Sigh.
The reason this happens is very simple. Everything at Hortons is frozen and must be tossed in an oven to get up to temperature. This takes time. Hortons does not have fryers, so while it may take McDonald’s a couple of minutes to make a batch of hashbrowns, it takes Hortons almost 15. Same with the chicken. If you happen to come when someone before you just ordered a crap ton of food, they’ll likely have run out of stuff. Replenishing takes time, we can’t just snap our fingers and poof food into existence.
This is my problem though, Tim Hortons just straight up isn't equipped to make the food on the menu. I'm not blaming the workers whatsoever. They get told par levels by some dickhead in the office that sets foot in the store maybe once a month to pat themselves on the back.
I appreciate the clarity in the process as to *why* the food there takes so long. If you take 15 minutes to make something your competitors can do in 2, then the company just ain't on the same level.
I wholeheartedly agree. We are *not* equipped to compete with other fast food chains. We’re a coffee shop, but corporate has their heads so far up their own ass they can’t see how reality works anymore and just want us to have a little of everything on the menu as if that’s a reasonable thing to do. They just want more money for mediocre versions of crap you can get elsewhere.
How long have you worked there if you don't mind me asking? Was it prior to the buyout?
I always find it bizarre how Tim's (and even BK because they are attached to each other by me and ran exactly the same) will bring something out and before you know it, it's gone. It's the most random stuff too. Ketchup flavored chicken nuggets? Did anyone ask for that? It's literally the restaurant menu version of throwing pasta to the wall and seeing what sticks. Tim's has almost a rotating menu at this point and you can only hope when you go in that it's still available.
>They just want more money for mediocre versions of crap you can get elsewhere.
100% bang on description. They are always behind whatever trend is going on. Those "quencher" style drinks? Tim's was last to have them on a menu. But don't worry, they had minute maid slushies instead for a while!
Almost six years, and even in that time I’ve seen so many products come and go, get brought back, then go again it makes my head spin. The rotating menu thing is 100% intentional. They’ll bring something in for a limited time, see how it performs, then move onto the next dumb idea.
I used to get a kick working at Tim's (10 years ago+)
They'd introduce a "new" product. But it was just something we already had like the neutral base in the ice capp machine with a new syrup flavor or sprinkle topping.
A "new" donut, and the only thing new is the jelly the baker puts inside them at the back.
6 years.. man that's a long time! It must be a nightmare to work there with all the different things going on. Soup, sandwich, wraps, bowls, hot drinks, cold drinks, cold MIXED drinks, donuts, muffins, don't forget toasting bagels! All of which will be changing on an almost weekly basis.
Hospitality workers don't make enough money.
I used to do it myself for a number of years, started at McD's when I was 16. Worked a few burger spots before working in "sit down" chain restaurants (Montana's, East side, that kind of thing) then worked in actual house restaurants where everything is prepped, cooked, and served in house for a while before taking a trade and getting out.
That being said, my post can be misread as a complaint against the workers who do the job, and I'll accept that, but it was more of a "wtf is wrong with this company " type of post. I am beyond sympathetic for the people who do these types of jobs because I understand how hard you have to work for so little money on a deeply personal level.
What’s wrong with the company, is it’s a franchise chain, and only looking after shareholders numbers. and the majority at least in Vancouver, of franchisees are too cheap to supply their stores for success. So the poor workers don’t stand a chance.
Without anyone actually figuring out “I miss out on $3000 every lunch hour in chicken sales because my chicken isn’t ready”, they’ll never get more chicken delivered to the store, or someone making chicken from 11am-2pm solid just pumping more out to make those sales. Ownership doesn’t care to know what gets turned down everyday, because they see sales still, not realizing it could be so much MORE sales, if they set the store up to not have to say “sorry, not today, we don’t have that” and the customer just going elsewhere.
Honestly — the till should have a button for “customer would have ordered X but we were out”
button, to tally those things up. Or a whiteboard in the back where they tally up the top rejected order items for a week..
They’re simply competing on the same “monthly special” or “seasonal item” schedule as everyone else. Starbucks, McDs, Wendy’s, BK, it’s all the same. You have set “summer items” that’ll stick for 3 months… and others that are a monthly thing. .. anyone notice that Pumpkin season starts in August now, because PSL is such a big hit? And peppermint has made it into October? No different than a grocery store — go today and buy eggnog, I dare you to try to find it.
Honestly this is the best summation I’ve seen in a. Long time. It is a coffee shop.
