October 2nd 2008
I’m in Canada, not East Labobia.
It’s been a long time since I had a good blog rant…today might be the day.
(I want to preface this by saying that I do not intend to offend any East Labobians. As far as I know, East Labobia is a fictional country.)
I remember when I was a kid, I loved reading Archie comics. It’s as clear to me as if it were yesterday, summer days sitting under a tree reading about Archie’s twisted love triangle. It was then that I learned it sucks to live in Canada when you want to order stuff from magazines or books.
All the little giveaways and freebies throughout the comics were so cool but “Not available in Canada”. Hmph. No Sea Monkeys for me. It was like this big huge celebration if I ever found something that I could order that would be shipped to the Great White North. (Keep in mind here that I’m not 30 yet, this wasn’t the 1800s or anything when it probably would have been easier to get stuff across the border cause I don’t think there was a Customs thing back then. Or a border? Anyway, I digress.)
If you live in Canada (or Hawaii cause that state seems to be excluded from everything that Canada’s excluded from in my experiences) you’ve probably had this frustration tons of times yourself. Old Navy – great stuff on their website! There’s a store ten minutes from me. They have these great online deals all the time, but only within the US. That’s fine I guess. It’s retail. I’ve grown to expect that type of thing.
Here’s what I don’t get – how is it possible that web based stuff limits Canadians? Hello! It’s the Internet. Why does it matter where my IP address is?
I looked into Google Checkout or something or other a month or so ago because a client mentioned they would prefer to pay that way. I’m all about making it easy for people to pay so I looked into it. I couldn’t find a drop down option for Canada. There was the US and the UK, I believe. Funny, I bet if I wanted an AdWords account there wouldn’t be a problem taking my Canadian money.
Then there’s Basecamp. My online collaboration tool of choice. I recommend to everyone. But when I looked into signing up as an affiliate there was nothing there for Canadians. Funny again. They are really accommodating when it comes to taking a couple hundred dollars each month from me even though I’m in Canada but I can’t make some extra money by recommending it to people? Hmmm.
Let’s see…oh yes. Ring Central. The company I use for my Virtual PBX needs (fancy term for telephone system with extensions and stuff.) I had to update my credit card information and their interface doesn’t include the proper fields for a Canadian address. I had to pick up the phone and wait for a representative.
See a pattern here? These places don’t mind doing business with Canadians for certain things, but it seems like there’s a bit of laziness or some huge oversights there.
One time I was creating an online flyer for a real estate agent and the site allowed me to create a flyer for a Canadian address, but they didn’t have Newfoundland on the dropdown list. A whole province was missing. I had to call to see if they could add it and then they put the wrong provincial abbreviation on there and I don’t know if it ever got fixed.
Finally, these final examples boggle my mind the most.
I would love to have the option to watch Grey’s Anatomy or Desperate Housewives (my favoritest shows) online if I were to miss them (don’t know if Canadians can get Tivo yet) but even though we get the big US networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc., when I go to the ABC website to watch my shows, it says that I can’t cause I’m in Canada.
The other day I went to check out Pandora which is supposedly the coolest online music thing ever, to see what it’s all about. I wish I could tell you, but oh wait. Since my IP address is in Canada I don’t have the option of getting past the “So sorry, we value your business” crap to see what it’s all about.
Wasn’t there some Free Trade agreement or something signed between the US and Canada? What’s all this about? Really. Everyone buys stuff online – we’re living in a Global Economy. Why do these American companies feel like it’s okay (or smart?) to rule out an entire country and a neighboring-closest-ally country at that!?
Anyway, I’m almost finished of my coffee now and I’m all riled up. Any Canadians who feel my pain? Can you think of other examples?
To my US friends, did you know that we Canadians are living with these frustrations? Have you ever tried to send away for something or sign up for something only to learn it was not available in the US? I really doubt it, but would love to hear if it’s ever happened.
PS: Dear Old Navy, Google, Basecamp, Ring Central, Pandora and ABC.com, I purposely did not include links back to your sites because I don’t believe that Canadians really exist to you people unless they are directly sending you money. So there!
(There, that oghta show ‘em how darn mad I am. 
