Tim Hortons in Theatre Merged Thread (in AFG, no plans to preposition)

[211RadOp]

E-mail address [email protected]

Snail mail
Head Office
874 Sinclair Road
Oakville, ON L6K 2Y1
Tel: (905) 845-6511
Fax: (905) 845-0265

 

[GAP]

What I sent

I was wanting to send over some gift certificates to Kandahar, but I hear they are no longer available and that the cards you now offer do not work over there.......Should I send a Green Beans card instead?

 

[geo]

Message sent to Timmy's head office.

 

[medaid]

This is what I had sent:

Dear sir/ma'am,

  I'm writing to express my concern witregards to the lack of Tim Card reader at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, and the sudden stoppage of availability of gift certificates. It was brought to my attention that due to the change over to the electronic method of storing gift points, the paper certificates have been cancelled. along with this information, I have also learned that such an electronic reader which is required for the Tim Card's operation is unavailable to the troops in Afghanistan. Please inform me how Tim Hortons plans to rectify this problem and how soon it will be done?

Sincerely,

A Concerned Supporter of The Troops, and A Long Time Consumer of Tim Hortons.

 

[Scottish_Mom]

SENT VIA EMAIL TODAY:

Hello,

My son will be deploying to Afghanistan in Feb '08 for a 6 month tour. I would like to purchase some gift certificates for his Christmas stocking as he will be flying home for Christmas. When I went to a Tim Horton's outlet, I was told that there are no more paper gift certificates available, only Tim Horton's rechargeable
gift cards.

I would like to purchase one but I was told when I asked them to check that there is no machine available at the Kandahar base in Afghanistan that can take
this gift card.

Can you please tell me how I am supposed to get my son, the soldier, gift certificates that he can use at the Timmies in Afghanistan? I would really appreciate it and more importantly, so will he....

Many thanks,

 

[woodys girl]

Paper G/C that have been purchased to date, have to honoured at any Tim Hortons....and some locations can not use the "timmy cards"....example....Queen's University in Kingston....because the "swipper" they use is only  for the students "flex dollars"...meal plan..
So paper g/c is the only thing they use.


And whats with Timmy's taking M/C....all you need to do is swipe your own card if the order is 25 dollars or under....something wrong with that picture....

 

[GAP]

My answer from Tim Hortons:

Dear Mr. ,

I would like to thank you for taking the time to write to us at our Head
Office.  At Tim Hortons we strive to offer all of our customers friendly
and efficient customer service, high quality products in a clean and
pleasant atmosphere.

Unfortunately the Tim Hortons location in Kandahar is not set up to accept
Tim Cards. The paper variety of gift certificates is still redeemable at
this location, and can be purchased at many locations here in Canada. We
are still offering paper certificates until the stock is depleted. Please
contact your local store to inquire about the availability of paper
certificates.

It is by listening and reacting to our valued customers feedback that we
have been able to achieve and maintain success to date.

We look forward to serving you again in the near future.

Best Regards,
Tarrah
Operations Services
THE TDL GROUP CORP.

Quickpay Tim Card FAQs

-What is the Quickpay Tim Card?
The Quickpay Tim Card is a pre-paid, reloadable cash card that you can use
to pay for purchases at participating Tim Hortons stores.  It is the
convenient and easy way to pay!
-Where can I get the Quickpay Tim Card?
The Quickpay Tim Card is currently available at participating Tim Hortons
throughout Canada.  We will be introducing the card in our US stores in the
coming months.
-How do I use my Quickpay Tim Card?
Just ask your server for a Quickpay Tim Card and decide on the amount you
wish to be loaded onto the card. Once your card is loaded, you can swipe it
to pay for purchases both in-store and at the drive thru at participating
locations. Each time you use the Tim Card, the amount of your purchase will
be deducted from the balance remaining. The new balance will be displayed
on the reader.
-What happens if I don’t have enough money on my Quickpay Tim Card to pay
for my purchases?
The balance of your Tim Card can be put towards your purchase and the
remainder can be paid by cash or MasterCard (where accepted).
-Why should I register my Quickpay Tim Card?
By registering the Quickpay Tim Card online at www.timhortons.com, you can
access several additional features of the Tim Card program such as
protecting the balance on your card from loss and theft, reloading your
card with a credit card and viewing your most recent account activity.
-How do I report a lost or stolen Quickpay Tim Card?
If your Tim Card has been registered and is lost or stolen, please call
1-866-TIMCARD (846-2273) immediately. You will need to provide your card
number and answer questions concerning recent activity on your account.
Upon verification, we can freeze your remaining balance and transfer the
remaining balance to a replacement card that will be mailed to you. Please
note that the remaining balance of an unregistered card cannot be replaced
even if we are notified of its loss or theft. At all times, please treat
your card like cash.
-Why do I need to the scratch off the panel on the back of my Quickpay Tim
Card?
By scratching off the coating on the panel, you will reveal a PIN or
personal identification number. This PIN number is an added security
function and is necessary to check your balance and register your card on
our website. If your Card does not have a PIN # or the panel has already
been scratched off, please call 1-866-TIMCARD (846-2273).

