Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The true face of the Brick customer service

Richard Franklin 50 Aileen Road Thornhill, ON L3T 5T1

February 27, 2008

Ms. Kim Yost

President and CEO, The Brick Group (TSE: BRK) 16930 - 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 3S2 Canada Website: http://www.thebrick.com/ Phone: (780) 930-6000 Fax: (780) 930-6298

Dear Ms. Yost:
Feburary, 2008 is about to end. However, to our suprise and disappointment, we have not received any satisfactory resolution from the Brick.
Ms.Ronda, a representative of the Brick, Richmond Hill called us on Feb. 5th that she would follow up our case. We had another conversation with Ms. Ronda and she promised to report to the manager and give us feedback. (see attachment 1)
Three weeks has passed since our last email to you. The Brick, Richmond Hill still does not want to take any responsibility for the damage of floor tiles in the customer's front porch caused by its unprofessional in-house management. This is unfair! We, therefore, strongly request that the CEO of the Brick to arrange for a third party investigation other than the Brick, Richmond Hill to re-inspect this case and re-estimate the value of the damage in the customer's front porch immediately.

Attach
ment 1

-. Feb.5, 08, Tuesday
2:20pm Ronda called us that the second email was received, she‘ll follow this case. She asked us at the time:
1. photos of the damaged tiles (we replied: your contractor, Tony has taken the photos and reported to the Brick)
2. nos. of tiles damaged ( we replied: 6)
3. could we get them from the market (we replied: we are not the first owner and do not know where to get the same tiles)
-.Feb.10, 08, Friday
Ronda left massage for our return call.
-. Feb.11, 08, Monday
2pm We callded Ronda,. She was busy at the time.
3pm We called again. She was still busy.
-. Feb.12, 08, Tueday
5:30pm, Due to no return call from Ronda, we called again left message with representative Shabana.

5:40pm Ronda called back and said that she had report to her Manager and propsed the following solution:
1. they cannot find the swame tiles in the market.
2. therefore they cannot repair all the damaged tiles in the porch.
3. they will use similar type of tiles to replace the damaged tiles only.
4. the damaged location is only outdoor.
It is very clear that Ronda and her Manager did not think that this is an important matter, they don't even understand the full scope of the damage and the damged locations.
Replacing only several similar tiles will destroy the front porch ethestics tremendously. It will only look like an unprofessional patch up job. What we have requested is a professional make good job to restore the porch floor finish to what it was before.
We requested that Ronda to pass our concerns to her Manager for feedback ASAP. She agreed.
1. Please refer to two of our emails sent on Jan. 21, 2008 and Feb. 4, 2008 for the damaged locations, our concerns and request in detail.
2. damaged locations:
o First location is inside the enclosed porch, this the main area 6 chipped-places at the main front entrance double doors. It loos like someone's damaged front teeth when he/she opens his/her mouse!
o Second location is just outside the front porch glass exterior double-doors.
We, at the time invited Ms. Ronda or her Manager to come by our porch to have a look at the ugly damages. It is never "not important" as how Ronda had implied in her response.
3. the similar type of tiles selected by the Brick should be submitted for customer's approval first.
4. The Brick must take full responsibility, at the minimum to keep a better design image for the interior of the porch enclosure.
5. We did not ask for compensation for
1. our time loss,:travel 6 times to brick for purchasing a fridge but reuslted with noting,
2. as well as all loss both tangible and intangible caused by The Brick, Richmod Hill’s unprofessional management and miscommunication inhouse. Customer was asked to swallow all cost. You have just broken your commitment to your loyal customers!

-. Feb.26, 08, Mon.
We have not received any feedback from Ronda or the Brick Manager yet.
It has been three weeks since Ronda's phone call on Feb. 5. 2008, that is two months since the date we made purchase of the fridge, Boxing day, Dec 26 , 2007.
How much longer should we be wating for a satisfactory reply from the Brick?
Is this the Brick's way of taking care of their customer's complaints?!
Sincerely, Richard Franklin Registered Interior Designer ARIDO, IDC 905-709-7798
richardfran@gmail.com CC: Better Business Bureau 354 Charles Street East Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4L5 inquiry@bbbgta.ca Tel: 519-579-3080 (9:00-3:00 EST) Toll free (local): 1-800-459-8875 Fax: 519-570-0072 Toll free: 1-800-922-8952