)
12 Comments »
Victoria on 02 Oct 2008 at 10:17 am #
As an American who will soon be moving to your lovely country allow me to make you feel a bit better by sharing my point of view.
True, you may not be able to get services as easily and readily as a US based consumer but on the other hand our country is in such a deep and disturbing economic mess that most of us can’t afford to buy anything online even as easy as companies make it for us. Our property values are in the toilet while our mortgages are sky high. We think twice to drive across town to the local Walmart because we wonder if the savings from the products we buy there will offset the extra gallons of extremely expensive gas we’ll spend to get there. Our healthcare system is outrageously expensive and if you happen to not be able to get insurance (like if you are pregnant or have a pre-existing condition or are self-employed and can’t afford the premiums) you might as well throw in the towel if you ever get sick or pregnant because you will need to choose between eating or paying your medical bills.
And let’s not forget the disintegration of our school systems. My home state of Florida has one of the worst public schools systems in the country so you would have to pay for private school education for your children to get a half decent education. We are still fighting a war in Iraq while most Americans have no idea why we are still there spending billions of dollars while our national deficit climbs to the trillions of dollars.
Do you feel better about your complaints now? I love being an American and I love my country but I’m about to pack my whole life and move to Canada. That should tell you something about how bad things are here. Hope that little amount of perspective will help you feel better about being Canadian and dealing with American companies. No doubt they need to make changes to their systems to make it easier for Canadians to do business with them but I’ll take those annoyances any day as a Canadian resident than dealing with the depressing mess my beautiful country is currently in.
Jaime Mann on 02 Oct 2008 at 10:32 am #
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Victoria!
It’s a scary time for all of us with the US economy being so shaky right now. I still think I should be able to sign up for Pandora or as a Basecamp affiliate though
I guess I’ll just thank my lucky stars that I was born in this wonderful country, whether or not I can do business with certain US companies.
Mark on 02 Oct 2008 at 12:45 pm #
Basically comes down to laws (copyright etc) and accounting (taxes etc). There are big differences between Canada and the US in these matters and most companies don’t think that there is a big enough market to spend the resources learning the Canadian legal and financial systems so they just shut us off.
To get by the filters that block Canadians by IP address (ABC, NBC etc) try the free program called http://anchorfree.com/downloads/hotspot-shield/
Installs a toolbar that basically sends all your traffic through a US server and then to the website so it looks like your coming from the US. I have used it to watch the odd show on NBC online
Jaime Mann on 02 Oct 2008 at 1:02 pm #
Awesome tip Mark! Thanks!
Uncle Darrell on 02 Oct 2008 at 1:24 pm #
Whew! What a controversial Blog and the even more controversial response from the US Resident! Love lots of conversation and debate!
Please…. don’t EVEN get me started on the crumbling US Buy Out to assist big market financiers when the homeless and hunger rate in the US is sjy-rocketing????! And The IRAQ War? I cannot even go there!
Thank you for such a wonderful and informative rant! Count me in if a debate ensues!
PS…. I am SOOOOO sick of products that when you look at them they are stamped “MADE IN CHINA!”…. what? Canada can’t make a PEI souvenir or we can’t make something as simple as a child’s toy? And The Chinese food products at discount stores… ie The Dollar Store…. what is that all about????
Kathy Colaiacovo on 02 Oct 2008 at 3:27 pm #
Jaime!!!!
You are so funny, sad thing is I totally know where you are coming from!
Just today I couldn’t enter a contest from my Better Home & Gardens magazine (I can get my subscription though!).
Every week when I am on the Wednesday VA Networking Seminars (http://www.vanetworking.com), which I don’t like to miss, I forget to set my VCR (sad) I miss Bones. First time I didn’t think it was a big deal – I had heard of Fox on Demand – but alas, it figured out where my IP was as well! That one is the worst… (however, I think I will try that link above
I think people should get in the global spirit and let us Canadians in the door!
Scott on 03 Oct 2008 at 10:03 am #
If you have cable or satellite you can get Tivo-like abilities with a PVR. We have one from Eastlink and it’s a real life saver (if you are a TV fanatic). The only time we miss stuff is when they have an unscheduled Presidential address in place of “regularly scheduled programming”.
