this is a copy of the letter that I drafted to sent to Canadian Tire Head Office

I am writing to you to give you an insight on how female customers are treated by your automotive service department at the Regina Saskatchewan Canadian Tire North and how they held my car hostage.

On Friday, September 26, 2008, I took my car to your automotive service department at the Canadian Tire North in Regina Saskatchewan to have two winter tires replace on the front of my car. All seemed to be going well, but it was taking forever. Two males were working on the car and they would continually go back and forth from my car to others. When they would come back to my car they would again begin tightening the lug nuts. As they would tighten them the car would lunge forward showing that they were tight. This went on for quite a while until I finally exited the store and went into the service bay through the service bay outside doors asking these two males what was taking so long. They informed me that ALL MY STUDS WERE STRIPPED AND THEY COULD NOT TORQUE THE LUG NUTS AND THEY NEEDED TO MAKE A CLICKING SOUND TO SAY THAT THEY WERE TIGHT. Well low and behold well I was standing there the first one that they tightened clicked. I told them to wrap it up and release my car I would take it to my regular mechanic in Regina and have it look at it before I left town, I live an hour out of Regina. Then I returned into the service department and was confronted by they Service manager, Jim Euteneier. He informed me that they would not release my car to me and that it would remain with them until it was fixed. I refused to have it looked at by Canadian tire mechanics and wanted it released. Finally after phoning my mechanic he agreed to let me have it towed to my mechanic at Moleski Service Centre & Auto Parts Store just a few blocks away.

When I got to Moleski Service Centre & Auto Parts Store they inspected my car right away and guess what there nothing was wrong with my car. They inspected every stud in both front hubs all the lugs nuts torque out fine. I drove home and again had my husband re-inspect the tire’s lug nuts to ensure that they were indeed tight and he also could not find any thing wrong with them either. I don’t know what your company is playing at but I am going to inform anyone and everyone that will listen to me. I have written to our local paper and also have contacted The Fifth Estate, CBC Television. I think this would make an excellent informative television piece. I have it in writing from you service manager, Jim Euteneier, at the Canadian Tire North Store that and I quote “There is a problem with all of the front wheel studs. They will not torque correctly. The wheel nuts continue to turn as we try to tighten them. There may be a possibility that the wheel studs are stripped in the front hubs. Cust has to have the car towed away because she refuses to have repaired at Canadian Tire” and a copy of the receipt from my mechanic stating that “check front wheel studs – tightened ok”.

I think that it is appalling that a customer should have their car held hostage to your demands. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach every time I think about the experience your place of business has put me through. I was at the mercy of your mechanic and would have had no way to prove that the work they “said needed to be done really needed to be done”.

Totally upset and humiliated