[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think the answer can be put down to the usual suspects:

1) Force of habit/change is hard.
2) Ubiquity
3) Price

Really its the same explanation for McDs which makes just about the most abysmal hamburger one can manage. It says something awful about you when Burger King is a trade up.

I suspect there is an element that is akin to "cheating" on your hairstylist. Not quite simple as "change is hard" but more like guilt over changing, as if it is treasonous to your community or identity or something.

To that - get over it (and saying this as an immigrant whose first experience arriving at the city was stereotypically - Tims coffee + blueberry muffin. It was edible - even "delicious" then.). Their current baked goods is like the Washington apples of the fast food world - all looks but no good for anything else.

AoD

 

[lenaitch]

I'm not in any of the coffee chains much since I'm not on the road much anymore. In the past, their strength was the fresh baked goods and the coffee was at least a known quantity when compared to a mom-and-pop restaurant where its quality and 'vintage' might be questionable. The main thing keeping them going is their ubiquity, especially in smaller communities and the 'lifestyle habit thing' (some people seem incapable of wandering around the grocery store, Canadian Tire or Walmart without a Tim's). Also, in smaller communities, it seems they have the ability to nail prime locations for the traveller.
The one thing that drives me absolutely is their priority to drive-through because of the higher 'production value'. I used to drive a rather large truck and tow a trailer on occasion (coupled with the fact that I simply don't like drive throughs - ever get caught behind the guy who obviously lost the lunch order toss?) and you go in to find one poor staffer handling the line up and 4 or 5 working the window, and even if they're not busy, they usually won't pitch in.

I know two area franchisees and they are a licence to print money.

I miss the few Robins we used to have and look forward to them whenever I'm down east.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Then only crack addicts will want to go to Tims, because that is what happened to Coffee Time.

That’s what is happening in Cabbagetown. The Coffee Time at Parliament and Winchester used to attract the addicts, insane, and obese pogey smokers on their rollies. Once Coffee Time left, that crowd moved to Tim Hortons in the old Winchester Hotel, and the rest of us fled to Starbucks (now also closed).

 

[gabe]

Having lived many years in the burbs Tim Horton's are popular hang outs. The store near where i lived was full of elderly people in the mornings. Lunch time, full of high school kids, and evenings was a mix bag of different types of people. During the summer nights the motorcycles and modified cars took over the parking lot. And Saturdays during the day the store was always full of Vietnamese families. Really, where else can you go that's cheap and they allow you to hang around for hours on end?

 

[Admiral Beez]

I go to Tim's in small town Ontario because i have no choice. They pretty much got the coffee chain monopoly.

Small towns are becoming more coffee diverse, albeit other chains. I was in Uxbridge today on the motorcycle and avoided Tim’s. Instead went to Starbucks, got my coffee and brownie and sat in a comfy chair and read my book.

Second Cup is always a good place, and Wendy’s has good coffee too.

 

[gabe]

I was in Uxbridge today on the motorcycle and avoided Tim’s. Instead went to Starbucks, got my coffee and brownie and sat in a comfy chair and read my book.

You got a seat because everyone else is at Tim Horton's!

 

[gabe]

Starbucks is usually is quick and easy. The odd time i will get stuck behind someone with the most complicated coffee order, but for the most part you're in and out in a few minutes, since no one orders the food there.

Tim Horton's food orders slow the lines down to a snails pace. I actually feel sorry for the employees at some stores. They never seem to have enough people, they got front house and drive through to manage.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Starbucks is usually is quick and easy. Tim Horton's food orders slow the lines down to a snails pace.

At Starbucks I never have issues being understood. But at Tim Hortons they seem to disregard any English fluency in their hiring process. The two differ in their hiring demographics as well, with Starbucks hiring a mix of youth, adults, seniors, seemingly hip tat/piercing folks, across all ethnicities, with everyone entirely fluent in English. OTOH, at GTA Tim’s it seems to be exclusively newly arrived South Asian women, often with limited fluency, making me wonder if there’s some labour exploitation going on. They’ve certainly faced allegations elsewhere.

B.C. Tim Hortons shop faces labour probe over allegations it exploited Filipino workers | The Star

A franchise owner in the mountain town of Fernie is under investigation after being accused of exploiting temporary foreign workers.

www.thestar.com

Human Rights Complaint against Tim Hortons Moves Ahead | The Tyee

BC tribunal rejects argument that firm isn't responsible for franchisee's treatment of workers.

thetyee.ca

Tim’s has thousands of temporary foreign workers apparently, https://www.canadianimmigration.com/tim-hortons-responds-temporary-foreign-worker-program-revision/

 

[lenaitch]

Small towns are becoming more coffee diverse, albeit other chains. I was in Uxbridge today on the motorcycle and avoided Tim’s. Instead went to Starbucks, got my coffee and brownie and sat in a comfy chair and read my book.