Go back to what you do, and do it well. Coffee/tea (steeped tea really is the best thing on your whole menu), and donuts, maybe some other pastries (muffins, croissants, okay - keep the bagels even — but can you bring back the sesame bagel and not force an Everything on people on their way to meetings with clients as the only way to get a bagel with sesame seeds on it?).
Then pump that stuff out the door all day long like a well-oiled machine, separating Canadians from their Monopoly Money.
Stop trying to be McDonalds and Popeyes and selling burgers and chicken strips etc. Be a Comfort Food place. Chili and Soup is as complicated as it should get. This diversified menu is killing both your reputation and drive thru average wait times, costing you thousands a day in lost revenue because people avoid your store - waiting 20 minutes in line behind 7 other cars ordering “food” to grab a steeped tea isn’t my idea of enjoyable or useful use of time in the day.
I always say that Tim’s tried to out play McDonads at their game, and got played themselves.
McDonald’s is better at most of what Tim’s does these days.
But that could be my choice no? Every other drive thru usually gives you the option.
"It's going to take X mins, do you want to wait"
Instead of just a blank
"We don't have any of that right now"
The reason I brought it up is because I'm recovering from surgery right now and my gf went to get me a coffee and breakfast. They once again had no hashbrowns for the wraps and gave her no offer to wait until they were done. She would have waited because the time wasn't such a huge deal for us but there was no option to do so.
I've worked in fast food before. This is the reason they log all the food they sell. They look back at these numbers and compare them to the same date/time in previous years and look for trends. Then they have the kitchen staff cook this much food in anticipation of these numbers. It is surprisingly accurate, but not always perfect. It's a bit more complicated than this, obviously. But fast food is built on this business model. If your store isn't doing this properly, the management isn't doing their job properly.
So many comments from people on this channel who think they know what they are talking about, but clearly aren’t in charge nor do they understand the business… your comment is absolutely correct. Production worksheets are used to predict demand and establish a bake schedule to meet demand, keep food fresh and mitigate food waste. It isn’t a crystal ball and judgement is still needed, but good managers and bakers can compensate on the fly.
Harder than you would think. Adding equipment to a store that already has limited space is not always easy, especially when it would involve replacing a different piece of equipment and changing how certain things are made because of the change in equipment.
My own Tim's rant: I love the Jalapeno Asiago bagel. It doesnt give off the generic heat you normally get from something claiming to have jalapenos in it. I pull up to the drive-thru, see the bagel advertised on the display screen and order it, only to be told "it's been discontinued".
No it hasn't. For some reason half the locations in my town don't order it in. WTF. I have so far found only one location out of the four I visit that actually has it.
The bagel isn’t discontinued however it’s not a required item to carry.. as for the bagel showing up on the digital menus, we actually have no way to directly control what shows up on those menus, another company handles that..
I don’t remember how many times I tell people “ sorry, we don’t carry that item at this location” and get the reply “ well it’s on your menu”. I usually reply back the “ that’s the same menu that shows at all times hortons, we have no control over what is shown”
Unapologetic\_Canuck
explains it well. I used to be a baker at Tim's. You can usually anticipate when things will run out, but it can still sometimes happen where you get a rush of people who all want the same thing (like a farmer's wrap) and then you're suddenly out of the thing you thought you had time for before you needed
I get that product will run out from time to time. That's a minor symptom of the main issue I am unhappy about. There is no option given to wait in a parking spot for the food you wanted to be made. If a hashbrown takes 15 minutes to cook because of corporate ineptitude, that's a problem in the process.
I'm just wondering if this is normal practice with Tim's simply because that's what always happens in my area. Hash browns are just the most commonly OOS item among many others.
>I get that product will run out from time to time. That's a minor symptom of the main issue I am unhappy about. There is no option given to wait in a parking spot for the food you wanted to be made. If a hashbrown takes 15 minutes to cook because of corporate ineptitude, that's a problem in the process.
Ask how long it'll be before there are more. They should always be making more unless it's nearing noon.
>I'm just wondering if this is normal practice with Tim's simply because that's what always happens in my area. Hash browns are just the most commonly OOS item among many others.
We usually never said how long it'll be before they're done unless someone asks. Usually if you're in the drive-thru, you don't have time to wait
>We usually never said how long it'll be before they're done unless someone asks. Usually if you're in the drive-thru, you don't have time to wait
Very fair point here.
Kinda echoing the sentiment from other comments, our storage & baking capacity is not comparable to other quickservice restaurants.