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: richard franklin <richardfran@gmail.com> Date: Sun, Feb 3, 2008 at 10:34 PM Subject: IMPORTANT! - RE: Management Responsibility To: investor@thebrick.com, kim.yost@thebrick.com, eastrvp@thebrick.com Cc: inquiry@bbbgta.ca, "llm international inc., architect" <llmarchitect@gmail.com>, "Franklin, Lucia (PLZ)" <Lucia.Franklin@fairmont.com>, lucia franklin <lucia.franklin@gmail.com>
Richard Franklin
50 Aileen Road
Thornhill, ON L3T 5T1
February 3, 2008
Ms. Kim Yost
President and CEO,
The Brick Group (TSE: BRK)
16930 - 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 3S2 Canada
Website:
http://www.thebrick.com/
Phone: (780) 930-6000
Fax: (780) 930-6298

RE: Management Responsibility
Dear Ms. Yost,
Regrettably, I must inform you the irresponsibility of your management team. They have not only consistently failed to deliver the customer promise, but also opted to respond to maters that are only convenient and to their advantage. Where is the "commitment" and "integrity"? How could you be trusted by the investors?
One week after our claim letter dated Jan 21, 2008 (please see attached), a monetary compensation of $150.00 was offered by Melissa on behalf of the Brick. We are astounded by such an insensible solution! The Brick has denied responsibilities to the damages resulting from its unprofessional management which lead to a series of customer losses (both tangible and intangible).
Time lost
Travel expenses
Physical damage to the customer's front entrance
Despite the binding sales agreement between the Brick and the customer, it appears that one thing your management team dose consistently well is "passing the buck". As per Melissa, Brick representative, stated that $150.00 is the material cost for the damaged tiles; the Brick's third-party contractor will not deal with the repair for the damage to the customer. Please refer to the attached letter, this was the same way how Dale, customer services manager, handled the customer's claim (i.e. customer was given the name of the contractor "Peter" to deal with customer DIRECTLY for "compensation", so the Brick would have nothing to do with the claim...)
From customer's standpoint, we are shopping with The Brick! Since the Brick had caused the problem, all we seek for is a satisfactory resolution and to have our front entrance fixed/ made good as before in a timely manner. Not to be pushed away or IGNORED!
To date, we have not heard back from Melissa or the contractor. This is completely unprofessional and irresponsible! Ms. Yost, as the president, we do not believe you would accept this sort of treatment as your BEST customer service or "Commitment to the Customer". If you did not have a chance to read our initial claim letter attached, we sincerely hope that you will read this one. We trust that you can make this RIGHT!
The follow details are the response we received after our claim letter dated Jan 21, 2008. Please note that the matter is still not being resolved as of this writing.
Jan. 23, 08, Wed. 7:11pm
Melissa (customer services, The Brick) called and confirmed that she would handle the damages on behalf of The Brick.
Jan. 24, 08, Thu. 7:30pm
Melissa called that Tony (the contractor) would come to inspect the damages and repair as required. We were advised to wait for Tony's call.
Jan. 25, 08, Fri. 3pm
Tony called that he would come by tomorrow (Jan.26, Sat. 12-3pm).
Jan. 26, 08, Sat. 3pm
Tony arrived with a lady. She took photos of the damages. Tony said he would fax them to The Brick to report the inspection result.
Jan, 28, 08, Mon. 2:40pm
On behalf of The Bricks (45 Red Maple Road, Richmond Hill, ON. L4B 4M6), Melissa called to offer $150.00 as reimbursement would be for the cost of damage tiles only. Customer is to source and replace the damaged tiles on their own. This is simply because the existing tiles were no longer available on the market. (Ms. Yost, if your team is not able to find the tiles, how are we able to find and replace?)
Customer declined the insensible proposition for the following reasons:
1. If replaced the damage tiles with other tiles,
a. it would destroy the design image of the main entrance porch.
b. therefore, affect the house's market value.
2. The Brick should consult a professional (architect or designer) before proposing any solution in this case.
3. If the original tiles cannot be found, it is necessary to replace the entire floor tiles of the porch (about 45sqft).
4. Please understand, it dose not matter how much the Brick is offer, unless it is going to cover the full construction and material cost of the front entrance, we really need is to have our front entrance restored to its original condition. Since the Brick had damaged the customer's floor tiles, naturally the Brick should take the responsibility of replacement.
Melissa promised that she would contact us after consulting with their technician as soon as possible. We have not heard from her to date. Customer made 2 follow-up calls:
Feb.1, 08, 2:40pm - Customer called Melissa, She was not in the office at the time. We left message and call back number.
Feb.1, 08, 4:27pm - Called Melissa again, she was busy with another customer at the time. We left messages (name and phone number) with Representative Ms. Gila.
Feb. 2, 08 -No further call from Melissa.
Ms.Yost, we look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. As we mentioned in our first letter, we are also forwarding a copy to the Better Business Bureau.
Sincerely,
Richard Franklin
Registered Interior Designer ARIDO, IDC
905-709-7798
richardfran@gmail.com
P.S. attachment enclosed. The_Brick-2008-01-21.pdf (emailed on Jan. 21, 2008. Subject: Attn: Ms. Kim Yost; Re: Disappointing customer services experience)
CC: Better Business Bureau
354 Charles Street East
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4L5
inquiry@bbbgta.ca
Tel: 519-579-3080 (9:00-3:00 EST)
Toll free (local): 1-800-459-8875
Fax: 519-570-0072 Toll free: 1-800-922-8952

