6 Ways A Tim Hortons Employee Says Customers Are Ordering Totally Wrong

Ordering drinks before food

According to Beck, the main thing that customers do wrong is ordering drinks before food.

"As soon as you order it, we're starting to make it," she said.

So, if you order a medium double double and then a breakfast sandwich, your coffee will be sitting there getting cold while the employees make your food.

This also goes for espresso-based beverages like lattes and cappuccinos. Those should be ordered before brewed coffees along with food items because employees have to wait for the beans to grind and the milk to steam before handing it off to you.

Using the names of drinks you see on TikTok

You've probably seen Tim Hortons secret menu items on TikTok with funky names like "Stanley Cup" or "Wayne Gretzky" but if you want to try one of them, you really shouldn't order with those made-up names.

"It's still a huge thing all over Tik Tok, where they're making secret menu items and it's just still not realistic," Beck said.

Instead of saying that you want a special drink that's not actually on the menu, just tell the employee exactly what you want in the drink. For a Wayne Gretzky, you can order a 9x9 or say you want nine milks and nine sugars.

Beck recommends ordering this way because not every Tims employee is on TikTok and so they don't know about the drink names that people are creating.

Going to the drive-thru with big orders

While Beck isn't warning against going to the drive-thru with big orders, it is something customers can do to save time.

If you're going to order a lot, it might be best to avoid the drive-thru and actually go into the Tims location.

Doing this can help save other drivers time by not having them wait behind you for a while as you idle at the pickup window to get your big order.

Saying what you don't want in your drinks

Another big mistake is saying what you don't want in your drink.

You've probably ordered a coffee at Tims and said that you want milk and no sugar. But Beck revealed that ordering like that can actually be confusing for employees.

"If that's the case, just order a medium two milk. Do not say 'no sugar' because we don't hear the 'no,' we hear sugar," she said. "Just don't even mention it."

Especially at the drive-thru, it's difficult for employees to hear orders through the speaker with cars driving by so there's a bigger likelihood that you'll get sugar in your drink if you say "no sugar."

Not having your cards ready

When it comes to paying for your orders, Beck said that another thing people do wrong is not having their cards ready whether that be their credit/debit card or their Tims Rewards card.

"You're waiting in the line, get your money ready," she said. "That could be a whole minute that you saved."

If there are five cars in the drive-thru lane or five people lining up in the store, that's five minutes saved.

Also, if you have your cards on your phone and your phone is plugged into your car. Becks recommends unplugging it when you get to the window because employees can't really lean into your car to scan your phone.

Saying your order customizations at the end

If you're ordering something and you want it to be customized, don't wait until the end of the order to tell the employee what changes you'd like.

For example, if you order a farmer's wrap but don't want the sauce that comes on it, say that first. Don't start ordering other things after that and then, when you're finished, tell the employee you don't want sauce on the wrap.

"While you're listing all the other stuff that wrap's already made," Beck said.