Canadian Tire is on the rebound — and its ‘True North’ strategy now includes a Canadian icon with its purchase of Hudson’s Bay-branded goods, David Olive writes.
Opinion | Canadian Tire has never been more Canadian — and it’s working
Don’t know what it is now, but for the longest time about ⅔ of the wrenches and rackets were rebranded Gearwrench, which is nothing to sneeze at. So OK, it’s not Grey Tools or Snap-On. But Gearwrench is solidly upper-end quality.
I am not 100% what they do now but when I moved 11 years ago I started getting some tools to fix my house, car, etc and most of them are still with me. I am not a handyman by trade to be sure, but I have done quite a bit of work around the house and tools lasting 10+ years are pretty acceptable for the price range IMO
I’ve heard several horror stories from friends about bringing cars to Canadian Tire.
They forgot to put oil in the car after an oil change.
They somehow managed to put a wheel bearing in backwards.
They claimed the lock nut key for the tires was missing when it was in plain view in the glove compartment and they had been told where to find it. They wanted to charge to cut off the lock nuts, which is a common garage scam.
Their tools barely last long enough to finish the job…
More than half the shit I buy there is some cheap Chinese crap that’s either broken in the package or breaks as you take it out because of how flimsy it is.
Eh fuck you bud, I’ve been doing heavy equipment for years now. I’ve made well over 100 thousands of dollars with their “shitty tools” yeah the Allen keys and torx bits are a waste. But Sokets and wrenches? I think I broke one socket and never broke a wrench. Need good cutters or Pliers? Don’t be a cheap prick they sell the knipex. Need a good knife? Yeah they have the olfa too. Screwdrivers? $30 bucks on regular sale gets you set for about 6months only because you loose them all not broken. Measuring tapes? They got house brands, Irwin, Stanley.
Their tools barely last long enough to finish the job…
I’ve got a few of the Canadian Tire tools. A few nail guns, a compound mitre saw, air compressor, a few other things. They seem to do the trick and I’ve done a ton of large construction projects with them. They’ve lasted longer than some of the Skil and Ryobi products I’ve bought over the years.
Those that actually make good products that don’t fall apart in your hands on the first use I guess?
In all seriousness though, when I wanted to buy a certain product (like those stick-on battery-powered lamps that you can put in attics and stuff for example) I would check CT and Amazon.
The CT product would have swollen batteries and acid damage, short circuits, burnt light bulbs, or even burnt LEDs, the casing would be cracked, right out of the package. And the worst part is that when you go to return to the store, they don’t reimburse you for a broken or damaged product. Nope. You can either exchange it for another broken item or they only give you a god damn reimbursement CT card that you can only spend in their stores.
Meanwhile, Amazon would have a ton of selections with customer reviews to back up the product so you know what to expect. The prices are also competitive, even with the delivery fees. And if the product is damaged or breaks, you get an instant reimbursement as soon as you send it back, free of charge.
For the record, I cancelled my Amazon Prime subscription, and boycott Amazon. I don’t buy anything from them anymore unless I really can’t find an alternative somewhere else whether in stores or online at another Canadian location or straight from manufacturers. But, I also avoid CT as much as possible due to my extremely poor customer experience there. There’s always Rona/ Reno Depot, but they were bought by an American equity firm. Home Depot is also American. So I don’t have any other Canadian options.
Canadian companies like Canadian Tire, Loblaws, Metro and other big chains have established themselves almost as monopolies in Canada. Yeah I want to encourage Canadian businesses, but they’re taking advantage of Canadians, and that doesn’t encourage me to buy from them. I try to find smaller providers, but it’s sometimes near impossible for certain types of products.
Amazon reviews can be pretty bad mix of unreliable data, especially since you fan have anyone review a product as a paid shill for the shitty seller to bump up the rating, and on the flip side there are morons that give 1 star because they disnt know how to use the product.
I.e. There was an add on camera for the Essentials Phone. It Only fit the Essentials phone due to proprietary data connection and physical hardware power connectors on back of phone, and clearly states it only fits one phone. People are like 1 star I couldn’t get this working with my IPhone.
And you get stars that don’t match their reporting. 3 stars, this is the best product I have ever owned. 5 stars, It’s Ok. 1 this broke immediately, so I bought another one
I have a story from the one time I took my car there… when I got the car back it had a funny smell in it, and the checklist said that the horn was non-functional. This car had the horn on the end of the signal stick instead of on the steering wheel. I immediately tapped the horn to verify that it was indeed working, and one of the mechanics flinched and got this funny look on his face.
It wasn’t until I got home that I realized what the funny smell was: it was silicone glue. They’d hammered on the steering wheel cap hard enough to break the clips off, and then glued it back on, without mentioning what they’d done.
This was in the early 90s, and I’ve never been back.
Tools are pretty good bang for the buck for regular home owners that are handy…
I still would NEVER take my car to be serviced there… I rather set the car on fire
That would probably make the car safer than a CT tune-up.
