Battling Air Canada–Update

I received what appears to be my final answer from Air Canada today. I’ll paste the email in its entirely below, with my clarifying notes in bold. Essentially they’re telling me I’m out of luck. Their agent gave me a bereavement fare when I first booked my flight and they are not willing to offer anything more to me in regards to a fare reduction for the return flight. Unacceptable. See the full story in the previous post.

Dear Mr. Higgs,

Thank you for your updated information and we sincerely appreciate your patience in awaiting our response. (3 weeks later)

Air Canada has a policy that if a customer purchases a ticket, there is a 24 hour time frame in which the customer can call and cancel or change that booking, if an error was made, without penalties applying with the exception of any additional fare differential. (There were no errors in my case, I simply called to inquire about a bereavement fare and they gave me one) 

It appears your original ticket was booked on the 16 April 2012.  On the 17 April 2012 this ticket was cancelled and refunded as per the 24 hour policy not a Bereavement Policy. (Then why did the agent take down my grandmother’s name and the funeral home’s name and phone number?)  A new ticket was issued at a lower fare and was used. While the intention of our 24 hour rule was not intended to give customers reduction in fares (it was for mistakes made by the customer) we are pleased that at this time an exception was made and you were granted the lower fare. (AKA a Breavement fare, based on the information the agent gathered from me) 

However, on your return you were given the best available fare at the time of booking.  No reduction in fare is applicable as I have previously explained and is clearly written on www.aircanada.com, we do not give a reduction in fare for Bereavement travel within North America. (They had no problem doing it 4 days earlier)

The Promo Code given was done so strictly as a gesture of goodwill.  We recognize this is not as you had hoped for but trust you understand our position. (Not really)

Thank you for this opportunity to review this with you.

Sincerely,

Nerinder

Battling Air Canada

I’m not usually one to complain, but I just had to write about my ongoing struggle with Air Canada.

Air Canada is the only airline that flies into Fredericton, so I’m forced to travel with them when going home to visit. Most of the time the service is great, and I’ve never had any issues with them–until now.

I had to make hasty travel arrangements in early April following the death of my grandmother.  I initially went online and booked a flight as I normally would have. As I was booking last minute, there were no Tango (lowest price) fares available and I was forced to choose a Tango Plus fare.  The final cost came out to $360 for a one way flight to Fredericton from Toronto Pearson. A friend of mine mentioned to me that it might be worth trying to get a bereavement fare. I wasn’t impressed with the high cost I had just paid, so I figured it might be worth a try. After waiting on hold with Air Canada for over two hours (!!!), I finally got to speak with an agent.  After explaining my reason for travel, the agent was pleased to honor my request, taking my grandmother’s name, funeral home name, address and phone number. He then refunded my credit card and gave me a new fare that came out to $308.  Not substantially lower, but any savings is better than none at all.

I arrived in Fredericton safe and sound and spent the week with family grieving the loss of my grandmother. On the Friday of that week I called Air Canada to book my return flight to Toronto for Sunday, thinking that I would again be offered a bereavement fare for the flight home. I was wrong. After waiting on hold for 45 minutes, the agent said no lower fare was available. It cost me $560 (again Tango Plus) to fly back to Toronto from Fredericton. Keep in mind this is a one way fare.  I’ve never spent that much to fly return between the two cities.  I was not impressed.

After hearing this, I reviewed Air Canada policy and it states that bereavement fares are only available on international flights, due to there being already low priced fares to North American destinations. I emailed Air Canada, as you can’t phone in a complaint, and was first told in reply that Air Canada does not refund fares after they are booked.  ”Just as we would not charge our passengers should the fare increase, unfortunately we do not provide refunds for any decrease in fare. The price at the time of purchase is the final price. This is stated in our terms and conditions of the fare rules.” As you recall, when I first booked, the agent refunded my credit card and rebooked me at a lower price. It appears either the agent who booked my initial flight goofed or was being especially nice to me. At any rate, I expected the airline to be considerate and reduce the price of my flight back to Toronto as they did on the flight to Fredericton.

