We got some tickets to go see Monster Jam this past weekend from one of their sponsors (and friends of ours) Standard Auto Wreckers.  We had a freak’in blast!!!  Thanks guys, we owe you big-time!

I have been with Rogers Wireless for a few years now and it seems every time I contact them their service falls to a new low.  Weekend data service is terrible, I can go hours without being able to check my email or use the Internet.  I have called in a few times but each call takes 15 minutes to get through to someone and then they just tell me everything seems to be working fine.  I also get tons of dropped calls, at least 4-5 per week.  I am not sure if it is the iPhone 4 or Rogers but they are the ones that sold me the phone so I guess it does not matter.

I spent three miserable hours dealing with Rogers employees today.  First I went into a Rogers Wireless store to ask about upgrading the hardware on one of my phones (for my son).  First I was told I could not upgrade to a smart phone without data.  Then I was told that yes I could upgrade to a smart phone that requires lite service.  I was given a few choices and when my son said he wanted the Blackberry Curve as his choice we were told they did not have it in stock and they could get it next week, or I should go to another Rogers store.  Next we went to another Rogers store and were told they have it in stock but I should call and find out if they can add BBM to my plan.  They said if I had unlimited texting they should be able to just add ‘the BBM code’ and they have done it before.  I have a grandfathered plan that Rogers gave me a few years ago when they wanted me to commit to a 3 year plan after mine expired.  They were very generous and gave me a plan with a bunch of credits.  These days it is not looking that great compared with the competition but at the time I felt it was a good value.

I called and spoke to a representative that said I needed to get a data plan or a social networking plan to use BBM, this would be an additional $15 a month which would basically double the cost of my $20 base plan.  I asked to speak with a manager and was put in a cue for about 15 minutes till I gave up.  Then the store sales person called and tried to explain what I was looking for and she tried to add BBM but needed to re-activate my Internet for that account.  That did not work so I was told to use their customer service phone to call in.  I called in again and this rep said I don’t have data…..over and over again.  I asked to speak to a manager and he said he would need to get permission, I waited on the line for about 10 minutes while I heard typing in the background and was still not connected. I asked how much longer and he said he did not have permission to transfer me yet.  I asked to be put to the cancellation department instead, he proceeded to type for another 3 to 5 minutes and then I was transferred to Byron.

I explain that I had been on the phone or spoke to many Rogers employees and was getting a bunch of different information.  All I wanted to do was get my hardware upgrade and be able to have BBM working on that account without spending an additional significant amount each month.  I explained that if there was no way to add it to my plan affordably perhaps they could give me a new plan and apply some of the existing credit amounts to bring it as close to the current amount as possible. Again, he kept repeating himself, saying - your want a new feature you have to pay the full amount of $15 per month for a 50meg data plan.  I told him I had  heard different from two in-store reps and he just kept saying he could give me BBM for an additional $15 per month.  I told him that I didn’t feel like he was being flexible and explained how friendly and helpful Rogers appeared when they wanted to lock me in to a contract but now that level of service seemed to have evaporated.

So three hours and 6 Rogers employees later I still have not had this settled and had to get a refund on the phone.  I am now thinking of suing Rogers in small claims court so I can break the contract without penalty.  If any of you have had similar experiences or if there is any lawyer out  there that wants to help me take Rogers to court them please respond via comments.

I am going to forward this on to Rogers head office and see if I can get anyone there to help me out and will update this post.

December 13, 2011 update:  A couple of days ago I got a NO REPLY response from Rogers saying I did not escalate my complaint properly and I should contact customer service!  I responded to the ombudsman saying that I was told the only option I had for escalation was the Office of the President from the last person, Byron I spoke with at Rogers.  I also said it was very convenient that the email they sent can not be reply to.

