Just once. Just once I would like to walk in to a Toronto Tim Horton's, place and order, and be understood. One might assume that language is the problem here. It is true that behind every Timmy's counter in the Big Smoke stands a veritable U.N. of Hortonettes, all speaking different languages. But that's not the problem...Toronto is like that and we all manage to go about our business just fine. The issue, from what I can tell, is that these poor individuals are given an ugly brown shirt, 10 minutes of training, and are then abandoned to their own devices. None of them ever seems to know about the products served at the store in which they work. Real Life Examples... Hortoneer: May I help you? That is nearly verbatim. The conversation happened a couple months ago, but it's seared into my memory. Or perhaps this... Hortonian: Can I help you? O.K., so I added that snide comment. She didn't say that, but she was thinking it. Today was little better. To set this up, Tim Horton's always has a "Donut of the Month." It's like the Cheeses of the World collector plates, only you eat them. Last month was sort of a crap donut, so I was looking forward to the changeover. Hortonista: Over here! Can I help you? I'd be tempted to think it was just me, except Amy has had similar difficulties trying to order a baguette. ("Doh...nut?" "Baguette!") I really get the impression that these aren't Tim Horton's employees. They're just the poor shmucks who got there first this morning, and they were pressed into service by desperate managers. Really, Mr. Horton's, train your workers a bit better. Less emphasis on speed and more on accuracy...or even on knowing what the heck you're selling. That'd be nice. |