Richard Franklin 50 Aileen Road Thornhill, ON L3T 5T1 February 27, 2008 Ms. Kim Yost President and CEO, The Brick Group (TSE: BRK) 16930 - 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 3S2 Canada Website:
http://www.thebrick.com/ Phone: (780) 930-6000 Fax: (780) 930-6298
RE: no satisfactory reply from The Brick to the second email we sent on Feb.4, 2008.
Dear Ms. Yost:
Feburary, 2008 is about to end. However, to our suprise and disappointment, we have not received any satisfactory resolution from the Brick.
Ms.Ronda, a representative of the Brick, Richmond Hill called us on Feb. 5th that she would follow up our case. We had another conversation with Ms. Ronda and she promised to report to the manager and give us feedback. (see attachment 1)
Three weeks has passed since our last email to you. The Brick, Richmond Hill still does not want to take any responsibility for the damage of floor tiles in the customer's front porch caused by its unprofessional in-house management. This is unfair! We, therefore, strongly request that the CEO of the Brick to arrange for a third party investigation other than the Brick, Richmond Hill to re-inspect this case and re-estimate the value of the damage in the customer's front porch immediately.

Attachenent 1

-. Feb.5, 08, Tuesday
2:20pm Ronda called us that the second email was received, she‘ll follow this case. She asked us at the time:
1. photos of the damaged tiles (we replied: your contractor, Tony has taken the photos and reported to the Brick)
2. nos. of tiles damaged ( we replied: 6)
3. could we get them from the market (we replied: we are not the first owner and do not know where to get the same tiles)
-.Feb.10, 08, Friday
Ronda left massage for our return call.
-. Feb.11, 08, Monday
2pm We callded Ronda,. She was busy at the time.
3pm We called again. She was still busy.
-. Feb.12, 08, Tueday
5:30pm, Due to no return call from Ronda, we called again left message with representative Shabana.

5:40pm Ronda called back and said that she had report to her Manager and propsed the following solution:
1. they cannot find the swame tiles in the market.
2. therefore they cannot repair all the damaged tiles in the porch.
3. they will use similar type of tiles to replace the damaged tiles only.
4. the damaged location is only outdoor.
It is very clear that Ronda and her Manager did not think that this is an important matter, they don't even understand the full scope of the damage and the damged locations.
Replacing only several similar tiles will destroy the front porch ethestics tremendously. It will only look like an unprofessional patch up job. What we have requested is a professional make good job to restore the porch floor finish to what it was before.
We requested that Ronda to pass our concerns to her Manager for feedback ASAP. She agreed.
1. Please refer to two of our emails sent on Jan. 21, 2008 and Feb. 4, 2008 for the damaged locations, our concerns and request in detail.
2. damaged locations:
o First location is inside the enclosed porch, this the main area 6 chipped-places at the main front entrance double doors. It loos like someone's damaged front teeth when he/she opens his/her mouse!
o Second location is just outside the front porch glass exterior double-doors.
We, at the time invited Ms. Ronda or her Manager to come by our porch to have a look at the ugly damages. It is never "not important" as how Ronda had implied in her response.
3. the similar type of tiles selected by the Brick should be submitted for customer's approval first.
4. The Brick must take full responsibility, at the minimum to keep a better design image for the interior of the porch enclosure.
5. We did not ask for compensation for
1. our time loss,:travel 6 times to brick for purchasing a fridge but reuslted with noting,
2. as well as all loss both tangible and intangible caused by The Brick, Richmod Hill’s unprofessional management and miscommunication inhouse. Customer was asked to swallow all cost. You have just broken your commitment to your loyal customers!