Don’t know what it is now, but for the longest time about ⅔ of the wrenches and rackets were rebranded Gearwrench, which is nothing to sneeze at. So OK, it’s not Grey Tools or Snap-On. But Gearwrench is solidly upper-end quality.
I am not 100% what they do now but when I moved 11 years ago I started getting some tools to fix my house, car, etc and most of them are still with me. I am not a handyman by trade to be sure, but I have done quite a bit of work around the house and tools lasting 10+ years are pretty acceptable for the price range IMO
I’ve heard several horror stories from friends about bringing cars to Canadian Tire.
They forgot to put oil in the car after an oil change.
They somehow managed to put a wheel bearing in backwards.
They claimed the lock nut key for the tires was missing when it was in plain view in the glove compartment and they had been told where to find it. They wanted to charge to cut off the lock nuts, which is a common garage scam.
I know of one horror story from my wife’s cousin where they dropped her car from the lift during an oil change
Their tools barely last long enough to finish the job…
More than half the shit I buy there is some cheap Chinese crap that’s either broken in the package or breaks as you take it out because of how flimsy it is.
Eh fuck you bud, I’ve been doing heavy equipment for years now. I’ve made well over 100 thousands of dollars with their “shitty tools” yeah the Allen keys and torx bits are a waste. But Sokets and wrenches? I think I broke one socket and never broke a wrench. Need good cutters or Pliers? Don’t be a cheap prick they sell the knipex. Need a good knife? Yeah they have the olfa too. Screwdrivers? $30 bucks on regular sale gets you set for about 6months only because you loose them all not broken. Measuring tapes? They got house brands, Irwin, Stanley.
Shut up, eh you hoser.
( it’s all in good fun 😉 )
Well ill take being a hoser than an ostrich fucker any day of the week. Or worse a yank.
For the longest time almost ⅓ of their Motomaster sets were rebranded Gearwrench. Especially the non-classic ones with extra features.
Now, Gearwrench may not be on par with Grey Tools or Snap-On. But it’s also significantly upper-shelf and definitely nothing to sneeze at.
I’ve got a few of the Canadian Tire tools. A few nail guns, a compound mitre saw, air compressor, a few other things. They seem to do the trick and I’ve done a ton of large construction projects with them. They’ve lasted longer than some of the Skil and Ryobi products I’ve bought over the years.
what made-in-china brand do you prefer then?
LOL! Good point.
Those that actually make good products that don’t fall apart in your hands on the first use I guess?
In all seriousness though, when I wanted to buy a certain product (like those stick-on battery-powered lamps that you can put in attics and stuff for example) I would check CT and Amazon.
For the record, I cancelled my Amazon Prime subscription, and boycott Amazon. I don’t buy anything from them anymore unless I really can’t find an alternative somewhere else whether in stores or online at another Canadian location or straight from manufacturers. But, I also avoid CT as much as possible due to my extremely poor customer experience there. There’s always Rona/ Reno Depot, but they were bought by an American equity firm. Home Depot is also American. So I don’t have any other Canadian options.
Canadian companies like Canadian Tire, Loblaws, Metro and other big chains have established themselves almost as monopolies in Canada. Yeah I want to encourage Canadian businesses, but they’re taking advantage of Canadians, and that doesn’t encourage me to buy from them. I try to find smaller providers, but it’s sometimes near impossible for certain types of products.
Amazon is the LAST place you should trust customer review.
Well, so far it’s worked well for me.
Amazon reviews can be pretty bad mix of unreliable data, especially since you fan have anyone review a product as a paid shill for the shitty seller to bump up the rating, and on the flip side there are morons that give 1 star because they disnt know how to use the product. I.e. There was an add on camera for the Essentials Phone. It Only fit the Essentials phone due to proprietary data connection and physical hardware power connectors on back of phone, and clearly states it only fits one phone. People are like 1 star I couldn’t get this working with my IPhone.
And you get stars that don’t match their reporting. 3 stars, this is the best product I have ever owned. 5 stars, It’s Ok. 1 this broke immediately, so I bought another one
Since Amazon commingled stock, you can’t know if the electronics you are getting are knock offs, tampered with, Or a brick in a box.
Keep your money for local businesses.
I usually buy from trusted brands or check the reviews. It’s worked well for me so far.
But, I’ve stopped using amazon now.
Last time I had my tires changed I had to bring it back to ask the mechanic for my tires back.
He was more reluctant that I expected.
Probably would happen if you took it there for service…
I have a story from the one time I took my car there… when I got the car back it had a funny smell in it, and the checklist said that the horn was non-functional. This car had the horn on the end of the signal stick instead of on the steering wheel. I immediately tapped the horn to verify that it was indeed working, and one of the mechanics flinched and got this funny look on his face.
It wasn’t until I got home that I realized what the funny smell was: it was silicone glue. They’d hammered on the steering wheel cap hard enough to break the clips off, and then glued it back on, without mentioning what they’d done.
This was in the early 90s, and I’ve never been back.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sounds about right
Went there for an oil change once. The mechanic asked me what kind of oil my car needed. I told him it was literally written on the cap.
I regretted it instantly.