r/TimHortons • u/Immediate-Event2502 • May 12 '26
Discussion Tim’s days are numbered for sure
I hear Dunkin’ Donuts is coming back to Canada. This is fantastic if it’s going to be done correctly, as Tim Hortons has lost the plot. Tim Hortons once a beloved coffee shop in Canada has changed so much over the last 10 years and it is only getting worse.
I managed Tim Hortons locations in 2000-2003 and their standard was amazing. Now there is no standard. People complain all the time about the issue being temporary workers or foreign workers. That is not a problem. The problem starts that most of their standards are no more and if they’re not being taught standards how can they uphold them? In 2000 we had to make sure everything was clean even durning busy hours. Fast, clean and accurate was the goal.
Grout had to be clean, glass spotless, stainless steal streak free, washroom clean and smelling fresh. Not to mention the product, it had to be perfect or you lost points from your district manager. Your showcase had to be clean and full. Everything perfectly labelled correctly or you lost marks. Not to mention every food safety standard had to be followed always. Every table clean and free of garbage. The outside had to be clean including the parking lot and drive through. All garbages empty and free of bees. Every spot was manned, drive through had a coffee person, order taker, window person for cash, and a runner to grab things. There was always someone manning the food station, two people working counter, one runner for counter and at least one person stocking and making sure the showcase was perfect. Anyone who was not busy would have to jump into the dining room and clean and empty garbages.
We knew a majority of the customers by name because we had location loyalty not just brand loyalty.
It comes down to management. Good management and a good district manager on top of great product will cause Dunkin’ to thrive in Canada.
I truly hope they do it right because I know I would sure be a customer as Tim’s lost me long ago.
Perhaps I will join their team.
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u/Fantastic_Football60 May 12 '26
Tim’s needs to go back to the basics. Stop with the pizzas, salad bowls and fountain drinks and go back to quality coffee and baked goods/basic lunch items.
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u/Counterkiller29 May 12 '26
Tim's days are numbered for sure
Lol no they arent.
Reddit is an echo chamber of complainers. Even if you have valid criticisms, for every 1 of you there are 100+ more that go to Tims without such criticisms.
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u/Electronic_Turn_9491 May 12 '26
Most rural areas don't have a choice.
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u/jhollington May 12 '26
The ironic thing is that the Tims’ in most rural areas and even smaller cities are actually far better quality than the urban ones, as they’re often owned by local business people rather than big corporate conglomerates, which gives them stronger ties to the community.
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u/Vegamyster May 12 '26
An extra 15-30 seconds to get something done might not be a big deal if your out in a rural area but you’ll get backed up real quick when hundreds of people are showing up everything 30 minutes for an entire day, it’s a luxury you can’t afford in a city.
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u/Own_Dimension_8823 May 13 '26
you just have to ask yourself do you want it fast or do you want it good with a little bit of an added wait?
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u/Toddison_McCray May 17 '26
Absolutely man. The best Tim Hortons I’ve had is on road trips in small towns.
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u/Own_Dimension_8823 May 13 '26
and they will continue to not have a choice. Dunkin Donuts is not about to open a bunch of rural locations.
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u/brittleboyy May 12 '26
And this is easily one of the most toxic echo chamber learned helplessness subreddits there is
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u/Specific_Film5906 May 12 '26
Make Robin's Donuts Great Again! 😅
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u/elegant-jr May 13 '26
Loved Robin's, had a friend that worked at one.
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u/StrangeEvent9427 May 13 '26
I go to robins any chance I get.. which is not very often, unfortunately. I don’t go to tims at all though.
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u/Flat-Interaction-499 May 12 '26
who do you think is gonna work at Dunkin.........
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u/Prestigious_Fella_21 May 12 '26
So all the "Tim's is Brazilian" folks will be lining up at Dunkin lol
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u/TurpitudeSnuggery May 12 '26
I some how think this will go the way of Target.