-How can I check the balance on my Quickpay Tim Card?
The balance on your Tim Card can be checked anytime at participating
stores, online at www.timhortons.com or by calling 1-866-TIM-CARD
(846-2273). No purchase is necessary to check your balance. To check the
balance online, you will need the 16-digit card number as well as the
scratch-off security PIN number on the back of the card.
-How do I reload my Quickpay Tim Card?
The Tim Card is reloadable by simply presenting your card at a
participating Tim Hortons store and asking the server to reload it with
whatever dollar amount you choose.  If the card is registered, you can also
reload online, at www.timhortons.com, using a credit card. Please note that
if you are reloading online, the minimum dollar value that can be loaded is
$5 and the maximum total value on your card cannot exceed $200.
-What is the auto-reload option on the Tim card website?
If the card is registered, you never have to let your Tim Card balance get
too low by choosing the Auto-Reload option. Simply select the amount to add
to your card, at what frequency you would like your card reloaded and
payment method, and we’ll do the rest. Funds will automatically be added to
your Tim Card each time your balance gets below your pre-set level or at a
specified frequency. Your credit card will then be billed for the amount.
Please note an auto reload transaction can take up to 48 hours for your
card to reload.  Please consider this when setting your Auto-Reload
preferences.
-How do I discontinue the auto-reload feature?
To discontinue the auto-reload feature, please visit www.timhortons.com and
login to disable the feature within 24 hours of the next scheduled reload.
Once the dollar value is loaded, the transaction cannot be reversed.
-I have just set up/updated a credit card for the Auto-Reload function, why
is there a $1.01 charge on my credit card statement?
When you set up/update a credit card for the Auto-Reload function, a
temporary $1.01 authorization is processed to ensure the credit card is
valid for future automatic recharges. This $1.01 authorization is not an
actual charge, but it does temporarily reduce your available credit. The
billing address will be matched against the address the bank has on file
for you. Once the verification is completed, the charge will be reversed.
-What methods of payment are available online to use the reload and
Auto-Reload option?
MasterCard and Visa credit cards are accepted online.
-Does my Quickpay Tim Card expire?
The Tim Card does not have an expiry date, however, if the card has had a
zero balance for a two year period it is deemed inactive and cannot be
used.
-What fees are charged to my Quickpay Tim Card?
No fees are charged to your Tim Card.
-Why is my balance different than I thought?
It's possible that you've forgotten a visit or purchase. You can check your
card's remaining balance at a participating Tim Hortons store, by calling
1-866-TIM-CARD (846-2273) or going online at www.timhortons.com. If your
card is registered you may also view your recent transactions on the
website.
-Will the Quickpay Tim Card replace gift certificates?
Yes. Tim Hortons will be discontinuing the sale of our paper gift
certificates in the coming months. However, we will continue to redeem our
paper gift certificates.
-Can I redeem my card for cash?
The value remaining on a Tim Card may not be redeemed for cash at a Tim
Hortons store unless required by law. However, a refund may be obtained by
mailing a written request for a refund to our head office. This letter must
include the following: name, mailing address, phone number, email address,
the Tim Hortons location where the card was purchased (if available), the
remaining balance on the card as well as the Tim Card itself. Once your
request is received, we will validate the card and card balance and contact
you. The validated refund will be sent in the form of a cheque by mail,
within 4-6 weeks of receipt of your request. Such requests are to be sent
to: Tim Hortons Customer Service, 228 Wyecroft Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6K
3X7.
I have a question that is not listed here. What should I do?
For general questions and inquiries about your Tim Card or Tim Card
account, please call
1-866-TIM-CARD (846-2273).

 

[Scottish_Mom]

Hi all,
I received a different reply. Basically, my reply says I can purchase paper gift certificates but I must set up an account, must pay by certified cheque for the first round I buy and then I must go to one of their warehouses in Guelph or Kingston (and a few others to choose from but equally far away) to pick up the certificates because they cannot be sent via mail.

Received November 12, 2007 from Tim Hortons:

Thank you for contacting our Head Office regarding your request for Gift
Certificates.  If you local store is not carrying the paper format of Gift
Certificates, please note that they may be directly purchased from us,
corporately.  Please find the information to follow.  If you have any
questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,


Operations Services
The TDL Group Corp.

