Tag Archives: Product Review

Stellar Phoenix Access Database Repair Review

I was approached by Stellar Phoenix to review their Access Database Repair software.

After performing a few tests, here are my thoughts on the matter:

Password Encrypted Files

The first hurdle that I faced was the fact that I encrypt most of my databases with a password. Sadly, Access Database Repair cannot work with such files! To me this is a major limitation.

Recovering Deleted Records

One of the nice feature was the fact that Access Repair offers the ability to recover deleted records. That said, the way in which it works had me very confused. It offers no way to reinserted the deleted records back into the originating table, but rather one must save the recovered database in which a new table will be created with the deleted records. It is not the way I would have built the software, but it does work and then you can use queries to recover the records of interest.

As per other freely available recovery techniques, it is impossible to recover deleted records once a database is compacted.

File Corruption

File corruption comes in all sorts of shapes and forms. One form of corruption that I recently was faced with was the fact that an unknown user had erroneously open an MS Access database in MS Word (why, I have no clue). By doing so, the MS Access database became corrupted and no longer functioned. I then checked with fellow MVPs and was surprised that this occurs more often than I thought. So I decided to try to recover a recently corrupted database using Stellar Phoenix, but it was unable to recover the file stating:

I also tried to repair a database which had a corrupted form. What the exact nature of the form corruption was is unknown to me, but I do know that it became corrupted. Sadly, Access Database Repair was unable to fix the problem.

I then sent an e-mail to my point of contact at Stellar Phoenix to ask for clarifications and below was the list of corruptions that they claim Access Database Repair Addresses:

Symptom 1: Cannot open a form or report
Symptom 2: Number of records varies, depending how the data is sorted (index corruption)
Symptom 3: Some table rows show ‘Deleted’
Symptom 4: Memo field contains strange characters.
Symptom 5: “An error occurred while loading Form_FormName”
Symptom 6: “Error Accessing File. Network Connect May Have Been Lost”
Symptom 7: “AOIndex is not an index in this table”
Symptom 8: Key field is no longer primary key, and relationships are gone

Conclusions

I’m not sure what to think. I will need to do further testing to truly know how effective a tool Access Database Repair truly is.

My other thought on the matter is that in many cases, the solutions to many (if not all) of the symptoms is freely available and various resources exist to help. For instance:

For me, corruption, the possibility of corruption, simply reinforce the critical importance of Backups for all files (not just MS Access databases)! By implementing a proper backup strategy, the repair of corrupted files becomes unnecessary.

Update 2017-12-01 – Deleted Record Recovery

I decided to give the software a go as I always feel bad giving a product a bad review. Sadly, things did not go any better. I had a file in which the user had erroneously deleted records, so I thought this would be a prime test. The db itself was fine and still fully usable, but some records were deleted and no compaction had been performed yet. I selected the file, it ran it’s analysis and I received the following (look at the console message at the bottom)

This file is not a valid MS Access file.

So I don’t know what else to say. It doesn’t seem to work even with a healthy accdb?

more to come…

Smart Inderter Not Working in Office 2010, 2013

If you do any serious VBA development, you should have heard, and installed, Office Automation Ltd’s Smart Indenter. If you haven’t you should! It is an exceptional FREE tool that helps properly indent your code to help with code legibility & standardization. It offers numerous customizable options to suit your specific needs.

That said, I recently tried installing on a machine with Office 2013 and it would not work!? What to do.

After so going back and forth with Mz-Tools (another must have VBA developer tool), I finally got it operational.

Now, I do not know exactly why or how, but the only conclusion I could come up with is the order of installation somehow fixes whatever the underlying problem is/was. You must install Mz-Tools first and then Smart Indenter. Smart Indenter on its’ own does not work, nor does installing Mz-Tools subsequently. After trying different variations, the one that appear to have “fixed” the problem was to uninstall the Smart Indenter & Mz-Tools, then reinstall Mz-Tools followed by Smart Indenter.

So the conclusion drawn from my experience, it would appear, is that Mz-Tools must be installed first!

If you have any insight into the nature of the problem (perhaps even an alternate solution) or if you can confirm my fix, please post a comment.

Update

Please refer to: Smart Indenter on Win 10 with Access 2013/2016 for another potential solution to getting Smart Indenter operational.

Public Mobile Review

It has been a couple years now that I have been a Public Mobile customer. Over the past 2-3 years, I have been largely quite pleased with Public Mobile.