The email continued: “When booking through our reservation team, bereavement information is only gathered when a passenger would be travelling on an international itinerary.” Again, the agent gathered all that info from me knowing I was flying domestically. The email was summed it up with a 15% discount on a future flight because the answer “might not be to [my] liking”.

I wrote back explaining about the initial refund, to which “Nerinder” replied requesting the ticket number. I sent this information on April 26th and have yet to get a resolution. I sent a follow up email that said  ”Hello! Is anyone out there?” on May 2nd which got a reply saying they were still completing their “investigation” and would get back to me soon. That was 8 days ago.  I sent another email last night asking for a status update. No reply today, Friday, May 11th.

All I want is the $560 fare refunded and to be charged something more reasonable. Given the circumstances, Air Canada has been less than compassionate. $560 is a ridiculous amount to play to fly one way from Fredericton to Toronto. If the airline gave me a reduced bereavement fare on the way down, the trip back should also be reduced. It only makes sense.

The #petertweeters

Who knew that posting short, 140 character messages would appeal so many? Twitter, one of today’s most widely used online social networks, skyrocketed in popularity in 2011 with young and old signing up in droves to answer the site’s infamous question “What are you doing?”.

Admittedly I was skeptical at first and resisted creating an account, but after jumping on board I quickly learned the secret to its success—the close-knit online community you find yourself a part of.  Within days of  creating my account I was interacting with people in Peterborough and all over the world. Ideas, thoughts and opinions were exchanged and my follower count quickly grew. I was hooked.

Similar to a next door neighbour, you quickly learn about your “tweeps”, discovering hobbies that interest them, tastes in music, details about their family life and a host of other trivial bits you would ordinarily pick up in day-to-day, face-to-face conversation.

It’s this interaction that has made Twitter so popular, especially in smaller cities and towns. There’s a definite sense of community that connects people and brings them together. I’ve watched friendships develop, romances bloom and die, and online tiffs break out between users, all on public display for thousands to see. It’s the ultimate form of reality entertainment.

From this unique interaction, and the many active local participants who support it,  the #petertweeter Awards were born.

The #petertweeter Awards even have their own mascot! Peter Tweeter was created by Rick Dolishny.

Recognizing the best and brightest of the local Twitter scene was the brainchild of Donald Fraser (@ptboskeptic). He quickly organized a committee to get the awards off the ground and I jumped at the chance to join. Fellow members include Alana Callan (@alanacallan), Jeff Macklin (@jacksoncreek) Catherine Hanrahan (@Chan_Rahan) and Dani Stover (@danigray).

Ever since Donald floated his idea on the Twitterverse late last year, the committee has been meeting and planning what promises to be a great new event. The #peetertweeters will be held March 1st at Splice Lounge (@splicelounge), which is generously donating the space. Ticket sales  ($10/$5 students/PWYC)  for the event will go to support local environmental charity Peterborough Green-Up (@ptbogreenup) which is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year.  Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The event will be hosted by Dani and Catherine, who also happen to be morning hosts on the Wolf and Kruz FM here in Peterborough. There will be musical acts throughout the night and some bits of internet themed pop-culture humour scattered in as well. The award categories have been vetted and nominees selected, which was no easy feat. In the coming days folks will be able to vote for their favorite #petertweeters, votes that will recognize some of the most active and entertaining people on local social media.

Be sure to use the #petertweeter hash tag on Twitter to help spread the word about the event.  Mark yourself as attending and get more information at the #petertweeter Facebook page.

This is a great opportunity to not only recognize our amazing local tweeters and support a worthy cause, but also get together and put a face to a Twitter handle.  Looking forward to seeing everyone March 1!

Tis The Season to Give

With just a little over a week to go until Christmas, people are madly hitting the malls looking for that last minute gift for friends and family. This is also the time of year when you can spot people ringing bells, collecting food and calling your home looking for a handout. The months of November and December is when the vast majority of charitable giving occurs and when most charities launch their so-called “year-end” campaigns.

While sitting at my parent’s home tonight, two charities called within 15 minutes of each other.  I decided to investigate how many times they’ve called in the past, as my parents don’t answer calls that come up on the caller ID as “unknown number” or with out of province area codes. Between the two, they called a total of 1o to 15 times over the past several days. Outrageous.