-. Feb.26, 08, Mon.
We have not received any feedback from Ronda or the Brick Manager yet.
It has been three weeks since Ronda's phone call on Feb. 5. 2008, that is two months since the date we made purchase of the fridge, Boxing day, Dec 26 , 2007.
How much longer should we be wating for a satisfactory reply from the Brick?
Is this the Brick's way of taking care of their customer's complaints?!
Sincerely, Richard Franklin Registered Interior Designer ARIDO, IDC 905-709-7798
richardfran@gmail.com CC: Better Business Bureau 354 Charles Street East Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4L5 inquiry@bbbgta.ca Tel: 519-579-3080 (9:00-3:00 EST) Toll free (local): 1-800-459-8875 Fax: 519-570-0072 Toll free: 1-800-922-8952

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: richard franklin <richardfran@gmail.com> Date: Sun, Feb 3, 2008 at 10:34 PM Subject: IMPORTANT! - RE: Management Responsibility To: investor@thebrick.com, kim.yost@thebrick.com, eastrvp@thebrick.com Cc: inquiry@bbbgta.ca, "llm international inc., architect" <llmarchitect@gmail.com>, "Franklin, Lucia (PLZ)" <Lucia.Franklin@fairmont.com>, lucia franklin <lucia.franklin@gmail.com>
Richard Franklin
50 Aileen Road
Thornhill, ON L3T 5T1
February 3, 2008
Ms. Kim Yost
President and CEO,
The Brick Group (TSE: BRK)
16930 - 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 3S2 Canada
Website:
http://www.thebrick.com/
Phone: (780) 930-6000
Fax: (780) 930-6298

