Calgary News Watch

Last Wednesday I got an email from one frustrated Calgary shopper. The lady was trying to exchange her $10 pans bought at TD Mall in Calgary’s Downtown. She asked me to publish her letter. Here is exactly what she asked:

Below is a letter I have recently wrote to the Head Quarters of a Shopping Franchise after having a horrible customer service experience. I would love for you to be able to use this as an example of poor retail sales customer conflict and to warn customers that the only thing worse than the annoying salesperson who doesn’t leave you alone are the salespeople who do not acknowledge your presence because they are too busy talking amongst themselves and not doing their job, and the rude cashier who instead of doing their best to help you out in a frustrating situation, make your shopping experience, a living hell. I’m not sure how these employees are getting paid to stand around, gawk at a customer who is getting inappropriately treated by their co-worker and just shuffle about as if nothing is wrong. I went into the store feeling great until this unqualified bunch of ignorants ruined my shopping experience and made me feel as if I was “just another angry customer”, because I only became distressed after having being dealt with a bad dish of unpleasant customer service.

Please feel free to contact me for more information by responding to this email if someone should become interested in exposing the truth behind the till.

Well I thought for a while and decided to open up a new category named “Consumer Life”. Read the rest of this article »

If the site of piled high garbage on trash day has your ire, then the city’s direction for trash reduction may be up your alley. Come 2009, Calgary residents are going to have to think twice about their garbage. The city is discussing the idea of limiting the amount of trash and charging residents for their refuse.

“It will enable people who are good recyclers to get a reduction off the amount they pay for garbage,” said Ald. Madeleine King.

She’s in favor of placing a limit on the amount of trash.

Ald. Druh Farrell concurred with the idea of making it “more difficult to discard copious amounts of waste.”

Read the rest of this article »

The newest in Not-In-My-Back-Yard trends is low income housing. Who wants to live next to the stereo-typed poor families, theft ridden, noise radiating, dirty eye-sore? The stereotype itself brings up images of mud-smeared toddlers running around in diapers and bare feet. Of porches falling apart in decay. Of litter blowing around the front stoop and spilling onto the neighbor’s porches.

The residents in Eau Claire are faced with these mental images the words “low income housing” provide. But not so says James Robertson, a city employee.

Read the rest of this article »