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SEPTEMBER 2003 wmmmmmmmmwamw mmbfiammflwmhahflukhfiflmhmdhâ€" mmmmmmmmwmmmhduaamm mm(mmumhmanmmmmm WMMmamhmwedthmtommulenflhjnm caseslefleswilbenbl‘d’tedsmm Faxmlefluslozm-MZ-BGOmveâ€"mil to: WWRom waMWMGIII%W.Om~ MAB!“ WWMMBMMW. wokbtmeudIMOthm As students across Mitdwvdvâ€"Stouflville prepare for another yea! of hitting the mmomwmpmetsandhangingmninmesdtodyard,welookbackat Jean Chmdfl's Kindergarten dass o! '84 at Orchard Path Public School. Note the wishing absence of cocporate logos on are dotting, Building to Serve You Batter in Stouffviue UnmthHWhmh umuummmnhammwm uummmum-fln. Historic photo submitted courtesy of Whltchurch-Stouftvllle Museum Pictures should be cl street scenes, building or people and must include infonnation and date picture was taken. Drs. McDowell and Genin Optometrists MOLLER INSURANCE Home fir Auto 905-642-2745 64 Sandiford Drive, Unit 1, ' STOUFFVILLE By 4:30 pm. I had reached a customer service person who had not complet- ed his ‘fobbing the customer off onto another surly person' training. After some prompting, he actually agreed to call the dealership for me and announced that a truck had just come in. It was the wrong size and was waiting at the wrong locaâ€" tion -- a $60 taxi ride away -- butit was a truck, and by this time I was grateful for any glimmer of hope. When I finally reached a human being. he didn't seem nearly as eager to help as the recording. He had no idea about my son's situation and didn't seem to think it was his problem anyway. 'You'll have to talk to our regional office,‘ he said."l'll put you through.‘ The person at the regional office couldn't help me either. 'lt's nothing to do with me. You'll have to call the dealer.‘ Efforts to explain that I'd been there. done that, and got everything except the truck fell on deaf ears. I re-visited the company's website and called the toll-free reservations number where I spent another 20 minutes before being put on hold and then cut off. Reco lzing that my morose customer service person was all out of helpful ideas, I ung up and called the toll-free head office number for that infamous oxymoron, customer service. Nenty minutes crawled by to the accompaniment of recorded ads extolling the virtues of renting from BYOT and offering fulsome appreciation for my continued patience. When I asked why BYOT took reservations it couldn't fulfill, she got a little testy. 'lt's our busiest time of the year,‘ she snapped. Knowing this to be the case. I said. perhaps it would be a good idea if the company either took fewer reservations or ensured it had more trucks available. Alas, my suggestions proved as futile as Liberal backbenchers' attempts to convince our beloved prime minister to step down before February 2004. As my son sat glumly in his apartment, surrounded by boxes, the day after his truck had failed to arrive as promised, I worked the phones at home. When I called the dealership to ask where the truck was and when it would be available. the woman at the other end said she had no idea, but that yesterday's cus- tomers would get priority when and if any vehicles came in. The tone of her voice suggested the latter eventuality was about as likely as a face-to-face meet- ing with Mick Jagger at the Toronto SARS benefit concert. Summertime, and the moving is easy Or not as in the case of my son's move from Montreal to sunny southern 0ntario In a truck rented from a company I shall hereinafter refer to as the Bring Your Own Truck Co lBYOT) to protect the guilty The name also provides insight into BYOT's idea of customer service. The one thing this company does effi- ciently is to part you from your unrefundable deposit before agreeing to take your reservation. After that you are at the mercy of its whims. its surly staff and its finelyâ€"tuned version of voice mail hell. In theory, the advantage of BYOT is that you can rent a truck at one location, drive it to a destination anywhere in Canada or the US, and leave it at the local dealership. In many cases, however. there is just one element missing from this happy scenario: the truck. We’re having no truck with this company “WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE THIS MONTH" - 7 \ te ‘la carte