RE: Management Responsibility
Dear Ms. Yost,
Regrettably, I must inform you the irresponsibility of your management team. They have not only consistently failed to deliver the customer promise, but also opted to respond to maters that are only convenient and to their advantage. Where is the "commitment" and "integrity"? How could you be trusted by the investors?
One week after our claim letter dated Jan 21, 2008 (please see attached), a monetary compensation of $150.00 was offered by Melissa on behalf of the Brick. We are astounded by such an insensible solution! The Brick has denied responsibilities to the damages resulting from its unprofessional management which lead to a series of customer losses (both tangible and intangible).
Time lost
Travel expenses
Physical damage to the customer's front entrance
Despite the binding sales agreement between the Brick and the customer, it appears that one thing your management team dose consistently well is "passing the buck". As per Melissa, Brick representative, stated that $150.00 is the material cost for the damaged tiles; the Brick's third-party contractor will not deal with the repair for the damage to the customer. Please refer to the attached letter, this was the same way how Dale, customer services manager, handled the customer's claim (i.e. customer was given the name of the contractor "Peter" to deal with customer DIRECTLY for "compensation", so the Brick would have nothing to do with the claim...)
From customer's standpoint, we are shopping with The Brick! Since the Brick had caused the problem, all we seek for is a satisfactory resolution and to have our front entrance fixed/ made good as before in a timely manner. Not to be pushed away or IGNORED!
To date, we have not heard back from Melissa or the contractor. This is completely unprofessional and irresponsible! Ms. Yost, as the president, we do not believe you would accept this sort of treatment as your BEST customer service or "Commitment to the Customer". If you did not have a chance to read our initial claim letter attached, we sincerely hope that you will read this one. We trust that you can make this RIGHT!
The follow details are the response we received after our claim letter dated Jan 21, 2008. Please note that the matter is still not being resolved as of this writing.
Jan. 23, 08, Wed. 7:11pm
Melissa (customer services, The Brick) called and confirmed that she would handle the damages on behalf of The Brick.
Jan. 24, 08, Thu. 7:30pm
Melissa called that Tony (the contractor) would come to inspect the damages and repair as required. We were advised to wait for Tony's call.
Jan. 25, 08, Fri. 3pm
Tony called that he would come by tomorrow (Jan.26, Sat. 12-3pm).
Jan. 26, 08, Sat. 3pm
Tony arrived with a lady. She took photos of the damages. Tony said he would fax them to The Brick to report the inspection result.
Jan, 28, 08, Mon. 2:40pm
On behalf of The Bricks (45 Red Maple Road, Richmond Hill, ON. L4B 4M6), Melissa called to offer $150.00 as reimbursement would be for the cost of damage tiles only. Customer is to source and replace the damaged tiles on their own. This is simply because the existing tiles were no longer available on the market. (Ms. Yost, if your team is not able to find the tiles, how are we able to find and replace?)
Customer declined the insensible proposition for the following reasons:
1. If replaced the damage tiles with other tiles,
a. it would destroy the design image of the main entrance porch.
b. therefore, affect the house's market value.
2. The Brick should consult a professional (architect or designer) before proposing any solution in this case.
3. If the original tiles cannot be found, it is necessary to replace the entire floor tiles of the porch (about 45sqft).
4. Please understand, it dose not matter how much the Brick is offer, unless it is going to cover the full construction and material cost of the front entrance, we really need is to have our front entrance restored to its original condition. Since the Brick had damaged the customer's floor tiles, naturally the Brick should take the responsibility of replacement.
Melissa promised that she would contact us after consulting with their technician as soon as possible. We have not heard from her to date. Customer made 2 follow-up calls:
Feb.1, 08, 2:40pm - Customer called Melissa, She was not in the office at the time. We left message and call back number.
Feb.1, 08, 4:27pm - Called Melissa again, she was busy with another customer at the time. We left messages (name and phone number) with Representative Ms. Gila.
Feb. 2, 08 -No further call from Melissa.
Ms.Yost, we look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. As we mentioned in our first letter, we are also forwarding a copy to the Better Business Bureau.
Sincerely,
Richard Franklin
Registered Interior Designer ARIDO, IDC
905-709-7798
richardfran@gmail.com
P.S. attachment enclosed. The_Brick-2008-01-21.pdf (emailed on Jan. 21, 2008. Subject: Attn: Ms. Kim Yost; Re: Disappointing customer services experience)
CC: Better Business Bureau
354 Charles Street East
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4L5
inquiry@bbbgta.ca
Tel: 519-579-3080 (9:00-3:00 EST)
Toll free (local): 1-800-459-8875
Fax: 519-570-0072 Toll free: 1-800-922-8952




-----------------------------The_Brick-2008-01-21.pdf (emailed on Jan. 21, 2008. Subject: Attn: Ms. Kim Yost; Re: Disappointing customer services experience)-----------------------------

