A Tim Hortons Employee Revealed That Canadians Are Using The Drive-Thru Completely Wrong

Ordering drinks before food

The biggest mistake customers make at the drive-thru is ordering drinks before food.

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

So, if you order a double double and then a bagel, your coffee will be done before your food is ready and probably getting cold.

With espresso-based beverages like lattes and cappuccinos, you should order those before brewed coffees but after food items because it takes time for the espresso beans to be ground and the milk to be steamed.

Saying what you don't want in a drink

Beck said another mistake is saying what you don't want in your drink.

If you've ever been to Tim Hortons, you've most likely ordered a coffee and said you want milk but no sugar or maybe even no milk and no sugar.

That's actually confusing for employees because they just hear "sugar" or "milk" instead of "no sugar" or "no milk."

"Just don't even mention it," Beck said.

So, all you need to order is a medium coffee with two milk or a large coffee, black.

At the drive-thru, it's difficult for employees to hear orders through the speaker with cars driving by and the noise in the location. That means it's likely you'll get sugar in your drink if you say "no sugar."

Saying your customizations at the end of the order

When ordering something that you want to be customized, don't wait until the end of the order to tell the employee what you want to be different.

Let's say you order a farmer's wrap but don't want the sauce that comes on it.

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.

Going to the drive-thru with big orders

While you won’t be turned away if you place a big order at the drive-thru, Beck said it can waste time.

So, if you're going to order a lot of items, you might want to go into the Tims location instead.

It saves time for the people behind you in the drive-thru because they won't have to idle while you wait at the pickup window for your order to be ready.

Not having your cards ready

Something that's often done wrong at the drive-thru has to do with paying for your order.

"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 behind you, that's five minutes saved when you have your credit/debit card or Tims Reward card ready when you get to the pickup window.

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

Hopefully this helps during your next trip to Tims!