A Campaign Everyone Can Support...

Normally the word "campaign" is associated with "politics" and "politicians".  Thus, the words "campaign," "politics," and "politicians" tend to leave people with their eyes rolling and wanting to leave ASAP. 

However, I finally found a campaign completly devoid of "politics" and "politicians", or at least so far it is, that everyone can support. 

The Cookie Monster on SNL

Convinced?  No, didn't think so...watch Cookie's Youtube video...

Finally convinced?  Support the campaign via posting Facebook here.

Now finally there really is a campaign we all can support.

The Usual at Harvey's

Headed out for a hamburger and decided to head to an old reliable name in hamburgers in Canada.  No not McDonald's, but Harvey's (9471 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill).  

When I entered it was about 11:45 A.M. and there appeared to be one person working at the grill and not much else going on.  Turns out this location has a drive through and two ladies were working there when there was no one at the front counter.  

Within a minute one of the ladies kindly wandered over to take my order at the counter (i.e. when you arrive you go up to the counter and order like at McDonald's).

The Order: 1 Original Hamburger with fries and a Pepsi.

The burger came quickly and the server inquired what I would like on my burger.  Harvey's does have it's advantages.   Instead of having a prepackaged "here is what you get now go away" attitude you get at McDonald's, you get to choose your toppings.  Then the server puts on the toppings as you tell them what you want on it. 

Following the topping of my burger I headed over to a table with my meal.   The burger, as per usual, was delicious and, amazingly enough, topped just the way I like it.  The fries on the other hand have been better.  Normally at the Aurora Harvey's location there seems to be slightly more fries and better tasting too!  Perhaps at this particular location the fries had been out for a while and hadn't been sold.  Still that is no reason to give them to paying customers. 

Overall, for a decent lunch place Harvey's is pretty good.  However, the Richmond Hill location should pull up it's socks as they do have increasing competition in the area from McDonald's, A&W, Hero Burger and, a local institution, Steer Inn Burgers.  There is also a "Chef Burger" coming soon to Richmond Hill on Yonge Street just north of Highway 7, or at least that is what the sign in the storefront says. It seems Richmond Hill, Ontario is at the centre of a mini suburban burger war.  I think my tummy will have to decide who will win.

What I Expect at a Restaurant

Recently I had a comment come in reply to my review of Casey's Restaurant at Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket.   I've held off in publishing this comment to the post as I felt a reply was duly needed, hence this post.  Also, there should be clarification on what I'm looking for when posting a Restaurant Review on this blog and thought that the below response would also do that nicely.

So first the comment:

"you have obviously never served before... and reading your post is an absolute unreal complaint or even aspect. first off if a server is busy god forbid she drop everything for your table she has 7 others... they try and treat everyone as a guest in their own home but unfortunately there are tables much more needy then others. For you to insult a server at that and not tip... you realize they make less then 9 dollars an hour?? how about you take a step back next time pull your head from you but and realize your not the only table in the place.... ESP if they are understaffed or busy.... people like you make our job as servers so much harder. maybe try serving or realize our jobs are much harder then you think thanks to dicks like you. Iv never been to caseys but im sure as hell to go just because of your stupid complaint."

It is much more easier to reply to the comment when it is broken down into repliable bits:

"you have obviously never served before...and reading your post is an absolute unreal complaint or even aspect. "

Very true, I've never been a waiter in a restauarant before.  But I've had a lot of experience being a restuarant customer throughout southern Ontario, New York City, Vancouver and Las Vegas.  I've watched  many a server do their jobs.

"first off if a server is busy god forbid she drop everything for your table she has 7 others... they try and treat everyone as a guest in their own home but unfortunately there are tables much more needy then others."

No, I'm not expecting the server to drop everything and serve me.  I do have patience.  Where I get a little irritated is when I've duly requested my bill and she has served the other table with 8 people on two occassions before dropping off my bill.  At this particular restaurant, as stated in the review, she spent an large amount of time serving them:

"We watched our waitress first take the drink orders of a new large group (8 or so people) seated near us. Then come back with their drink order and return to take the order. A brief stare from myself as she was taking orders brought an apology that our bill was coming. The waitress dissapeared soon after taking the order."

It took at least 3 minutes for her to stop by and take their drink order and dissappear.  Another three for her to pull the drinks together and return to drop them off.  Then she could have easily excused her self by saying "I will be right back in 2 minutes to take your food order, I'm just going to drop off the bill to that table over there" and done that before scooting back over to the table to take the order.  All I was basically asking was to get the bill in a reasonable amount of time.  At a restaurant like Casey's where there was a host at the front and a couple of other servers around who could have helped, I wasn't asking for rocket science.