Useless Website Support

My biggest complaint with Public Mobile is the fact that if you need support, you must do so in person or by phone. Although their website has a support e-mail, every time I have tried to use it, I have received a reply back (days later) stating I need to call them. This kinda defeats the purpose of the Contact Form, NO!

Also, their phone support is during standard business days/hours. So no support on week-ends or late at night

One thing I will say though is that whenever I have gone to a Public Mobile booth and needed any assistance the employees have always been very helpful and have always resolved my problem immediately!

Recently however, I am sad to say I have noticed ongoing problems. I don’t know if this is due to Public Mobile sold to Telus, regardless.

3G vs 1x vs no Service

For years, my connection/service has been excellent. That said, in the past months, I have been experiencing continuous connection/service problem. At my home, where I always had 3G service, I now am getting 1x service, or worse yet no service at all!

Unlimited vs 1GB limit

Public Mobile whole sales pitch over the years has always been No Limits! Unlimited Data, Texts, Telephone! This is the main reason I originally turned to them. I didn’t want to worry about limits (not that I actually use my cell phone a lot – 300-500MB total per month on a busy month). It was simply nice to know I could do anything I wanted without ever having to worry about surprise bills showing up!

I am sad to say that these days are gone. Public Mobile, I guess I should now say Telus, has unilaterally changed it’s unlimited plans and imposed a 1GB limited to all.

I was not impressed by the way they announced it by sending a simple text!

To me by doing this, they just lost their competitive edge!

Also, as a side note, I also find it very odd that on regular interval, I get Denied Access (should be Access Denied) when trying to access the Public Mobile page! Talk about irony!!!

Now, I have also started getting proxy errors when trying to surf the web (not just the site below, but any site, even Google for instance)!

Update 20130317

Over the course of the week-end, I started getting the following error whenever I tried to launch Public Mobile’s Siren music?!

Disappointing. Not a good sign of things to come. While under Public Mobile, I never had any issues. But in the months since Telus took over, there seems to be a steady decline!!!

Update 20130326

Now I am being advised in their What’s New page (after being sent a text message to check it out) that not only are their plans changing, but I will have to buy a new phone and their payments options are also changing, so no more automatic payments/withdrawals (see the highlighted sections in the image below)!?

Darren Entwistle (Telus) is truly doing a horrible job vis-à-vis his Public Mobile clientele. Forcing people to buy new phone and spend hundreds of dollars after having already done so is despicable! Also, once again, the approach taken to advise their clients of these changes is disgusting, a text, really!

Conclusion

Time will tell, but as of late, I am noticing kinks in Public Mobile’s armor. I truly think this recent abolition of their Unlimited plans ends up killing what made Public Mobile, Public Mobile! Now they are a standard Cell phone company like every other cell phone company!

I know that with my recent service problems and now this abolition of their unlimited plans, I do believe I will be looking over what other options are at my disposition. There is no longer any reason to stay!

I think we are starting to see Telus’ true character come out. They are shafting their existing clients: abolishing unlimited plans, obliging them to buy new phones, changing payment options, … Makes you wonder if they aren’t just trying to kill Public Mobile altogether? Well, apparently I am right: see: Telus’s decision to shut Public Mobile angers consumers. No doubt now that Telus doesn’t give a crap about Public Mobile or their customers since they bought it to shut it down. Here are two more articles on the subject: Telus to close down Public Mobile’s network and move customers to main network and Public Mobile phones will be doorstops: Roseman. What I also love is that they are offering promotional pricing on their new phone to existing offers, but apparently people are finding the same phones cheaper, through TELUS, with no contract that with the promotion. So lots of hot air and screwing of their clients it would appear.

I also find it amazing how the Canadian Government & CRTC have allowed this all to go down. No one is remotely looking out for the Canadian consumer, it is all again about money and power! Lots of talk, but once again no one actually does a thing!

What a mess!

FMS Total Access Analyzer

As an MVP, we are granted the privilege of getting Not For Resale licenses of certain software to take for a test run.

I recent installed and tested FMS’ Total Access Analyzer (Database Analysis for Access 2010). Below are my thoughts.

Installation

Nothing could be simpler! Simply download the ‘setup.exe’ and run it.

Impressions

The usage of the Total Access Analyzer is once again very straight forward and highly customizable!

You can not only select what type of objects (tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, modules, command bars) your wish to analyze, but you can select the specific object itself. So you can analyze just one specific table or the whole database in one shot.