Great post!
Scott
Sally Kuhlman on 03 Oct 2008 at 8:04 pm #
Okay Victoria’s comment is totally depressing. Can we all move to Canada with her? My advice to everyone is to stop watching the news and wait for this storm to pass. If you are concerned about your investments here is some hopeful information: http://ifa.com/Worried_about_your_Investments.aspx
I don’t get why the networks don’t let you watch the shows? They’re free. Crazy world! I was just in Canada and saw all the same corporate box stores I see here. Wonder why they can do business in Canada in a store front but not via the internet.
And I have to say crossing the border was not pleasant either way. Why do border patrol people automatically assume you are guilty until proven innocent? Geez they gave us the 3rd degree, I started thinking maybe I did do something wrong by the way they treated us. The paranoia of borders is really tiresome when you like to travel.
Looks like your post has caused a rant from all of us. LOL
Haley on 09 Oct 2008 at 2:32 pm #
Hi Jaime,
I live in Canada and I share your frustrations, but I’m past getting frustrated. I just accept it and move on, what else can you do..
Some of the things that I’ve noticed that aren’t available to Canadians are:
- A service that PayPal provides, say you want to purchase something from a website that doesn’t offer PayPal then if you are an American you can download a toolbar that will generate a temporary credit card number that links to your PayPal account. But it’s not available to Canadians.
- Mint.com is a personal finance site that helps you manage your money, but again not available in Canada. On that same track when I’ve tried to use software like Microsoft Money for my personal bank accounts I haven’t been able to add all my accounts because some of them are never supported.
- Another website I’ve been shut down at is MTV.com. I tried watching some of the MTV Video Music Awards to see what the big deal was and I end up with a sorry not available outside of USA.
In regards to the Tivo question, save your money and don’t buy a cable box with PVR. You can get a Sony DVD Recorder with a Hard Drive for around $300 or get any other brand of DVD Recorder but make sure it has a hard drive. Any cable box with PVR I’ve seen was well over that price and lacks the functionality that a DVD Recorder with Hard Drive has. I can use my cable box to change channels by setting the shows I want to record. Then I just set my DVD Recorder to record at those times. I initially record to the Hard Drive, I rarely dub anything on to a DVD but it has come in handy once or twice. While my unit is recording I can watch a DVD, watch a previously recorded program or say I am recording a program because I couldn’t be there to see the beginning I can start watching it even though it’s still recording and through fast forwarding commercials I can eventually catch up to where the program is at in real time. Cool, huh. I’m sure this technology will come down in price but for now I think it was well worth the price. Right now I am recording about 10 hours of programs every week that I watch at other times because I’m busy in the evening and can’t watch the programs while their actually on. The hardest thing it that we still call it “taping” even though there are no tapes.
Haley
Connie McVicker on 10 Oct 2008 at 4:43 pm #
Hey Jaime!
Well I can’t say that I understand your specific frustrations as I live in the..eh hum, ‘not so good right now’ U. S. of A and we have our own issues at the moment as Victoria pointed out. I do envy the fact that Canada actually “gets” the whole healthcare issue and takes care of their citizens. I was just billed over $500 for an emergency room visit in August…and that was WITH insurance. Ha! What a joke!
Anyway, hang in there. I personally love to work with you, my Canadian clients and team members, so this is one gal who has no problem doing business with Canadians!
Danielle on 23 Oct 2008 at 6:11 pm #
Hey Jaime,
Hope all has been going well for you since FoVA ‘08.
I’ve had some of the same frustrations. Didn’t know about the TV channel sites. It can, at times, be frustrating to be Canadian in this virtual era. Try adding being a French Canadian to that !! Woo hoo! I’ve had loads of fun cancelling shopping cart account, aweber account and others because I couldn’t translate the value of some fields.
I’m reasonable, I don’t expect them to translate it in French for me. I just want the flexibility to do so myself if I need to. I was lucky enough to have found software that allows me to do this.
Oh, did you know that Grey’s anatomy and Desperate Housewives episodes are available on CTV.ca video player ?
Danielle
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