L.F.
page 1 of 10
Richard Franklin
50 Aileen Road
Thornhill, ON L3T 5T1
January 21, 2008
Ms. Kim Yost
President and CEO,
The Brick Group
6765 Kennedy Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5T 2R6
eastrvp@thebrick.com
RE: Disappointing customer services experience
As a repeat customer, we would like to take the time to share our extremely disappointing
Christmas shopping experience at Brick Richmond Hill.
The Brick, as Canada’s largest volume retailer, proudly promotes the following:
At The Brick, we are open to new ideas that will make us more competitive, and allow us
to serve our customers better. The Brick has built solid foundations for long-term success,
such as:
• An effective team, which has leadership with solid organizational skills
• A commitment to our customers
• Great products
http://www.thebrick.com/Application/Staticfiles/BrickHistory.asp?SiteCode=EN
Moreover, it is noted on company’s Investor Relations website that one of The Bricks keys to
success is to “Continue to build loyalty/advocacy with existing/potential customers”.
http://www.integratir.com/overview.asp?ticker=T.BRK.UN
We visited the store in person sixth times attempted to solve the problem resulting from a recent
fridge purchase, but to no avail. What we had experienced proved nothing but contrary to what
the company has preached. (i.e. ineffective team with lousy organizational skills of leadership,
poor product; a company that just don’t care about building customer loyalty).
We sincerely hope that the company will further investigate the matter and provide us a solution
that is befitting to your company standards and meets our expectations. If this matter dose not get
rectified in a timely manner or within five business days, we will proceed to file a complaint with
Better Business Bureau.
L.F.
page 2 of 10
Our experience
We purchased a Stove and a Refrigerator on December 26, 2007 at The Bricks, Richmond Hill
with a confirmed delivery date of December 28, 2007. We received the stove on January 7, 2008
and the fridge on December 29th, 2007. Unfortunately, the fridge sent to us was different than
what’s promised upon purchase: 1) wrong model; 2) did not include the environment fee of
removing the existing fridge; 3) required water supply hookup for the ice machine which was not
explained to us at purchase; 4) our front porch tiles were damaged during the delivery.
In the process of resolving these issues, as of December 29th, we paid six personal visits to the
store; spoke with four representatives including a customer services manager. To date, we are
still awaiting reply to aforementioned issues. The sales representative, Irvina P, and the customer
services manager, Dale, were extremely unprofessional. They consistently failed to deliver what
they promised; further, neither of them showed initiatives to solving customer issues and
ownership to the problems due to their lack of communication.
If the sales person is not responsible for the sales they made, the customer services manager dose
not commit to resolve services issues, how could The Brick build trusting client relationships?
Irina P – Sales Representative
• Promised environment fee to be included in the sales price but failed to document
• Did not explain the prerequisite of the purchase (i.e. proper water supply hook up is
required for this model)
• Failed to deliver the model that was confirmed to the customer upon closing. A different
model was delivered at her own discretion
• Arrange fridge reselection, promised that the item will be delivered after door handles are
reinstalled. She failed to follow up the specifics internally as the fridge was delivered
without the screws
Dale – Customer Services Manager
Fridge delivery handling:
• He arranged delivering the fridge without adhering to the purchase agreement (see above,
the fridge is NOT to be shipped to the customer until the missing screws are completely
installed) simply due to the fact that there was lack of storage space at the store!
• When customer inquired the expected timeline for the missing screws, he was not able to
confirm, no alternatives were offered neither.
Tile damage handling:
• Customer reported tile damage due to fridge delivery on Jan 4, 2008, he promised a
response by a claim manager who was sick at the time.
• Customer spoke to Dale again on Jan 7, 2008 in person as no response received after
three days from the claim manager. Dale informed that the claim manager was in serious
condition and has no knowledge of his return. No alternative offered to the customer
from Dale. Upon request, Dale had reluctantly provided the store manager’s contact
L.F.
page 3 of 10
information (Randy Killam) and advised that the store manager will be in the next day
the whole day.
• Customer visited that store the next day as per Dale’s information, Jan 8, 2008. To
customer’s surprise, Randy Killam, the store manager was not in. Instead, customer was
advised by Dale that Randy was aware of the situation and they have made arrangement
with Peter at Vanak Moving (Brick’s contractor) to contact the customer in the afternoon.
• Customer received no response from Peter on Jan 8, 2008 as promised by Dale. To date,
we are still awaiting that VERY phone call from Peter.
• Issues remained unresolved and the customer needs HELP.
For further details, please see the following documentation.
Dec 26, 2007
• Customer purchased a new fridge and stove from The Brick, 45 Red Maple
Rd. Richmond Hill, ON. L4B 4M6. inc. 12267471213001 delivery on Dec.
28, 07.
Dec 27, 2007
• Customer was informed that the delivery date changed to: fridge on Dec.29,
