First off, let me say that I love Toronto, but a few things about it (that have changed) made my trip this year a little more frustrating.
1. THE VISITOR TAX REFUND PROGRAM IS NOW OVER (AS OF APRIL 1, 2007)! Who knew? How would I know seeing as how travel/visitor's bureaus in downtown Toronto are still giving out the forms and information? Gone are the days of getting your 15% back on all purchases over $50! This is the #1 thing that ticks me off cause Canada's not as cheap as it used to be (the US$ doesn't go far anymore...bad exchange rate) and on top of the 2 taxes applied to EVERYTHING, hotels apparently charge something called DMF charge (tourist tax or some garbage)! Geez! As if 15% extra (from gst and pst) wasn't enough!
2. VIA RAIL's CUSTOMER SERVICE leaves a lot to be desired. Last year there was a fiasco with me trying to drop off my bags in Windsor so I wouldn't have to carry them around all day after arriving from the states and then, found that you can only check bags at 5amor 6am....WTF! That's not what I was told by phone rep. So I was out of 2 taxi fares getting over there and had to pay someone else to ship my bags on to my final destination. There wasn't even a response to that letter.
Last week, the VIA train from Toronto to Montreal stopped mid-transit and we got in at 3:30am rather than 11:44pm! Then, to make matters worse (after they had transferred us to coach buses to finish the journey), they only give you 50% of that portion of the trip back in the form of a voucher only valid for 6 months! What good is that for someone not from Canada? After an email and several voicemails, after about a week someone called me back and is claiming to extend the voucher for 12 months and it will be mailed to me in the states.
You should also NOT purchase tour packages from Via Rail's site (might say WWTE when you go into options)....see below.
3. Montreal's GRAYLINE Tour Customer Service...Be sure to write down the name and time when you speak to phone reps because when they forget to pick you up on time for your prepaid tour, you will need that when you finally get to their office (35 minutes late)! I purposefully called 3 days in advance to request pick up and was told that it was okay. Then, the morning of the pickup I called to confirm that they were still coming and was told yes. when they hadn't arrived 15 minutes after the scheduled time, i called back and eventually a driver arrived. When I got to the office not only did they claim to not know anything about me calling and scheduling for pick up but they were unaware of my reservation - done through VIA RAIL's website and WWTE. The only redeeming quality was the tour guide, Denis. He managed to calm me down after a horrific journey from Toronto and the fiasco with the tour bus.
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