Continue reading →

Samsung UN55ES6100 55″ 1080p LED HDTV – Review

Well after fighting with our old TV for a couple of month, we finally decided to purchase a new one. After scouring the web and our local stores, we settled on a Samsung UN55ES6100 55″ 1080p LED (Slim LED TV Series 6 | 6100) HDTV from Costco (best price and doubled the warrantee compared to anyone else in our neighborhood). Below are some of my thoughts to date:

TV in General

The TV is light, slim and has a great picture.

It took all of 30 seconds to unpack, install and have operational.

Most of the features are straightforward to use.

One thing that I was disappointed with was the fact that the user manual is very small, instead Samsung has chosen to integrate the user manual as an e-manual through the TV console. Personally, I do not like this, I have been unable to locate many items while trying to learn how to use various features of this TV.

Along the same line, the TV presents menu after menu of settings to tweak image, sound, power saving, … which can be very intimidating. Why there is no way while in a menu to click a button to get information blows my mind. Most of the time you will get a brief description, but some are so generic that they really do not help understand the setting whatsoever.

For those receiving the TV signal over the Air, the built-in tuner is excellent. I was previously using a converter, but once I removed the converter and plug the antenna signal directly into the TV unit, the image quality drastically improved and it picked up channels that neither of the 2 converters I had used to date could identify.

SMART HUB

Firstly, I personally find that the SMART HUB is slow to initially load.

Secondly, I would remark to utilize many of the feature available in the SMART HUB you are best to purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse. Trying to use the onscreen keyboard and moving the mouse is very slow and frustrating!

ALL SHARE

Simply put, it sucks (there is no easier way to put it)! I truly do not understand this slow piece of software. Why Samsung developed this instead of concentrating more on a better direct (Wi-Fi) connection is baffling. The software is slow, has to ‘index’ the files you want to share (why?) and is incompatible with many file formats (for instance video files from my JVC camcorder). One of the main reasons I bought this TV in the first was for the Wi-Fi capability to be in a position to stream videos, pictures. To date the best method to do so with this TV is still using an HDMI cable, thus bypassing this useless application. So no need to have the Wi-Fi and SMARTTV aspects since they are not very good.

I will also add that the ALL SHARE software did not install properly the first time I tried to do so and had to perform a reboot of my computer and try again. It would continuously loop ‘Installing HotFix’ (refer to the image below), over and over.

Today, I tried to view some digital camera picture (jpg) and for whatever the reason none of them are not accessible on the TV. They appear in the AllShare program on my PC, but not on the TV.

Furthermore, after applying an update to the SMART Hub application, certain apps and functionalities seem to be affected. Just seems unstable (screen colors changes, flicker, …), untested…

These issues are making me regret this purchase.

Direct Wi-Fi Connection

Not to sure what to say about this feature, since I have yet to get it to actually work! I think that says it all.

Web Browser

Yet another poor aspect of this TV. Samsung has put in place a Web Browser, but has created their own version/flavor and sadly it is much slower than any other browser I have used on any PC I have ever used. It works, but is slower than I expected.

Further testing has revealed a small problem with Samsung’s Web Browser, it cannot open any documents. For instance, it cannot open a simple PDF file! Really, in 2013, a browser that cannot open a PDF is useless. I can understand not necessarily supporting MS Office documents, but a universal format such as a PDF is unforgiveable!

Recently, after performing an update to the SMART Hub application, the external mouse no longer works?! The mouse appears in the SMART Hub and is operational, yet once the Web Browser loads, the mouse is no where to be found?! <sarcastic>Samsung continues to impress!!!</sarcastic>

It is amazing, when I planned on first writing this post, I was thinking that this was a good TV, but the more I write about it the more I am noticing that it has missed the mark on the features for which I bought the TV. This Samsung SMART TV is turning out to be quite Dumb! You pay for advanced functionalities, yet most of them do not work properly, so you end up paying extra for no real reason.

I would give this TV, as a TV alone a 9/10. That said, I would give this TV, as a SMART TV (Wi-fi, SMART Hub, …), a lowly 2/10!

D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support – Review

Per my previous review, http://www.devhut.net/2013/03/07/iogear-gcs24u-4-port-usb-cable-kvm-review/, I was on the market for a KVM switch. Sadly, none of the IOGEAR were acceptable since they all presented the same issue of needing 2 usb ports on each computer. I ended up finding the D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support.

D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support

The D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support installed very easily, only required 1 USB port (rather than 2 like the IOGEAR) and also included audio support (bonus!). So now at the click of a button my screen switches, my keyboard and mouse switch and the audio system switches between my computers.