Frequently Asked Questions – Gift Certificates
General Information
Q. What denominations are Tim Hortons’ gift certificates available in?
A. Our gift certificates come in $5 and $10 booklets. The $5 booklet
contains 2 x $2 certificates and 1 x $1 certificate. The $10 booklet
contains 5 x $2 certificates.

Q. Can I get the gift certificates individually instead of in booklets?
A. We are unable to provide Tim Hortons Gift Certificates individually.
They are pre-printed and pre-packaged at the same time for security
purposes and cannot be separated prior to the customer receiving them.

Q. Are Tim Hortons’ gift certificates available in French?
A.  Tim Hortons Canadian gift certificates are bilingual, and can be
redeemed at any Tim Hortons store in Canada.

Q. Is there an expiry date on Tim Hortons’ gift certificates?
A. Tim Hortons gift certificates issued prior to October 2003 have an
expiry date printed on them. Gift certificates issued subsequent to October
2003 do not have an expiry date on them.

Q. What do I do if I have an expired Tim Hortons gift certificate?
A. Some of the expired gift certificates may still be in circulation. It is
Tim Hortons’ policy that all of our gift certificates are to be honoured at
our stores, regardless of the expiry date. If you have difficulty redeeming
them, please contact us directly.

Q. Are envelopes available for gift giving?
A. Gift certificate envelopes are automatically included (1 envelope per
booklet).

Purchasing Gift Certificates in Canada

Q. I have never bought gift certificates from you through the Corporate
Gift Certificate Program before. How do I get started?
A. New customers will have to be set up with a customer number in our
system before an order can be placed. Please allow 2-3 business days for
set up.

Q. How do I get a customer number?
A. To obtain a customer number, please send the following information to us
by fax to (905) 845-1536 or by e-mail to [email protected]:
- Company/Organization Name
- Company/Organization Address, City, Province, Postal Code
- Telephone Number
- Fax Number
- E-mail Address
- Contact Name

Q. How do I place an order?
A. Once a customer has been set up with a customer number, an order can be
placed by:
- Sending an e-mail to [email protected]
- Sending a fax to (905) 845-1536
- Calling us directly at (905) 339-5572 or 1-800-590-5304, ext. 5572


Q. Can I return any unused gift certificates?
A. All gift certificate sales are final. We will not accept any returns.

Q. Are there any service fees associated with the purchase of Tim Hortons
Gift Certificates?
A. We do not apply any service fees or extra charges. Our gift certificates
are sold at face value and no tax is applicable on them.

Q. Can I pay for Tim Hortons gift certificates by credit card?
A. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept payment by credit card. The
methods of payment are by certified cheque (on the first order only;
subsequent orders can be paid by regular company cheque) or Electronic Fund
Transfer.

Q. Can I get an invoice to generate payment?
A. An Order Confirmation will be sent by fax, e-mail, or regular mail to
facilitate the customer generating a cheque for the purchase amount. This
Order Confirmation must also accompany the payment for timely processing.

Q. Where do I send my payment?
A. The payment and Order Confirmation should be sent to:

Accounting Department – Gift Certificates
The TDL Group Corp.
874 Sinclair Road
Oakville, Ontario, Canada  L6K 2Y1
Telephone: (905) 845-6511

Q. What is the turnaround time?
A. Payment must be received before we can release the gift certificates. In
general, the gift certificates can be ready 24-48 hours after payment is
received.

Q. How do I get the gift certificates?
A. After we have confirmed that the payment was received, customers can go
to the closest Tim Hortons warehouse to pick up their order.

Q. Where are your warehouses located?
A. Tim Hortons has warehouses in Guelph, Ontario; Kingston, Ontario;
Debert, Nova Scotia; Calgary, Alberta; and Langley, British Columbia.

Q. Can I drop off the payment and pick up the gift certificates at the same
time?
A. Please note that our Accounting Department must receive payment at least
24 hours prior to the pick up of the order. The warehouse will not prepare
the order until the payment is received, and a minimum of 24 hours lead
time is required.

Q. Can I have the gift certificates shipped to me?
A. We cannot ship the gift certificates. They are considered cash
instruments, and therefore are not insurable by regular mail or overnight
courier companies. Our policy is that customers must come themselves, send
a representative, or send a secure delivery service that will insure cash
shipments to our warehouse to pick up the gift certificates.

 

[GAP]

Was it the same person replying? If so, they don't seem to have their act together.

Following "Corporate Policy" blindly.....as far as I am concerned Tim Hortons can go take a hike!!

 

[armyvern]

Here's the one that I just sent:

Good morning,

In reveiwing this thread running on Army.ca, http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/67749.0/topicseen.html, I've become aware of an issue that concerns me regarding the non-availability of Tim Horton's Gift Certificates.

