Saturday morning, I found myself up early (a rarity), alone, and in need of coffee. And perhaps some food.
Well, in Okotoks there are only a handful of places that might be serving breakfast, and I have to admit -- Tim's was not my first pick. Or second for that matter. But because it was early, it was the only thing open other than McD's and maybe A&W.
Sooo... I gave it a try.
The drive thru was already backed up, which is a bit of a peeve of mine -- it blocks the entrance to the strip mall for other businesses. And also, people randomly order food from Tim's menu, which they then assemble on a case by case basis, so the line moves slowly.
I decided to park and go inside to spare the frustration.
I ordered a breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns . I was the only person in the lineup (early, remember), and what was handed to me was a bag of knives and butters. Honest mistake, I guess, but they actually lost my order outright, which was kind of funny. Someone in the drive thru was enjoying my meal.
So they remade it.
I went to take my seat, and what was notable was that almost every table was empty, but dirty. It was apparent the place hadn't been cleaned up from the night before. Or there is a mad rush prior to 7AM that I should have anticipated.
I found a table with minimal crumbs, and ate. Bored and alone, I was wishing they provided newspapers of some sort. The battery on my iPhone was almost dead.
What can I say -- just like every other meal I've consumed from Tim Horton's: sub-par. My history includes the microwaved donuts, the grisly feaux-grilled chicken sandwich (you know, the formed-from-chicken-slurry-kind), a sparsly populated chicken salad sandwich... and on this day, a burnt-edge English muffin, with a truly unappealing rubbery slice of something that represents the "hashbrowns."
I do drink Tim's coffee often (again, not my first choice, but if it's close...), and sometimes a bagel and cream cheese. I just need to keep reminding myself to stick to the things they can do alright.
I ended my breakfast with a trip to the head. And it was pretty much like the state of the dining room -- not cleaned since yesterday, for sure. The dirty hand-printed door leading in should have been a clue. But lets just say I'm glad I was born male, because I would have hated to make physical contact with the facilities. read more
