Tim Hortons — Restaurant in Norwich

So, I figured it's about time I posted up a review for this particular restaurant.

This particular Tim Hortons has been in Norwich for over a decade. It's had it's ups and downs and for a long while, was a solidly run establishment. But in the last two years its gone down hill quite significantly. Overall, the food and coffee isn't bad if you need a quick fix. It's put together with no real care most of the time, as is the norm in most 'fast food' establishments. And the atmosphere inside the store is very Tim Hortons meets country-comfort with it's long wooden table nestled in one corner and a fairly well kept interior.

However, there's quite a few issues. One of the smaller but also bigger ones is order accuracy. I've been keeping track over the last two months now out of curiosity and out of the 27 times I've gone there for coffee or otherwise, 14 of those orders have had something wrong with them. Whether it's a sausage breakfast wrap instead of bacon, or as is the most common mistake, the wrong coffee ingredients. This has been significantly more consistently screwed up than it should be and I think the management should consider finding ways to address this as a 51.85% rate of error is pretty significant.

Onto the last and what I think is the most significant issue. I frequently use the drive thru. It's convenient, it's generally fairly quick unless it's busy. But it's this particular customer interaction where this establishment struggles the absolute most. For the most part, employee's don't engage in any sort of customer service at the window. They open it, spout the total, take your money and shove your order at you. No hello, no engagement, no customer service so to speak. Now, I know it's not ALL employees. There's been some genuinely lovely ones, but it's prevalent enough that it's a sour experience nearly every time I come to this establishment. A blonde lady in particular who was present on 2023-10-16 at the Drive Thru window anywhere between 11:45 and 12:30 is a particular stand out of negativity. I've seen her many times and there's no smile, no hello, not even a hint of anything but a price and not even looking as she hands you your order. Now, maybe I'm spoiled as I've worked at Starbucks and understand how much of an impact customer engagement at the window can be, if you need an example of how amazing it can be for customer and employee at the window, I encourage you to look no farther than Starbuck on Dundas Street in Woodstock. Run by a wonderful man named Jonathen. I would definitely encourage Tim Horton's Norwich to take some queues from their fellow coffee establishments and try to put at least a little more effort in their customer service and engagement, as it's that interaction and atmosphere which can make or break a customers potential return.

Overall, this establishment is a poor experience overall, thus I am content giving it a measly 2-star review which is only that high because of the warm atmosphere inside.

Do better, this restaurant used to be SO much more than the shell...

This store is going downhill quickly. I LOVED this location.... did that was. I don’t know what’s going on with the training or the staff. On 3 separate occasions I have used mobile ordering and when I show up at the store have to wait for my order to be prepared because they ignored it. Tonight was the last straw. I ordered food with my mobile order to be told they didn’t have that so I asked for an alternative, they didn’t have that either!!! SERIOUSLY.... your Tim Hortons!!!! April 10, 2022 update. I decided to try again. I went inside ordered a very plain simple sandwich for breakfast. Waited 7 minutes as they slowly went about their duties, the lady making the food was in absolute clear view of me. Someone came on shift and they exchanged pleasantries. Then got to discussing my food, not making it, but TALKING about it. Only then to discover that they didn’t have an ingredient cooked. Sausage. It’s 8:30 in the morning, why do you NOT have sausage???????? They asked me if I wanted bacon? NO I don’t want bacon, if I had wanted that I would have ordered that!! They didn’t know what to do. So I walked out with a $6.20 small coffee, NO FOOD, NO SORRY, NO REFUND!!! If I could give a negative...

It's usually a very good Timmies. But the last time I visited it was not a good experience. They were short staffed and the place showed it. Long line ups, slow response times, and unclean booths. The food looked like it had been thrown together without any pride of service. I realize the staff on duty are under pressure. It's no fun working under those kinds of conditions. The managers and owner need to look into the fact that some of their staff are remaining home when they are scheduled to work. There was a school strike the day I visited -- and some of the staff are stay at home moms. They had no choice, they had to stay home with their school-age kids. But shouldn't someone high up in the organization have anticipated this problem, been proactive, and provided these hardworking moms with day care for their children? Isn't that how successful business have always operated? Looking after their workers in times of need? The staff of a business are part of the 'household' of the business. In other words, they are 'family.' Business owners should treat them...