Tim Hortons "Tim Card"

[james99]

Just wondering how wide spread this card is. Just picked one up tonight but not sure if this is a pilot or not.

http://www.timhortons.com/en/timcard.html

[sleemo]

A pre-paid coffee card. Now I've seen everything!

[Tezster]

I've heard about it - meant to speed up their drive-thru service for the most part. I'm not a really big coffee drinker so I doubt I'll be getting one anytime soon.

[Tom_Joad]

Also a great way to collect information about their customers.

Seems every retailer is getting in on the "tracking" game, though I do notice Winners has cooled it quite a bit.

Love this blurb from the Hortons site: "Please note that the remaining balance of an unregistered card cannot be replaced even if we are notified of its loss or theft."

Nice!

[Ruthless82]

I would guess this is their way of trying to get customers to stop using cash (that way they don't need to train the new employees on how to count the coins ). They brought in paypass not so long ago but I guess there aren't very many people with paypass cards so this would be the next logical step. I know I have a paypass card and most of the cashiers at places that take paypass don't even know what it is!

[Exid0r]

Tim Hortons Introduces Quickpay Tim Card

[congo]

Convenient if you're a frequent customer. Great for Tim's to speed up service.

Even better if they were to pass on the savings in the form of a minor discount for using the card.

TO the comment about losing your balance on an unregistered card - makes perfect sense to me. They have no proof you ever had a card if you don't register it. Why would you expect to get your money refunded?

[Jake]

remaining balance of an unregistered card cannot be replaced even if we are notified of its loss or theft

Are you suggesting they should? I don't put a lot of faith in some humans being that honest. I.E give your card to your buddy then ask for a free replacement.

I was at a Canadian airport recently and waited about 30 minutes to be served (I had nothing else better to do). The customer in front of me stepped up to the counter after waiting the same amount of time and asked if they took debit? The answer was no. Thanks for stopping by.

[Proteosome]

I picked one up last night. I have been saying for years they need to come out with this exact card so I am going to take full credit for its implementation.

I rarely have cash on me so having this card that I can load up with cash online and just leave in the car is great.

[otown47]

Its great for Tims because they get your money up front.....

[congo]

Originally Posted by otown47

Its great for Tims because they get your money up front.....

Hence the reason they should apply a discount when you use the card:

A) To speed of service and improve throughput
B) To use your money before you cash in on the coffee

[james99]

Using this card probably slows things down. The cashier needs to hit something on the display, you have to swipe the card (hopefully it goes through the first time) and then it has to print a receipt.

[Icemann]

If its the same as the Starbucks card, which has been around forever, it'll speed things up. People who pay debit or credit slow things down all the time. This card is as fast as cash and sometimes quicker if you don't want your receipt.

[jacksparrow]

You say that.....but why is it that some people are too lazy to get out of their cars and go in, when there is no queue inside, but the drive thri is packed? No wonder people are getting fatter

Oh by the way, timmys don't take debit, which is stupid IMHO. They can stick that card where the sun don't shine

[FitzieSensei]

...as a merchant, debit and credit transactions reduce profit. If the introduced either or both, they'd just jack up the prices to justify!