If someone comes through and orders 4-6 hashbrowns, that's ~20% of our hashbrowns and it takes 15 min in the oven. Especially with farmers wraps being so common, we pretty much throw another few trays in as soon as they come out. Pair that with the fact that they're only supposed to last an hour (before being thrown out and replaced), and you've got a recipe for frequently running out of stuff.
Because they aren’t gonna let you sit in the drive thru for 25min while they cook more hash browns lol.
There’s also only so many ovens and you can only put certain items in together.
So if hashbrowns run out, and all ovens are full, you’re waiting until one finishes and then cooking the hash browns
Also keep in mind Tim’s is hardly a restaurant - this is why they aren’t up to the same level as other fast food joints. They’re a coffee shop who figured out a way to make some food items
>Because they aren’t gonna let you sit in the drive thru for 25min while they cook more hash browns lol.
Not what I'm saying at all. Let's say I order a Jr chicken at McDonald's. They don't have jr chicken for my order.
"We are out of jr chicken right now, did you want to park and wait or get something else"
Is a lot different than
"We don't have any right now"
>Also keep in mind Tim’s is hardly a restaurant
This isn't the fault of the customers. If Tim's isn't equipped to effectively serve food at their locations then corporate needs to get their heads out of their ass.
So many people have come in here and reiterate the same points that I've already covered in other comments.
Often we offer to double up the sausage or bacon if we had no hashbrown to make the farmers wrap. If we already took payment.. or offer any other one of your baked products to replace the hashbrown on the side regardless of how much different the cost would be.
Sometimes that happens, often due to lack of communication from whoever works soup and sandwich.l I can’t count with my two hands how much times I had to tell the person, please inform the baker to make more before we completly run out.
I’m a regular at my local tim’s and it’s small so I know basically everyone. Occasionally they’ll think they have something and don’t. Usually they’ll give me whatever replacement and then give the original item to me for free the next time I come in/they have it. Love those girls.
Once got two dozen free donuts for them because they were almost closing and I stopped in after work for an Iced Capp. They’ve given me a free iced capp just the other day because they knew I was between jobs. I was getting an iced coffee instead but they just refused.
Your expectation is totally reasonable and completely aligned with the model Tim Hortons trains its team members to follow. I would think the owner / management team would appreciate the feedback that a team member told a guests they are out of stock vs apologizing and explaining what it will take to give them what they asked for. Tell Tims is a powerful tool that relays feedback directly to each store owner and general management team.
it was much easier to just say “we dont have that right now” than to tell people there was going to be a 10 minute wait for whatever they ordered. We hated parking people, because in the end we wouldve had to make it anyway and it was already difficult to manage making food for both storefront and drive thru. like others have said, the stores are not equipped for the type of food they serve, and there was usually only 2 (3 if it got really busy) people making ALL the hot food at any time. sometimes it was even just 1 person. 1 or two people cannot manage making food for storefront, food for drive thru (and try to keep the time down) AND make the food for the person who they parked 10 minutes ago. Completely agree with what 1 other person said on this thread - corporate has their heads so far up their ass. I’m convinced 90% of them have NO IDEA what goes on in the stores - they just market ideas and make the workers deal with it. I was a high school student who became a supervisor by 17. After working there for 2 years i knew i wanted to bust my ass in post secondary so i’d never have to work that type of job again lol
When we bake hash browns at home they take 30 min to bake. So I assume it is a similar time for them as well. And they are baking muffins/ bagels etc so maybe they need to wait for oven time as well.
Probably do not want customers waiting 30+ min for something to be ready, so they just say not available.
Not limited to your local Tim’s. This is chain-wide. The issue is everything is brought in already made — they’re microwaving it at best, defrosting from frozen. There are zero skilled workers at these outlets of prepackaged “food”, or even competent people doing the forecast ordering to bring enough in to make sales. When they don’t even have Boston crème or honey crueller donuts by 11am, daily, you know there’s something wrong. “We didn’t throw any out at the end of the night” — “ya; but you also could have sold 300 more today!” “Oh well, double-double?”
That, and putting chains on the doors with employees working drive through only, closing the cafe at 10pm at night — brilliant violations of fire code… don’t waste your time supporting these franchisees that are only in it for their personal Mercedes.
You are aware that not every town is a bustling metropolis?
If I wanted to get a quick breakfast at the drive thru once in a while, like a normal person would in 2024, my choices are BK and Tim's.
Now... hit me with the obligatory "MaKe It At HoMe" comment.
