Based on your nominations, it was hard identifying the 3 best companies in Canada last year (2010). Therefore I’ve decided to open the stage for more than just three companies and let your votes decide who the best of the best is!
I’ll try writing something nice about each company in one sentence.
Amazon.ca – For lowering the free shipping threshold to $25.
ClearlyContacts.ca – For helping revolutionize the concept of buying glasses and contact lenses online at very inexpensive prices and offering thousands of free pairs of glasses this year.
Costco Canada – For reasonable prices, consistency and great customer service.
Indigo / Chapters – For providing a relaxed and quality atmosphere where we can shop for books.
London Drugs – For continuing to support coupon stacking and the online deals communities.
Lululemon – For supporting a healthy lifestyle and combining this with fashionable high quality clothing and super-friendly staff to create a unique and winning formula.
Porter Airlines – For offering first class-like travel to Canadians at economy class prices
Mountain Equipment Coop – For their return policy and numerous “Made in Canada” products.
Shoppers Drug Mart – For offering the highest value rewards program in the country, the Shoppers Optimum Points.
Now please take a second to vote for Canada’s Best Company of 2010 below. If you leave a company about one of these companies please focus on the positives since this is what this topic is about 😀
[poll id=”4“]
LD probably won’t win, because only half of the country has it, but it gets my vote for sure!
I agree C. Since it’s not nationwide it probably won’t win, but I voted for London Drugs. I love that they allow stacking as well as price matching. I’m also fortunate that my local LD has really nice staff who don’t mind doing it and never make me feel cheap, a nuisance, or ever roll their eyes at me.
Amazon.ca for me!
A great company that wasn’t listed, is Canada Safeway for lowering their prices, their airmiles program, and excellent customer service.
But, if I had to pick one out of these choices, I would pick clearlycontacts.ca
I notice how SDM is in the race. I personally is into the SOP systems, but I think for a company to win the best company prize, we must factor in how they do in the worse company race as well. I.e. If 1st vote overall in best but also top 3 in worse should serious be examine against a 2nd best that is not mentioned in being top 10 worse…. just wanted to get this comment in. i think this is a good poll for us as shoppers. Thanks to all the admins.
Just a couple of other things about Lululemon. They always offer free shipping on any order, and all of the products are made in Canada!
lululemon is way overpriced. shoppers drug mart and LD doesn’t have low prices and sales like walmart and superstore. Plus SDM’s “spend more and get X points” system is ridiculous. ClearlyContacts with their free glasses, low price brand name quality glasses, hassle-free returns and great customer service is the way to go.
Go London Drugs! They are so helpfull.
don’t forget about indigo chapters – they have irewards, they offer many deals throughout the year & you can get airmiles on line too!
Porter Airlines. For the record, I hate flying – totally. I avoid it however possible (including by taking overnight greyhound rides). But, when I do have to fly, the airline I want to use is Porter.
I used Porter for the first time in 2010 and could not believe the awesomeness of the service. The free newspapers, snacks and drinks, the lovely waiting lounges, complimentary bump-up if there’s a seat on an earlier flight, extremely friendly and polite staff, and fabulous rates (including seat sales) are some of my reasons.
I know it probably won’t win because it’s a relatively small company and many people don’t fly, but I think it deserves the win for customer service that goes above and beyond.
Chapters would be my runner-up.
I think clearlycontacts gets my vote…awesome prices, amazing sale & free give-away, good customer service and quick shipping..never had problem with them…for SDM I heard many bad reviews, amazon got free shipping for $25 but futureshop and bestbuy lowered it at 20$ as well..Anyways compare to any company I prefer ClearlyContacts in this list.
I like Amazon.ca, but hate their inflated list prices, which contributes to unrealistic % off figures. SDM has great selection of goods, but they raised their dispensing fees in light of gov’t regulations earlier this year.
SDM jacks up all their prices so it looks like you’re getting rewarded for buying their crap! If they had reasonable prices to begin with, it would probably be an awesome place to shop….but seeing as how you can go to the competitor (Rexall) and see things for several dollars cheaper realizing that Rexall is also overpriced…it’s kind of ridiculous! MEC is a great Canadian company…they get my vote!
umm, costco doesn’t serve the whole country, because most ppl dont want to pay for a membership.
you have to work like a dog to get decent rewards and deals at both shoppers and LD, and LD isn’t everywhere.
lululemon is overpriced for most ppl and has very shady business practices.
interesting list ;p
hrrm.
Why not Westjet?? Seriously, Westjet gets my vote by far!!!
Lululemon is no longer made in Canada and their quality has gone way done since.
I could have sworn that quite a few of the Lululemon products I saw in the store were made in China, designed in Canada. For those prices, too. Plus, they make unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of some of their products. Wish we had other choices, but I like what I see of MEC
Yes, I know for sure at least some Lululemon stuff is NOT made in Canada. Say what you will, I love my Shoppers Drug Mart. I’m in a small town and to get rewarded for shopping at the only drug store in town is just great. Go SDM!!!