On Monday morning I got an email from the ombudsman saying he would forward my complain to the Office of the President.  I received a phone call this morning from Sam, he was fairly nice but pointed out that I never started any service tickets (I was never offered that option) and I did sign a contract and receive discounted hardware.  I told him that I felt Rogers is not honoring its side of the agreement by providing me with poor cellular and customer service.  He did offer me a $5 per month discount from any data I have to add to get BBM service and he told me a level 2 technician would contact me about my poor data service and dropped calls.   I asked if he would be able to waive any of the service fees from the early hardware upgrade and he said they don’t do that anymore.  He went on to tell me how he actually cares about customer service and part of his job was to help figure out these problems from a more global standpoint.  He seemed somewhat sincere but I also got the feeling he was jaded from having to deal with so many complaints.  I have to admit I have on occasion lost my temper with Rogers but I truly believe customer service should always be about the customer.

Toronto, ON – October 14th, 2011 – Standard Auto Wreckers (www.StandardAutoWreckers.com) today announced its adoption of the Crow Environmental (www.crowenvironmental.net) vehicle de-pollution system in its Toronto, Ontario location. Crow’s innovative de-pollution system is an effective system for the de-polluting of end-of-life vehicles by removing toxic fluids and pumping them to fluid storage tanks for re-use and environmentally safe disposal. The Standard Auto Wreckers facility recently installed one high volume stand-alone system along with four  customized units and now has the only Crow Environmental five bay system in Ontario.

Paul Coon, Vice President of Green Vehicle Disposal commented, “We currently have more than 100 auto recyclers in our program across North America and I highly recommend all affiliates and any auto recycler who is serious about protecting the environment to invest in a Crow Environmental System, it is that good!”

David Gold, Owner of Standard Auto Wreckers shared his excitement about the Crow system. “I can’t tell you how excited we are to have this system installed in our recycling yard, we searched for years for the best solution and we finally found it with Crow Environmental vehicle de-pollution system. You can’t put a price on protecting the environment; this system represents a substantial and worthwhile investment for us!”

In addition to being the founding member of the Green Vehicle Disposal Program (www.GreenVehicleDisposal.com) in Canada and the USA, Standard Auto Wreckers is also well known for their charity work and are the founders of Charity Car donation programs in both the USA and Canada (www.CharityCar.ca and www.CharityCar.us).

There is a great event coming up shortly and we urge everyone to participate for this worthy cause!  Our friend Dr. Raymond Cho is the chair of this charitable organization.

KSCST’s (Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto) 25th Walk-A-Thon on October 15, 2011 which will kick-off at 11:00am at Christie Pits Park. The Walk-A-Thon will be attended by dignitaries including MPs, MPPs, City Councillors and the Consul-General of Korea as well as members of the local and ethnic media.

The Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto is dedicated to promoting the physical and mental welfare of its members by offering assistance with housing and pension applications, income taxes, telephone and in-person counseling services, ESL classes, translation services, as well as organized sports and recreation activities, amongst others. Additionally, the KSCST seeks to contribute to the development of local communities within Canada through the sharing of traditional Korean culture, community volunteerism, and the practice of honouring and respecting the elderly to enrich the multicultural diversity of Canadians. Since its establishment in 1973, the KSCST has grown substantially from its 15 founding members to over 2,000 registered members throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with an average of 100 Korean seniors using their services daily.

2.7 million Canadians struggle to get enough to eat each year, 37% of which are children. Hunger has become a reality for too many Canadians. No Canadian should go hungry. Come out to support this year’s Kamel Cup Charity event, with Suresh Joachim, to help fight hunger in our local community.  Event sponsored by our friends at Standard Auto Wreckers

David Gold and Raymond Cho were on hand to kick things off!

The world record challenge started yesterday at 2pm and here is the video!

2.7 million Canadians struggle to get enough to eat each year, 37% of which are children.   Hunger has become a reality for too many Canadians. No Canadian should go hungry. Come out to support this year’s Kamel Cup Charity event, with Suresh Joachim, to help fight hunger in our local community.