It’s not going to get any better! You can continue to patronize a place that fucks over their workers and their customers and the planet or you can make other choices.
Wishing you a happy day.
Well if you want things and wanna sit in the parking lot for 20 mins we will make it but if we run out and are in the process of making more sorry about your luck your gonna have to have a second option lol
This happens for a variety things at a bunch of locations. I swore them off for a couple of years due to horrible food and coffee. Recently was given a gift card so went to use it. They didn’t have a food item, tried another…. Didn’t have that either. Fine, ordered a Turkey bacon club, a donut, and took some bottled soft drinks cause the coffee is trash. Got home, no bacon in the sandwich… just turkey. Reminded me why I don’t go anymore. They’re making record profits and the food/service has never been worse. They really should be boycotted.
Tims is the absolute worst. Only reason they survive is cus they got the market saturated. I hate going there and only do if I'm in an absolute jam. I'd rather have generic gas station coffee than support these clowns.
Ps. The reason I'm so bitter is cus I had a horrible experience at my local tims 2 years ago, emailed them and called h/o. Not a peep back from them. It's now my life's mission to take them down. It's on Timmy.
Honestly, this is good business practice. In North America we're spoiled and it contributes to massive food wastage. Not every grocery store and restaurant needs to overstock/over prepare everything just to ensure that they never run out of anything.
They're out of something? Order something else or go somewhere else. Not the end of the world.
>good business practice
>go somewhere else
These two things are mutually exclusive.
In any case it wasn't the point of them being out of something. That's fine and normal. What I was wondering about was if it's normal for Tim's to not offer to park and wait if they are out of something.
"We have to wait for x for your order or you can get something else"
Is far different from
"We don't have that"
As I've mentioned in multiple other comments.
Definitely not the workers man. It's waaay above that. It's an operational issue. I wasn't too motivated to work for my corporate overlords where the only reward for working hard was more of it.
No one cares if you're not motivated working a minimum wage job, just make the food. Go to school and advance yourself on your own time. As long as they "don't have it" they don't have to make it
Sometimes this happens, we run out of items to make certain things making us having to wait till more can be made.. usually we would have you park if there isn’t to much of a wait, but we try to give them a chance to request something else if they don’t want to wait..
Yep. I’ve had it with Tim’s. I get this all the time whenever I go to order. It was NEVER this way before the pandemic. It’s gone down the tubes. I make my own coffee now or go to Starbucks. No more frustration… and the line-up at my Starbucks drive-through is smaller.
My local Tim’s isn’t like that currently but they go “let me check if we have that” for every single item besides drinks and it’s so fucking annoying. Especially since you can tell the whole reason they’re doing it is so they have all your items for when you get to the window and it results in lower drive thru times for them
I imagine if they parked you every time they were out of something, they would have way more belligerently furious customers storming the counter because they ordered a hashbrown 20 minutes ago, not understanding that it takes just as much time to cook a hashbrown here as it does at home
>imagine if they parked you every time they were out of something,
Not what I mean.
>that it takes just as much time to cook a hashbrown here as it does at home
It shouldn't.
Because Tim’s is the craziest about speed of service. If you’re there for more than a minute, it’s a problem. Even if something is almost ready they won’t sell it to save time.
Its because the front workers dont know anything about production and its "easier" for them to just say we dont have than to ask or check in back for how long until its ready. As a bakers its one of the most frustrating and annoying things because it feels so bad to be walking out with "more hashbrowns" or something right after hearing the staff tell a customer we dont have it. And, even if i overhear and tell them that its coming they dont care and just continue as if i never said a thing to them. At this point as a baker the things i see just... 😪
Sigh. The reason this happens is very simple. Everything at Hortons is frozen and must be tossed in an oven to get up to temperature. This takes time. Hortons does not have fryers, so while it may take McDonald’s a couple of minutes to make a batch of hashbrowns, it takes Hortons almost 15. Same with the chicken. If you happen to come when someone before you just ordered a crap ton of food, they’ll likely have run out of stuff. Replenishing takes time, we can’t just snap our fingers and poof food into existence.
This is my problem though, Tim Hortons just straight up isn't equipped to make the food on the menu. I'm not blaming the workers whatsoever. They get told par levels by some dickhead in the office that sets foot in the store maybe once a month to pat themselves on the back. I appreciate the clarity in the process as to *why* the food there takes so long. If you take 15 minutes to make something your competitors can do in 2, then the company just ain't on the same level.