Yes, my $98 Lululemon hoodies were made in China (but I still love them).
I wish I knew what the fuss is about LondonDrugs, I’ve never seen one.
I’m voting for MEC, awesome prices and quality. I forgot about West Jet, give them an honourable mention.
An interesting list indeed. As noted in several replies, I don’t really think most Canadian consumers are well-informed when it comes to pricing policies or even where their products are coming from. I love the casual atmosphere of Chapters/Indigo, but realize they’ve put many small, local bookstores out of business. Is Amazon lowering its shipping minimum permanent, or is this solely to entice holiday shoppers? And to me, Costco seems like shopping in a warehouse, with prices that are only mildly competitive with other stores’ sale prices. In the end, I vote with my money.
Amazon is a great way to go in my opinion, I got my mom who is very new to the whole online shopping scene hooked. Clearly contacts is also a great company, and I’m enjoying my free pair of glasses as we speak! What a great deal. They stand out in my opinion.
I am really surprised that lululemon made it on the list. Yes, they have nice stuff, but they dont really have sales, coupons, and there are plenty of other places you can buy things made in canada for MUCH less. 100$ for yoga pants? No thanks.
Shoppers Drug Mart gets my vote, just did my first 20x the points and am very happy with the rewards i got. (:
SDM!
just want to say if its indigo chapters I hope you mean online because in store their customer service sucks ask for help person goes to computer types stuff in they have no knowledge of their product at all.I would honestly say somewhere like Tim Hortons deserves to be on this list no matter where in Canada you go there is one reasonablty close by and the people there work hard (I know hw hard is making coffee..well think of it like this how hard is it to deal with you before your first coffee in the morning). Porter airlines is way to small to be in this contest. Lululemmon is over priced and honestly not very original for what you get designs could be a lot less generic. LD I do love stacking but it is very expensive it does take a lot of work to coupon there would be nice if they did some of their own price matching like other stores do.
London Drugs all the way. More companies should be like them!
WHAT, NO BABY HEIST?!?!
I’d vote Indigo/Chapters since Walmart isn’t listed here. I like how they crush all the mom & pop independent book stores. And the fact they continue to promote the raping of our natures resources. Killing of trees and dreams….ahhh that’s money to our ears. No MERCY, I’d say in the business world. I hope this is positive enough.
I know you got a lot of flak for this but I found it very useful. Please keep doing this on a regular basis.
Forget that Porter is first-class at economy fares…their employees and the service is AWESOME. They genuinely care about their customers. Anyone can offer the “product” they have, but few can add to it with friendly service and a constant smile!!!
PS – I still have no idea who London Drugs is. I hope they don’t win, only because they don’t service (obviously) all of Canada – hard to crown someone the winner for all of the country when they don’t even serve all of the country!
Why do they never put none of the above some times that would be the one to pick
My vote goes to WAL-MART for saving me at least thousand dollars this year, their top notch cust service for letting me return items without a receipt and for being the only store open so early and closes so late just very convenient for graveyard shift workers I miss mr smiley face
wal-mart
Someone mentioned Lululemon’s free shipping: Around 6 years ago, before they were bigger, I wanted to purchase a gift card for a family member, in the amount of $50. Lulu wanted $18 to ship it. I called their customer service and asked how it would be shipped: Regular post (a stamp). I offered to pay the value of the stamp, or send a prepaid waybill and they REFUSED; they insisted that I had to pay $18 for shipping of a gift cert. That mistake cost them far more than $18 – I have NEVER shopped there now that they have grown, because of this. Now their clothing is made in China…I see nothing nice about this company.
SDM…you had me at “hello optimum”…and lost me at your Ontario pharmacists whining like babies a few months ago and the fact that your customer service department can’t act because stores are independently owned so they refuse to help.
Regarding Costco, I’ve purchased online from them twice now, and both times it arrived next day. Great prices, great returns policies, great customer service…and great baby wipes!
SDM gets my vote for having bonus points days like 20x points and bonus redemption days…
My vote is for Wind Mobile. Finally an alternative to Robbers and the other overpriced providers.
Just pointing this out but Shoppers, if you all havent noticed yet, raises their prices more than other stores. Ex. At Hillcrest mall (for those of you who know), shoppers had Secret deodorant for 3.49. Zellers, right next door, not 5 steps away, was selling them for 2.99. This is regular price for both, just to keep in mind, not to mention Zellers has an additional 10% off with SPC or SPC VIP. Not saying that Shoppers is DEFINITELY BAD, but if you were to buy something at regular price, and you’ve got extra time on hand, I would suggest you to go to another retailer.
