# Tim Hortons - The Good - The Bad & The Missed



## X Royal (21 Sep 2012)

Knowing many on this forum will use Tim Hortons at least from time to time & some far more often I have a few questions.
Having a very poor experience yesterday has prompted this post. Yes I have went to the corporate web-site to express my displeasure.
Based on service, quality of product & cleanliness of store if applicable please answer these three questions. Please include why.
1. Worst store/stores.
2. Best store/stores.
3. Favorite discontinued products.

Here's my answers.

1. Worst - Seaforth & Clinton, Ont. (same owner) Very slow service on numerous occasions. Never fast service.
2. Best - Stratford, Ontario (Erie St.) Fast & very friendly service.
3. Missed product. - From years past long john donuts. More recently sesame seed bagels.


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## Redeye (21 Sep 2012)

X Royal said:
			
		

> Knowing many on this forum will use Tim Hortons at least from time to time & some far more often I have a few questions.
> Having a very poor experience yesterday has prompted this post. Yes I have went to the corporate web-site to express my displeasure.
> Based on service, quality of product & cleanliness of store if applicable please answer these three questions. Please include why.
> 1. Worst store/stores.
> ...



Well, for worst, pretty much any one on a base - CFB Kingston being the worst I know for slow service. You can be the only one there and still wait seven minutes for coffee and a bagel.


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## ttlbmg (21 Sep 2012)

One of the quickest Tim Horton's I have ever been to was the one at the base in Edmonton, they are super fast there, if you go on a weekday. The product I missed, from years ago, is the chocolate snowflake. It was out during a doughnut of the month time- it was awesome. (kind of having a fat moment right now...mmmm)


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## RAGINCANADIAN (21 Sep 2012)

I can definitely vouch for the one on Base Edmonton. I'm a regular there every morning 0530 just before I start my dispatch duty. Worst one I've seen is on 82nd Street just before the Yellowhead. They barely understand/speak english, (I understand it's the best available job to them, just try to learn the language a little better before committing to a job that requires constant use of the language you're not familiar with) and forget your change all the time. The waits are well past the 7 minute mark. 

 :yellow:


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## Journeyman (21 Sep 2012)

McDonalds' large, black coffee. It's like Timmies, except much better tasting. 
Mind you, if you're going to obscure the taste with "double double" or "triple triple," you'd never know.


(Tim's is bitter; I guess McDs' leave the bitterness to the customer  ;D )


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## bridges (21 Sep 2012)

1.  Worst:  the new franchise at Findlay Creek, in south Ottawa.  Their cookies tend to be hard, and burnt around the edges.  (Such problems...  : )

2.  Best:  most of them are fine.  I like the people at the one in Winchester Ont., but the lineups are often 10-15 min. 

3.  Favourite discontinued product:  I have a hard time getting a mint-chocolate Iced Capp anymore.  Even when it's still showing on the menu, they often say they don't make it.  Generally the conversation goes like this:

Me:  I'll have a mint-chocolate Iced Capp, please.
TH:  We don't make that anymore.
Me:  Oh...okay.  Hmm.   Do you still have the mint flavour shots?
TH:  Yes.
Me:  Do you have the chocolate syrup?
TH:  Yes.
Me:  Could you make a regular Iced Capp and put both of those in?
TH:  (surprised expression)  Oh - yeah, we could do that.
Me:  Ok, I'll take a medium one of those please - thanks.


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## Redeye (21 Sep 2012)

Journeyman said:
			
		

> McDonalds' large, black coffee. It's like Timmies, except much better tasting.
> Mind you, if you're going to obscure the taste with "double double" or "triple triple," you'd never know.
> 
> 
> (Tim's is bitter; I guess McDs' leave the bitterness to the customer  ;D )



I actually started finding they have a better product - more consistent - and that's normally where I wind up given the choice. I'll give the food a miss, but coffee, they definitely have a handle on.


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## 2 Cdo (21 Sep 2012)

Redeye said:
			
		

> I actually started finding they have a better product - more consistent - and that's normally where I wind up given the choice. I'll give the food a miss, but coffee, they definitely have a handle on.



McDonalds has an advantage over Tim Hortons. McDonalds makes coffee, Tim Hortons makes colored water.


