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•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, M ay 3 0, 2 01 3 8 ® CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association. (0527-04/13) CAA Car Care Centre Georgetown 178 Guelph St. 905-873-1622 Email: cccgeorgetown@caasco.ca Spring Savings! Offers end June 30, 2013. Visit us at: S A V E S A V E F R E EL IM IT E D -T IM E O FF E R ! SAVE 50% OFF wheel alignment with the install of four (4) tires. Terms and conditions apply. Speak to a service advisor for details. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Not valid on prior invoice. Offer expires June 30, 2013. ® CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association.(0527-04/13) CODE: 50ALGA SAVE up to $70 on brake pads and shoes. All our pads and shoes are backed by our lifetime guarantee.* Terms and conditions apply. Speak to a service advisor for details. *Our lifetime guarantee applies to all brake pads/shoes, shocks/struts and muf�ers, for as long as you own your vehicle. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Not valid on prior invoice. Offer expires June 30, 2013. ® CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association. (0527-04/13) CODE: BP70A Buy 4 tires and receive FREE seasonal tire storage* The tires you want. The prices you need. *Terms and conditions apply. Speak to a service advisor for details. Seasonal storage is up to 6 months with the purchase and installation of four tires. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Not valid on prior invoice. Offer expires June 30, 2013. ® CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association. (0527-04/13) CODE: TIRE4A Oil Change Plus $39.99 * *Terms and conditions apply. Speak to a service advisor for details. Synthetic and other grades of oil extra. Environmental disposal & shop supply fees may be charged where permitted by law. ® CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association. (0527-04/13) CODE: OIL+RGA Includes: 5W/30 or 10W/30 oil and brake check, battery performance test, �uid level top-up (max 1 litre), under hood and under vehicle inspections 0527_CCC Spring Ads-Georgetown-Final.indd 1 13-04-16 4:11 PM Like many people in this world, I have a smart phone. The Sidekick also has a smart phone, and she keeps me up to date, if she has to be late coming home, or if she is go- ing for groceries-- all the things that a couple do in the course of the day. In addition, my smart phone plays an integral part of my job, here at the news- paper, as well as running the farm. In short, I'd fi nd it mighty tough to do what I do without it. At the same time, I'm not married to it-- it's there for my conve- nience, not someone else's convenience. I use it to check email at work while out of the offi ce, I send email and a photo to the editor's desk if I'm at a fi re or accident scene, and I sometimes use it to record an interview. So I fi nd it pretty handy. This week, my smart phone decided it didn't like its battery-- or the battery didn't like the smart phone. Either way, it quit work- ing. The battery, which usu- ally runs the device from about 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., suddenly gave up at 4 p.m. on Monday. I put it on the charger and fi red it up Tues- day at 7 a.m. It seemed fi ne, so I assumed it was a glitch. However, Tuesday it died at 2 p.m. I dropped by the store where I bought it, and found four sales reps, leaning against the counter, chatting about the world around them. I was the only customer. One of the staff asked me what I needed, and I told him about the smart phone battery. He pulled the battery out of the phone, and looked at it. He asked another col- league if batteries were on warranty. He looked at it again. I was beginning to wonder if he was a faith healer, and was going to 'will it' well. "It might be the battery," he said. "I could send it out to a repair person, but they'll charge you $35-40 to tell you what's wrong with it." "I know what's the matter with it-- it needs a new battery," I said. "Hmmm, how long have you had it?" he asked. "I have no idea, I couldn't even guess" I said, tiring of the conversation. "I'm sure if you put my cell number into that computer, it will tell you." What seemed a Herculean effort, he approached the computer, and fi red up the program. I waited, and he waited, and so on, until I said 'Did you want my cell number?" "Well, it's not working right now. I'll try to refresh the screen…" He fi nally loaded the page and input my cell number. "You got it last year, May 12 to be exact," he said proudly, like he'd discovered a cure for some disease. "Too bad, it's off warranty." "What does a new battery cost?" I asked. "Oh, gee, I couldn't even guess," he said, "Not even a ballpark fi gure." "Don't you sell them?" I asked, incredulously. "Nope we don't keep any in stock," he said. Another sales rep stepped into the conversation. "They run about $65 to $85," he said, "but you might fi nd one cheaper on- line." "You don't car- ry any batteries in stock?" I asked again, to make sure I wasn't totally missing the point. "Nope, we don't," he said. "But you can see 'so and so' down the street. He might have some." I asked for a business card to write down the name of the other supplier. "Oh, we're all out of business cards too," the fi rst sales rep said. I honestly started to wonder why I was pouring hundreds of dollars into this company every month, with the lev- el of customer service I was experienc- ing at that precise moment. "Okay, I'll fi nd one somewhere else," I said, as I turned to leave, totally disil- lusioned with the lack of customer ser- vice. But the fi nal blow came as I stepped out the door. "If there's anything else we can help you with, be sure to give us a call…." A Ted Bit Customer service dies another brutal death TED BROWN --Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@theifp.ca "If there's anything else we can help you with, be sure to give us a call…."