What most people don’t know is that many of the large provincial and national charities spend millions of dollars hiring third party fundraisers to do the dirty work on their behalf. CBC News recently reported that between 2004 and 2008 Canadian charities spent $762 million on these fundraisers, who skim off a portion of your donation to cover their costs.

In CBC’s investigation it was found that charities were spending well above and beyond the Canada Revenue Agency’s recommended 35%  on fundraising–some as high as 70 or 80%.  A classic example is found in the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan. That charity paid $96,849 for a campaign that only raised just $95,812. They ending up losing money, and not gaining a cent from the many donations collected from well intentioned Albertans. Recently the Ontario branch of the Canadian Cancer Society came under fire for spending huge chunks of its budget on fundraising and administration costs and very little on cancer research.

We all need to think twice before saying yes to charitable donations and research where the money is going. Many reputable charities include financial information on their website so you can discern where your money is going and how much is being spent on administration costs and fundraising. If they don’t have this information online, ask for it. They should be more than willing to provide it to you, including audited financial statements and annual reports. They should be able to tell you how much of your donation will be spent on costs such as fundraising and how much will be directly benefiting the cause. If they can’t, look to put your donation dollars elsewhere, like a local cause that will put your money to work close to home.

Tips For Making Smart Ad Buys

One of the many tasks that falls under my job description is buying advertising. Coming into the field of communications from a journalism background,  I had no idea what went into ad buys, what I should be looking for, and when to recognize a good deal. I quickly learned.

Each media company has account mangers who are continually on the hunt for new business. They paint a rosy picture of how your “investment” will further your business or organization and increase sales. Not everything they offer makes good financial sense, however.

I  recently was contacted by a radio station offering me 15 second “seasons greetings” spots. The point was to wish customers a Merry Christmas. In the world of radio, 15 seconds isn’t a long period of time.  I could buy 15 of these spots for $275.  That works out to a little over $18 a spot.  It seems like a good deal, right? Not really. For a mere $2 more per spot, I could buy a 30 second spot on a competing station that has a long standing history of being highly rated in the area. You really need to know your market.

The same station, also offered me four spots to air during a one hour period on Christmas Day. I don’t know about you, but I’m not listening to the radio on Christmas Day. This would have cost $75 for a total of one minute of air time.  Again, I could have bought the same amount of air time with a higher-rated competitor for $40. What initially seemed like a good deal, quickly soured once I evaluated the price per spot and what the competition could offer.

What it really comes down to, as I alluded to earlier, is knowing your market, having an advertising plan and firm budget. Sit down at the beginning of the year and budget how much you want to spend on advertising, where you’re going to spend it and when. Always budget some money for those “last minute” unexpected offers which may come your way. While the last minute Christmas offer I highlighted was a bad deal, there are some good ones that do pop up from time to time.

To be a smart advertiser and spend your money wisely, you need to talk to your account manger and get some basic  information. Here are some tips.

1. Broadcast Advertising. Get ratings numbers. Any reputable account manger will provide this information. Ratings numbers can reveal what demographics are listening, when they’re listening and how well the station is performing overall in terms of audience share. This will allow you to know where to air your ads and when to air them. Choosing the correct station based on music format and ratings and pairing that data with what you’re advertising/promoting is also essential. I wouldn’t air ads selling hearing aids on a hot adult contemporary station, for example, nor would I air them late at night. Know when the demographic you’re targeting is listening and have the station air your ads at that time of day. If you don’t understand the ratings information, ask the account manger to explain it.

2. Print Advertising. You need to obtain circulation numbers, and note that the number can differ depending on the day. Daily newspaper circulation varies as some people subscribe for only certain days of the week. Some papers may also send an edition that reaches a wider audience on a particular day of the week. Naturally it would be smarter to advertise on that day to reach the wider audience. “Readership” is also a term you might hear. Readership refers to the estimated total number of people who read the paper. Considering more than one person will typically read a single copy, this number is generally higher than the circulation.