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## ModlrMike (21 Sep 2012)

I find most Tims to be reasonably OK at service etc. That being said, I have three peeves that seem to be constant throughout the chain:

1. Leaking cups - most store have the cups in holders below the counter. They lever them out which puts a large dent in the rim. They then put a round lid over what has become a partially square rim... cup leaks.

2. Parking. Tims has to have the worst parking I've ever seen. Here in Wpg there's only one store I frequent that has decent parking, and only because it's attached to a large mall. The best parking has to be the Tims in Portage, on the highway. Large lot, sectioned of for motorcycle parking.

3. Customers who don't know what they want. How can you spend 10 minutes in line and not have your order sorted? It's coffee, donuts, and sandwiches, not rocket surgery.

Best overall Tims for service: base Edmonton, the new one on the wing in Wpg is a close second.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (21 Sep 2012)

1.  Meaford, Arthur -  how can you not have English Breakfast tea??
2.  All that have English Breakfast tea.
3.  Fancies- various sorts.


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## bridges (21 Sep 2012)

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> 1.  Meaford, Arthur -  how can you not have English Breakfast tea??
> 2.  All that have English Breakfast tea.
> 3.  Fancies- various sorts.



Tim's tea seems to be a hot-button issue... someone else was complaining about Timmies' indiscretion with the three varieties of orange pekoe, and I had ranted earlier about the scalding temperature & need for ice cubes - oh, there were complaints at the time, but I endured.   :duel:    

I mean, if you can barely hold the cup even when it's doubled, that probably means it's too hot to drink.  Either go with the ice cubes, or get two drinks - a tea for later, and a bottle of water for the intervening half-hour while you're thirsty & waiting for the tea to cool.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (21 Sep 2012)

That's why I love Tim's tea,.........scald my mouth, baby............


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## Canadian.Trucker (21 Sep 2012)

ModlrMike said:
			
		

> 3. Customers who don't know what they want. How can you spend 10 minutes in line and not have your order sorted? It's coffee, donuts, and sandwiches, not rocket surgery.


This phenomenon is not only at Tim's.  The dreaded "so what's the ____ like?"  I have to restrain myself from saying Google it and move off to the side!

1- Meaford is terrible.  Not so much for the service, but they're coffee is always burnt no matter what time of the day you order it.  Collingwood Tim's on First St. is a close second because of their drive through that always pushes out onto the main street in the morning.

2- Madoc Timmies on Hwy 7.  Tons of parking, fast service (usually) and it's a little oasis on the highway of nothingness.

3- It's not discontinued, but I hate how not all the Timmies have Hot Apple Cider.  It's like playing roulette when I ask for it.


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## sandyson (21 Sep 2012)

Worst:  Magog Quebec.  Filthy and "can I help you" sounds like "get out of my store".
Best:    Farnham Quebec.  Prompt, efficient, and pleasant service.
Discontinued:  I agree with others--the coffee.  MacDonalds now has much better coffee.  Even the Timmie donuts taste processed these days.

I like a MacDonalds coffee and a local bake shop's plain donut on these cool crisp days. Ambrosia!


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## dangerboy (21 Sep 2012)

The Tim Hortons is Wainwright has one of the worst parkling lots I have been in, it is very poorly designed.  You are just waiting to get in an accident every time you drive in it.


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## bridges (21 Sep 2012)

That reminds me - the entrance to the drive-thru at Findlay Creek is the opposite of intuitive... at least 2 left turns and 2 right, in very tight quarters - and that's after the initial turn into their parking lot.  Maybe it's meant to get you disoriented so you'll buy more cookies.   :dunno:


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## aesop081 (21 Sep 2012)

Worst: the one on the main drag leading into CFB Greenwood. If I wanted that kind of attitude from the person who brings me my coffee, I would go have one with my ex-wife.


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## mariomike (21 Sep 2012)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> If I wanted that kind of attitude from the person who brings me my coffee, I would go have one with my ex-wife.



Reminds me of the old joke...

"If you were my husband I'd poison your coffee."

"If you were my wife I'd drink it."


