You’ll have to click quickly, because at the time I’m posting this you’ll have less than five hours to bid on the official “Rick Mercer Report Liberal Leadership Kit” on ebay. You might remember Rick Mercer from his campaign last year to wrest from me the “Best New Blog award” in the Canadian Blog Awards. (What, you remember it differently?)
His leadership kit, with a current bid of an affordable $16M (hey, we’re talking about national party leadership here!) includes a “fifteen minute consultation/conference call with the [Rick Mercer Report] writing staff to craft your campaign message” and “use of our colour printer for photos and such. Ink cartridge is running low on magenta.”
In other Canadian cultural icon news, although my job has been less than fulfilling lately, I’m glad I’m not working in the PR department over at Tim Horton’s. They finally announced yesterday that Canadian peacekeepers in Afghanistan will be able to get their morning double double after all, as Timmy’s has reconsidered their earlier position and will be opening a coffee trailer in Kandahar within the next few months.
Should have been a good day in the PR department, except for the fact that their infamous “Roll up the rim to win” campaign is getting some serious flack these days. The autoworkers’ union in Windsor is making noise because one of the top prizes in the popular contest is the Japanese-built Toyota RAV4, whereas in previous years it has been a Canadian-built GMC. (I’d link to the Citizen story on this, but their Web site won’t load for me these days.)
And then there are the two Quebec families feuding over a winning rim. A 10-year-old girl named Marilou dug a used Timmy’s coffee cup out of the trash bin at her elementary school, but found her fingers weren’t strong enough to roll up the rim. She asked an older schoolmate for help, and the girls discovered the cup was a winner – and not just a free doughnut, either. They won one of the 30 aforementioned RAV4s. At first, the girls were happy to share the SUV, as were their families, but things went bad when the fathers went to claim the prize and found only one could be declared the winner. The dispute remains unresolved.
All I can think of is the harried parent who stopped at Timmy’s that morning to get a coffee and pitched the unexamined coffee cup into the trash on the way to drop off junior at school, reading the morning paper the next day and realizing he or she had thrown away a winning cup. Yikes!
The damn contest has been running since last Monday and averaging two cups a day, I’ve rolled up somewhere close to twenty rims – and I can’t even score one of the 27 million free coffees or doughnuts. Cuz I needed a reason to drink more coffee. More coffee. MORE COFFEE!
Yup. It is crazy. We have perfectly good coffee (although it is no Timmy’s) for free in our office building yet I insist on waiting in the drive thru line at the one and only Timmy’s on Terry Fox. Why? Not only do I love Timmy’s but I figure if I am going to drink the coffee anyway I should be getting something for it. “The chance to win”. So far, I have won “Please Play again” about 15 times.
On another mini rant. I am compiling a book, more of a manual, on the proper drive thru etiquette specifically for Tim Horton’s.
Rule #1: Yes, it is safe to leave space between you and the car ahead of you. We all know this. Except in the Tim Horton’s drive thru. You must get as close as possible to the person ahead of you so that the people behind you can get off the street and stop blocking the intersection. Yes, I know. Stop blocking the intersection and wait patiently on the other side of intersection. But we all know that no one is going to risk having someone cut in line and jump 30 seconds ahead of them in the quest for crack, um I mean, coffee.
Rule #2: If you order includes more than 6 items, take it inside. The drive thru should be treated as a grab and go line.
Rule #3: This is more of a suggestion really. I would like to initiate the use of “THTD” (Tim Horton’s Traffic Directors). I think that there should be two people every morning directing the line in the drive thru. Anyone who does not pull up to speaker fast enough, leaves too much space, tries to cut in line or does something else that is generally annoying by my standards will be removed from the line and suspended from the drive thru for one week. Three infractions in one month gets you a lifetime ban.
And finally if someone has $999,980 to invest with me (I have the other $20) we should open up another Timmy’s in the March Road/Terry Fox area, we would make a killing. Whoever was the genius who thought only one Timmy’s in the high tech sector was not really thinking clearly. They must have gotten tired of waiting in the drive thru line and missed their morning coffee.
