A Very Un-Canadian Timmy's

By Ariana Haltner

Image source: Flickr.

The upstanding and proper Canadian people are proud of the many principled characteristics associated with their country. Canadian standards of hospitality are high and unyielding; any visitor to the country is treated well.  Not only are visitors treated well but the entire Canadian community lives a fulfilling and loving life. Through honesty and hard work Canadians take care of the rich land around them.  Grown from Canadian roots the restaurant franchise Tim Hortons is publicized as a national symbol of Canada.  The average Canadian is proud to show support of such an icon.  Through its commercials, websites, and foundations Tim Hortons promotes and embodies all of a Canadian's main ideals and beliefs.  However, contrary to the propaganda, the Tim Hortons Company perpetrates fake promises that violate every Canadian Value.   A wholesome and pure Canadian background, fast and efficient service, an excellent standard of customer service, high quality and "Always Fresh" products, 'ethical and fair' business thinking, are the promises that go unfulfilled at Tim Hortons.  The franchise is a sham and a disgrace to all of Canada. Its current state of business annuls its humble Canadian beginnings.

Created by the much honored hockey player Tim Horton, the franchise under his namesake is heralded as purely Canadian, but there are aspects of the Tim Hortons history that go unpublicized.   A hockey player turned entrepreneur, Horton was seen as a true Canadian success story.  In 1964, he opened his first coffee and donut restaurant.  Then in 1967 he partnered with fellow Canadian Ron Joyce.  Together they worked on franchising the Tim Hortons brand.  In 1974, disaster struck and Tim Horton died in a car crash while driving under the influence of alcohol. The humble roots gave the franchise and its creator a wholesome personality, but Horton's death was a covered up scandal. The Creator of this "treasured icon" was not an upstanding Canadian, who upheld Canadian morals.  He was a drunk driver who could have easily become a murderer.  After Horton's death Ron Joyce took a much more aggressive approach to the business, expanding it to the largest fast food restaurant in all of Canada. This process reinforced its "purely Canadian" image.  In the mid 1990's Ron Joyce created an official merger between the American born Hamburger Company Wendy's and his already owned Tim Hortons.  From 1995 to 2005 Tim Hortons was apart of an American Company.  The most successful years of the Tim Hortons franchise were actually spent under an American Banner, filling the pockets of Americans. The Franchise was under the control of non-Canadian individuals and prone to their decisions and whims. Similarly its franchise restaurants can be owned by anyone, regardless of who they are, and subject to their whims and decisions.   

Each Tim Hortons restaurant is expected to uphold the main goal of the company: Fast and Efficient service, but due to its franchise format this assurance is quashed. Being franchised means that an individual will own each and every restaurant, this can result in very different forms of operation. To maintain consistency in Tim Hortons operations each restaurant is audited regularly.  The Auditors are not present at all times, and can be considered to be examiners rather than overseers. With no immediate supervisor to report to, an owner will decide the day-to-day operations of their restaurant.  Their decisions can often be misguided and ignorant.  For instance, if a particular restaurant is not doing well, an owner can choose to hire less employees, leading to the problem of being understaffed.  An important expectation of a Tim Hortons drive through is it should not take more than fifteen seconds to be served. If there are say only three employees on shift, fifteen seconds is next to impossible to complete an order.  Furthermore if a restaurant is understaffed, there will not be enough time to properly train workers.  If an employee is not trained properly they can hardly be expected to perform "efficiently". By not following proper business practices, poorly managed restaurants do a disservice to the company's iconic Canadian status.  With no fear of direct consequences owners and management can descend into abusive and shortsighted behavior, going so far as mistreating their already overtaxed workers. 