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## my72jeep (21 Sep 2012)

The Tim's in Wawa horrendous parking lot(tear drop shaped one way in or out, not enough room to spin a full sized truck around let alone a trailer,it is posted the no trailers in lot but it seems the average Tim's customer cant read or look at a picture of a trailer with a red line through it. 
Fringlish staff makes for a wonderfull time ordering from the drive through.
Missed item the peanutbutter cookies the size of hubcaps.


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## Scott (21 Sep 2012)

Save for the odd coffee when I am in a very big hurry (which is not often) I do my best to avoid any Tim Horton's. I absolutely despise what they do to traffic in the areas around them and I also get more than a little upset at people desperate enough for a fat pill that they will block traffic to gain access to the drive thru lane or the lot.

I agree with JM. Since I discovered McCrack's coffee I have been a firm convert. But that's only on the way to the airport. Any other time I am in need I'll hit the local boys, pay the same price (pretty much) and walk out with a great coffee in the same amount of time.


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## bridges (21 Sep 2012)

Scott said:
			
		

> Any other time I am in need I'll hit the local boys, pay the same price (pretty much) and walk out with a great coffee in the same amount of time.



Hmm... on my way to work I don't think there ARE any local (or non-chain) coffee outlets, except for a couple of gas stations (which are also chains) and a mom-&-pop convenience store which is usually not open yet, at that time of the morning.  But it's a good reminder to patronize local businesses too.   :nod:


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## navymich (21 Sep 2012)

Canadian.Trucker said:
			
		

> 3- It's not discontinued, but I hate how not all the Timmies have Hot Apple Cider.  It's like playing roulette when I ask for it.



I agree.  I am not a coffee or tea drinker, so Apple Cider is my fav during the cooler months.  In Ontario, I had no issue getting it anytime.  Got to Winnipeg last year and it was only available for a month during their "apple specials" and even that wasn't guaranteed.

I also miss the cherry sticks.  They were sometimes still a bit raw inside, but easy enough to eat around that area.  And when I asked about them not being available anymore, that was the reason given, that they couldn't always get them to cook all the way through.


Years ago (mid 90s), I worked in a Tim's in Halifax while I was in between Class B contracts.  I decorated the cakes (remember when they sold those?) and the donuts.  Tons of fun, even when I exploded timbits.  Was filling them with fruit filling and had forgotten to change the setting from the amount for filled-donuts down to timbit size.   My goal after that was to figure out how much filling I could get inside a timbit.  To this day, I won't eat filled timbits....just not enough filling in them!    Of course, that was also when all of the donuts were made right in the store and actually tasted decent too instead of coming pre-made and them just frying them up.


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## Robert0288 (21 Sep 2012)

Redeye said:
			
		

> Well, for worst, pretty much any one on a base - CFB Kingston being the worst I know for slow service. You can be the only one there and still wait seven minutes for coffee and a bagel.



It doesn't help when buddy in front of you order's an entire course's worth of coffee and donuts.  And there's always that one guy who wants something strange or special.


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## Cdnleaf (21 Sep 2012)

Need a pic of the drive through line at the CFB Pet Canex parking lot. Both Pet loations are great IMO. Thing I miss the most...umm, the smoking bubble.


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## medicineman (21 Sep 2012)

ModlrMike said:
			
		

> 2. Parking. Tims has to have the worst parking I've ever seen. Here in Wpg there's only one store I frequent that has decent parking, and only because it's attached to a large mall. The best parking has to be the Tims in Portage, on the highway. Large lot, sectioned of for motorcycle parking.



The drive through there is a little wacked for the amount of traffic they get...the McD's across the road is a little more organized that way.

Tee worst place for service used to be the one at CFB Borden...slow as molasses in the winter...and when I used to drink decaf, they never had any made in the am, since apparently people only drink that at night  :.  When I was in Kingston about 10 years ago, we used to fax an order there for coffee break and send someone over about 20 minutes later - done.  Guess their hiring practices have changed.  

MM

Edited for my personal grammar Nazi peeve  :.


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## Good2Golf (21 Sep 2012)

McD's waaaaaay before Tim's.  :nod:

Other than the fact that Tim's smells like a skunk run over by a logging truck, their plastic tops are the worst...ever.  Take a lesson from McD's and stop being so cheap...  :rage:


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## SprCForr (21 Sep 2012)

dangerboy said:
			
		

> The Tim Hortons is Wainwright has one of the worst parkling lots I have been in, it is very poorly designed.  You are just waiting to get in an accident every time you drive in it.