"For you to insult a server at that and not tip... you realize they make less then 9 dollars an hour?? how about you take a step back next time pull your head from you but and realize your not the only table in the place...."

Again, I realize I'm not the only table at this place.  However, when I visit a restauarant like Casey's I'm also paying for decent, not necessarily the best, service.  Thus, I could care less as to what the waiter/waitress is making.  That is a contract between the restaurant owners/managers and the server themselves.  As a customer I could care less what the serving staff is making in wages, here is what I'm looking for:

1. Decent timely service with a smile when taking the order, bringing the food out and attending our table to ensure our meal is satisfactory.

2. Decent tasting food that is not over or undercooked. 

3. I do appreciate value for money.

4. Timely presentation of the bill when requested (i.e. it shouldn't take 10 minutes to figure out how much a customer owes the restauarant).

5. Clean amenities (e.g. entrance, bathrooms, floors, etc.)

For all of the above I ensure I tip.  However, if I get irritated with some or all of the above (i.e. at Casey's Sweet Potato fries that taste like cardboard and 10 minutes to even present the bill), I do leave less to no tip.  I feel good service from serving and support staff should be rewarded, but bad service should not be encouraged.  Hence the tip I choose to leave will reflect this. 

"ESP if they are understaffed or busy.... people like you make our job as servers so much harder. maybe try serving or realize our jobs are much harder then you think thanks to dicks like you.".

I attended Casey's on a Saturday evening.  Most restaurants in that area of similar value (e.g. Swiss Chalet, Boston Pizza, etc.) are normally lined up out the door.  So Casey's would not be understaffed for this evening as customer volume is expected to be higher on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the year.  I would expect more customers on those nights in comparison to a Tuesday evening.  Thus, the staffing should reflect the need for more service due to more customers. 

If a restaurant on a Saturday is so run off it's feet because it is understaffed this is a reflection on poor management and the workers should be complaining about it as the tips will obviously be lower. This is because people are less likely to tip and return to a restaurant if they receive rushed poor service. 

A server's job isn't easy, I fully admit it.  But a customer has the right to expect a certain level of service, food and atmosphere.  This is after all what a customer pays for and tips.  So if a server wants that tip, they had better show a decent effort for it.  As for the waitress at Casey's, she seemed more interested in the tip from the table of eight than she did in finishing up a decent experience with us. 

"Iv never been to caseys but im sure as hell to go just because of your stupid complaint."


Congratulations! I hope you get/had better service than we did. 
 
So hopefully that clears everything up in terms of what I expect at a restauarant. I've nearly seen everything from the great (Swiss Chalet service) to the worst (also Swiss Chalet) and everything in between.  My wife and I obviously provide repeat business to places we like (Jonathan's Fine Foods in Aurora) and rarely return to places we have had issues with (recently at London Pub).  However, we do allow places to improve by returning in six months to a year to a place with a bad review.  We also return to a place we can't decide if we had a mediocre time (i.e. can't figure if we like the place or not) to give it another try.
 
Bottom line, if you want our business you have to give us a good time and decent food.

What's Going on at Yonge & Tyler?

Did you ever drive by a place and wonder what is going on inside?

Did you ever drive by a church and wonder what the people in side are up to? What draws them there?  What they believe in?  

Recently Aurora United Church released a video outlining some of the different groups and asked people what draws them to the building on a regular basis.  People of all ages responded and gave their thoughts and insights and this video resulted:

How to Improve YRT/VIVA: Part 2: A Success Story

This past Friday I left work on time and started walking along the route of the TTC 107B Keele North Route that YRT contracts the TTC to do through the southern end of York Region.  As I rounded the bend in the road, I noticed a YRT Supervisor sitting in his vehicle with a clipboard in his lap. 

I inquired if the bus I was looking for had gone by yet. 

His answer was "Yes" four minutes before the scheduled time.  I did a double take and hung my head.  It looked like it was going to be the usual walk up to Rutherford Road to catch the next bus on my commute home. 

The YRT Supervisor signalled to hop into his vehicle and offered to drive me to Rutherford Road.  I hopped in and off we went.   But before doing so he promised to talk to the TTC Supervisor for the TTC 107B on Monday about the earlyniss of the bus and the fact there was no excuse to be that early. He dropped me off and swung around to talk to the TTC driver who was waiting at the end of the route to turn around and head back south.

