I think this video says it all. I'm happy to say the garages I deal with are absolutely stellar. Are yours?
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/#clip447197

Sh*t....does this mean the mechanic ripped me off when he charged me $250 to flush and refil the blinker fluid????

Seems like the show has a bias, but it's true people should be informed and ask questions.
I for one try to make sure the communication between my techs and customers is as clear and honest as is possible.

Cody - Canadian Tire Service Advisor

Well,,,I don't want to dis a fellow MXer however I have had some not so positive experiences with our Canadian Tire. I can go back 30 years with one particular outlet. I won't go into things here but if you PM me I'd be more than happy to share.
As far as bias goes I don't see any. The facts seem to speak for themselves.

^^^

One more reason my car has never seen a mechanic... without me over his shoulder

This means what???

Just agreeing... As in no bias....at least none that I noticed...I mean the very first run in, they did a brake service on brakes that were serviced the day prior!!!! How is that biased????? That's why I refuse to let any mechanic work on my MX3...At least if something gets replaced, I'll know it's getting done right...and if it's not done right, then I know exactly who to blame...

That's why I like living in a smaller town. I know the guys in my garage, I see them around town and when I go in for service, sometimes I'll bring donuts or something. Just my way of saying thanks. I've seen them mark a service on the bill but not charge because they feel the bill was high enough already. I've seen the E test guy play around a bit to make sure my vehicle passed the E test when the numbers were at or over the limit. I believe knowing who's working on my car is important.

I don't claim to speak for every CT store. I said I try to make sure my customers get the best service I can offer. Can you hold that against me?
That said, I still prefer to do my own work, because thanks to this site, I find great satisfaction in learning from my car and accomplishing something when I fix it right. Plus I'd rather not pay the overhead shops have to charge. The added benefit is that I understand what my techs are diagnosing, and I can better explain to the customer what is wrong so that they can make an informed decision.
The bias in the show doesn't seem obvious because they only showed you the worst examples. When I watch a news program and the announcer has the attitude that everything is doom and gloom, I naturally assume there's a bias. If you don't think so, that's your bag.
Now there were obviously problems with the way the staff dealt with some of those situations. The $2000+ dollar bill was unbelievable.
I'm not defending those stores that take advantage of the customer,
but what I took from the program was, "all shops are evil, except the ones that aren't."
Here's a question though. How often has your battery terminal spontaneously come loose?

Quite a few times actually.

Old, crappy, stock neg terminal -> dies in traffic and doesn't turn over without trying a bunch of times in a row.

Still, that's no excuse. You always check the easy things first. it takes <5 seconds to wiggle both terminals.

My mechanic worked at Canadian Tire, AWESOME mechanic, but it is hard to recommend a mechanic that works at CT because of the stereotype. He opened his own shop a few years ago and from the get-go business was better than expected; he's always busy.

Personal pride was always at stake for me in my job. I always did the best job I could and I did in IAW rules and regs. Even if it went against what the boss wanted. Money is tight every where but that's no excuse to do a crap job. I believe quality and longevity go hand in hand. Never heard of a company that produced a quality product filing for bankruptcy (do you hear that Chrysler).