PIZZA!

Ok, we finally tried the Pizza since Tim’s took away my son’s favorite meal item, the Grilled Cheese sandwich. He tried the Bacon everything and then the chicken parm a few days later. I tested bites of each. So, they don’t totally suck. I must confess I only tried a bite of the bacon one the next day – I wont comment on the cardboard nature of the flatbread crust as I understand it should be eaten hot and fresh. I was kind of blown away by the $9 price tag though. I estimate the size of these pizzas as being roughly 1 1/2 times that of a slice of Pizza you could get from any pizza place – the ready made ones which are usually from a large or X-large size pizza. Pizza store slices usually go for about $3 – 4. So two of those would get you more pizza for less money. And with a proper dough crust, I think they would be more filling as well. The baon one seemed quite sparse for toppings – probably a judgement call on the part of whoever is building it – or is there a pathetically small scoop the Tim’s person uses to measure out the bacon bits? Knowing RBI and their penny pinching ways – probably. The chicken parm one smelled parmy smelly – I don’t think the cheese quality is fresh italian parmesan, but it was tasty enough. The bread was actually good when hot and fresh, soft and chewy.

I just don’t get Tim’s trying to do foods they should leave alone. Potato wedges should be deep fried – are they still available? They aren’t as bad as the so called hash browns (Tim’s breakfast offerings are just lousy) – but they are lame. Pizzas should be made with dough, and there seems to be good reasons why pizza stores specialize in it. Not sure where Tim’s gets sauce and various other ingredients for their pizzas – probably best to remain a mystery. Finally, these new baked pastry offerings just look awful. I have tried the Savoury ones – the goo in the middle is pretty scary. I have not tried either the Twist pastries or the newer Pinwheels – they both look appetizing and expensive for what you get. The whole Bowl offerings line looks to be an attempt at providing a healthier alternative – I would settle for some decent whole wheat an/or multigrain breads offering – now that the ‘panini’ bread is gone, it looks like a white flour festival in the vast majority of baked goods.

Quick update – wedges are now ‘Sea salt wedges’ and have been given a jagged cut shape – presumably to try and produce more crispness which will never be realized with a baked treatment. I will continue to get my breakfasts from McD’s – whole eggs and deep fried hash browns make a Tims breakfast seem limp and soggy in comparison.

R.I.P. Artisan sandwich line

Ok, too long away from the Blog causes it’s own set of problems. Sooo many little things that didn’t seem to warrant their own entry now have built up to a mess of many.

I will probably work backwards, starting with the latest Tim’s irritant. WHY (and When) did they get rid of the Grilled Cheese sandwich?!! I couldn’t understand why I was not able to find this item on my app – but figured that was just the app being glitchy as per usual. I asked yesterday and was told it’s no longer on the menu – apparently they don’t carry the panini bread (what the Tim’s person said) any longer. So, no Ham melt, Turkey melt, or grilled cheese. WHY??

Is it because of the new flat bread pizza’s? Too much bread to stock at the store? The two types of cheese required? Was it the extra 30-45 seconds it took to run it through the panini press? My son loves those grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches – now gone. What does he ask for now? The $8-9 flat bread pizzas. (which take considerably longer – maybe 3 mins in the oven? 4?) Time to talk of Pizza now…

Timmy two times

I decided I really needed an XL Dark Roast with an espresso shot the other day after a couple of hours at work – I hadn’t had a chance to get my regular pickup on the way in. I figured I would cash in some precious points and get myself a bagel as well, a little Thursday morning treat. I finally managed to get out of work and drove to my nearest Tims with the order all queued up in my app – but when I pulled into the lot I saw a substantial lineup in the drive through. I parked up and switched my app to pickup before heading in to beat the line up (or so I thought).

When the I got to the counter, the lady checked my order – I confirmed my name and asked them to triple toast my bagel please. She then informed me that they had no ‘Dark Roast Beans’ there this morning. I was floored, this was definitely a first. I said, ‘You’re a coffee shop and you’re out of coffee?’ I felt like I was in an episode of Seinfeld. I couldn’t get my head around it. I was going to say – ‘Just brew a fresh pot’ – but realized she meant NO Dark Roast. Why did she say beans though? Isn’t the DR at Tims pre-ground and measured up in foil bags like their regular blend? Of course I couldn’t dwell on this because the Tims lady wanted to know if I would be okay with regular? Umm, heck no! I have been drinking the Dark Roast since it came out, the other stuff tastes like dishwater to me now. Do I want the bagel anyway? Again, no! I will be going to the next nearest Tims to get what I wanted in the first place. ‘Give me a refund please’

Enter the Manager, who cancels the bagel and starts the calculus required to generate a refund. How did I pay? Why, with the credit card linked to my Tim’s app of course. Tap the card for a refund – it’s in the car. I try Google Wallet, that doesn’t work. ‘Can I just get a cash refund?’ No, of course not – payment by credit card mandates a refund to the same. I trudge back out to my car, fish out the wallet and go back in for my refund. My ‘quick coffee and snack’ are turning into a serious hassle. Never mind, I am determined to get my order filled – I have been thinking of little else for the past couple of hours.