YRT, after a year of complaints from myself (including to the Mayor and Regional Councillor of Aurora at the time, Phyllis Morris) with very little to show for it results, is finally listening to it's riders on this route.  Often the TTC 107B is either really early or late in comparison to the posted schedule along the northern sections of its routing.  Since YRT pays the TTC under contract, YRT should be investigating this end of the route a little better than it has.  However, they have been a little better than the TTC.

When a complaint is filed with the TTC, the call centre contact takes the message and nothing is done, not even a call back to say they are investigating or whether any changes are going to be made.  

To make matters worse the schedule in the two years I've taken the route has never been fully revised.  Contrast this to the Route 85 which has had it's schedule changed at least three times in past two years.

For a little while I was quiet on this route. I figured since YRT basically refused to take action after complaints through YRT Customer Service and inquires from a Regional Councillor, Phyllis Morris, that there was no hope.  But a couple of weeks ago I was miffed that I saw at TTC 107B bus go roaring past me as I was crossing the street to the bus stop.  The bus was at least five minutes early.  So, with a walk ahead of me, I called on my cell phone to relay my anger to the YRT Customer Service line. 

Funny enough, a week later I had again lost hope.  There was no call back from YRT Supervisors or the TTC on the issue.  I called, the Friday before voting day, again letting my displeasure be heard.  On Monday I got a call from a YRT Supervisor who promised some follow up on the route.  He promised that periodically there would be a YRT Supervisor monitoring the route for schedule adherence.  The results that I've seen from one day show the bus is anywhere five minutes early to seven minutes late.  Out of seven buses headed northbound there were only one really on time (at plus 1 minute up) while there were three late (3 to seven minutes late) and three way ahead of time that they should have stopped to let the clock catch up to them on the schedule.   So obviously some supervision to ensure schedule adherence is required.

Hopefully with YRT Supervisors reporting the issues to the TTC the route will improve. This will come one of two ways:

1. Either the TTC will improve the service by better monitoring of the route drivers to ensure schedule adherence (i.e. having the bus hold at a stop to ensure it is not ahead of schedule). Also, hopefully the TTC will revisit adjust the schedule to better reflect actual travel times and make more timely revisions to the schedule on this route.

2. If the TTC fails to do this, perhaps YRT can take over the route at least in York Region and fix the problem themselves.  Although rumour has it that YRT doesn't have enough vehicles to replace the TTC vehicles on this route and others like it.  But perhaps in the future as YRT grows and purchases more buses that this issue will change.  

For now there is at least some success in getting YRT to pay attention to this route they contract from the TTC.  As a taxpayer and rider of YRT, I expect YRT to watch to better watch their contractors, even if it is the TTC who should be running a similar operation in the first place.   At least now YRT has taken notice and has so far refused to slough off the issue as a "TTC issue".   I look forward to improvements on this route in the future as a follow up on this first success.

Halloween Candy

Sometimes I'm left wondering what is going on in the world these days.   Halloween night was one of those days.  My wife and I dutifully bought one hundred pieces of candy and waited to see how Halloween night would turn out.    I had previously done a little observation of the local neighbourhood and watched kids come and go from the houses. 

But to my chagrin, things started at 6:45 P.M. with kids running next door to us for Tricker Treating.  Then the kids would run by our door and up the street skipping a bunch of houses.  The next group did the same thing.

 I studied this whole phenomenon by going for a walk around the block.  I noted the kids travelled in groups up and down the street hitting houses they seemed to know and skipping ours.  I also noted that barely one in four houses had their lights on and were accepting Trick or Treaters. The kids seemed to be all clumped with a few parents tailing in behind.  

At 7:20 P.M. we turned our lights out a little dejected.  What a difference a year makes.  Last year at my parents house in Aurora things were pretty much like they were in previous years.  If you had your porch light on and your place lit up, not necessarily with pumpkins, you would have forty to fifty kids show up looking for some loot.

Fast forward a year and instead of handing out candy to the kiddies in costume, I'm at home watching The West Wing on DVD while eating the overpriced Halloween candy I purchased.   Overpriced candy?  My wife says it is because as of November 1st the price for the Halloween candy drops in price big time for some reason.  

Well at least I've learned something for next year.  Enjoy a nice quiet evening at home or if I wish to see some fancy costumes, head to my parents place in Aurora.