PROs:

Super easy to install, simply plug-in
Only requires one free USB port
Switches fast and without any screen flicker

CONs:

The plug where the video connection is made is very tight against the cable, so it took a bit of pursuation to make the connection. This is a one time deal, but D-Link designers could have given an extra couple milimeters in their design.
Unlike the IOGEAR where there is a central unit from which connecting wires go from, the D-LINK doesn’t have a central unit, rather each connector is a large (relatively speaking) connector. So you need to be able to accomodate a good 5-6″ to the side, or behind, of your USB port to allow for the unit add cables.

To summarize, the D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support, thus far (3 hours in to testing) was easy to setup and worked without any configuration. I would give it a 10/10 for functionality and 7/10 for design (considering size and interference with the video connector). All in all it appears to be a good unit.

I will post back in a few weeks to append this review based on reliability…

Update 2013-03-13
So far, so good. I have been plesantly please with the unit for the past few days a discovered a few nice features.

If you start up a single computer, it automatically detects and cycles to switch the input/output to that device.
Likewise, if you have multiple computers running and you shutdown the active computer, it will automatically cycle to the other computer.

Just minor features, but they are still very useful (and were not present on the IOGEAR units that I have previously used).

IOGEAR GCS24U 4-Port USB Cable KVM – Review

As mentioned in a previous post, I had previously purchase a IOGEAR 2-Port KVM swicth which croacked after just a couple of months. After having 2 different model break, or cause problems I decided to just switch back and forth manually. I got tired of this and yesterday decided to try again.

IOGEAR GCS24U 4-Port KVM Switch

I went out and purchsed an IOGEAR GCS24U 4-Port USB Cable KVM. Looked liked what the doctor ordered! Super easy to setup, simply connect. No software, no driver, no hassel. Just one major issue: The new and improved model (IOGEAR GCS24U 4-Port USB Cable KVM) now has 2 usb cables that you have to plug into each computer. My Laptop only has one next to the Video input and 3 other on the other side of the case. Sadly, the IOGEAR GCS24U 4-Port USB Cable KVM cables are fused together and only offer about 6-8″ of freedom from one another. As such, I couldn’t plug in the 2nd USB cable. So I could have only either my keyboard or my mouse functional at one gievn time; sorta defeating the purpose of a KVM.

I was very surprised with this setup as the old model had only one USB connection into each computer. Obviously the KVM acted as a hub in some fashion, but IOGEAR seems to have done away with this for some reason, which I cannot comprehend. This seems to be going backwards rather than forwards to me.

What I can say based on my brief testing is the KVM switch worked very nicely. If it wasn’t for the issue that the cable were fused together, I would have kept it. It is small, easy to setup, nice long independant switch to cycle through the computers, but the cables being fused together I just don’t get. The old model had an ajustable band that allowed one to ajust the free length of the cables, but IOGEAR changed their design, for the worse.

So to summarize, good KVM switch (based on limited testing) as long as you have 2 free USB ports at the same location as your video output, otherwise it is worthless.

You may also like to read my Review of the D-Link KVM-222 2-Port USB KVM Switch with Audio Support.

The Source/La Source Price Match Guarantee a farce at Best

I recently wanted to purchase an analog-digital converter. After doing my research, I determined the model I wanted and was surprised to see that, locally, The Source was the only store to carry it. After a little more digging, I found another retailer in the East End of Montreal that carried it for 20$ less. After briefly seeing that The Source had a Price Match policy, I went out confident that they would merely match what the other store was selling the exact same model for. Was I ever wrong!

Their Price Match Guarantee is as follows (Taken from http://www.thesource.ca/sitelets/pricematch/en/ on 20121107 (minus a few fixed spelling mistakes – you’d think they could run spell check)):

Price Match Guarantee
on any competitor’s price
The Source will match any advertised price on an identical product currently advertised in Canada!

Our Price Match Guarantee
The Source’s Price Match Guarantee is our assurance that you will get the best price on products you purchase at The Source. If you find a lower, currently advertised price from a Canadian retailer we will match that price on an identical product (including the year, model number, warranty, components, bundling/kitting or any service plans that may be included with the product).

Simply present proof that the item you wish to buy from The Source is being advertised at a price lower than The Source’s retail price. A Sales Associate will need to verify that the item is in stock and available for immediate sale, at which point The Source will sell you that item at the lower price.

