As a consumer, I have very little recourse, so this is all I can really do.
Here,  I will explain what I went through for all the world to see.
Thanks to the power of The Internet.

So far:  The Brick,  Bay Bloor Radio, U-Haul,  TD Canada Trust, Bell Canada, Rayovac

The Brick
Recently, my wife and I purchased a 10-piece Dining Room set from the Whitby store.
We found a nice set in London, Ontario then decided to go ahead and purchase it at our local store.
The sales person was quite helpful and signed us up for a Brick card (pay later..no interest?  sure, why not!?)
We entered all of our previous address info, (we were moving soon) and left the store in a very happy state.

Fast forward a few weeks after we moved into our new house (see the U-Haul story below).
It was a weekend and we agreed to be home for a few hours to receive the furniture.
It looked quite nice and for only $20 they assembled all of the furniture.  Amazing!

Well... we had a quick look over everything and found that 3 of the chairs & 1 arm chair were either broken or the paint was scratched.
The table "leaf"  had a huge gash in it and the hutch had a door that would not close.
The delivery people were very grumpy and reminded us that this happens ALL THE TIME and we need to reschedule another weekend to have all of this stuff replaced.

The next weekend we were available.
Another call on Saturday (7am) to remind us they were going to deliver the new pieces  between 11am and 2pm.
They dropped off the new hutch,  the new 'leaf'  and some chairs.
The one arm-chair had a leg that was BASHED.  One chair had chipped paint and the leaf did not match our table.
The hutch was okay though.
Another call to the Service Department and ANOTHER weekend messed up to have them  replace the bad pieces.

We had a dinner party that weekend and had to make do with what we had.
After someone's drink was spilled on one of the seats, we realized that there was NO SCOTCH GUARD protection on ANY of the chairs.
Even though this was paid for by us at the time of purchase.
Now,  we had to call a different department to come in and test our chairs.

If this isn't annoying enough....    a few days later we get an invoice from The Brick.  It is all wrong.
The terms and various options we chose....WRONG!
Now we have to call, yet ANOTHER department to try and fix this mess.

The next weekend we have available,  they call us on yet ANOTHER fine,  summer, Saturday morning.
This time,   the chairs are all delivered and a whole, new table is brought to us.  After a quick inspection my wife notices that the corner is all ripped up!!
Another man tests our chairs and sure enough... NO SCOTCH GUARD.  So he sets up ANOTHER appointment to remove all of our chairs to be scotch guarded,

This is getting ridiculous but we tell ourselves that we'll be patient and expect delays because of the HUGE VOLUMES this store has to deal with.

We are busy for a few weekends but, finally, a good table is delivered.

NOW, we just need our "protected" chairs.
Brick customer service calls us on a Friday night to schedule a delivery for the NEXT DAY?!
We missed the call and they tell me that they are unable to deliver our chairs that Saturday.
I escalate the call to a Sales Manager who reminds me that it is IMPOSSIBLE to deliver these chairs.
I then ask to speak to a STORE MANAGER but he is busy with a customer!!

OK.  It's time to do this face to face.  Mano a mano.
I drive down to the Whitby Brick store on another FINE,  SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
Mark, the store manager, offers to send the chairs another weekend or during the week (business hours)
I explain that we won't accept another weekend, and we both work so what else can he do?
He seems very sensible and reasonable and agrees to personally send them to his store to be delivered by a van to our house, AFTER 6pm during the week.  I even gave this guy my cell phone number.
Shook his hand and a I left the store a frustrated,  but somewhat more calm person.

It is now Wednesday and NO CALLS from anyone at the Brick.
I'm disappointed by EVERYONE I dealt with at this company and will keep escalating until the CEO himself, delivers our furniture.

Update for September Friday 13th:   No one called me so I called the store in the morning.
After being on hold for 10 minutes, the store manager (Mark) finally figured out who I was and said, don't worry at 5pm you will have your chairs.
Great, I said.  8 chairs then?
If you can believe this, he then states that there were only TWO chairs on the order  ! ?? !  ?!    #^*@#$%!$#*
As I write this,  it is 6:30pm and no sign of the Brick and no phone calls.

My next step is to contact Mark's manager.

To be continued.....
 
 

Bay Bloor Radio
Tried to inquire about their "famous"  In Wall Speakers.
I stared at the display for around 10 minutes and finally a sales person asked me if I had any questions.
Yes,  I did.
Can you use this equipment with existing wiring in your house.  COAX,  LAN, phone...etc?
Dunno...  You need to ask the guy at the front counter, was the  response.
Hmmm,  okay, fair enough.    So I went over to the front counter and stood there waiting patiently.
Some older gentleman was arguing with another man about how bad the computer system was.
Another person was talking to his friend on the phone.
He got off the phone and helped the man standing BEHIND me...!
I stared at them in disbelief..  It turns out,  this man behind me,  was a vendor who was helping them install some lighting in the store.
!!  ? !
Okay, so I stood there another 5 minutes looking like an impatient customer,  who would like to spend A LOT OF MONEY.

nothing.

So I walked out smiling.  Thinking to myself about what I just read on their shiny, new website,

We promise to take the time and make the effort to listen to our customers and fully understand their unique needs and preferences. To be sincere and honest with regards to the information we provide and the commitments we make. To always keep the customer's best interests in mind. To be fully positive in our thoughts, feelings and actions regarding all customers, even when they are not present. To be cheerful, friendly, and helpful in all interactions.  Mark Mandlsohn

This new site has an email address so stay tuned for my letter to Mark and his reply
 

U-Haul
Horrible experience trying to get a truck we reserved THREE MONTHS in advance    -    Coming Soon!!
 

TD Canada Trust
Horrible experience trying to get a NEW mortgage from the SAME bank  -   Coming Soon!!
 

Bell Canada
Call  BELL CANADA today (310-BELL)  and ask for an itemized account of your bill.
Chances are,  you are paying WAY too much every month.
Switch providers then you will be offered better rates from Bell.

Rayovac
Alkaline rechargeable batteries!! BEWARE ! ! !
They leaked corrosive acid on my desk and other areas of my house.
Did Rayovac care?  Nope.
They sent me a new charger AND new batteries and they ALL LEAKED.  I gave up on Rayovac..
In Canada, call (800)268-0425 and they will send you free batteries and a charger - NO RECEIPT REQUIRED!
Good luck.. maybe you will do better.

Be sure to check out a great commentary on customer service from Jeff Schnurr.

Please email me with some of your own horror stories.
I'll include them here on my site.  Please indicate if you would like it to be anonymous or not.