Watch for extra charges for colour, internet insertion, and request placement of your ad near the front of the paper. The obituary page, believe it or not, is a prime spot, especially if you’re targeting an older demographic. Most publications include the design of your ad in the cost of running it. Discounts may be available if you provide a “camera ready” ad, meaning you’re responsible for the ad’s design and having it ready to meet the paper’s deadline.

Outside of newspapers, there’s been an upswing in the free publication market. You see free magazines at the grocery store, restaurants, and arriving in the mail. Topics range from home improvement to seniors to business, but they generally all have the same layout— a few articles combined with lots of advertising. These publications can be a useful advertising vehicles because they tend to have a longer shelf life than newspapers and contain good articles worth reading. That being said, the method delivery is key.I tend to avoid advertising in free publications if the onus is on the consumer to pick them up. If I’m walking past a rack of FREE magazines leaving the grocery store, I may or may not take one. If the magazine is included in my mail by Canada Post, chances are it will at least get skimmed. Targeting publications that use Canada Post to deliver them directly to homes will help you get a stronger rate of return.

3. Online Advertising. The biggest area to look out for is “hits vs. visits” to websites. There’s a BIG difference. A website “hit” is not a hit on the website, but the server. If a webpage has 46 pictures and three ads on it that counts as 50 hits every time the page is loaded. The extra hit comes from loading the page itself.

“Visits” is the actual number of times the page is accessed by a web browser. A website may claim it has 50,000 hits, but that’s equal to only 1,000 visitors. Generally, traffic on media websites is monitored externally and independently and these numbers should be available to you, just like ratings and circulation figures.

As you’ve seen, the world of advertising is a complex one. I’ve barely scratched the surface. A little bit of homework, and a  firm budget and advertising plan can give you the upper hand ensure you get the the biggest bang for your advertising buck.

Paywalled

A website I frequently visit is CanadaEast.com, owned by Brunswick News Inc. (BNI), the newspaper arm of the mighty Irving family. Canada East is the online home of New Brunswick’s three daily newspapers, the Telegraph Journal, Daily Gleaner and Times and Transcript. For a brief period ending in 2009, you could also read articles found in BNI’s dozen or so weekly papers. That access was removed, leaving only a map showing locations where the weekly papers could be purchased.

With the initial launch of  Canada East,  content was accessible only to subscribers. Subscribers could request a username and password from BNI and have unlimited access to all features and content of the website. Eventually, the subscriber-only stance dropped, giving free online access to content produced by BNI to anyone who wanted it.

In my opinion, the Canada East was never really a priority for BNI, especially after they realized they couldn’t limit it solely to subscribers. Unlike websites owned by other news organizations, there is only one update per day to Canada  East. The stories from Fredericton’s Daily Gleaner, Moncton’s Times and Transcript and Saint John’s Telegraph Journal are uploaded to the site in the morning and the website content doesn’t change for the rest of the day– even in breaking news situations. As the use of social media began to rise, BNI resisted it. There was a report of one of the company’s weekly papers having to shutdown a Facebook page after BNI bosses found out about its existence. It’s clear they want tight control over the content produced by their reporters.

Starting in early 2011, there were rumours of BNI putting an increased focus on online content with the launch of new website. These rumours were confirmed on November 30th, when the Canadian Journalism Project reported that BNI was launching a new website, complete with a paywall. Paywalls limit access to content to only those who pay a fee to subscribe to the site.

On Thursday, December 8th, the first announcement of the new paywalled site was made on Canada East with a banner ad. The ad promotes that readers can now have access to all 19 of BNI’s publications on a new “dynamic and interactive” website found at telegraphjournal.com. Access to this new website is $19.95/month or $16.95/month if bundled with home delivery of one of the daily papers. Prices weren’t given for bundling web access with subscriptions to weekly papers, but one would assume it would be slightly lower.

This approach appears to be slightly different than before, making even current subscribers pay an additional fee for access to online news.

So, the question is “are people willing to pay for news content in 2011?” In most cases they aren’t. In this market, Peterborough, Ont., if the Peterborough Examiner or CHEX-TV started charging for online access to news, their website traffic would drop to near zero and residents would simply move to a competitor. There are plenty. In today’s competitive media environment, if a paywall goes up in one location, readers move to the competition. Except in New Brunswick, and other small markets.