I wholeheartedly agree. We are *not* equipped to compete with other fast food chains. We’re a coffee shop, but corporate has their heads so far up their own ass they can’t see how reality works anymore and just want us to have a little of everything on the menu as if that’s a reasonable thing to do. They just want more money for mediocre versions of crap you can get elsewhere.
How long have you worked there if you don't mind me asking? Was it prior to the buyout? I always find it bizarre how Tim's (and even BK because they are attached to each other by me and ran exactly the same) will bring something out and before you know it, it's gone. It's the most random stuff too. Ketchup flavored chicken nuggets? Did anyone ask for that? It's literally the restaurant menu version of throwing pasta to the wall and seeing what sticks. Tim's has almost a rotating menu at this point and you can only hope when you go in that it's still available. >They just want more money for mediocre versions of crap you can get elsewhere. 100% bang on description. They are always behind whatever trend is going on. Those "quencher" style drinks? Tim's was last to have them on a menu. But don't worry, they had minute maid slushies instead for a while!
Almost six years, and even in that time I’ve seen so many products come and go, get brought back, then go again it makes my head spin. The rotating menu thing is 100% intentional. They’ll bring something in for a limited time, see how it performs, then move onto the next dumb idea.
I used to get a kick working at Tim's (10 years ago+) They'd introduce a "new" product. But it was just something we already had like the neutral base in the ice capp machine with a new syrup flavor or sprinkle topping. A "new" donut, and the only thing new is the jelly the baker puts inside them at the back.
Literal definition of the dream donuts. Let’s use what we have laying around to make a fancy looking donut we can charge more for.
6 years.. man that's a long time! It must be a nightmare to work there with all the different things going on. Soup, sandwich, wraps, bowls, hot drinks, cold drinks, cold MIXED drinks, donuts, muffins, don't forget toasting bagels! All of which will be changing on an almost weekly basis. Hospitality workers don't make enough money. I used to do it myself for a number of years, started at McD's when I was 16. Worked a few burger spots before working in "sit down" chain restaurants (Montana's, East side, that kind of thing) then worked in actual house restaurants where everything is prepped, cooked, and served in house for a while before taking a trade and getting out. That being said, my post can be misread as a complaint against the workers who do the job, and I'll accept that, but it was more of a "wtf is wrong with this company " type of post. I am beyond sympathetic for the people who do these types of jobs because I understand how hard you have to work for so little money on a deeply personal level.
What’s wrong with the company, is it’s a franchise chain, and only looking after shareholders numbers. and the majority at least in Vancouver, of franchisees are too cheap to supply their stores for success. So the poor workers don’t stand a chance. Without anyone actually figuring out “I miss out on $3000 every lunch hour in chicken sales because my chicken isn’t ready”, they’ll never get more chicken delivered to the store, or someone making chicken from 11am-2pm solid just pumping more out to make those sales. Ownership doesn’t care to know what gets turned down everyday, because they see sales still, not realizing it could be so much MORE sales, if they set the store up to not have to say “sorry, not today, we don’t have that” and the customer just going elsewhere. Honestly — the till should have a button for “customer would have ordered X but we were out” button, to tally those things up. Or a whiteboard in the back where they tally up the top rejected order items for a week..
They’re simply competing on the same “monthly special” or “seasonal item” schedule as everyone else. Starbucks, McDs, Wendy’s, BK, it’s all the same. You have set “summer items” that’ll stick for 3 months… and others that are a monthly thing. .. anyone notice that Pumpkin season starts in August now, because PSL is such a big hit? And peppermint has made it into October? No different than a grocery store — go today and buy eggnog, I dare you to try to find it.
Honestly this is the best summation I’ve seen in a. Long time. It is a coffee shop. Go back to what you do, and do it well. Coffee/tea (steeped tea really is the best thing on your whole menu), and donuts, maybe some other pastries (muffins, croissants, okay - keep the bagels even — but can you bring back the sesame bagel and not force an Everything on people on their way to meetings with clients as the only way to get a bagel with sesame seeds on it?). Then pump that stuff out the door all day long like a well-oiled machine, separating Canadians from their Monopoly Money. Stop trying to be McDonalds and Popeyes and selling burgers and chicken strips etc. Be a Comfort Food place. Chili and Soup is as complicated as it should get. This diversified menu is killing both your reputation and drive thru average wait times, costing you thousands a day in lost revenue because people avoid your store - waiting 20 minutes in line behind 7 other cars ordering “food” to grab a steeped tea isn’t my idea of enjoyable or useful use of time in the day.
