Purolator Package and
Carleton University
Act(s) of consuming:
Using
Product: Purolator
Envolope – Ink Cartridge Shipment from HP (USA)
Arrived 10:30am the day after
ordering
Price: Free for myelf but
based on purolator’s website would have cost the company approximately $20
Price of Simialar Products (different brands):
|
Xpresspost USA
Prepaid Envolpe
$21.75
Ships in 2-3 days
|
Why I chose this brand?:
Today a package came in the mail, printer ink that I
had been expected from HP’s online store. I did not have a say in choosing this
brand and was upset by this. Why upset by this? Well, for starters, neither of
my roommates nor I were home; therefore instead of the package being delivers a
slip was dropped off telling me to go to the Purolator store to pick up the
package. The Purolator store is in a very inconvenient location from where I
live. It takes me two buses and a ten minute walk to get there on a good day.
Today Ottawa had a storm so it would have taken me much longer. As a result, I
will now be waiting till another day to get my package. Due to the
inconvenience of the stores location when I have a choice I send or receive
mail through Canada Post. Unlike Purolator, Canada post has a location that is
within walking distance of my home and therefore very easy to get to.
Another reason that I generally use Canada Post over
Puraltor is that Canada Post is government run, whereas Purolator is a private
corporation. I am not sure why but the fact that Canada Post is governmentally
owned gives me more confidence in the companies services. However, I have had
previous dealing with both companies, and my experiences with Canada Post have
not always been ideal. For instance, the express post packages I send to and
from my hometown, Kenora, often do not arrive till after the three day promised
shipping time. There have also been a number of times when I specified that I
did not want the package left outside and it was. On the other hand, I have
never had any unplesant experiences with Purolator. The company has always
delivered my packages on time and followed my delivery instructions. This
discussion has therefore caused me to question why I trust Canada Post as a
public corporation over Purolator a privately owned company. Perhaps it is
because I have a general dislike or big corporations. Where possible I often
try to support small businesses, such as family owned restuarants or
coffeehouses. I certianly do not have full faith in the Canadian government but
the notion of a public corporation seems more appealing than a privately owned
one where coporate elites and large stockholders are in control.
Limitations on choice?:
As I have mentioned I had no choice, or at least
assume that I had no choice, in choosing between Purolator or another shipping
company. When I placed my order online I was asked to pick a speed in which I
wanted my package delivered. Since all shipping times were free I chose the
least amount of time to have it shipped by, being the next day. It did not
appear as though I had a choice between companies only times. However, maybe
had a chosen a slower shipping speed HP would have used another shipping
company to send the package. Or perhaps I could have called and requested a
different shipping company been used. That being said, it did not appear to me
at the time of placing my order that I had a choice between services.
The speed in which I needed the package was also a
limitation on my choice. Since my ink cartriges were close to being empty and
therefore I would not be able to print at home if the new ink cartriges did not
arrrive in the next few days I picked the shortest shipping time. As I said
before it is possible that the slower shipping speeds would have meant that
another shipping company would be used. If this was so then had I not been in
urgent need of getting my package I would have had more choice between
corporations.
It should be noted that for the
first time since beginning this blog cost did not seem to play a factor in
deciding which “brand” or shipping company to go with. As I have said each of
the possible shipping times given by HP was the same price and HP did not
appear to offer a decision between shipping companies. However, if one
requested another company be used this may cost them more money and therefore
those with more money would have the advantage of being more easily to make
such a decision than those with lower incomes.
Act(s) of consuming: Using
Product:
Carleton University Bacholars Degree
Price: approximately
$6300.00 per year
Price of Simialar Products (different brands):
|
University of Manitoba
Approximately 4-5 thousand
Per year
(Brittany Seradski)
|
York University
Approximately $6,500.00
Per year
(Jason Webster)
|
Queen’s University
Approximately 6-7 thousand
Per year
(Jamie Casigay)
|
Why I chose this brand?:
When I was first planning to go to University I always
thought that I would be attending Univeristy of Manitoba. This University is
one of the closest to my hometown and where my mother and father live, Kenora.
The school being only three hours away I would be able to go visit my parents
on some weekends and holidays. Furthermore, my aunt, uncle, and four of my
cousins had graduated from University of Manitoba. These were also the only
family members who I was close to who had graduated from any university. I was,
therefore, looking forward to spending more time with them in the city and
gettting advice from them about school. Yet, when I when I was deciding which
program I would take in University I soon realized that the program I wished to
take, Human Rights, was not offered in any of the Manitoban universities.
