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 US Travel to Canada hit record lows this January |
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| laorfamily |
 Jul 3 2008, 11:12 AM
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Vagabond
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 1580
Joined: 14-December 06
Member No.: 30320
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QUOTE(starlagurl @ Jul 3 2008, 11:53 AM) 
Yeah that's stupid, I would've demanded the right change back. Where were you exactly?
We were in Peggy's Cove, which is strange because they make their money out of tourism and the last thing they want is for me to go Travelpod and start b!$@%ing and moaning about them (which I did anyway). I didn't want to argue about a couple of cents not to emberass my wife and not to give Americans a bad name. However, those who know me will tell you that fighting with vendors, banks, credit card companies, phone companies and even the government about fees and overcharging is not only a second job for me, but also kind of a hobby (I figure I save us between $1,000 - $5,000 a year in fees and overpayments).
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| mmbcross |
Jul 3 2008, 12:48 PM
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Tripper
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 2002
Joined: 4-June 06
Member No.: 2195
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QUOTE(laorfamily @ Jul 3 2008, 12:12 PM)
However, those who know me will tell you that fighting with vendors, banks, credit card companies, phone companies and even the government about fees and overcharging is not only a second job for me, but also kind of a hobby (I figure I save us between $1,000 - $5,000 a year in fees and overpayments).
Hey man, that's amazing..tell us about it. How do you do it?
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| laorfamily |
Jul 3 2008, 01:10 PM
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Vagabond
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 1580
Joined: 14-December 06
Member No.: 30320
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QUOTE(mmbcross @ Jul 3 2008, 01:48 PM)
Hey man, that's amazing..tell us about it. How do you do it?
I refuse to pay any sort of fee without a good fight, and I don't take "no" for an answer. I negotiate my butt off for anything I can: cars, TVs, even wine glasses. I'm not embarassed about asking for all kind of discounts (mall discounts, employee discounts etc.) even if I'm not entitled to them - you'd be suprised how much flexibility some stores have ("can I have this for the sale price"). I re-negotiate my credit cards interest rate every 6 months (yes, you can do that). I try very hard not to give the companies any reason to stick me with any type of fee (late fee, low balance fee, just because we feel like it fee, etc.), and if they do I call and usually get them to remove it. You see, if you pay a fee once, you "agree" to pay it forever and you have to fight even harder. I fight even if my bill goes up by a penny (actually the lowest it went up that I challenged successfully was seven cents by Verizon). Last week we bought a mini-van which I got for $15,000 instead of $28,000. How? I bought a 2008 used mini-van with 17,000 miles, right there it's $10,000 off. I negotiated the price even more. I negotiated the dealer to swallow all applicable fees (motor vehicle fees, registration fees etc.). I negotiated for the dealer to take our leased SUV off our hands - no questios ask even though we had three more payments on it. I got the dealer to give us free oil changes for life on the mini-van and on our other car 
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| wakingdream |
Jul 4 2008, 06:41 AM
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Rolling Stone
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 5853
Joined: 18-August 06
From: Guelph, Ontario
Member No.: 13336
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QUOTE(laorfamily @ Jul 3 2008, 11:09 AM)
The one thing that really bothered me when visiting Canada was the unfairness of Canadian small business owners when it came to paying with dollars.
Me: How much is a lobster cake?
Vendor: $4.50 Canadian dollars.
Me: I only have $5 US.
Vendor: That's OK.
{ Transaction }
Vendor: Here is your change.
Me: You gave me 50 Canadian cents.
Vendor: It's the same.
We all know it wasn't the same at the time.
So basically I got charged extra for paying in US dollars. Since I was on vacation with my wife I didn't make a big deal, however it did leave a very bitter taste in my mouth and many other vendors lost money because if I didn't have Canadian dollars I simply didn't buy anything.
Well, I think most vendors don't practice carrying two currencies in their cash registers. In Ontario they don't really anyway, depending. That's one of the problems. They don't have the exact change to give to everyone so how can they even give you change. Plus, I don't think it's fair to presume that because your dollar is worth more, you should be able to spend it without anyone giving you a hard time. It's not like in, oh, I dunno, South America or SEA, where you can drop an American dollar and anyone is happy to take it. Plus, even in those places that readily accept US currency, they don't really give you back American change. You've got to change it into our currency first and then spend it. Yeah, sure you've got to pay a fee to get it exchanged, but that's the way the cookie crumbles alot over here. Obviously that will depend on where exactly you go. Places with higher ratios of American tourists might be more likely to accommodate you. The best thing to do is to make sure you have local currency on you wherever you are. Not all Canadians jump for American money. Especially now.
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~Susie
'Yesterday's the past and tomorrow's the future. Today is a gift - which is why they call it the present.'
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I'll be around. Anytime after September is probably best. Best when I can get out for a few cocktails! We can hit up Big Bad downtown Guelph! You should drag Clayton along for a little visit too......he's got peeps 'round here as far as I know.