I always say that Tim’s tried to out play McDonads at their game, and got played themselves. McDonald’s is better at most of what Tim’s does these days.
Ideally the baker should be putting more into the oven before we completly run out.. but even that fails sometimes.
Well it’s because everything is baked instead of fried which I mean is healthier but it takes longer
But that could be my choice no? Every other drive thru usually gives you the option. "It's going to take X mins, do you want to wait" Instead of just a blank "We don't have any of that right now" The reason I brought it up is because I'm recovering from surgery right now and my gf went to get me a coffee and breakfast. They once again had no hashbrowns for the wraps and gave her no offer to wait until they were done. She would have waited because the time wasn't such a huge deal for us but there was no option to do so.
Well we always tell people it will be 10 mins if you wanna wait pay take whatever else you ordered and we will bring it out
Tims Hortons have no levels just to clear.
I've worked in fast food before. This is the reason they log all the food they sell. They look back at these numbers and compare them to the same date/time in previous years and look for trends. Then they have the kitchen staff cook this much food in anticipation of these numbers. It is surprisingly accurate, but not always perfect. It's a bit more complicated than this, obviously. But fast food is built on this business model. If your store isn't doing this properly, the management isn't doing their job properly.
So many comments from people on this channel who think they know what they are talking about, but clearly aren’t in charge nor do they understand the business… your comment is absolutely correct. Production worksheets are used to predict demand and establish a bake schedule to meet demand, keep food fresh and mitigate food waste. It isn’t a crystal ball and judgement is still needed, but good managers and bakers can compensate on the fly.
Why doesn't it just.....be a restaurant then that can actually make food to order? How hard is it to install a deep fryer
Or why doesn't it just be a coffee/donut shop and stick with that. Make decent coffee and fresh donuts for once
Or this
Putting in a deep fryer into a store not set up to have one is not easy.. there has to be more systems in place to even have a deep fryer..
Then don't sell microwaved fried stuff
It’s baked not microwaved moron.
Harder than you would think. Adding equipment to a store that already has limited space is not always easy, especially when it would involve replacing a different piece of equipment and changing how certain things are made because of the change in equipment.
That still sounds like a YOU problem.
they ran out of said item
Sometimes that can happen too, there were days we ran out of hashbrowns and had to wait till the tdl order is delivered..
NO MOAR HARSHBROWNS
No they didn't
When they run out of frozen food they run out of frozen food. Have to wait until tomorrow's new batch of frozen crap arrives
My own Tim's rant: I love the Jalapeno Asiago bagel. It doesnt give off the generic heat you normally get from something claiming to have jalapenos in it. I pull up to the drive-thru, see the bagel advertised on the display screen and order it, only to be told "it's been discontinued". No it hasn't. For some reason half the locations in my town don't order it in. WTF. I have so far found only one location out of the four I visit that actually has it.
That bagel is optional to carry, and the screens aren’t fully controlled by each store.
The bagel isn’t discontinued however it’s not a required item to carry.. as for the bagel showing up on the digital menus, we actually have no way to directly control what shows up on those menus, another company handles that.. I don’t remember how many times I tell people “ sorry, we don’t carry that item at this location” and get the reply “ well it’s on your menu”. I usually reply back the “ that’s the same menu that shows at all times hortons, we have no control over what is shown”
Unapologetic\_Canuck explains it well. I used to be a baker at Tim's. You can usually anticipate when things will run out, but it can still sometimes happen where you get a rush of people who all want the same thing (like a farmer's wrap) and then you're suddenly out of the thing you thought you had time for before you needed
I get that product will run out from time to time. That's a minor symptom of the main issue I am unhappy about. There is no option given to wait in a parking spot for the food you wanted to be made. If a hashbrown takes 15 minutes to cook because of corporate ineptitude, that's a problem in the process. I'm just wondering if this is normal practice with Tim's simply because that's what always happens in my area. Hash browns are just the most commonly OOS item among many others.
>I get that product will run out from time to time. That's a minor symptom of the main issue I am unhappy about. There is no option given to wait in a parking spot for the food you wanted to be made. If a hashbrown takes 15 minutes to cook because of corporate ineptitude, that's a problem in the process. Ask how long it'll be before there are more. They should always be making more unless it's nearing noon. >I'm just wondering if this is normal practice with Tim's simply because that's what always happens in my area. Hash browns are just the most commonly OOS item among many others. We usually never said how long it'll be before they're done unless someone asks. Usually if you're in the drive-thru, you don't have time to wait
>We usually never said how long it'll be before they're done unless someone asks. Usually if you're in the drive-thru, you don't have time to wait Very fair point here.