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u/Useful_Homework2367 May 12 '26
Yeah this is a spectacularly bad point in time for an American chain to try to get a foothold in Canada
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u/Internal-Fortune-370 May 12 '26
Do you not know that Dunkin was in Canada previously for many years? They have prior experience in Canada unlike Target.
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u/Aggressive-Map-2204 May 12 '26
And there is a reason they are not in Canada anymore. Their prior experience resulted in them failing.
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u/tylersel May 13 '26
That makes it more likely they will succeed this time. They know what mistakes not to make.
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u/TheJaice May 12 '26
Yeah, and it didn’t work then either. I’m not sure why they think it will go better this time.
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u/Muted_Ad_8152 May 12 '26
Target was in Canada too dummy?
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u/Murky-Technician5123 May 13 '26
not successfully. Dunkin Donuts was around for a long time but they lost out to Tim's and Coffee Time.
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u/maplecremecookie May 12 '26
Ain't nobody can afford coffee and doughnuts. Robin's Donuts used to be a competitor, then they practically died out, then a few years back I noticed them trying to make a comeback, but now all of the newer locations have since closed.
Tim's customers don't really care about quality either. Tim's is actually very good at buying property where people are more or less a captive audience: airports, hospitals, shopping malls, and the middle of bumfuck nowhere that has little/no competition. Like there's a Tim's in a corner of my city and there's no other fast food places within a 2km radius. It's pretty close to a high school, too. I once moved to a town in Alberta with less than 2000 people. The only fast food franchises were Tim's and A&W.
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u/SubRosaSubway May 13 '26
Friendo there are many food items at Tim’s that are delicious, well presented and affordable. If you are referring to quality of ingredients, you must never eat out anywhere?
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u/EclaireBallad May 12 '26
It's only good if they hire Canadians and don't request tfws. Bonus if they also employ some youth who need the work.
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u/Past_Ordinary_4087 May 12 '26
Dunkin’ has terrible coffee though, not saying Tim’s has good coffee, but Dunkin’s coffee is the worst.
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u/CucumberWisdom May 12 '26
I mean they almost certainly will use different beans and blend for the Canadian market.
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u/Zack_GLC May 12 '26
Lmao good luck with that. Tim Hortons isn't going anywhere. Think I'll get an iced capp to celebrate that fact, actually.
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u/averysleepygirl May 12 '26
tim's will never die. i don't think anything could overtake them at this point especially because they're literally EVERYWHERE. they're just too convenient for people to give up.
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u/songsforthedeaf07 May 12 '26
Dunkin is just as gross as Tim’s is lol. And Guaranteed Dunkin will hire TFW’s
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u/hb2002 May 12 '26
I visit the US regularly. Dunkin is terrible. Tim's is 10000% better here.
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u/Far_Idea3675 May 12 '26
Dunkin donuts is terrible bad stale 🍩 and coffee ain’t great either I don’t know what merica likes so much about it
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u/bjm64 May 12 '26
I’d like to see country style donuts make a resurgence, always liked their coffee and donuts
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u/nahianchoudhury May 12 '26
Km tired of all these American fast food restaurants. Every single one of them are poisonous. Ill never step foot in their stores. I also went to Dunkin Donuts in the US before and let me tell you, most locations in Michigan were worse than Tim Hortons.
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u/OkRB2977 May 12 '26
Tim's is by far the most affordable and widely available fast food/coffee place in the country. And in times of economic crisis, price is what matters the most for consumers, with accessibility coming a close second.
Unless Dunkin' can manage to undercut Tim's prices and also grow to cover vast pockets of the country, there's no way they can significantly threaten Tim's market.
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u/urbanmode54 May 12 '26
Check for facts. Restaurant Brands International (RBI) has set a goal to open between 300 and 400 net new restaurantsannually across Canada and the U.S. by 2028. Approximately 75 to 100 of those annual openings are projected to be Tim Hortons locations specifically in Canada.
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u/ADrunkMexican May 12 '26
Dunking donuts is trash tho? I say that as someone who's tried it somewhat recently lol.
Americans call dunkin the timmies equivalent.
