it doesn't satisfy me. The boots have only been worn for 40 days (assuming he went outdoors every day during those 40 days). My expectation is that a product would and should last for at least the season it was intended.

My response was that I appreciated their form letter, but my question remained are they going to replace their defective merchandise?

Stratford doesn't have a WalMart YET, but, it is coming. And, I say it can't come soon enough!

Zellers is willing to sell sub-standard merchandise and then just shrug their shoulders. I can't wait to take my almost $300 dollars and spend it at WalMart next year when it comes time to buy winter gear. And, throughout the year. You can just imagine what I spend in a year with three children. I have tried to be loyal to Zellers, since they are Canadian, but, if they aren't willing to stand by their merchandise I will happily take my dollars elsewhere.





As always, these are my opinions and experiences, yours may differ.

Happy Canada Day!!

This July 1st, Canadian bloggers are coming together to celebrate our nation with a fun blog party.

Happy Canada Day!!

I am a proud Canadian, and welcome you to my little blog. I have a lot of fun writing about my family and my community, as well as bringing my readers reviews and giveaways. The world of blogging has given my family the opportunity to try out products, which we would never be able to otherwise. And, the great fellow-bloggers I have met along the way is the topping on the cake.


This Canada Day long-weekend our little town a buzz with activity. It is homecoming weekend, as well as my kids schools are having their closing ceremonies (we are getting a new school this fall) And, my daughter is leaving for her week at summer camp on Sunday afternoon. So, it is going to be a pretty busy time.


The Canadian blogger community is starting to explode and I can't wait to meet new friends. Be sure to leave a comment so I can visit you too.

Enjoy your Canada Day weekend!!

UNITED

I have many things to be proud of, my family, their accomplishments, our community and what it stands for...but, I have never felt the love for my country as I do now. And, I am not alone. We as a people have stood up and said, yeah, this is a great country and we are proud of it and us!

Vancouver games began as any other Olympic games for me. Kind of uninterested, but because it was hosted by Canada I figured I would catch a little here and there. To me, more of an interruption to my normal tv watching and an interruption to my daily life. Also, anger for the costs of these games and how we as the tax-payers of this country would be on the hook for years and years to come.

As I watched the opening ceremonies I sat with tears in my eyes, often times running down my face. I was heart-broken over the death of the luge participant earlier that day and I felt the games were off to a terrible start. But, then as he was honoured and acknowledged at the opening ceremonies I began to see that this was the Olympic spirit. I loved all the Canadian sentiment during the opening ceremonies and full of pride at what to some would seem as rather quirky.

The next day I ran out and bought up all kinds of red mittens (even though the kids each had a pair already) we got t-shirts, caps and mascot key-chains. What changed in me? Just like the Olympic flame was lit, a flame was lit in my soul for the love of this country and what we represented. Over the course of 17 days we tuned in daily to watch our Canadian athletes compete and always win in our hearts. No matter where they placed, each and every one of those athletes did their very best. We are so thankful and proud of them for representing our country with such grace and dignity.

I loved the closing ceremonies and thought poking a little fun at every Canadian stereo-type was a great way to close the games. In the end, I hope that each and every country that came to Vancouver is feeling the same pride in their athletes and country as we as Canadians are today.

Canadians, we are indeed a country united, coast to coast to coast, fly our flag with pride. It is a new era here in Canada!