Tims 2 was its usual nightmare – I usually avoid it because it has a very congested tiny parking area with drive through traffic entering from different directions – aggression rules. It took several minutes just to get into a parking space. Finally! Fire up the app, place the exact same order again and head inside to the Mobile Pickup counter. My bagel arrives so fast I cant even ask for a triple toast, but my coffee is nowhere to be seen. There are at least 4 people working the drive through station, but coffees for Mobile are supposed to be made by the other two front counter people (I guess). I’m waiting, waiting… finally the guy who seems to be in charge of the operation asks me what I am waiting for and I tell him my coffee. He barks at the front counter staff and an extra large cup finds its way under the Espresso spout….and then sits there for several minutes as my espresso shot cools – he engages again, and proceeds to berate the counter staff ‘what the hell are you doing? Mobile orders get priority!’ He then finishes my coffee himself, overfilling the cup and making a mess. I watch him jam a lid on it, and prepare myself to ask him for a new cup but he double cups it and hands it to me. Subsequent scarfing was less than satisfactory as the bagel was cold by then. However on the bright side of thingd – I now have more blog material.

I understand the concept of Just in time Inventory, but how can a Timmies run out of COFFEE! Has anyone else ever experienced this, or am I specially blessed? End of rant….

Tonight’s CR’App

Okay, today’s Timmy’s experiences need commentary. Morning routine was fine, regular ladies who know me and most of my preferences. Mid-afternoon I decided to cash some precious points to get some lunch/dinner item. I troll through the offers to see what might be there and would love to grab an Offer as well as a Rewards redemption, but I seem to recall they have a one claim limit – ‘don’t be silly, you cant use points and then expect a discount on a coffee and muffin combo!’ (Why not? Points are mine, I earned them and can spend them. Why penalize me for wanting a combo offer as well?) Pretty sure there is still a 15 minute limit on consecutive orders, so can’t beat the system that way.

Soo.. I change my rewards to the 1300 point level which should get me a ‘Grilled Wrap’ (or Craveables, Artisan Sandwiches and Chili). This not being my first rodeo with this process, I try and load items into my cart and see if the elusive little red ‘Reward’ notation will appear along with the all important zeroing out of the cost. Hmmm, that Chipotle Steak Loaded Wrap looks good, I’ll have that. WRONG! Apparently it’s not considered a Grilled Wrap. Let’s try the Habanero Chicken Loaded Wrap…. Bingo! We have a winner! (Did you notice that apart from the protein and sauce difference, they are both Loaded Wraps with no mention of Grilled – which is really just a quick striping in the Panini press)

‘You may have your reward for this more modest item, lowly customer. Don’t try and get the most bang for your buck, only the cheaper items are eligible. After all, you only spent $130 (!!!) to get the 1300 points you just blew to get our chicken.’ Am I being unreasonable to expect that the $1.00 difference between these two items should not be a problem? I went looking in the rewards section for additional detail that may have informed me about this and came up short. The whole above process took several minutes and could have been much longer with more items which are likely not eligible as well (I knew the chicken would work as I have ‘pointed’ for it before). I will now have to dive deeper into the land of fine print to see if I can ferret out how Tim’s decides what qualifies and what doesn’t. I have plowed this path before, and as a cheapskate of the first order I usually want the biggest bang for my buck. Yes, I consider price when I am spending my hard earned points. I only use them on items I consider too expensive to actually pay money for and want to max out my cost benefit.

I have been burned before by choosing a “Special” muffin (probably made to soothing music with ultra premium ingredients, the dough mixed with Gold implements and sprinkled with Fairy Dust) as a combo item with my coffee and missed out on the combo deal. Fair Game, Sir Tim – your description specifies ‘Classic’ muffin - my bad. For Rewards, is it too much to ask you to clearly state what qualifies and what doesn’t so I don’t have to spend extra time messing with your Cr’App?? I bet there have been some choice discussions by customers who thought they used points and then had to pay… Call items ‘ Classic’, ‘Ordinary’, ‘Regular’…. vs ‘Special’, ‘Premium’, ‘Limited Edition’ or just ‘INELIGIBLE FOR REWARDS’ items, but make it clear please.

By the way, I’m sure you’re burning to know.. the wrap was actually not bad – till the end. The last 4-5 bites were like glue as the sauce and other moist ingredients took over and bullied the chicken coating into pasty submission.

COMING SOON – Tim’s Financial, and Have they really started putting games on the App?