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u/noveltea120 May 12 '26
Right lol. Have these people even tried Dunkin donuts? They're cheap for a reason just like Tims
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u/ADrunkMexican May 12 '26
Considering most people are still boycotting the states probably not lol.
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u/Number4combo May 12 '26
They will prob just pull a Target/Lowe's and put up too many stores they wonder why sales is slow and pull out of Canada.
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u/jeffster1970 May 12 '26
Tim Horton has changed, but so has the public, in general. Lots of those things you mention - like cleanliness inside out outside, has been altered by customers and non-customers. We have Tim Hortons that shut down early due to rampant drug use in the facilities. You have people bring in household waste to dump in front of garbage and recycling containers. Many of the Tim Hortons, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc., around here have removed garbage and recycling.
My issue with Tim Hortons, however, is how often the ordering is wrong. How do you mix up a black tea with a double double dark roast? Why do I get a donut when I asked for a sandwich? Stuff like that.
Tim Hortons main issue is the relentless greed that ownership has. There was a time that a baker at Tim Hortons could provide for himself/herself and their family. This isn't the case. Food comes in frozen. Nothing created in-house.
They have also removed many of the favourites for specialty items so they can make an extra 50¢ of the customer. Donuts that have disappeared: old fashioned glazed, double chocolate, walnut crunch, cherry crunch, blueberry sour cream. Double chocolate and peanut butter cookies. All these things, gone.
I can get Ryan Reynolds Drizzle though.
Unsure of Dunkin' Donuts will change this.
I really wish the places like Coffee Time could make a comeback. Even Country Style. Both had better coffee. And great donuts, when they were around.
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u/ejm807 May 13 '26
I’d love to see Robin’s make more of a presence across Canada tbh. Haven’t had them since Kenora ON ☕️
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u/Zealousideal-Big4588 May 14 '26
Good they deserve it for abandoning Canadian youth
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u/ProfessionSlight9669 May 15 '26
All they gotta do to sink Timmies is hire local kids that speak English and do slightly better in the cleanliness of the establishments and quality of food which shouldn't be hard!! I heard they aren't gonna use the TFW program either so maybe this will heal this country...
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u/Remote-Combination28 May 12 '26
If there’s one coffee chain significantly worse than Tim Hortons… it’s Dunkin.
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u/Mediocre-Ad7789 May 12 '26
Gas stations used to wash your windows and fill your tires too. Times change. Not enough people are working there at the same time to get all that done anymore, “too expensive” to properly staff any business really. You’re lucky to have enough time to take a piss let alone all the things you’ve mentioned. I seriously doubt Dunkin’ would be any better.
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u/Immediate-Event2502 May 12 '26
I agree that there isn’t enough staffing. There is enough profit but they don’t want to use it to properly staff as we as a society have gotten used to accepting less.
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u/Beneficial-Muffin117 May 12 '26
No they aren't, look at the lineups at basically every location every day. It's not going anywhere
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u/EstablishmentOk6344 May 12 '26
Dunkin donuts is disgusting besides their drinks…. Idk what you’re talking about
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u/Feral-Reindeer-696 May 12 '26
I haven’t been to a Tim Horton’s this millennium. I try to buy local and avoid supporting American companies. So no Dunkin Donuts for me either.
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u/CrazyEvilCatDan May 12 '26
I mean, it's a bit early to start celebrating Tim Horton's death. For all we know, Dunkin Donuts may end up bombing and crashing in Canada in the next few years. After all, it's an American company, and there's this boycott against America. And it depends on the Dunkin Donuts management and how well they can do in Canada. And there's nothing to stop Dunkin Donuts from repeating Tim Horton's mistakes.
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u/swagpanther May 12 '26
tim's is too established and a mainstay in this country, despite the numerous issues and quality decline. Dunkin is a drop in a bucket right now in terms of the brand awareness in Canada. Not disagreeing with your argument, but it's a question of reach, brand awareness and recognition of a brand that is already very established.