some time in Jan’08 for stove.
Dec 29, 2007
• Fridge arrived at 11am. However the mover refused to remove the existing
fridge per purchase agreement made by Irina P.
• Customer went to The Brick. The customer services lady confirmed that the
purchase price did include the environment fee for removing the existing
fridge. She also rescheduled the customer’s old fridge to be removed again on
Dec 30, 2007 with no charge.
• Coming back from the Brick, after reading the menu, the customer learned
that the fridge could not be hooked up to the water supply for the ice maker
due to the physical location. Irina failed to inform the customer that
additional installation is required prior to delivery.
• Customer also found that the model was different than confirmed at purchase.
The ice maker should be black instead of silver!
• The customer decided to return this model due to the above.
Dec 30, 2007
• Customer visited The Brick customer services. The service reps accepted the
return and rescheduled the pick up of the new fridge on “ Thurs Jan 3, 2008”
invoice #12307470029001 (see enclosed invoice A )
L.F.
page 4 of 10
• Customer was then offered an option to reselect an alternative model by the
service representative.
• Customer was sent to Irina for reselection. Customer selected a model (as-is).
As it is a floor model, door handles were not affixed due to missing screws.
Irina indicated on the sales agreement that the fridge will be delivered ONLY
after the completion of door handle installation.
Here is what’s noted on the invoice as delivery instruction:
• “6 screws for the door handles are missing, customer will get delivery as a
reselection for #12307470564001, delivering after getting missing screws”
(see enclosed invoice B)
Jan.3, 2008
• No one came to pick up the fridge which was returned on Dec 29, 2008 (see
above).
Jan.4, 2008
• The reselected fridge arrived at 11:00am without 6 screws. 3 handles could
not be affixed to the doors. Again, Irina had FAILED to deliver what she
confirmed despite of the written sales agreement. After all, it is disappointing
to know that the Brick had again FAILED to deliver what they promised.
• Delivery person called Dale, customer services manager, as per customer’s
request. Customer was then advised that no timeline would be given at this
time.
• Customer could not accept the delivery of the incomplete fridge.
• During this move, customer’s front porch tiles were damaged (see enclosed
picture A~D). This was manly because unsafe practiced by the delivery
person in moving in /out of the fridges.
• Customer visited The Brick Customer Services to report the following to
Dale:
1. The fridge (returned on 12/29) was supposed to be picked up on 1/3
was still not done
2. The reselected fridge was unacceptable as per sales agreement
3. The delivery person had broken the front porch tiles. Customer
presented Dale the physical evidence (see enclosed picture E).
• Dale made arrangement to pick up #1. This was done in 1 hour. Dale also
agreed to #2 and offered refund when all fridges received. As for #3, Dale
mentioned that he would pass on the details including the physical evidence to
the Claim Manager (who was sick at the time).
L.F.
page 5 of 10
Jan 7, 2008
• Customer went to The Brick to collect refund from #2 (See above).
• Customer followed up with Dale regarding the claim as no information was
received since the 4th.
• Dale advised that the Claim Manager was seriously ill; therefore, nothing can
be done until her return. Again, no expected timeline of alternatives were
offered to the customer.
• Customer insisted to speak to a person in charge, Dale reluctantly provided
store manager’s name and informed that he would be in the whole day
tomorrow.
Jan 8, 2008
• Customer visited that store the next day as per Dale’s information, Jan 8, 2008. To
customer’s surprise, Randy Killam, the store manager was not in. Instead, customer
was advised by Dale that Randy was aware of the situation and they have made
arrangement with Peter at Vanak Moving (Brick’s contractor) to contact the customer
in the afternoon.
• Customer received no response from Peter on Jan 8, 2008 as promised by Dale. To
date, we are still awaiting that VERY phone call from Peter.
Jan 21, 2008
• Issues remained unresolved and the customer needs HELP. The customer received
NO follow up phone call from Dale, the customer services manager, or Peter at
Vanak Moving.
Ms. Yost, as the President & CEO of The Brick, what would you handle this situation? Again, as
we mentioned earlier, we trust that you are capable to rectify the situation and compensate for the
inconvenience this caused in due course. Failing that, we have no choice but to file our complaint
with Better Business Bureau. Rest assured, your poor customer services delivery and business
practice will be shared on the web blog.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Richard Franklin
905-709-7798
richardfran@gmail.com
L.F.
page 6 of 10
Picture A
at interior of porch
Picture B
at interior of porch
L.F.
page 7 of 10
Picture C
at interior of porch
Picture D
at exterior of porch
L.F.
page 8 of 10
Picture E
physical evidence
L.F.
page 9 of 10
Invoice A
#12307470029001
L.F.
page 10 of 10
Invoice B
#12307470564001

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

hong kong round table

hi guys, please join this blog so we can share our experience in hk, toronto, and las vegas. i met some potential chinese clients through friends here: 12,000 sqft buffet restaurant and 40,000 sq.ft. china product exhibition hall.
let's see what happens.

any news in hk and toronto?