Clearlycontacts gets my vote, I’m happy to see others think they’re great too. I already recommend this website to everyone I know who wears glasses or contacts. The prices are fantastic, they offer fast shipping and great customer service. They have a lot of awesome promotions and discount codes can usually be found to save even more money. Even my eye doctor advises me to order my contact lenses through them because I won’t find a better price anywhere else. (I wear a fairly strong prescription and need specific contact lenses that can’t be found at most places).
I totally forgot about Costco! Yay Costco! The membership idea stinks but lucky for me I go with friends who have one…
I did vote for MEC though for having a great co-op and even having in store gear swaps and in store used postings. Green roofing on some of their stores and hiring people ACTUALLY knowledgeable in what they are selling (electronic stores I’m looking at you!).What a great successful company that doesn’t manage to rape everyone and the environment and STILL be profitable. Hmm.. Who knew?
I know we aren’t supposed to be negative but Lululemon suprised me… Made in China, overpriced stuff- seriously who buys this stuff but teenage girls or women who want to be teenage girls.
Also just curious why Chapmans wasn’t mentioned? It had a lot of votes? And they displayed excellent, no more than excellent-UNHEARD OF quality when they paid their workers when their factory was hit by fire and didn’t have to pay them… I think they deserve best company in Canada for that reason alone. The fact that “oursourcing to China instead of keeping it made in Canada” Lululemon IS in the finals and Chapman’s wasn’t is sad 🙁
I love Chapters. It saved me when I was home with a newborn. I could stroll to the nearest location and relax with a book and a coffee away from home while she slept in her stroller. Now that she’s two, I take her to play at the kid’s dept! I love all of the coupons and promotions that run concurrently too. Just before Xmas, I used a couple 25% off kid’s toy and book coupons which made her gifts wayyy cheaper!
Also just because I can’t stop myself- sorry- but when Lululemon started outsourcing to China- did ANYONE notice a price drop? I didn’t think so. Therefore they are still charging domestically produced prices for outsourced prices..?
It went by amount of nominations I do believe and chapmans only had 2 But then again I ony found ONE for Lululemon, I’m wondering if Boo just made an error, because lululemon is not the best company by far.
I counted 4 for Chapmans, 1 for Lululemon and 3 or 4 I’m not sure for Lush and 3 for Body Shop… so I’m thinking just an error…
I would have voted for Chapmans if it was an option for sure 🙂
And sorry to be a blog hog but I also noticed only 2 for MEC therefore Chapmans should definitely be up there… just saying. Sorry 🙂
I don’t think it is a fare comparison among the companies. SDM got about 1000 stores more exposure then say London Drugs and Porter airlines which are more regional companies.
I voted for Costco. They pay their employees very well, offer decent hours and great cash bonuses. Also have a great benefit plan. I think that companies that treat their employees so well really deserve to win because so many big box stores offer their low prices at the expense of their workers.
I’m going with Amazon. I love that you get free shipping with only a $25 purchase. I ordered a book a while back and I guess it was in high demand. In a month, I still hadn’t gotten it so I emailed them. When it did arrive they gave me free 2-day shipping. I love their customer service; they respond quickly!
Thanks, Boo!
Definitely Porter! I’ve never had a better flight. Like others have said, they’re truly the best Canadian airline out there. I get all my friends to fly Porter instead, and convert them to raving fans. 😀
I can’t vote for any of them. Chapters is overpriced and the staff are snotty, amazon is over priced and never has what I want, SDM is over priced, Costco you have to pay to use, lululemon I’ve never shopped at, never used clearly contacts, I don’t fly, I detest LD and I’ve had nothing but horrible service at MEC.
Best company by far for me is Ricki’s. good prices, amazing sales, loyalty recognitions, quality clothes and clothes that fit. And their staff are super helpful and really know their product.
I have to go with Clearlycontacts. My daughter ( whom by the way has received a free pair of glasses) recommended I check it out. I had to return my first pair…as they just didnt look right. There was a no hassel return… and my next pair were perfect and I paid far less than I would have had I purchased them here in my hometown! I have recommended this site to everyone I know. Considering not everone wears glasses and the fact that alot of people have eyewear benefits through there workplace ( which by the way I believe they are paying extra to have this benefit… far outweighing what they pay in return for what they get), so they would not have the need to use this site. Clearly Contacts for me is the overall winner without a doubt!!
My vote goes to ClearlyContacts. Their prices are unbeatable, the quality and variety of their frames are fantastic, and their customer service is superb. I ordered a pair of frames and received them in less than a week. When I realized that I’d ordered the incorrect prescription, I contacted ClearlyContacts and they were extremely helpful ensuring my incorrect prescription would be returned and my new pair would be shipped at no additional charge. As well, I received my new (and correct) pair of frames in only a matter of days.