Second Cup is always a good place, and Wendy’s has good coffee too.

Outside of the GTA, Starbucks is pretty rare outside of the larger centres; I'm thinking of places like Midland, Fergus, Parry Sound, Minden, etc. where Tim's are. They might have an independent coffee shop (which are growing) but you usually have to know the town to find them.

BTW, good on ya for getting out on the bike. I'm still waiting for a good day (we've had a couple but I was, sadly, busy). I usually like to wait until after a couple of good rains to wash the winter crap off the road.

Probably not surprisingly, demographics both in front of and behind the counter tend to reflect local conditions. Many of the rural Tim's often tend towards middle-aged/older ladies behind the counter, and if you're in one of those rural areas when no one is in a hurry and everybody knows everybody else, service tends to be more, shall we say, social.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Many of the rural Tim's often tend towards middle-aged/older ladies behind the counter, and if you're in one of those rural areas when no one is in a hurry and everybody knows everybody else, service tends to be more, shall we say, social.

I used to live in Fredericton, NB, and sweet jesus the service was slow. And, as you say, lord help you if the person in front of you knows the staffer and wants to discuss local matters.

 

[Jonny5]

Tim Horton's food orders slow the lines down to a snails pace. I actually feel sorry for the employees at some stores. They never seem to have enough people, they got front house and drive through to manage.

It's the modern service method of keeping only one person available at the service point full-time, and having others flexible to show up there only as needed when a line forms. It works only in theory. and very obviously not at all in practice. The banks do this now too. You walk in and there's only one teller on duty, but you can see seven people meandering around in the back doing some kind of other work. The teller then gets hung up on someone that comes in who wants to depost 300 cheques into 50 different accounts, and only notices about five or ten minutes later there is now a line of 15 people, and then calls in the cavalry from the back.

 

[Johnny Au]

When Tim Hortons introduced poutine (for a limited time), potato wedges were used.

Almost no authentic poutine restaurant uses potato wedges (except as a special order).

 

[steveintoronto]

I suspect there is an element that is akin to "cheating" on your hairstylist.

lol! Seinfeld...that episode has resonated with me ever since. And still holds relevance.

As to coffee, I'm no connoisseur, but Tim's is pretty ...uhhh...unremarkable. Pay a few pennies more for the real thing. The coffee 'boutiques' are also 'wipe clean with a damp cloth' atmosphere (but a fancier cloth mind!), but if you're there for the coffee, I find it a hell of a lot better.

When Tim Hortons introduced poutine (for a limited time), potato wedges were used.

Canadians are ripping Tim Hortons' poutine a new one

https://dailyhive.com/toronto/internet-ripping-tim-hortons-poutine

Ouch!

 

[p_xavier]

Horton's was never really all that good.

That said, back when, they used to actually bake doughnuts in the stores, they did that reasonably well.

When they abandoned that......they really lost what redeeming value they had.

Its amusing to me that this chain has actually improved the look of their stores substantially from the 80's/early 90's by moving from then yellow/brown colour scheme and foodcourt grade chairs.......to free chairs, some even comfy, pendant lights/recessed lights and a more civil and contemporary colour scheme.

Yet, the less offensive their shops are to look at, the less redeemable what they pass off as food becomes.

I can't imagine they will ever revert to their original concept.

Though the few real remaining 'doughnut' shops still seem to manage to bake on premise and sell for a similar price to Tim's.

****

To attract my business, they would have to:

1) Bring back freshly baked, baked goods.
2) Get rid of drive-thrus
3) Bring back mugs as the default way of serving coffee unless its requested as 'to go'.
4)Slim down their ever growing non-baked goods menu in favour of doing a few items well.
5) Ensure their staff are treated/compensated decently (impose this on franchisees)
6) Oh....and improve the bloody coffee!

I only remember the strong cigarette smoke flavour when biting an oven fresh muffin, it was just plain horrible.

 

[steveintoronto]

I only remember the strong cigarette smoke flavour when biting an oven fresh muffin, it was just plain horrible.

Ohhhhh....horrible memories. I live in a building riven with smokers. It permeates *everything*. I have a huge fan blowing outside air through my window, rendering a positive pressure to stop the blight seeping in through cracks and openings. It's good, until the wind changes, and it blows in the smoke from other units exhausting it.

What a disgusting vile habit. At least when junkies are doing smack (or synthetic opioids) they keep it to themselves. Too bad about their nicotine habit that every one of them has.

I have the constant taste of cigarette filth on my tongue, and I don't smoke, never have.