Terms and Conditions
The Source will match any advertised price on an identical product (including the year, model number, warranty, components, bundling/kitting or any service plans that may be included with the product) currently advertised in Canada. This offer does not apply to products advertised during Black friday, Cyber Week, Boxing Week, or on the Internet; discontinued, liquidation, closed-out or clearance products, bonus or free offers; private sales; trade-in sales; special orders, “limited quantities” or “one of a kind” offers; “after rebate pricing”; coupon; club or wholesale pricing; store credits; gift cards or similar credits; and competitors’ misprinted advertising or out-of-province/territory advertising. This offer also does not apply to advertisements for subscription services, including but not limited to wireless, telephone, internet, satellite or any other similar subscription service.

This offer does not apply to advertisement for cellular handsets, tablets, receivers and internet devices, except for Bell or Virgin Mobile advertisement for such products.

This offer applies to existing in-store stock only and does not apply to previously purchased items. Items sold in “as-is” condition including refurbished merchandise, floor models, open stock and scratch-and-dent items are excluded from this offer. The Source reserves the right to verify competitor pricing and availability of price match items, limit quantities of price match items, and to revoke this promotion, and change its terms and conditions, without advance notice. Price match must be requested by the consumer from The Source at the time of purchase or within 48 hours of receipt of the item by the consumer.

Sadly, in my experience, The Source is more interested in playing legalize word games than in truly providing a Price Match with competitors. What is boils down to is they will only match prices of items sent out in flyers, with a whole slew of exceptions (limited quantities,…). Since only a handful of companies actually send out flyers (Best Buy, Future Shop, Bureau en Gros, Sears – at least in my neighborhood), they need only ensure they are staying in-line with these few companies to supposedly maintain their Price Match guarantee.

In comparison, I have now been twice to Best Buy were they have matched, without question, the price I found online of various competitors (forget flyers). No hassle, matched it, and gave me an extra 10% off! That is what you call customer service!!!

So at the end of the day, The Source has lost me as a customer for life and I have learnt, and hopefully you as well, that their Price Match guarantee only applies if you manage to weasel your way through a whole slew of exceptions. So they stack the deck in such a way that very few people will ever actually qualify for meeting the requirements of their Price Match guarantee. I consider this to be not valuing your clientele and just poor customer service. Next time I will purchase the item online at Amazon, so much for supporting local business. It is too bad, because it is this type of game, that costs a business its’ reputation.

All of this to say, if you plan on trying to get The Source to actually enforce their Price Match guarantee, good luck. What they consider Price Matching and what the average person considers Price Matching appear to be 2 completely different things! What they state in their first statement: “The Source will match any advertised price on an identical product currently advertised in Canada!” does not match up with the rest of their guarantee. It also shows how much they have fallen behind the times when they will not honor any Internet based prices!!! What world are they living in?! Seriously, Online is where things are at.

I guess The Source doesn’t want my business. I’ll take my money elsewhere from this day forth.

Access Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets from Microsoft Access MVPs Review

I have one thought for you; If you are looking for a good book to learn from about common database developer needs, then this is a MUST buy! Truly, I wish this book had been out 10-15 years ago when I was learning and developing my first databases.

The subjects covered are corner stones of almost any database and any developer will find useful knowledge and techniques. Furthermore, coming from 2 of the best Access developers (Douglas Steele and Arvin Meyer), you know that the information is right on the money!

The approach is very unique, in that the book is divided into Tips and then each tip is subdivided into Objective; Scenario, Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, Macros, Modules, Using This Tip & Additional Information. So they explain every aspect of what they are doing, why they are doing it and what needs to be done to make it all work. It is a simple step by step guide.

This book is not so much about how to use Access, but rather how to develop a database. Arvin and Douglas share their solutions on how to tackle common issues from start to finish. These are real-life issues that we all have to deal with and with complete solutions. Subjects such as Cascading Combo Boxes, Treeview & Listview controls, Drag and Drop, Tab Controls, Relinking your Back-End, and so much more…

Furthermore, unlike numerous other books currently collecting dust on my shelves in which a few chapters are useful but the bulk are not, Access Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets from Microsoft Access MVPs Review is good from cover to cover. Every tip is useful. Clearly written, easy to follow along, you can tell that Doug and Arvin have invested a lot of time and energy developing the content within.

The table of contents is:

Part I Tables 1.
Tip 1 Creating Tables for Web Applications.
Tip 2 Alternative to the Hyperlink Data Type.
Tip 3 Fill a Table with Numbers.