Who to Vote for...

If you live in Ontario Monday is the day of municipal political reckoning.  This is the day that the past four years of municipal politics has come down to.  This is the day the future of municipal government hinges on. Monday is municipal voting day.  

The lead up to the day leaves voters with the main question of "WHO TO VOTE FOR?" 

Also other variations of these questions come up as well with voters including:

"Which idiot do I vote for?"

"Rob Ford: To be or not to be? That is the question"

"If I hold my nose and vote, does it make the entire process of voting smell better?"

But usually the first question ("WHO TO VOTE FOR?") is the one many people struggle with.  Normally the answer to this key question is answered by what issues voters care about and how the candidates for election stand on the issues. Over the past couple of months I've watched the races in a number of municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  From these races I've narrowed down the issues that matter to me in how I'll be voting in Richmond Hill and York Region.

Government Cohesiveness: As recent former resident of Aurora, I'm deeply concerned about the fractious council relationships of this past current council.  Aurora Mayor Phyllis Morris has lead a fractious council over the past four years and was part of the previous council before this this current outgoingoing thone.  Respected Aurora Journalist and former Aurora Mayor Dick Illingworth called the 2003-2006 a  "dysfunctional council" and other such terms on many occasion in his columns in The Auroran.

This past term under Mayor Phyllis Morris has found every single department head of senior staff, except for one, resign and either retire or move onto other opportunities at another municipaltity; a "Code of Conduct" be launched outlining rules on how Aurora's Municipal Politicians should abide by even though there is more than enough rules in Ontario's Municipal Act and the Canadian Constitution (including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms); a lawsuit by one councillor against five councillors and the mayor; an Integrity Comissioner Removed from Office;  a lawsuit against 3 Aurora Citizens launched by the Town of Aurora on the Mayor's behalf over Thanksgiving Day weekend; and Campaigning without a permit at the Aurora GO Station by Phyllis Morris.  All of this fractiousness, dysfunction and lawsuits have left Aurora residents wondering what is going on and if the they have a right to speak out on Aurora politics at all.

Voters need to isolate who on council causes the fractiousness and dysfunction.  In Aurora there were two key players who have been on the past two councils, Phyllis Morris and Evelyn Buck.  Phyllis seems to be up to her eyeballs in the issues in Aurora as she is at the centre of two lawsuits and seems to be a member of the previous council that was labelled "dysfunctional" by members of the community and the media.

Evelyn Buck was also a member of the two previous councils as well.  This term she is well known for her open and frank blog about where she stands on the issues of the day on council. The blog has landed her at the centre of Code of Conduct complaints including this one.  However, at no time in any of the complaints that she was highly critical and/or disparaged senior staff do the complaints isolate any single blog entry or Buck's comments as examples.  In fact the first complaint was totally dismissed by respected ethicist and then Aurora Integrity Commissioner David Nitkin as "wholly political".  Funny enough, Nitkin was dismissed within days of filing his report on this complaint.  Eventually another Integrity Commissioner was hired, David Tsoubouchi who accepted a similar complaint about the blogs and again no defining evidence was brought against her and somehow succeeded.   The result of all these complaints to the Integrety Commissioner?  Nothing more than a written reprimand (read: slap on the wrist) and gobs of lawyers fees paid out. 

What would I like to see of the new council coming soon in both Aurora and Richmond Hill?  One that works cooperatively on the town's business.  This is what used to happen before the previous two terms Aurora council.  It was an era where ideas are brought forth, doesn't matter by who, honestly and positively debated to get the town's business done.  All of the town's business should be done cordially and without petty bickering between members of council. An idea brought forth, the idea studied and amended as requried and then implemented.  This is called good governance and how things get done. This is what I'm looking for in the next term of Richmond Hill, Aurora and York Region Councils.

Transit Improvement: Currently YRT/VIVA operates local municipal bus routes throughout York Region.  Also, YRT contracts some TTC Routes to service some of the southern sections of York Region as well that cross the southern border of Steeles Avenue. 

As things are currently, YRT has some work to do to improve transit.  The small items include poor schedule adherance on some of the TTC Routes that seem to have major issues of showing up on time.  I've laid several complaints about the TTC 107B both to YRT and the TTC.  All you get in return from both transit agencies is:

YRT: We've contacted the TTC about the issue and the TTC controls the schedule and the buses on this route. We just handle the service frequencies.  We can't take over the route with our buses as we do not have enough vehicles to do it right now. 