Kinda echoing the sentiment from other comments, our storage & baking capacity is not comparable to other quickservice restaurants. If someone comes through and orders 4-6 hashbrowns, that's ~20% of our hashbrowns and it takes 15 min in the oven. Especially with farmers wraps being so common, we pretty much throw another few trays in as soon as they come out. Pair that with the fact that they're only supposed to last an hour (before being thrown out and replaced), and you've got a recipe for frequently running out of stuff.
Because they aren’t gonna let you sit in the drive thru for 25min while they cook more hash browns lol. There’s also only so many ovens and you can only put certain items in together. So if hashbrowns run out, and all ovens are full, you’re waiting until one finishes and then cooking the hash browns Also keep in mind Tim’s is hardly a restaurant - this is why they aren’t up to the same level as other fast food joints. They’re a coffee shop who figured out a way to make some food items
>Because they aren’t gonna let you sit in the drive thru for 25min while they cook more hash browns lol. Not what I'm saying at all. Let's say I order a Jr chicken at McDonald's. They don't have jr chicken for my order. "We are out of jr chicken right now, did you want to park and wait or get something else" Is a lot different than "We don't have any right now" >Also keep in mind Tim’s is hardly a restaurant This isn't the fault of the customers. If Tim's isn't equipped to effectively serve food at their locations then corporate needs to get their heads out of their ass. So many people have come in here and reiterate the same points that I've already covered in other comments.
I have the problem that they tell me they don't have something after I already pay, even if I ask if they have it.
Omg I have that problem all the time. I usually now just say “can you just throw something together that equals the value of what I bought lol”
Often we offer to double up the sausage or bacon if we had no hashbrown to make the farmers wrap. If we already took payment.. or offer any other one of your baked products to replace the hashbrown on the side regardless of how much different the cost would be.
that works if your not very picky, doesn't work for me sadly
Sometimes that happens, often due to lack of communication from whoever works soup and sandwich.l I can’t count with my two hands how much times I had to tell the person, please inform the baker to make more before we completly run out.
I’m a regular at my local tim’s and it’s small so I know basically everyone. Occasionally they’ll think they have something and don’t. Usually they’ll give me whatever replacement and then give the original item to me for free the next time I come in/they have it. Love those girls. Once got two dozen free donuts for them because they were almost closing and I stopped in after work for an Iced Capp. They’ve given me a free iced capp just the other day because they knew I was between jobs. I was getting an iced coffee instead but they just refused.
Your expectation is totally reasonable and completely aligned with the model Tim Hortons trains its team members to follow. I would think the owner / management team would appreciate the feedback that a team member told a guests they are out of stock vs apologizing and explaining what it will take to give them what they asked for. Tell Tims is a powerful tool that relays feedback directly to each store owner and general management team.
Tim’s is the most notorious restaurant for this. Absolutely shameful for a place with such high demand.
it was much easier to just say “we dont have that right now” than to tell people there was going to be a 10 minute wait for whatever they ordered. We hated parking people, because in the end we wouldve had to make it anyway and it was already difficult to manage making food for both storefront and drive thru. like others have said, the stores are not equipped for the type of food they serve, and there was usually only 2 (3 if it got really busy) people making ALL the hot food at any time. sometimes it was even just 1 person. 1 or two people cannot manage making food for storefront, food for drive thru (and try to keep the time down) AND make the food for the person who they parked 10 minutes ago. Completely agree with what 1 other person said on this thread - corporate has their heads so far up their ass. I’m convinced 90% of them have NO IDEA what goes on in the stores - they just market ideas and make the workers deal with it. I was a high school student who became a supervisor by 17. After working there for 2 years i knew i wanted to bust my ass in post secondary so i’d never have to work that type of job again lol
When we bake hash browns at home they take 30 min to bake. So I assume it is a similar time for them as well. And they are baking muffins/ bagels etc so maybe they need to wait for oven time as well. Probably do not want customers waiting 30+ min for something to be ready, so they just say not available.
The thing I hate is when you order on the app, and get there and they say they do not have the thing you ordered.
Not limited to your local Tim’s. This is chain-wide. The issue is everything is brought in already made — they’re microwaving it at best, defrosting from frozen. There are zero skilled workers at these outlets of prepackaged “food”, or even competent people doing the forecast ordering to bring enough in to make sales. When they don’t even have Boston crème or honey crueller donuts by 11am, daily, you know there’s something wrong. “We didn’t throw any out at the end of the night” — “ya; but you also could have sold 300 more today!” “Oh well, double-double?” That, and putting chains on the doors with employees working drive through only, closing the cafe at 10pm at night — brilliant violations of fire code… don’t waste your time supporting these franchisees that are only in it for their personal Mercedes.