Tim Hortons puts a lot of effort into promoting a high standard of customer service satisfaction, but these abnormally high expectations immediately set the staff up for failure. With such a warm reputation it is no wonder that young teens and older individuals, just looking to make an honest dollar, flock to Tim Hortons for work.   However, the Tim Hortons Company requires its employees to be akin to super heroes.  Staff members must simultaneously be bakers, cooks, janitors, cashiers, and even mechanics when the iced cappuccino machine breaks down.  Though, their supposed top priority is perfect customer service, with a big smile.  When a customer comes into a Tim Hortons and does not receive the treatment promised them, they will unleash their frustrations on the people behind the counter.  As the management will see the customers upset, they will also vent their anger on the employees of the restaurant.  This sort of treatment would hardly put an individual in the mood for smiling and being friendly, as the peppy Tim Hortons commercial actors would have you believe. In fact this setup can often debase any workplace into an extremely hostile environment. With its various foundations, Tim Hortons has frequently advertised its belief in the importance of community.  The employees of a restaurant are generally people from the community.  So by disrespecting its employees it is in fact disrespecting the community.  To regain parts of their dignity, frustrated employees are forced to take out their anger on the customers and the company. They could go for the "spitting in coffee" routine, which damages the product quality.

 The "Always Fresh" slogan, which accompanies every Tim Hortons logo, guarantees all food and coffee is continually fresh, but with dissatisfied and improperly trained employees, this promise is impossible to uphold.   The Tim Hortons Company knows that they are hiring unprofessional people who rarely have previous knowledge about baking.  So it must take extra measures to ensure that the employees are able to make the food without much effort.  None of the Tim Hortons food is fresh.  The donuts, cookies, bread, and muffins have all been baked previously and then frozen for transportation.  The soup and chili are dehydrated and sealed in packages. The breakfast beans come from a can, and usually heated up in a microwave. The hard boiled eggs are pickled and preserved in plastic bags. The cappuccinos are powders, requiring only boiled water for consumption. Even the icing used to glaze the donuts is most often sitting in its trough for days.  

From its publicity many people believe that the food is made fresh and not frozen like a regular fast food restaurant.  The actual procedures it takes to make this food can be performed in a regular kitchen at home. Canadians value honesty; Tim Hortons claimed to value honesty. The "Always Fresh" slogan is a lie and is misleading its loyal customers into thinking that the food is fresher than a regular McDonalds.  Not only is the "Always Fresh" policy a lie but it is detrimental to the environment, because it involves throwing out perfectly good coffee and food.

Tim Hortons promises an 'ethical and fair' business mentality, but its recycling policies and coffee bean trade are environmentally unethical and unfair.  Tim Hortons publicizes itself as having conscientious business practices.  They created the "Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership" program in response to the growing demand and popularity of Fair Trade Business strategies.  "Our philosophy is to take the same approach to those communities that produce our coffee. The Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership helps those communities by supporting them in key areas that will improve their coffee business, and their lives." (Tim Hortons,Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership) However, this program is unique to the Tim Hortons Company.  Due to its uniqueness it has allowed the company to keep informative statistics private.  If Tim Hortons aligned itself with the Fair Trade movement, it would be public about its practices.  The fact that Tim Hortons remains secretive leads most to believe its "Coffee Partnership" is just a gimmick. Their un-fair-trade coffee most likely promotes unethical behavior in developing countries.   Additionally the Tim Hortons coffee cups are non recyclable. During the annual "Roll up the Rim to Win" contest every coffee buyer receives a non recyclable cup, so they may "Roll up the Rim". Tim Hortons also practices "Double Cupping". If a beverage is too hot, instead of using a recyclable cup sleeve they simply double the cup. This creates double the waste.  With Canada's vast nature and wildlife, it is a Canadian's responsibility to support and maintain this wondrous land.  By going to Tim Hortons they are helping with the destruction of their own Country. It is a duty to maintain Canada by sticking to our morals and casting off or fighting anything that does not.   

Being Canadian is to cast off negative unethical behavior, to show pride in Canadian values, to lead the way in revolutionary thinking, and to fight for strong beliefs.  Tim Hortons is not a Canadian Company.  It provides poor service, which is an insult to the hospitable Canadians.  It mistreats the members of the Canadian community.  It is a company based on lies and it is destroying our Canadian lands.  Tim Hortons may have come from Canadian roots, but it has grown into a rotten and foul tree.  It is not our duty to chop this tree down, because we are Canadian and do not kill casually; it is our obligation to fight and help this tree heal. 

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