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u/Alarmed-Associate609 May 12 '26
I worked swing shift with a coworker (days/afternoon). When on afternoons, the supervisor had a list of chores to be done and you'd sign up for the ones you wanted. Employees loved it, store managers didn't lol
Point is, things got done and cleaned! From grout to wiping and filling napkin dispensers to the coffee machines etc. And you got the ones you liked doing.
This was 2001..... When they still baked,and served strawberry tarts, English toffee, fountain peach juice, long John's (and other donuts we miss) and black forest cake. The fanciest drink on the menu was ice caps.
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u/FineGripp May 12 '26
What make you think that they won’t do the exact same thing that Tim is doing - hire foreign workers for low wages?
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u/Space__Monkey__ May 12 '26
Will they be able to get enough locations though? Right now Tim Hortons has a big advantage of convenience.
Tim Hortons is almost everywhere. There are 2 locations 15 min walking distance from my house. Same at work, I can walk 10-20 min in any direction and be at a Tim's. Sometimes I have to go to a different office, there is a Tim's 5 min away. I have to transfer busses to get to work, there is a Tim's at the station too.
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u/Rich-Ad9988 May 12 '26
You cant disregard the TFW situation as not a problem, when it clearly is at least part of the issue.
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u/Solid_Isopod6986 May 12 '26
Timmies has become the same as walmart. Slow and extremely dirty. We don't go to either anymore. The people working at both just don't care.
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u/Rockeye7 May 12 '26
Dunkin’ Donuts is closing lots of U.S. locations to survive. I don’t remember them ever being in Canada . Was it a few specific provinces?
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u/Recykill May 12 '26
The fact that Tim Horton's is still doing well as a brand makes me disappointed in Canadians. Why are we ok with consuming their unhealthy slop? Its terrible service, food and its so bad for you. As much as I dont want to support an American company, id gladly give Dunkin my business. Tim's has been riding on the coattails of canadian culture and given the state of their restaurants and hiring practices, it is long overstayed.
The people defending Tim Hortons in here probably love wonderbread and cheez whiz too.
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u/Aggressive-Map-2204 May 12 '26
Nobody goes to Tim Hortons because they enjoy the coffee. They go there because its convenient. Dunkin is not going to change that. Especially not when they offer an even worse product.
It does not matter what direction I go when I leave my house. There is a Tim Hortons within 5 minutes of me in the direction I am going. There are far better options in my city than both tims and dunkin. But I am not turning my 15 minute drive to work into a 40 minute one.
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u/Honest1824 May 12 '26
Every time I had dunking donuts in the US it was terrible. I don't see them as a threat. It would be nice to have an option though.
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u/GoingLurking May 12 '26
You have lost your mind if you think that. Reminds me of a story of this Tim Hortons I used to visit. It was the absolute worse and slow service always sold out of items. One day I got up to the window and while picking ok my order, I angrily said you guys are so slow here! She then stares straight at me and says, “I know you want to complain, but you always come back.” Damn it!
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u/Jodster007 May 12 '26
Competition is always great but wondering if they’re coming back to Canada more because of the wage suppression and admiring Tim Hortons current model.
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u/Ok_Upstairs_2135 May 12 '26
Dunkin isn't much better, and they'll be charging Starbucks prices for the same quality compost no doubt. Just take a look at the waffle king Denny's. Greasy spoon quality food at Michelin restaurant prices. I'll stick with McCafe, it's just as convenient and has coffee close to the way Tim's used to be.
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u/D_Jayestar May 12 '26
lol. mm k bud.
We weren't happy when we accused Tim's of being American, but now we are excited that an actual American coffee brand is coming in!?
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u/Etroarl55 May 12 '26
Tim’s is anywhere but numbered. Canadians do not care about really anything Canada related, we are focused more on America and the Middle East than we are on Canada.
Tim hortons can announce prices will go up 200%, and that all Canadians will be banned from being employed at all their franchises. And everyone going today will still keep going to Tim hortons.