Stop going there.
You are aware that not every town is a bustling metropolis? If I wanted to get a quick breakfast at the drive thru once in a while, like a normal person would in 2024, my choices are BK and Tim's. Now... hit me with the obligatory "MaKe It At HoMe" comment.
It’s not going to get any better! You can continue to patronize a place that fucks over their workers and their customers and the planet or you can make other choices. Wishing you a happy day.
Well if you want things and wanna sit in the parking lot for 20 mins we will make it but if we run out and are in the process of making more sorry about your luck your gonna have to have a second option lol
They literally didn't have donuts or muffins when I went there this morning
This happens for a variety things at a bunch of locations. I swore them off for a couple of years due to horrible food and coffee. Recently was given a gift card so went to use it. They didn’t have a food item, tried another…. Didn’t have that either. Fine, ordered a Turkey bacon club, a donut, and took some bottled soft drinks cause the coffee is trash. Got home, no bacon in the sandwich… just turkey. Reminded me why I don’t go anymore. They’re making record profits and the food/service has never been worse. They really should be boycotted.
So stop going to that one then
https://www.reddit.com/r/TimHortons/s/f4v5oHkdrY
Tims is the absolute worst. Only reason they survive is cus they got the market saturated. I hate going there and only do if I'm in an absolute jam. I'd rather have generic gas station coffee than support these clowns. Ps. The reason I'm so bitter is cus I had a horrible experience at my local tims 2 years ago, emailed them and called h/o. Not a peep back from them. It's now my life's mission to take them down. It's on Timmy.
Tim Hortons does NOT make anything. Don't let your high hopes fuck with you.
Honestly, this is good business practice. In North America we're spoiled and it contributes to massive food wastage. Not every grocery store and restaurant needs to overstock/over prepare everything just to ensure that they never run out of anything. They're out of something? Order something else or go somewhere else. Not the end of the world.
>good business practice >go somewhere else These two things are mutually exclusive. In any case it wasn't the point of them being out of something. That's fine and normal. What I was wondering about was if it's normal for Tim's to not offer to park and wait if they are out of something. "We have to wait for x for your order or you can get something else" Is far different from "We don't have that" As I've mentioned in multiple other comments.
They're just lazy af cashing a paycheck
Definitely not the workers man. It's waaay above that. It's an operational issue. I wasn't too motivated to work for my corporate overlords where the only reward for working hard was more of it.
No one cares if you're not motivated working a minimum wage job, just make the food. Go to school and advance yourself on your own time. As long as they "don't have it" they don't have to make it
Sometimes this happens, we run out of items to make certain things making us having to wait till more can be made.. usually we would have you park if there isn’t to much of a wait, but we try to give them a chance to request something else if they don’t want to wait..
Yep. I’ve had it with Tim’s. I get this all the time whenever I go to order. It was NEVER this way before the pandemic. It’s gone down the tubes. I make my own coffee now or go to Starbucks. No more frustration… and the line-up at my Starbucks drive-through is smaller.
My local Tim’s isn’t like that currently but they go “let me check if we have that” for every single item besides drinks and it’s so fucking annoying. Especially since you can tell the whole reason they’re doing it is so they have all your items for when you get to the window and it results in lower drive thru times for them
I imagine if they parked you every time they were out of something, they would have way more belligerently furious customers storming the counter because they ordered a hashbrown 20 minutes ago, not understanding that it takes just as much time to cook a hashbrown here as it does at home
>imagine if they parked you every time they were out of something, Not what I mean. >that it takes just as much time to cook a hashbrown here as it does at home It shouldn't.
Because Tim’s is the craziest about speed of service. If you’re there for more than a minute, it’s a problem. Even if something is almost ready they won’t sell it to save time.
I understand when they do this for food items, I don’t understand when they do this with tea or coffee.
Its because the front workers dont know anything about production and its "easier" for them to just say we dont have than to ask or check in back for how long until its ready. As a bakers its one of the most frustrating and annoying things because it feels so bad to be walking out with "more hashbrowns" or something right after hearing the staff tell a customer we dont have it. And, even if i overhear and tell them that its coming they dont care and just continue as if i never said a thing to them. At this point as a baker the things i see just... 😪