On a recent Thursday morning, as thousands of Canadian coffee lovers waited in line for their daily fix of Tim Hortons, the company’s head office unveiled its latest quarterly earnings report. The figures confirmed—yet again—that when your brand is the closest thing to a national religion, filling the collection plate is never a problem.That same morning, Aug.
It did exist, of course. And the backlash was swift. In time, though, most people eventually forgot—or simply stopped caring—where their honey crullers came from. Truth be told, many customers still have no idea that the donuts on display have to be defrosted. Stuck in the middle of this donut war are hundreds of other Tim’s operators who are anxious to see the whole thing tossed out of court. Many have submitted sworn affidavits of their own, insisting that the Always Fresh system was “a welcome transition” and a “necessary evolution.” A core group of “concerned franchisees” even launched a password-protected website that urges others to oppose the claim. Their biggest concern? That their bottom lines will be disclosed in court for everyone to see.
An all-star defenceman with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Horton was the public face of the original concept, a hockey icon whose name alone could reel in customers. But his behind-the-scenes partner, Ronald V. Joyce, was the man with the master plan. By then, Joyce’s successors—men he had personally hired and mentored—were in the process of implementing a drastic change.
Consistency was also a problem , while waste was an even bigger worry. If the apple fritters didn’t sell, they’d end up in the trash—along with all the money spent to make them. A few times a year, Hortons executives meet behind closed doors with the “Advisory Board,” a group of franchisees elected from across the country. They discuss all sorts of issues, from leaky cups to the cost of cream. In June 2001, the main topic of conversation was the new “par-bake” initiative, and head office assured everyone that work was being done “to identify and develop solutions to all of the issues involved,” including design, distribution and “people/media plans.
Depending on which court document is accurate, a franchisee used to spend somewhere between six and nine cents to produce a single, unfinished donut . With Always Fresh, that cost has climbed to between 17 and 20 cents. That may not seem like a big jump, but add up all those maple dips and toasted coconuts, and Garland says it’s enough to erode his profit margins by up to 3.5 per cent. In 2004, he claims, the bottom line at one of his stores was down more than $57,000.
Seems to end up that way. MBA schools seem to miss that point. Accountants crunch numbers. People help make organizations succeed.
Yup. Their donuts have been awful ever since.
Who cares? Seriously, who cares. They know what’s wrong, either they fix it or fold, either way, life goes on.
Tim Hortons is nowhere near as good as it once was. Even the coffe is inconsistent .... And please stop asking me if I want a shot. If I did I’d ask for it 🤦♀️🤬
Now it sells crap coffee and awful tasting donuts and food. True capitalism.
Once it became American owned it went downhill.
Many owners and relatives were making 2 dozen donuts from the mix Horton’s sold them for 1. The prebake made product consistent. Joyce sold out but still wanted his cake too. This is really a one sided story as all Hortons execs used “private” clubs.
Interesting Article.
This is old news. This happened a decade ago. I work in a grocery store. Our donut dough is frozen too? But you know what? Our donuts are amazing. 20x times better than Tim's donuts. Quality is possible with frozen but Tim's doesnt care.
Sept 2010 ?
Yes 👎🏻👎🏻
When they were purchased by RBI, changed the food & coffee it went downhill - profit margins supersede quality 👎🏻👎🏻
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