It was built in the wrong spot. It was supposed to be across the Walmart access road in that field between it and the Best Western. Town Development didn't actually check until the building was well on to completion. The contractor mistook hwy 14 for the Walmart access road and the Walmart access road for the little access road into Canadian Tire and the entrance to the Best Western.


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## Foxhound (21 Sep 2012)

The good:  The Tim's Club sandwich.
The bad:  The coffee and doughnuts.
The missed:  Apple fritters.  Not the mass-produced, anemic, blobs of doughfat with apple-simulated flavouring goo like you get today.  I mean the ones they used to sell that had chunks of apple and lots of cinnamon.


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## medicineman (21 Sep 2012)

Foxhound said:
			
		

> The missed:  Apple fritters.  Not the mass-produced, anemic, blobs of doughfat with apple-simulated flavouring goo like you get today.  I mean the ones they used to sell that had chunks of apple and lots of cinnamon.



Thinking back to Kingston, there used to be a coffee shop/bakery down the 15 from the BASe towards the 401 called Happy Doughnut...they had the HUGEST apple fritters known to mankind at a buck a piece.  Was a tad upset when that dude went under because the Tim's on Base opened - the guy always gave you a baker's dozen when you ordered 12.  Coffee wasn't bad either.

Back to regular scheduled programming...

MM


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## armyvern (22 Sep 2012)

I drink my coffee black. Like Timmies and McDos coffee - depends what kind of mood I'm in. Both different, both good (trying to compare them is akin to comparing an Orange Pekoe to a green tea).

I miss: Bowties, Chocolate Eclairs and now ... Old Fashioned Sugar dounuts. I can still get the latter on the east coast at most Timmies.


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## cupper (22 Sep 2012)

I just miss Timmies. Can't wait to hit one on my trips back to Canada. Either hit the one in Houlton Maine before we cross the border, or Salisbury NB when we make a gas / doggie rest stop.

But I really miss when they used to make all their goods in store rather than have some factory in Ontario make them, flash freeze and ship them out.


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## smale436 (22 Sep 2012)

Vern's mention of Old Sugar made me think what happened to the Sugar Twist and the Bismarcks filled with either fudge or cream-filled, then I remembered they were at Robins. I recall as a kid in the early 90s how Robins was a much bigger deal than Tims at that time. More locations, etc. I go to one quite a bit in Winnipeg as it's literally across from my father's house. They still make fresh donuts every day (albeit at a central facility that has them transported to each store), have free newspapers to take with you on the bus that stops out front, and no retarded lines. The objects that pass as their brekky sandwiches are horrible though. I think their ultimate downfall was some of them stayed as smoking establishments prior to the city wide ban, just as Tims was expanding and completely non-smoking.

        Ditto on McDonalds. Never tried their coffee until their free promotion and prefer it, but sometimes you get in a "Tim mood". Every McDonalds coffee in the US I've tried is nothing like what you get up here. I couldn't even drink the stuff with cream and sugar. Can't imagine having it black.


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## my72jeep (22 Sep 2012)

I was working in Berlin for a year back in 07 first stop after Custom's was a Timm's. The German's can make one hell of a tank but cant brew coffee to save their lives, and thought I was a dumb American when I asked for a to go cup. I ended up having my mom send me my old red and white Supper Tim mug. I had a few intersting conversations with people explaining what it was and no it wasn't a carafe, to keep my coffee warm till lunch, yes I drink that much coffee at a time.


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## blacktriangle (22 Sep 2012)

Timmies doesn't have old fashioned sugar donuts any more????


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## GAP (22 Sep 2012)

Spectrum said:
			
		

> Timmies doesn't have old fashioned sugar donuts any more????



Almost most have gone out of cake type donuts of any type.....

Even Safeway....they are all raised donuts....


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## MeatheadMick (22 Sep 2012)

Good: Going to once again vouch for CFB Edmonton's Timmies... super nice servers, and even when the line-up is backed out on to RR 244 the line usually moves quite quick..

Bad: Borden...