In New Brunswick there is very little online news competition. Aside from CBC, there are no online news sources dedicated to providing updated news content from around the province.  The two main sources of online news are CBC New Brunswick and Canada East.

CBC can’t possibly match the coverage that BNI can provide, so people might just balk and pay the $16.95 to subscribe to a BNI publication and get access to the website. It’s clear the pricing structure is more about boosting circulation numbers than charging for online news. At any rate, this is an interesting online experiment that myself and many others will be watching closely to see what the outcome will be. If it’s positive, paywalls might possibly become the new norm, especially in smaller media markets, but I won’t hold my breath.

Spring, Summer and Fall in the Kawarthas

Here’s a little video I put together with a few of the many photos I took over the past few months. We’re fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of Ontario.

Fall Foliage

On Saturday, I took a road trip north of Peterborough to the Haliburton Highlands. I was last in Haliburton two years ago for the annual Lakeland Conference.  During that excursion into Haliburton County the leaves were just beginning to change, as it was mid September. I made a failed attempt this time around to catch the foliage at its peak, but missed it by a week. Many of the trees had already dropped their leaves, leaving barren skeletons awaiting the cold days of winter that lie just around the corner.

The shoreline of Head Lake in Haliburton. This was one of the scattered patches of colour that could be found.

Looking down on the village of Haliburton. You can see how many of the trees in the distant hills have dropped their leaves already

About 45 minutes south of Haliburton in the Buckhorn and Catchacoma areas, the leaves are at their peak. If you have the opportunity to get out, besure to take in all this beautiful autumn colour. As we can see in the photos of Haliburton, it doesn’t stick around for long.

Beautiful Buckhorn Lake with foliage in the foreground. The leaves are at their peak in the Buckhorn area and across the Kawarthas.

The Canadian Canoe Museum

One of the first local attractions I heard about upon moving to Peterborough was the Canadian Canoe Museum. “A museum about canoes,” I thought. “That doesn’t sound very interesting.” It’s with this mindset I put off going, after all, a canoe is a canoe, right?  Little did I know that Peterborough and the canoe share a fascinating history, dating back to the 1800s.

Peterborough was once a canoe building mecca in Canada, home to the Peterborough Canoe Company, Canadian Canoe Company, and many others, both in the city and the surrounding communities.  By 1930, a quarter of all people employed in Canada’s boat building industry worked in Peterborough. Even into the 1950s, the canoe industry was a significant contributor to the local economy, with three of the four major canoe making companies in Canada found in the Peterborough area. Due to a variety of factors, including failed expansions, a greater interest in motor propelled boats, and increased costs due to unionized labour, both the Peterborough and Canadian Canoe Companies folded.

There’s also an interesting New Brunswick connection. The Peterborough Canoe Company and Canadian Canoe Company joined forces with the Chestnut Canoe Company of New Brunswick. The new company was jointly owned by shareholders in both Peterborough and Fredericton. Eventually, both Peterborough and Canadian Canoe Companies went under (pun intended) in the early 1960s with  the Chestnut Company acquiring molds, patterns and patents for the Peterborough canoes. The canoes continued to be built in Chestnut’s Oromocto, N.B. facility until 1978 when that company too folded following a failed expansion attempt.

The Canoe Museum had a special exhibit about canoe builder Walter Walker, who devoted his whole live to building canoes in the Peterborough area.

This is a mock up of Walter Walker's workshop where he built canoes. It features some of the various tools required to construct a canoe. The Village of Lakefield commissioned Walker to build a canoe to commemorate Prince Andrew's time in Canada. Prince Andrew attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield.

This area of the museum shows how the use of canoes changed from purely a means of transportation to something that can be used in recreation and sport. Sails were added to this canoe, while canoes some where designed to hold a phonograph, records and liquid refreshments.