I had recently purchased some of your paper gift certificates and included them in a care parcel that I sent to one of my friends in Khandahar. Upon receiving the parcel, one of the things he noted in his "thank-you" email, was a comment about being able to go over to Timmies and relax having a coffee.

Sadly, it would seem that I will not be able to do this for my friend in the future due to your new policy of electronic card payment/gifting. It would also seem that the card reader is not employed at the KAF Timmies outlet, thus Canadians who have been so wonderful at Supporting their Soldiers overseas by including the paper Tim Horton's Gift Certificates in their letters and packages, can no longer do so.

Sure, according to your "standard" response given to those who have included their replies on the web-site above, average Canadians can now certainly still obtain them via convoluted "corporate means" to Support their Soldiers, but in your haste for corporate effeciency -- your new corporate policy has certainly not made it very effecient to be able to provide that small morale boost to deployed personnel any more.

Please, do not respond to my email with your "standard" corporate response that others have been receiving.

I have two simple questions that have been asked of your Company previously, but a direct answer by you was not provided.

1) Yes, paper certificates are still available via convoluted means; But, will this always be the case because I note your response says "while available". What do you plan on doing about correction of this situation once your "stock" of paper certificates has dried up?

2) When WILL you be making an electronic card reader available at the KAF Tim Horton's outlet? (A date -- or at least a forecasted date is the ONLY response required)?

I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you as to how you plan to make corrections to the above policy which will allow Canadians to support their troops a tad more effeciently than currently seems to be the case.

XXXXXXXX XXXXXX

 

[geo]

1.  Considering that Green Beans has it's own smart card in use at KAF, it's not a question about technology.

2.  Given that the KAF Tim Horton franchise is operated by Personnel services, should we not be after PSP's a$$ to get the electronic terminals in place?

It's quite possible that we have been barking up the wrong tree - IMHO

 

[Journeyman]

Excellent !

The Kandahar Timmies line-up isn't slow enough already, having to explain to the Bulgarian (or worse, the guy speaking incomprehensible English - aka Scottish) what a Timbit is....now we'll have to wait while they figure out electronic cards.

>

 

[geo]

Journeyman,
As I indicated already, Green Beans already uses the darned thing... so it shouldn't be too hard to train the foreign workers who stand behind the counter.

Also, methinks that money is pretty straight forward 0 if they haven't gotten the hand of things by now... it won't take long.

 

[Journeyman]

Journeyman,
As I indicated already, Green Beans already uses the darned thing... so it shouldn't be too hard to train the foreign workers who stand behind the counter.

The workers aren't the problem; it's the customers. And it's often the same issue as anywhere else -- "let's see, I'll have 3 large...no medium...regular....7 ice capachino....no 6....did I say 3 large? I meant 2 large and a medium....and one is a double double......." - - - only in an accent that's incomprehensible to the otherwise wonderful, usually bilingual, Timmies staff.

 

[aesop081]

And whats with Timmy's taking M/C....all you need to do is swipe your own card if the order is 25 dollars or under....something wrong with that picture....

What exactly is it that is wrong ?

Ever been to an airport long-term parking ? Taken BC ferries ?

Lots of places nowadays you just swipe your card and thats it.

 

[geo]

The workers aren't the problem; it's the customers. And it's often the same issue as anywhere else -- "let's see, I'll have 3 large...no medium...regular....7 ice capachino....no 6....did I say 3 large? I meant 2 large and a medium....and one is a double double......." - - - only in an accent that's incomprehensible to the otherwise wonderful, usually bilingual, Timmies staff.

Ahhh... Check!

 

[woodys girl]

What exactly is it that is wrong ?

Ever been to an airport long-term parking ? Taken BC ferries ?

Lots of places nowadays you just swipe your card and thats it.

What's wrong with that is........how easy it is for someone to use a stolen credit card.
I was referring to Timmy's because that is the topic....and no I have not taken BC ferries ....I hear its beautiful out there though, so maybe I need to take a trip 

 

[Harris]

What's wrong with that is........how easy it is for someone to use a stolen credit card.

That's why they limit it to a small amount.  So even if your card is stolen, they can't get a ton of $ off of it.  That of course assumes you report it stolen in a timely manner.  Nearly every airport I've been to has kiosks, etc that just swipe them with no PIN or signature.  I bought a $1.50 hot dog on my credit cad once as I hadn't gotten US cash yet and they wouldn't accept Canadian.

 

[geo]

What's wrong with that is........how easy it is for someone to use a stolen credit card.

City of Montreal parking meters will accept the Credit Cards but won't accept the Debit Cards.
Just punch in where you are parked, swipe the card & press "MAX" = 6$ charge without any PIN or verification

 

[woodys girl]

See what happens when you're a cops wife.....always thinking negative lol

Anyways......the cards are a great thing and very convenient.

Woody's Girl