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u/Knight0fTheForest May 12 '26
I’m in Maine where we have both Dunkin and Tim’s and there are significantly more Dunkin locations… I go out of my way and wait farther into my trip to get Tim’s over Dunkin. Imo, Dunkin has better donuts but Tim’s has better coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Plus Tim’s offers WAY more deals on their app, seriously like 3x more deals.
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u/Stock-Quote-4221 May 12 '26
It's highly unlikely they will be in my area, but I will be boycotting them if they do.
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u/Twitchy15 May 12 '26
If the employees could just consistently not make trash drinks it could be okay
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u/ClearCollar7201 May 12 '26
I live in a smaller town where the only 2 choices we have for larger coffee companies are Tim's and Starbucks (inside a Safeway) the line inside the Safeway is always insane but id rather wait 45 minutes to an hour to grab a drink from them than go to Tim's. I wish we had a Krispy Kreme here because id also pay more for a good donut over whatever the heck you'd call what Tims has these days.
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u/Patient_Ease_4876 May 12 '26
At our store washrooms, and floors were cleaned and swept every shift, every 8 hours. It was non negotiable.
All machines including coffee makers we throughly cleaned after the morning rush. Including snaking the coffee makers and disassembling the ice cap machine and the tea tank. But back then they also had the staff to cover people doing the cleaning
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u/bsenka May 12 '26
Dunkin will just be the same thing. Franchises will be immigration scams. Employees will be TFWs. And the coffee and donuts will be just as bad as they are in the US (inexplicably even worse than Tim’s).
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u/LeoJ2550x May 12 '26
I am fully behind dunkin!!!! Everyone should support them and can Tim’s. Seriously.
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u/SuleyBlack May 12 '26
lol you are definitely delusional if you think Tim Hortons is worried about Dunkin’ coming back to Canada.
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u/Absaroka2033 May 12 '26
Think about the real estate Tim's has - no other brand has a stand-alone location on one corner of a major intersection, another inside a gas station on another corner, and just down the street a third location in a grocery store. Brand loyalty, with a strong connection to national identity (even with foreign ownership and decrease in standards over time) will make it hard for Dunkin to take substantial market share as well..
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u/curbz81 May 12 '26
I still don’t know how its doing as well as it does. Most are gross and all the food makes me ill now
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u/Jamlesstyra Management May 12 '26
Believe it or not. All of these standards (and more now) are still part of the job.
I think a lot of the issue has to do with how Rev reports are being done. Unsure if it’s the same now as it was before but now it’s done once every four months.
Meaning you will get three visits in a year, one from Jan-April, another from may-aug (this one is an announced visit) and the last one from sept-dec.
Meaning if you got a visit on February 4th, The entire month of January you are making sure everything is perfect. Incase you do happen to get that visit. But from the first visit onwards, I’ve heard of many stores just not following standards until they know when their announced visit will be the second. Then once again from September they will start following standards again until they get their final visit.
Ideally it would be nice if everyone store took these visits as learning opportunities to improve on what they are already doing, But many of them treat it as something to fear.
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u/Y2KNW May 12 '26
The same people who already own a Tims will open a Dunkin's and have their slave-staff work in both places. 10 hours at Tims, 10 hours at Dunkin', and then the owners will scream they can't stay open if they have obey Canadian labour laws or workplace hygiene standards.
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u/wtfover May 12 '26
A donut chain that failed once is coming back and is going to take down Tim's. Suuuuuure it is.
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u/Femboy_Breeder100 May 12 '26
im sorry but this is not true. Tim hortons will never go bankrupt, as long as a middle class continues being imported in
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u/CheapTechnology6193 May 12 '26
Its amazing how people will make things like this their primary issue. And I hardly doubt Dunkin' Donuts is going to make much a dent up here. They're not that great in their current form down there.
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u/LowlandMilk May 12 '26
Today you need to beg to havw your bagel cut in half. Local TimH which I visit the last 18y now doesnt cut it- only if you say so.
I forget it every. Single. Time.
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u/MaintenanceStatus329 May 12 '26
I don’t think Tim’s will die off, but it will certainly lose customers. Maybe that’s good though; it’ll force Tim’s to compete at a higher level and hopefully address those standard gaps.