Missed: I miss when Edmonton's Timmies was open 24/7... nothing like coffee with the Mounties at 3am lol


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## Ignatius J. Reilly (23 Sep 2012)

I certainly don't miss having to wait in line for fairly mediocre offerings.
That said, the very nature of this thread clearly illustrates than in the franchise industry, certain locations actually manage to pull it off.

A year ago I was living well within stumbling distance of the South Amherstburg Tim Horton's.  Those folks were superb, the late night and early morning crews even more so. 12 hours shifts they well lightened. 
A ten minute walk led one to the central Amherstburg outlet, where service was shoddy, but it was always crowded.
Not sure how anyone can line up for more than a couple of minutes for a cup of coffee. Coffee is large, it yields multiple fruit. Might even be close to a human right, and as such one should not have to wait too long for some sustenance.


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## Popurhedoff (24 Sep 2012)

Where I least expected a Tim Horton's:

Dubai Mall in the UAE... I actually saw 3 Tim Hortons on the way to the mall... then as I was walking around the mall I saw this:







I then had to find it...






It was like back home... large DD and an Apple Fritter.

Cheers
Pop


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## aesop081 (24 Sep 2012)

Popurhedoff said:
			
		

> It was like back home... large DD and an Apple Fritter.



So here when i make a run to Tim's, guys as for "NATO standard". What is it in the UAE ? "Jihad standard" ?


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## Journeyman (24 Sep 2012)

CDNAIRFORCE said:
			
		

> ..... and no retarded lines.


Wouldn't it be sweet if most stores had a line excluding retards? Of course, like grocery stores where you see the numpty with a full cart in the "1-6 items" line, it would have to be enforced.  ;D


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## George Wallace (24 Sep 2012)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> So here when i make a run to Tim's, guys as for "NATO standard". What is it in the UAE ? "Jihad standard" ?



Was the coffee so bad in the UAE where you had to go from an "allied" standard to an "aggressor" standard?


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## GINge! (24 Sep 2012)

Best - Another vote for the Timho's at CFB Edmonton. They have a prescient ability to predict how much change to hand you. How do they know that...you get your coffee and your change at the same time?!
Runner up - Moncton. I had a 6km commute and could drive past 7 Timho's. 
Also, they are big supporters of kids activities in the community with all the Timbits soccer teams. 

Worst - CFB Borden. Friendly, but too slow. 

Miss - Always Fresh.


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## liams mom (24 Sep 2012)

Best- Goderich ON, back when they had a smoking room. So fun as a teen, until Dad's buddies showed up and I had to duck.

Worst- Petawawa Blvd. Knew all the kids working there as had taught them but still never got my order right. Then there is the traffic. One year my DH lived in the little white house that shares the driveway ( gone now?) with the Tims. He had to join the Tim H drive thru line up most days in order to get out of his driveway. Once when we were walking home from the bar we saw the train stop, activating the arms and lights, the crew jump out, get a coffee and get back on the train. They must have started applying the brakes in Pembroke! 

Miss- real donuts not the frozen gunk they sell now. For a real donut go to to Culberts in Goderich ON.


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## George Wallace (24 Sep 2012)

Best was the OLD Timmies at Base Petawawa.....The line could go out the door and you could still be served in five minutes.....Not today with the brand new one.

Worse, I agree is the one in the Canex at CFB Kingston......A line of one will still wait five or more minutes.

Miss.....Real Apple Fritters like they had before they became more "efficient" and did away with their bakers.....Not the pre-prepped ones they have now.....more like a .........a.............soggy ..... can't even describe how bad they changed them.


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## dimsum (24 Sep 2012)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> So here when i make a run to Tim's, guys as for "NATO standard". What is it in the UAE ? "Jihad standard" ?



 :rofl:

Coming from someone who didn't really drink Timmys in Canada, I miss just being able to have a coffee that doesn't cost more than $4 AUD.   Aussies think coffee is either some frou-frou chic thing that you have to pay out the nose for, or crappy freeze-dried instant stuff.  I think I'll have to switch to drinking tea if this keeps on going like this.

Oh, and I miss donuts.  Any donuts at all.


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## TN2IC (25 Sep 2012)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> So here when i make a run to Tim's, guys as for "NATO standard". What is it in the UAE ? "Jihad standard" ?



Infidel standard... duh..  ;D


And the worst Timmies is the Canex one in Kingston. I think a lot of us can agree to that one.


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