Yup. It is crazy. We have perfectly good coffee (although it is no Timmy’s) for free in our office building yet I insist on waiting in the drive thru line at the one and only Timmy’s on Terry Fox. Why? Not only do I love Timmy’s but I figure if I am going to drink the coffee anyway I should be getting something for it. “The chance to win”. So far, I have won “Please Play again” about 15 times.
On another mini rant. I am compiling a book, more of a manual, on the proper drive thru etiquette specifically for Tim Horton’s.
Rule #1: Yes, it is safe to leave space between you and the car ahead of you. We all know this. Except in the Tim Horton’s drive thru. You must get as close as possible to the person ahead of you so that the people behind you can get off the street and stop blocking the intersection. Yes, I know. Stop blocking the intersection and wait patiently on the other side of intersection. But we all know that no one is going to risk having someone cut in line and jump 30 seconds ahead of them in the quest for crack, um I mean, coffee.
Rule #2: If you order includes more than 6 items, take it inside. The drive thru should be treated as a grab and go line.
Rule #3: This is more of a suggestion really. I would like to initiate the use of “THTD” (Tim Horton’s Traffic Directors). I think that there should be two people every morning directing the line in the drive thru. Anyone who does not pull up to speaker fast enough, leaves too much space, tries to cut in line or does something else that is generally annoying by my standards will be removed from the line and suspended from the drive thru for one week. Three infractions in one month gets you a lifetime ban.
And finally if someone has $999,980 to invest with me (I have the other $20) we should open up another Timmy’s in the March Road/Terry Fox area, we would make a killing. Whoever was the genius who thought only one Timmy’s in the high tech sector was not really thinking clearly. They must have gotten tired of waiting in the drive thru line and missed their morning coffee.
I would love the Rav4. Get rid of my van in an instant. Tell you anyone out there who wins would and would prefer a 5 year old Dodge Carvan call me and we’ll even trade. OK?
I love JoJo suggestions! You go girl!LOL!
I would love the Rav4. Get rid of my van in an instant. Tell you anyone out there who wins would and would prefer a 5 year old Dodge Carvan call me and we’ll even trade. OK?
I love JoJo suggestions! You go girl!LOL!
I have blogged my complaints on the annual Tim`s campaign. It reminds me a bit of a friend who was running a race (Chili Half-Marathon) in Burlington. Every year people complain about just about everything. The weather (too cold, too hot), the course (too hilly, too flat) etc. One year someone wrote in to the organizers that the race itself was great – no complaints there. Just next year…don`t put so many beans in the chili.
So there will always be complaints – and two-winners-of-one-prize. But hey – at least you drink the damn stuff. I haven`t had a large double-double in a week and it is really starting to piss me off! 6 months to go for my next venture to Canada! Ahh! Even $5 cafe mochas don`t do it for me the way the brown and yellow and orange paper cups of Timmies does.
I have blogged my complaints on the annual Tim`s campaign. It reminds me a bit of a friend who was running a race (Chili Half-Marathon) in Burlington. Every year people complain about just about everything. The weather (too cold, too hot), the course (too hilly, too flat) etc. One year someone wrote in to the organizers that the race itself was great – no complaints there. Just next year…don`t put so many beans in the chili.
So there will always be complaints – and two-winners-of-one-prize. But hey – at least you drink the damn stuff. I haven`t had a large double-double in a week and it is really starting to piss me off! 6 months to go for my next venture to Canada! Ahh! Even $5 cafe mochas don`t do it for me the way the brown and yellow and orange paper cups of Timmies does.
I’m not a coffee person but Timmy’s donuts rock.
I’m not a coffee person but Timmy’s donuts rock.
You would not believe the news coverage that winning cup between the two schoolgirls is getting. Ridiculous.
Great post Dani! I will confess to even buying the Tim’s coffee grounds and making it at home. I figure if I was working, I’d be buying it every day anyway so same diff.
Me too love coffee.
You would not believe the news coverage that winning cup between the two schoolgirls is getting. Ridiculous.
Great post Dani! I will confess to even buying the Tim’s coffee grounds and making it at home. I figure if I was working, I’d be buying it every day anyway so same diff.
Me too love coffee.
Around our house, we like to say that Timmy’s coffee is its own reward. But that’s only because we never win either.
Around our house, we like to say that Timmy’s coffee is its own reward. But that’s only because we never win either.