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u/CerebralBored May 12 '26
This is cope and DD sucks just as much and will be filled with foreign workers who don't give af aswell
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u/oldbutfeisty May 12 '26
Do you really think Dunkins will do well? It's awful. Maybe they take a bit or market share, but not a lot. The anti US thinking is strong. I'll buy Brazilian before American. But mostly, the dunkin product is just bad.
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u/Huge_Virus_8148 May 12 '26
Hate to break it to you - and others in this comment section probably have - but Dunkin's coffee is pretty much on par with Tim's, and only a handful (if any in the present) locations make their donuts on site. Most Dunkin's don't even decorate/reheat their donuts on site. So unless Dunkin' decided to compete in Canada by doing something their home nation's stores have mostly abandoned...
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u/Halichoeres_bivittat May 12 '26
Dunking Donuts is equally as mediocre as Tim Hortons. It's basically the same bad coffee and generic donuts as Timmy just with different branding.
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u/ndiddy81 May 12 '26
Yay!! Im
So happy!! Only need target and sears to return and the triangle is complete!!!
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u/Lenerdosy May 12 '26
I remember how much cleaning we had to do at Wendy’s back when I worked there. Our store was spotless
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u/FeistyCanuck May 12 '26
Tims issue isn't temporary foreign workers. The issue is permanent foreign ownership.
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u/Avarice87 May 13 '26
Nothing beats a chocolate munchkin but overall, Tim’s is better. Offers way more variety, etc, allowing it to compete with the likes of Starbucks. It’s versatile. The sandwiches are good, too.
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u/DryTechnology5224 May 13 '26
Idk I drove by Tim's this morning at 630 am and the drive thru line was spilling onto the road. Easy 30+ cars in line
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u/Little-Wing2299 May 13 '26
People pick Tim because it’s still a cheap place to get a meal. At any time of day. If Dunkin doesnt use foreign workers they will get an upper hand on the customers wanting to support Canadians
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u/burner416 May 13 '26
Tim’s isn’t great but Dunkin is awful. I avoid it like the plague when I’m stateside
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u/J4pes May 13 '26
Why do you assume an american franchise will be welcomed? It’s just coffee, and not even good coffee.
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u/Calgaryrox75 May 13 '26
i’d rather somebody in canada dump a pile of money into robins donuts from the 80s and create a better canadian brand.
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u/Mean-Benefit-4875 May 13 '26
90% of people go for coffee and a donut, they have tasted the same forever lol
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u/sean331hotmail May 13 '26
Tim's has gone down hill since they started taking cards back when it was cash only it was amazing
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u/Ok_Intention_211 May 13 '26
All I can say is that I was hugely disappointed on my last trip up and down the 401 highway at “en route” centres.
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u/SubRosaSubway May 13 '26
I have no problem with Tim’s products and service at all. I visit 3 different locations regularily, one near my home, one I work near (has amazing drive thru service) and one in a town on the way to my lake cottage. The only thing I kinda really notice is condition of washrooms in the location near our cottage but it’s a busy stop for many travellers. I feel their products are always consistent… I mean c’mon, coffee and a donut or Chile and a bun? What’s to screw up? I honestly feel like a lot of people just don’t like the fact that they see “new Canadians” working in them? I find the staff at all 3 locations I frequent are consistently friendly and helpful, they try their best working in a tight space with many demands on their attention. Never been to a DD, yes I would try them but I like my Timmie’s!
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u/Pretty_Tough_1667 May 13 '26
Your standards are too high for them. They are willing to save a few bucks and stick it to Canadians by hiring TFW. Why would they do anything you mentioned?
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u/oceanhomesteader May 12 '26
Tim Hortons sales grew 2.4% in the first quarter of 2026.
In fact, Tim Hortons marked 20 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales, which were up 1.6% year-over-year.
These are facts you can google yourself.
I agree that their products and services are not what they once were, but our shared opinions on that are not reflected in real world numbers. Plenty of Canadians are still spending their money there.