Awful Customer Service at Tim Hortons (Woodbine Mall, Etobicoke)

[Mia]

Last Sunday I had a very bad experience at Tim Hortons at Woodbine Mall, Etobicoke (beside Fantasy Fair). I was with my baby in the stroller and purchased 2 cups of coffee. The cashier gave them to me from her side (cash registrar). Then I asked for a tray as trays were on another counter. She huffed and puffed and told another cashier (who was closer to the counter) to pass her a tray then just throw that in front of me and yelled "next". I was trying as quickly as I could to put the cups in the tray in order not to make the next customer wait. Then, after 2 seconds, she again yelled "next!". Thanks God, the next customer didn't hurry to come till finally I finished and turned around to leave Tim Hortons. Then, pushing the stroller with my baby with one hand and with another one holding carefully a tray with cups of coffee, I saw the next customer - a very polite and nice lady who gave me a wide way to let me pass and smiled at me with understanding.

Very impolite, rude treatment of customers. The cashier obviously saw that I was pushing a stroller, and if she were CANADIAN (no, not by country of origin, but CANADIAN by her behaviour), she would offer me a tray by herself. How could I take 2 cups of hot coffee and push a stroller to the next counter to take a tray?! And that yelling "next!" when I still didn't leave the counter? So rude!

Also their coffee is so bad, last time I had Espresso Mocha, and it tasted like a bad milk (not any trace of coffee). That Sunday their black coffee with 2 sugar tasted like sugary water. And my husband's French Vanilla tasted like a bad milk with a hint of Vanilla to make that taste "disappear".

I do NOT recommend Tim Hortons at Woodbine Mall, Etobicoke, at all! Wrote a complaint that day and still haven't received a reply. Even left my phone number with convenient time to call. Now I have to find time to call them and tell about that incident. Awful customer service, nasty coffee!

[seylz_gurl]

wow that would leave a bad taste in your mouth even if the coffee was good. good for you for writing a complaint. most Tim Horton's have pretty good service and sometimes staff are under pressure when it is busy but that is no excuse to be rude to customers. this past summer we were travelling down the 401 and stopped in at a Timmies and I stood there waiting for 5 minutes while the manager carried on a argument with a server behind the counter, totally ignoring the customers so I left. Just take your business/$ to another location.

[tjthemanto]

The problem is not the employees..the problem is the greedy owners of certain locations.

I know a Tim's where 5 people used to work @ the front counter at any given time..so customers could be served fast , courteously & efficiently ..the lines would move fast and everyone was happy & not stressed..the employees as well as the customers.

Then some new owner bought it from the old owner..now the exact same location, which is just as busy as before..now only has 3 people working at the front as opposed to the previous 5 people ..the new owner is obviously trying to cut corners by overworking the staff and making 3 people do the work of 5.

Now everything is very rushed at this Tim's, the lineups are huge ..and there is constant stress & pressure on the employees ( most of whom are on minimum wage ) ..to move the lines very fast , even if it means not following company protocol & taking very little time to prepare goods.

Now the toasted bagels are half toasted , the coffee is barely warm ( not hot ) , the cream cheese is not properly applied to the bagels , the ice caps are not being properly made ..everything is so rushed now..the employees now barely have time to breathe ( they were more relaxed earlier )..so all they care about is moving the line fast , courtesy & manners are the last thing on their mind now

These are the same employees who were much nicer before the staff cuts & overworking by the new owner/management

[Mia]

The problem is not the employees..the problem is the greedy owners of certain locations.

I know a Tim's where 5 people used to work @ the front counter at any given time..so customers could be served fast , courteously & efficiently ..the lines would move fast and everyone was happy & not stressed..the employees as well as the customers.

Then some new owner bought it from the old owner..now the exact same location, which is just as busy as before..now only has 3 people working at the front as opposed to the previous 5 people ..the new owner is obviously trying to cut corners by overworking the staff and making 3 people do the work of 5.

Now everything is very rushed at this Tim's, the lineups are huge ..and there is constant stress & pressure on the employees ( most of whom are on minimum wage ) ..to move the lines very fast , even if it means not following company protocol & taking very little time to prepare goods.

Now the toasted bagels are half toasted , the coffee is barely warm ( not hot ) , the cream cheese is not properly applied to the bagels , the ice caps are not being properly made ..everything is so rushed now..the employees now barely have time to breathe ( they were more relaxed earlier )..so all they care about is moving the line fast , courtesy & manners are the last thing on their mind now

These are the same employees who were much nicer before the staff cuts & overworking by the new owner/management

I see... Very bad management up to risking going to bankruptcy. If they don't care about quality of work but only the quantity, well, that quantity will gradually move to other coffee shops. It's Canada, not a third-world country, and here we don't have a monopoly. And Tim Horton's is not the only ONE coffee shop even on a tiny part of a street. E.g., Starbucks. Yes, more expensive, but an excellent customer service and really very good coffee (not a bad tasted milk with a hint of coffee as if teasing the coffee itself). And Starbucks have much more line up than Tim Horton's. BTW, that day it was around 4 pm, the line up was not so much, about 5 people.

And I remember when I first came to Canada, not so long time ago... English Toffee was delicious, French Vanilla as well... Very polite customer service...

Anyway, I gradually wave "Good Bye" to Tim Horton's. Many and many places are starting to have nasty coffee.

[Mia]

wow that would leave a bad taste in your mouth even if the coffee was good. good for you for writing a complaint. most Tim Horton's have pretty good service and sometimes staff are under pressure when it is busy but that is no excuse to be rude to customers. this past summer we were travelling down the 401 and stopped in at a Timmies and I stood there waiting for 5 minutes while the manager carried on a argument with a server behind the counter, totally ignoring the customers so I left. Just take your business/$ to another location.

They should learn the meaning of CUSTOMER from Chinese people as they say "You have to open the doors of your store with a smile". But...

[jspurlock]

I find I only get well toasted bagels if I go in the store and ask for double toasted. In the drive through they just warm them up. Gross.

[MikeSelmann]

I have notices lately that Tim Horton's franchises change their staff frequently. I for one go to the same few places to get my coffee when I go through the drive-through. But service is starting to lag a bit compared to couple of years back. I guess competition from MacDonald is making them cut back on labour.

[ILovePandaz]

Sorry to hear that, I definitely have had experiences like that. You can't expect much from them though, most aren't experienced or anything. But good for you for writing a complaint.

[Mia]

Update.

I believe, they took into consideration my complaint. Last time when I was at Woodbine Mall Tim Hortons, their customer service was really good, polite and friendly. That's great!

And their French Vanilla tasted good, much better than before.