I found this displayvery interesting. Each Native group in the various regions of Canada have their own shape for the bows of their canoes. The shape of the bows were designed according to the waters the canoes would be used in. High bows deflect waves and rapids but make the canoe harder to move in open areas, low bows move faster in open areas, but take on water easier in rapids. Many bows are a compromise between the two.

These are kayaks built and used by the Inuit of Canada's far north. Seal skins were used in the construction of many of the kayaks.

This photo doesn't do the size of this canoe justice. Used during the age when trading goods was common practice, these massive canoes were stocked full of furs, dried meat, wild rice, pemmican and a variety of other commonly traded goods. Imagine having to portage with several 90 pound parcels of supplies!

If you haven’t been to the Canadian Canoe Museum, I highly recommend going. There are so many wonderful exhibits to view, and a wealth of history to explore. The museum not only captures the local history of the canoe and how it played such a vital role in Peterborough’s early economy, but also how the canoe was a central piece of Canada’s historical past. From serving as a method of transportation and means of hunting for Native peoples hundreds of years ago, to being a recreational escape for us today, the canoe was and continues to be a symbol of Canada. There’s no better place for young and old to learn about the canoe and how it shaped our country than at the Canadian Canoe Museum.

To find out more about admission and operating hours, visit the CCM’s website .

With files from Ptbo Museum and Archives

Vacation

There’s something to be said about the Maritimes in August. I firmly believe it’s one of the best times of the year to visit. Nature is at its peak, the weather generally isn’t too hot, and there’s usually a lot going on to see and do. I just returned from ten days vacation and thought I would share a bit of what I saw and did. Don’t get too excited, I didn’t really do too much–the point of vacation.

A favorite spot to visit is of course the lake. My family owns a lot in a secluded cove on East Grand Lake, in the far western portion of the province. The lake, part of the Chiputneticook chain of lakes, forms the headwaters of the St. Croix River. The boundary between the U.S. and Canada also passes through the lake. East Grand is 22 miles (35 km) long and 4 miles (6 km) in width at its widest point. The maximum depth of the lake is 128 ft (39 m). [thanks Wikipedia]

Serving as the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, East Grand Lake stretches for 18 miles with many natural sand beaches, good fishing and crystal clear water.

A beautiful sunset on East Grand Lake, looking west into the state of Maine on the horizon. Perhaps one of New Brunswick's clearest and cleanest lakes. Hopefully it stays that way.

The coast was a place I hadn’t visited a few years and I decided that it was time to go. My friend Kim and I first hit up the Boyce Farmers Market in downtown Fredericton and loaded up on Fredericton’s famous samosas (and of course cheesecake from the Cheesecake Lady) and then headed for the border at Calais, ME. I chose the Maine coast for it’s small touristy towns and decent roads that travel along the scenic coastal areas. We ended up sleeping in later than anticipated and got a bit of a late start so we didn’t get to all the places I wanted to see. There’s always next summer.

The first place we visited was the “City” of Eastport. Far from a city, this small coastal town is the easternmost point in the contiguous United States. You can look east and see the New Brunswick shoreline. A tourist hot spot, the license plates that lined the main street were from virtually every state and province except Maine.

We then continued further south on an what seemed like an endless drive on U.S. Route 1 to the town of Machias. This quaint coastal town was in the final day of hosting it’s annual “Wild Blueberry Festival”. Maine’s Washington County is known for it’s blueberry farms, hence the celebration of the crop. Both Kim and I said we’d love to go back next year, and noted that we should plan some vacation time around it. There was a great local market filled with tons of  handcrafted items including paintings, pottery, jewelry,  and carvings, just to name a few. Unfortunately, we arrived just as they were closing up shop. We didn’t bring any American currency with us, so I was prevented from buying any of the many, blueberry food items. It all looked so good.

Downtown Eastport, Maine. Lots of little shops to check out!

This fisherman statue was created for Fox-TV's "Murder in Small Town X" which was filmed in Eastport.

One of the many boats in Eastport Harbour

Bad Little Falls, part of the Machias River that flows through the downtown and into the sea.

The Wild Blueberry Festival was winding down. It looked like a great community event and the tourists from out of state were just loving it.

Downtown Machias. The little town was absolutely packed with tourists for the Blueberry Festival