6 Things You Should Always Do At Tim Hortons When Ordering, According To An Employee
If you're heading to Tim Hortons, there are things you should always remember to do when ordering that can save time and ensure you get exactly what you want.
Narcity spoke with Kait Beck, a Tim Hortons employee in Canada who shares secret menu hacks on TikTok, to get all the details you need to know about how to order in the best way possible.
Whether you're at the drive-thru or at the counter in any location across Canada, here are six things you should always do so you don't order wrong at Tim Hortons!
Order food before drinks
Beck said that you should always order food before drinks whether you're in a Tim Hortons location or at the drive-thru.
"As soon as you order it, we're starting to make it," she said.
So, if you order your double double before your breakfast sandwich, your coffee will be on the counter getting cold while your food is being made.
The same goes for espresso-based beverages like lattes and cappuccinos. Those should be ordered before brewed coffee along with food items.
Go into the location for big orders
While Beck didn't say that you can't do big orders at the drive-thru, going into the Tims location instead is something you should do to save time.
Going into the location and ordering at the counter instead of going to the drive-thru can help save time for other drivers too.
If you do that, they won't have to idle in line behind you as you wait at the pickup window for your big order to be made and handed to you.
Keep track of when your Tims Rewards points expire
Something else that you should always do when ordering is be aware of when your Tims Rewards points expire.
"They do expire after a year," Beck said. "So you want to make sure that you're keeping track of these points and how much time goes by."
While working, she had people come up and ask to use their points to pay for their order only to see that they've disappeared because they expired.
So, knowing when your points are going to expire before you pay and even before you order can be a big help.
Order only what you want in your drink
You can help employees and help yourself by only ordering what you want in your drink.
If you don't want sugar in your Tim Hortons coffee but do want milk, don't even say that you don't want sugar.
"Just order a medium two milk," Beck said. "We don't hear the 'no,' we hear 'sugar.'"
If you order "two milk no sugar" there is a chance that you'll get sugar in your coffee, especially at the drive-thru since it's more difficult for employees to understand you through the speaker.
Screenshot your Tims Rewards code
Beck said that the Tims Rewards app requires wifi or data to load and some customers have a hard time connecting to the internet or their data isn't working when they're ordering at a location.
So, trying to get it to work ends up wasting a lot of time at the counter or drive-thru.
"What I suggest is when you [have] wifi or have your data working, when that barcode is brought up, screenshot it," the Tims employee said.
Then you can pull it up in your photos app and get your Tims Rewards scanned even if you're not connected to the internet.
"If you're just trying to scan and get points and go quick, just have a screenshot," Beck said.
Have your cards ready
You should always remember to have your cards ready — whether it be your payment card or your Tims Rewards card — when you're ordering at Tim Hortons.
"You're waiting in the line, get your money ready," Beck said. "That could be a whole minute that you saved."
Also, when you're at the drive-thru, it helps to unplug your phone from your car if your cards are on your phone.
Beck said you should always do this because it's difficult for employees to lean into your car and scan your phone when it's plugged in.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
This article has been updated since it was originally published on December 18, 2021.