TTC: We'll take a look at the route and call you back.  Then nothing until the next complaint is returned.

It seems to me neither the TTC or YRT care about fixing the TTC issues in the southern end of YRT territory.  Why should YRT care? Because the Bus Stop posts, the tickets and the passes accepted in the southern part of York Region all say "YRT" on them.  Thus, I'm paying my fare to YRT for service that doesn't seem to come when it is supposed to.  As far as not having enough buses?  Well the TTC doesn't have enough either as it seems most of the busses we get on the north routes are the old TTC GMCs from the 1970s that have been rebuilt ten times over and held together by duct tape.  Perhaps over the next four years we can see YRT take over routes like the TTC 107B with some of those brand spanking new YRT buses or run them in tandem with the TTC like YRT used to do on Route 77 with Brampton Transit. 

YRT/VIVA needs to get back in the game when it comes to customer service.  The Management right down to the agents and drivers need some education. Two things need to be completed, more thought given to Customer Service to Customers calling into the YRT/VIVA Call Centre and YRT/VIVA employees following the rules and/or laws that are enforced on passengers.  

Hopefully with a little Customer Service Education and knowledge of YRT Operations situations like I ran into this past April do not occurr again (as described here and here).  Further the trouble in purchasing YRT fares at authorized ticket locations reared it's ugly head back in November 2009.   Bottom line, YRT/VIVA needs to ensure Customer Service issues are easily resolved and fares easily to obtain from authorized agents. Prospective transit riders do not need uneducated staff (never mind Managers) and out of stock fare media to hamper their ride.  Bottom line, these issues should be easily taken care of and not allowed to fester

YRT/VIVA operates under the By-Laws and Policies duly passed by Regional Council of the Region of York.  An example of this is comes from 2007 when the Region of York Council passed a By-Law stipulating there be No Smoking at all YRT Transit Terminals and properties (Regional Municipality of York By-Law No. R-1415-2005-028).  Soon after proclaiming the new By-Law on YRT.ca, one of YRT/VIVA's finest is found smoking on the platform at the GO Transit Bus Terminal at Finch Station.  Now that was 2007, have things improved at all?  From this past week (starting Sunday October 17th and ending October 23rd) I've made note of YRT Drivers smoking at Bernard Terminal and at Rutherford GO Station.  Both of these I would consider to be YRT Terminals although a case could be made for the Rutherford GO Station bus loop being on GO Transit property and thus not part of YRT Terminal.  But, GO Transit has a By-law stating:

No person shall smoke on Authority property, except in designated areas designated as smoking areas.

and at the Rutherford GO Station bus loop there are at least two No Smoking signs clearly posted on the street lamps that overlook the bus loading platforms.

So if YRT and GO Transit both have duly implented By-laws are these only for GO Transit bus drivers and passengers and not for YRT/VIVA drivers?  Some days is sure seems so, because I've even seen the YRT/VIVA drivers light up with their supervisor around.

Thus from this coming election I'm looking for better operated transit services in terms of Customer Service, on time performance of TTC Bus routing in the southern part of the region and a concentration of having YRT/VIVA Drivers and other employees or contractors to start following the rules or facing the punishment we all must bear for breaking the law.

Proper Tax Dollar Spending: All governments, not just municipal, collect money from taxpayers.  Taxpayers earn their money mainly through working.  In Canada almost half of all workers income is taken by the government via taxation (e.g. property taxes, income taxes, etc.).  Governments, in turn, spend the dollars on various items including roads, defence, garbage collection, health care and other items.

From all governments I expect them to spend tax dollars wisely as well as continue to review how these dollars are spent.  Through implementation and reviews of spending new ways can be found to provide the same or improved services at reasonable costs.  Tax dollars should be spent properly and efficently as possible.  Thus words like "gravy train" and "boondoggle" should never have to be brought forth.  If these words do come forward there is obviously something wrong.  Tax dollars should be considered sacred and spent only as needed and never wasted.  Thus, in this coming election I will be looking for representatives that not only promise to be fiscally accountable but also have they proof they have been fiscally accountable in the past.

This election voters should be looking for people that follow the rules and get along with others, improved transit that actually operates on time as per the posted schedule and ensuring that tax dollars are spent wisely and efficiently.   Lawsuits, petty bickering, boondoggles and such do not belong at the council table.  As easy as it seems, this is what I will be looking for in the upcoming election.  Nothing less is simply unsatisfactory.