Tim Hortons trouble brewing: customer scolded over food for homeless woman

TORONTO — A brouhaha over breakfast for a homeless woman has put Tim Hortons on the defensive again, the latest in a series of public-relations black eyes for the Canadian coffee giant.

A woman in Toronto ran afoul of a downtown Tim Hortons outlet Wednesday morning after buying breakfast for a homeless woman. An employee was reportedly unhappy the homeless woman stayed in the coffee shop to eat, telling the Good Samaritan – investment manager Teresa Lee – that homeless people “make a mess.”

Tim Hortons spokeswoman Rachel Douglas said in an e-mail Friday that the homeless woman had previously been disruptive in the store.

“Anyone who poses a risk to a safe customer environment is not welcome in the stores, especially if they have a history of making threatening disturbances,” Douglas wrote.

“Staff was reacting to that history; of course the customer could not have known that.”

Tim Hortons later apologized Lee.

“We strive for 100 per cent customer satisfaction but we appreciate the need to do even better,” Douglas wrote.

Two weeks ago, a single mother of four was fired from a Tim Hortons franchise in London, Ont., for giving away a 16-cent Timbit to a baby, although she was quickly rehired.

Nicole Lilliman, who had worked at the store for three years, said she thought little of the incident since Timbits are often doled out to dogs and children.

Lilliman said the baby girl was about 11 months old, and she gave her the treat to quiet her because her mom – a regular customer – had been “having a bad day.”

She didn’t think anything about the incident until she was summoned into the store’s office by three managers two days later.

The managers told Lilliman she had been caught on video giving free food to a child, and she was fired for theft.

A lawsuit against a Toronto franchise owner over an allegedly pilfered toonie is also before the courts.

Charlene Walsh was fired from the Tim Hortons she worked at in June 1999, when she was seven months pregnant.

The franchise managers and owner alleged she stole the $2 coin, but Walsh has maintained she earned the money in tips.