Part II Queries.
Tip 4 A Single Query to Do Both Updates and Insertions.
Tip 5 Using a Cartesian Product to Generate a Calendar.
Tip 6 Using a Multiselect List Box as a Query Parameter.

Part III Forms.
Tip 7 Cascading Combo Boxes.
Tip 8 Cascading Combo Boxes on Continuous Forms.
Tip 9 Paired List Boxes.
Tip 10 Marquees, Scrolling Messages, and Flashing Labels.
Tip 11 Custom Tab Controls.
Tip 12 Simulating Web-Style “Hover” Buttons.
Tip 13 Custom Form Navigation Controls.
Tip 14 Calendar Form.
Tip 15 Simulating Drag-and-Drop in Access Forms.
Tip 16 Providing Visual Feedback for Drag-and-Drop.
Tip 17 Control List Boxes with Drag-and-Drop.

Part IV Taking Advantage of Report Capabilities.
Tip 18 Page 1 of N for Groups.
Tip 19 Always Starting a Group on an Odd Page for Duplex Printing.
Tip 20 Dynamically Changing the Sort Order of a Report.
Tip 21 Week-at-a-Glance–Type Report.
Tip 22 Day-at-a-Glance-Type Report.

Part V Using VBA.
Tip 23 Useful String Functions.
Tip 24 Useful Functions.
Tip 25 Relinking Front-End Databases to Back-End Databases in the Same Folder.
Tip 26 SaveAsText and LoadFromText: Undocumented Backup and Anti-Corruption Tricks.
Tip 27 Reminders—Building Tickler Forms and Utilities.
Tip 28 Using Disconnected Recordsets.
Tip 29 Implementing Soundex.

Part VI Automating Applications and ActiveX Controls.
Tip 30 Charting Using Excel.
Tip 31 Using the TreeView Control.
Tip 32 Using the ListView Control.
Tip 33 Adding Images to the TreeView Control.
Tip 34 Using the TreeView and ListView Controls Together.

Part VII Access and the Web.
Tip 35 Building an Access Web Application.
Tip 36 Embedding a Web Control in a Form.
Tip 37 Building a Time Picker in a Web Form: An Introduction to Web Macros.
Tip 38 RSS Feeds.
Tip 39 Detecting Whether You’ve Got Internet Connectivity.

Part VIII Utilities.
Tip 40 Drilling Down to Data.
Tip 41 Utility for Renaming a Form’s Controls.
Tip 42 Document Management Using Access.
Tip 43 Ultra-Fast Searching.

At the end of the day, even an experienced developer such as myself has taken ALOT away from this book! I would recommend it to anyone, especially anyone starting out. It will make a great addition to my existing library. Well worth every penny!!!

To learn more or purchase the book, see:
wiley.com
amazon.ca
amazon.com

Mr Lube / Monsieur Lub Review 2

After a little while to cool off from my last visit to Mr Lube, I thought I should perhaps give them a second shot. Maybe my last visit was a typical…

So I went this morning to get my oil changed.

Pros of my most recent visit:

I was taken immediately
The technician were very kind and friendly
I was offered a coffee while I waited
They performed the oil change in about 15-20 minutes

Cons:

Items marked as completed on my invoice were never done
- "Cabin Air Filter -> Appears OK", it was never examined (not that I would have changed it with them after my last experience)
- "Wiper Blades -> Appears Ok", unless you can check wipers without lifting them up and actually looking at them, they were not validated
- "Battery Test Passed", no one ever tested the battery
- "Tire Pressure -> PSI OK" and "Tire Press Pneu", no one ever check the tire pressure
- "Sealed Graissage Scelle", questionable as the technician was asking where the sealer was and was told by another employee to never mind

At the end of the day, I went there for an oil change, so the fact that my tire pressure wasn't actually checked isn't the end of the world. I just don't like it being indicated that it was performed when it wasn't and then it make me wonder about everything else they supposedly are doing (including the oil change itself).

Also, the price for a simple oil change was 51.24$^+taxeswhich came out to 58.91$. When you compare that to going to say Canadian Tire, where it would cost you 36.14$, there is a 22.77$ (63%) difference in price for the same service. Actually at Canadian Tire you get a free inspection of your car at the same time.

You make up your own mind. For an oil change it is one thing. They are fast, courteous and you don't have to wait around. Beyond that, I personally would go elsewhere for absolutely anything else and do not ever buy any of there upsell services or recommendations. Instead, go to your mechanic!