Of batteries and men
I realised that I had not written about the whole battery problem after I posted the battery thing a few days ago. I bought a new battery from Canadian Tire at the end of October and my dad and I installed it the next time I went up to the townies. I didn't want to get stuck somewhere with a dead battery in the middle of winter. Before we left for Windsor, I put my car into the heated garage space that I rent for the winters to avoid shovelling. As everyone in Montreal knows, winter can be beautiful and a pain in the behind when it comes to snow. The actual snow isn't bad, it's the street plows that pile snow up on one side of your car and the sidewalk plows that pile up snow on the other. Some days, I have had to shovel out my car when the snow is up to the windows and packed under the car like cement. So, the car is in the garage for four days. The day after we returned, I walked up to the garage to get the car out and go to Maggie's for a visit and the car was dead. The car wouldn't even turn over, lights didn't work. The battery that I purchased has one free boost included ( I thought that it was unlimited until I read the fine print), so I called and a guy came and boosted the car, it started right up. I went back to the Canadian Tire and they tested the battery and it looked fine. I ran the car for another week and a half with no problems. A few days ago I left the car out in front of my apartment for two days and guess what? Yup, the car wouldn't start again. This time, the battery was only partially dead. My neighbour gave me a boost and advised me to get the battery replaced, I probably got a bad one. I went back to the store and the guy behind the counter said that he would exchange the battery, but I had to get it out of the car, bring it into the store and he would give me another. I explained that I bought the battery at the end of October so I wouldn't have to replace the battery in their parking lot in the cold and that I didn't have any tools with me to change it. I also pointed out that I paid good money for the battery and didn't think it was fair that their garage wanted to charge me to change it. In the end, the nice guy behind the counter put on his coat and helped me change the battery himself even though he didn't have to. Guess who's going to get a very nice thank you letter mailed to his boss and the head office of Canadian Tire? It pays to expect good service once and a while.