What’s wrong with this picture? Take a moment and have a look. It’s a shot of a Tim Horton’s I visited back in early December. The location is at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Don Mills Road. As I was ordering dinner, i was struck by the oddness of this scene, especially given the establishment I was in.
Still haven’t gotten it? Well, here’s a clue. Look at the menu. How much does it cost to order a single donut?
Aha, now you’re catching on.
(For those who can’t see the blurs, the first panel on the left offers coffee and other hot beverages. The one next to it offers milk, juice and a “Tim Mug” full of coffee. The one next to that offers ground coffee, cappuccino mix, something called “The Big Tim”, whipped topping, and jam and peanut butter packets, while the panel on the far right offers bagels, tea biscuits and croissants. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere was there any reference to donuts, either singular or dozen, or Timbits.)
I had a similar reaction at the time. Tim Horton’s was still selling donuts, but I had no idea how much it would be to order a dozen donuts, or twenty timbits, or anything of the sort. And this is supposed to be the premiere donut establishment this country has to offer?
Now, maybe people just don’t think about money when it comes to ordering a donut. Perhaps most customers just say, “I want a donut” and will hand over whatever change is in their pockets and expect to get a donut and the correct change back — even if they handed over lint —, but I’m forced to wonder if Tim Horton’s may have gone a little too far in chasing the fast food dollar, what with their soups and sandwiches and chili deals and the like. Starbucks and Second Cup deal with the fact that people don’t like hot drinks in summer by offering iced coffees and frappucinos, and Tim Horton’s is there. But now Tim Horton’s is so desperate to push out McDonald’s and Subway and Quiznos that they’re forgetting their core business.
Or, not. I did have their chicken club sandwich, with an extra large coffee (triple cream) and a donut. It was good.
Look On My Works, Ye Mighty, And…
The lone and not-so-level sands reclaim a ghost town in the Namibian desert. Be sure to check out these fascinating photographs (hat tip Boing Boing.