The wheels are now in motion for Suresh Joachim – film, actor, producer and

1.         The car must be pushed, and the pusher must be in direct contact with the Vehicle while pushing.

2.        Pulling the vehicle using a harness and/or rope is not permitted.

3.        The total weight of the vehicle used should be at least 730 kg (excluding driver).

4.        The car must contain a driver at all times to steer it. The engine may be running if necessary to power the brakes and steering, but the vehicle should not be put in gear during the attempt. No driver can drive for more than four hours during the attempt.

David Gold of Standard Auto Wreckers will join Suresh Joachim, where the event is taking place to mark this world record breaking feat!

The Details of the Attempt are:

VENUE:    Richmond Hill Golf & Country Club - 8905 Bathurst Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario (Golf parking lot)
START:     Friday September 23^rd at 2:00pm
FINISH:     Saturday September 24^th at 2:00pm

The event will also feature Exclusive raffles and prizes, including the chance to win $1,000,000 in “The Million Dollar Shot” sponsored by Pink Elephant Marketing & $10,000 in cash prizes in the Total Health Pharmacy Putting Content. 

I had lots of fun and got a chance to chat cars with dozens of really knowledgeable folks!   This years importexpo (www.importexpo.ca) was the best ever!!  The weather cooperated and there was a bunch of great exhibitors.

Our friends from Standard Auto Wreckers were there and they had a really important message to share with everyone.  Don’t text and drive!  Take a look below at the car wreck (caused by texting and driving) they had people signing to pledge their support for NOT texting and driving.

I had a chance to check-out youth day celebrations yesterday and what a blast!  103 performers helped pump along the fun for the fifth annual Youth Day festival at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square..“It’s all about youth” said Bricks, who’s been rapping since his teens and says the display of talent at Youth Day is an example of how many young people have used music, dance and art to stay out of trouble.

“How can you rap if you’re (in jail)? It’s about other ways of (using) your time, as opposed to hanging out on the streets.”

Youth need to be seen in a positive light, says Tylaine Duggan, who started Youth Day following a much-reported spate of fatal, gun-related violence in Toronto during the summer of 2005 — dubbed The Summer of the Gun.

It was the same year teenager Jane Creba was gunned down — an innocent bystander caught in an exchange of gunfire while Boxing Day shopping on Yonge St. just steps from where Sunday’s performances took place.

“We were sensationalizing a lot of the (bad) stuff and this is a celebration of positive youth engagement,” said Duggan, 50. “This is a showcase of their art, their achievements.”

Performers, including rappers, hip-hop dancers, choirs, full-piece rock and R&B bands and motivational speakers, were each given several minutes on one of two stages.

The event, which attracted thousands to the bustling intersection, closed Yonge St. between Shuter and Elizabeth Sts.

I swear, every time I open my email I find our friends over at Standard Auto Wreckers doing something new and GREEN!  It is not enough that their entire business model is green but whenever the opportunity arises they always jump in to help.  Well congratulations again on supporting another worthwhile cause!

Keep up the green work!

We got a chance to swing by Standard Auto Wreckers in Scarborough on Sat. afternoon and drop off a couple of old tires that have been on the cottage porch for the last decade!!  A big thanks to David and Ken for taking them off my hands and I even feel good about it because the usual fee is being donated to a great cause.

Here are some cool fact that came along with the media package for this even!

Ontario Tire Stewardship and the Used Tires Program

Fact Sheet

Did you know that…

• Over 12 million tires are sold every year in Ontario
• Over 90 percent of all tires contain non-biodegradable materials such as synthetic rubber, oil, polyester and steel, which could be a burden on our environment if improperly managed
• Recycling  four tires can save the energy equivalent of 18 gallons of gasoline and reduces greenhouse emissions by 146 kg (323 lbs) of CO2 equivalent (Source: Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) )
• Up to four tires can be recycled for free at registered collectors
• Your old, used tires can be turned into new, green products