THE DIRT ON PETRO-CANADA’S CAR WASH SEASON PASS INSURANCE

A clean vehicle is important because I meet lots of clients. Since handwashing is inconvenient, we have a SuperWorks Car Wash Season Pass from Petro-Canada. This card gives you a SuperWash once a day for 90 days. You choose the vehicle and could even lend your card to a friend. The pass launched in 2008 for $149+tax and has crept up to  $179+tax. You save $10 by reloading online.

If you register your card with Petro-Canada, you get free insurance: they’ll replace a lost or stolen card without charge.

Great Need

I’ve been doing highway driving and have bugs splattered on the windshield. That’s where a squeegee and car wash help. Besides, tomorrow is Mothers Day. Getting a car wash is easier than vacuuming the house.

I was about to get a SuperWash but couldn’t find my Season Pass. I looked and looked. Now’s the time to see how they handle claims.

The Expected Process

I figured that I’d

1. Go online to report the card was missing
2. Print out a form authorizing a free replacement
3. Get a new card at a Petro-Canada location

In the background, they’d cancel the old card. Quick. Simple. Wrong.

The Real Process

The actual process is much more cumbersome.

A whole network for customer service? That looks impressive. I phoned and listened to their menu options (which have changed to serve us better). Once I got to the right spot, the recording says:

“Our office is currently closed. Please contact us Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. Thank you for calling Petro-Canada.”

Why doesn’t their website say they have limited operating hours? It’s a warm, sunny Saturday. I’ve got an unwashed car for the weekend, including Mothers Day. I don’t want to vacuum the house.

Another Path

Twitter allows companies to provide excellent customer service (four examples).

Petro-Canada started @petrocanada in January 2009 but has only has 669 tweets. The latest is more than two months old. I didn’t get a timely response.

Too Demanding?

If I can’t find my car wash card, is that Petro-Canada’s fault? Not really but they offer replacement insurance. We live in a world of 7 days-a-week shopping. Why is their Customer Service Network closed when their car washes are open?

Besides, I’m paying a premium because they keep sending me emails to read. I’m also spending extra time filing a claim.

Links

• Great customer service from Rogers
• Surviving a week without a dial tone
• Why we switched to Ooma phone service
• Why after-sales service stinks for life insurance
• image courtesy of Kevin Connors

PS Now to find the vacuum cleaner …

SHOULD YOU BUY INSURANCE FROM AN ADVISOR FROM ANOTHER PROVINCE?

We explored the merits of changing advisors when you move to another city. Let’s look at something more extreme: buying life insurance from an advisor in another province. That’s possible since licencing is province.

Why Would An Advisor Bother?

The advisor might live in a place where the opportunities seem limited. Acres of Diamonds (speech or book) tells us about a traveller seeking riches who finds them after returning home. Why would an advisor who knows the story look for clients far away?

The advisor might be marketing across provincial borders. For instance, an advisor who targets prospects at national conferences meets people from across the country. When a prospect shows interest, it’s difficult to turn away. Getting licenced where the prospect lives is an easy solution.

Mystique

Distance intrigues us. I got invited to a local event with a cross-border speaker — even though experts live locally.

An advisor from afar may have different perspectives and make suggestions that look more innovative. This assumes there aren’t making blunders because they aren’t familiar with valid reasons for differences (e.g., in tax laws).

Moving

You might have moved to another province. If you’re a big client, your insurance advisor might get licenced where you now live to sell additional coverage to you and your new connections.

If your advisor visits, expect them to see other people to spread the costs over more opportunities.

Limited Selection

The more experienced advisors tend to live in larger cities. If you live in a small place, you might not get the optimal advice or service. If you’re forced to look outside, an advisor from another province may seem like a reasonable choice.

The Costs

When dealing with a distant advisor, will you get the same level of service you get locally? It’s tough to know. Technology makes staying in touch easier and you probably don’t have many in person meetings with a local advisor either.

An advisor who does business elsewhere incurs higher costs (airfare, food accommodation). What do they do to compensate?

• sell products with higher margins?
• sell larger amounts of coverage?
• place more implied pressure on you to buy now?

There’s also the personal costs. When you travel on business, are you more productive than at your normal office? What about the advisor’s family? They pay a high price too since they aren’t together as much. The extra revenue helps offset the pain and missed school performances. That revenue comes from you.

Links

• Should you change advisors when you move?
• The lure of “exclusive” financial strategies
• Advice about advisors from Game Of Thrones
• image courtesy of Photl

PS Local advisors pay taxes locally, which helps build your community.