I have recommended ClearlyContacts to everyone I know who wears glasses and contacts, and I am certainly going to purchase from them again.
I vote for clearlycontacts.ca their amazing !
Simply put – the BEST customer service I have EVER had bar none! Fast, friendly service and always ready to help should you have any problems. The cheaper prices don’t hurt either. Everyone going into customer service should take a page out of their book!!!
Clearly Contacts is the best. Where else can you buy brand-named Glasses and Contact lenses at such a low price. Also, they have a hassle free return policy. An amazying company. I am getting a glasses additiction since finding out about them.
My vote goes to clearlycontacts.ca
My vote is for Clearly Contacts I got two free pairs of glasses from them this year. They also have great customer service!. The first free pair was the cross canada promo and the second was a special email i received that said you’ve been picked for a free pair of glasses!. I love them and wear them all the time.
Clearly Contacts is one of the easiest and most pleasant companies I’ve ever dealt with. Their website is very user-friendly, their prices are great, and customer service is phenominal. They’ve offered hundreds of free glasses and highly discounted promotions to their customers. They really like to keep their customers happy.
My vote is clearlycontacts, sorry if i can get the same glasses from then for half the price and more than hakim or public optical or lens crafter, i will always buy from them and what a amazing customer service..gold medal to this company and company of the year for 2011
my vote is only for clearlycontacts. i will give 7starts for their customer service.
Clearlycontacts has been innovative in FINALLY letting the consumer have some reasonable choices in eyewear… without breaking the bank. We are a family of 7 with 5 (3 kids under 7) in glasses and it has cost us over $1500 to fill our prescriptions in the past. NOW Clearlycontacts has paved the way to make other eyewear companies realize they can’t continue to take advantage of people. Our ophthalmologist even told me that he is disgusted that this has gone on for so long and it is about time someone offered it.
I just ordered 5 pairs (including tinted lenses for a higher cost) and my bill came to $161.00 with shipping!
Clearlycontacts was a life saver for us this year – little kids break glasses whether you pay $300 a pair or $36, so which would you buy?
The BEST customer service ever is at Kal tire. Even my Mom (age 72) gets a carnation each she goes by (and for little fixes – they waive the charge)
I have had such good service from them both in alberta and BC! They get my vote!!! Not a single negative experience. I could rave about them!
the worst…Canadian tire -I’m embarrassed that they even put Canadian in their name – they have the RUDEST customer service. Its is as if they hate customers. AND they are nothing but consistent in their rudenss throughout their stores. I won’t set foot in one EVER!
To those that suggest Wal-Mart, I can only hope you are being facetious. To those who complain about customer service or poor product, but fail to expend the energy to proofread their comments to resemble something coming close to English, thank you for my daily dose of irony. Laziness, apathy, lack of motivation, or just simple ignorance: key components of a potential employee I would never hire. As has been expounded upon here, the difference for me is in the details: companies and employees that are willing to go the extra distance to ensure that what they offer – both in terms of product and service – is the best that it can be.
I have tried to vote for MEC the last few days and every time it won’t let me. I am concerned about the validity of this survey. If Wal Mart or Shoppers win, I will know this is a scam.
Well Ruby considering walmart isn’t one of the choices you shouldn’t have to worry about that 🙂
tough to pick just one – love clearly contacts for their prices, but I had to vote London Drugs – being able to stack coupons really helps this single mom’s budget 🙂
Walmart shouldn’t be anyone’s choice…that’s the point I’m trying to make.
I’m still confused and have received no feedback on why Chapmans (with 4 nominations) isn’t up here but Lululemon (1 nomination) and MEC (with 2 nominations-even though that’s who I voted for) isn’t? I am slightly peeved that there has been NO response to my question- therefore questioning the validity of this survey myself. Not really peeved though, considering this is just an internet survey on some site, but peeved enough for me to come back and look for an answer and see nothing. Not very professional.
Chapmans the ice cream? I like Walmart bc it saves me money period. So put no frills up there too
Amazon.ca for my vote! I like that they let us stack gift certificates.
@cdamom
BooRadley posted this survey. This is his site. Contact him for your answer.
How do I do that? Also Chapman’s ice cream for the treatment of their employees. A fire burned their factory down and instead of laying off their workers or not paying them for the time they weren’t working-they kept them on payroll while the factory was being built… now THAT is a company that puts what is important first. And that is why, in my opinion, they should get best company, and why I’m being so adamant about them not being on here.
the free eyeglasses in clear contacts is definitely the best deal! everyone loved it and now they’re even doing it again!!!! I actually shared it to my relatives and they all liked it!!!
I support what you are saying cdamom.
The prices are pretty reasonable in Costco and the stuff is great!
A guy who saidlastweekabout costs of steel sheet,it realy depends where you go to buy it, galvinized is about£695 per metric tonne and standard is around £640 per ton- hope this helps