Not being able to take the human rights program close to
home I decided to go to York University for Human Rights. This school got great
reviews, was in a big city and met my need to try something new. It also had
more Vegan food options on campus than any other university. This may seem to
you to be a bad reason to choose a school, but being Vegan was, at the time,
was a very important aspect of my idenity. Not wanting to have difficulty finding
Vegan food and staying healthy I chose the university that offered me the most
options to fit my lifestyle. This along with the amazing professors I got to
experience and some lifelong friends were some of the best things I remember
from York University. A good education and good friends are important to me.
Yet, my general expeirence at York was unpleasant. I was bullied on my
residence floor and had a lot of difficulty, coming from a small town, ajusting
to “life in the big city.” So, I transferred to Carleton.
Carleton had been my second choice of universities at the
end of highschool. That I was adding a Communication Studies major to my degree
was the biggest influence in choosing this school to transfer to. Carleton has
a very acclaimed communication studies program and is one of the only schools
where one can double major in both of these programs. Secondly, the school was
also offering me more scholarship money than any of the other schools I applied
to. Lastly, that Carleton was in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, also had an
influence on my decision. As Canada’s capital people often talk about Ottawa
getting more resources and attention. For instance, many people had mentioned
to me that unlike other cities Ottawa’s streets and other public areas are
always kept clean. Carleton also seems to take into consideration that it is
located in Canada’s capital and that this has meaning in its branding. Carleton
brands itself as “Canada’s Capital University.” In using this logo Carleton
suggests both that Carleton is a “top” university but also that there is some
significance to the school being in Canada’s capital city. This type of
branding seems to support the idea or assumption that living in Ottawa is
better than living in some other cities.
Limitations on choice?:
As in most of my earlier posts one’s income influenced
their decision to consume a particular brand. This is also the same for
universties where attending certain schools costs more or less than others.
Those who cannot afford a more expensive school like Queens, for instance, are
more likely to attend a school such as University of Manitoba that costs half
the tuition price. Students who come from other countries and wish to study in
Canada may be especially disadvantaged by these tuition costs. International
students are expected to pay a much larger amount of money than domestic
students. Carleton, as an example, charges international students almost twice
as much to study at the school, approximately $18,800.00. Ones nationality or
place of birth, therefore, can affect how much one pays for post-secondary
schooling in Canada, and therefore where or if they study in Canada.
Similarily, where one lives within Canada may also affect where they study.
Travel costs within Canada vary based on where one lives and where ones school
is. So while the travel costs to get to Winnipeg from Kenora is about $50.00 -
$150.00, to depending on mode of transportation, it costs approximately
$300.00- $600.00 to fly to travel from Kenora to Ottawa, depending on the date
one is flying. One who does not have the money to spend on such travel expenses
would therefore be unable to attend a school this far away from home.
Another factor that might limit ones choice of university
is whether or not the university accepts their application. The university has
to chose who to accept into the school and who to refuse and will only accept a
certain number of individuals. Those who do not get accepted do not have the
opporunity to attend the university. Moreover, those who get into some
universities and not others will also have a more limited choice in which
university to attend. Luckily for me, however, I got accepted into each of the
schools I applied to and was able to chose between them. Yet, I was limited in
only being able to apply to three schools without being charged more money. I
am also unable to be registered in more than one school at a time which also
limits my choice and my decisions about courses are limited to the school I am
attending. If Univeristy of Ottawa offered a course I wished to take I would
not be able to because I am not attending that school but Carleton.
Finally, another factor that does not currenlty limit
myself but could limit others is accessibility. According to my friends who
have physically disabilities, a number of who are in wheelchairs, Carleton is
supposed to be one of the most accessible campuses. This suggests that those
with disabilities would not be able to attend other universities because they
are more difficult to get around in. One event that draws attention to the lack
of accessibility on campuses, particularly on Carleton campus is the Wheelchair
challenge. This event occurs every year and challenges students to get around
campus in a wheeelchair for a day.
Works Cited
Casigay, J. Personal communication.
Seradski, B. Personal Communication.
Webster, J. Personal Communication.
