I was hired in October 2010. Part of my compensation package as outlined in my letter of employment was a 10% staff discount which can only be obtained by using an HBC Mastercard (interest rate 18.99%) at the service desks. The employee discount would apparently show up on the monthly statement not at the checkout. Well it is January 12th, 2011 and there is no discount on my HBC purchases. This would be 90 days worth of purchases including things for Christmas bought at The Bay and at Zellers. Needless to say I will never shop at any HBC store again. I have been stolen from! This is fraudulent! I have asked nthat the issue be addressed. My account is awaiting coding as staff at HBC Mastercard. I have asked the HR manager to please facilitate the process as Mastercard can only apply the discount retroactively within a certain time frame. He said he would send another email.

This morning I was terminated based on extremely low business volumes. Now - was I let go partially because I dared to protest being a victim of organizational theft? Or is it indeed true that the company is failing? I am perfectly well aware that there is not enough business in a day to cover the running expenses of the stores in the GTA. Numbers don't lie especially when they are so small...

I am very upset because I should have KNOWN better. Zellers has always been an adventure in deceptive pricing (check the receipt BEFORE you leave the store) and the Bay is very expensive. I should never have trusted such a company to keep its word. I can come to terms with being hired seasonally with the proviso that healthy Xmas sales might mean a permanent part time job, but I have a hard time dealing with being ripped off. I feel like a total fool for having ever chopped there. Obviously the 10% discount does not offset the 18.99% card interest rate. I had the flipping cash to pay for my purchases too! I even made credit payments at the same time as I bought items using the credit card. What a scam! No wonder the employees there - not math whizzes at all but clearly operating on instinct - are so wary and upset at the "must use a credit card to get the discount" policy.

Oh - and no, I cannot call or email anyone. Zellers, unlike Walmart, is completely inaccessible to staff and customers alike. Your complaints and mine fall on deaf ears! No wonder they are failing - they have no desire to change and no wish to hear what the people do not like.