The Warring States of NPF - Tim Hortons Fires Single Mother For Giving Away A Timbit

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Tim Hortons Fires Single Mother For Giving Away A Timbit

Linky McLinkLink

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After being fired for giving away a Timbit to a baby and hastily reinstated when the doughy dilemma hit the media, single mom Nicole Lilliman said Thursday she'll collect her much-needed Tim Hortons paycheque until she can find work elsewhere.

While still anxious to work in a customer service job, the 27-year-old mother of four young children said she fears her career with the iconic Canadian purveyor of coffee and doughnuts has been irreparably harmed - despite a chance to work at a new outlet.

"I will have to leave, I will look for another job," Lilliman said. "I will leave just because nobody's going to like me. It's going to be awkward (going back to work), but I need a cheque in two weeks. I need it, I have to have it."

Lilliman, who said she had aspired to become a supervisor, was fired by what Tim Hortons head office called an overzealous manager after giving away the deep-fried confection - retail value 16 cents - to the infant on Tuesday.

The three-year employee, who makes $9.05 an hour and pays $750 a month in rent, was called into a backroom the next day and made to sign termination papers that read "terminated for giving baby product without paying," she said.

"So I signed it because it's true - I did it."

As she left the store in tears, a stranger handed her $40, saying someone had once done him the same favour when he was fired from a job, Lilliman said.

"I left crying, everybody's staring at me. I was so embarrassed," she said. "Then I went home and called the newspaper."

Tim Hortons spokeswoman Rachel Douglas said Thursday the store apparently had a policy against giving away food, but added it wasn't a ground for dismissal and that Lilliman is receiving an apology from head office.

For now, Lilliman will return to work at another Tim Hortons store close to where she was previously employed.

"She has chosen to go to a different location, just down the street, which is owned by the same franchisee in case she was uncomfortable returning to her current store," Douglas said.

No decision has been made regarding taking action against the manger who fired Lilliman, Douglas added.

"It was an unfortunate incident where a manager acted a bit overzealously. The actions of that manager were not appropriate, nor were they grounds for dismissal."

Lilliman, who said she had a strained relationship with her manager before the incident, said she doesn't want to see her former boss fired but is glad to see Tim Hortons making apologies.

"I want them to feel like that. I'm sorry, you just fired a mother of four over a Timbit," she said.

"Everything would have been fine and dandy. I wouldn't have called anyone. Nothing would have happened if they had just been like, 'Nicole, you gave out a Timbit. It's not allowed. Please don't do it again."'

Despite government subsidies, including daycare, Lilliman pays $120 a month in transportation costs to get her children - aged three, five, six and 10 - to their care providers.

The $750 a month she pays in rent doesn't cover utilities.

"I pay to flush my toilet," she said. "I need this job."

Lilliman said if she ever has the urge to give away a Timbit again, she'll pay the 16 cents out of her own purse.

As for the need for a nationwide policy on Timbit freebies, Douglas said that has yet to be determined, noting that store owners currently set their own policies and run "their businesses as they choose."

Y'know, when I worked at Timmies as a Timmy Ho, we had a bin filled with Timbits that we gave away free as dog treats and whatnot. And we were allowed to snatch one of the fresh ones, as long as we weren't greedy.

At the Wegman's deli where I work, we give free samples of Bologna or Cheese or whatever to kids all the time. I think it's actually store policy to allow us to even offer free samples without being asked. And we take munches ourselves all the time In the back, where customers can't see, but it's allowed.

It was a stupid thing that manager did, and the corperation did the right thing by hiring her back. I'm not sure she did the right thing by going straight to the paper though. In hindsight, she probably should have tried going above her manager's head to his boss at Tim Horton's, and avoided the publicity. But then again, it might have taken longer to fix than going to the media.

I'd hate to be that manager right about now though.

It may not have been a bad idea, going to the media. This'll likely be a huge kick to the manager's nuts, the whole thing going public. Really, when people pull stunts like firing someone over giving away a single Timbit to a child, they're asking to be made into a spectacle. And for that, I laugh heartily at the manager. Haha!

Eh, I applied at Loblaws an the manager said several people have been fired for taking under 50 cents of bulk candy.

That stupid baby needs to get a job like the rest of society. That's what I'm getting at.

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That stupid baby needs to get a job like the rest of society. That's what I'm getting at.

Aaaaaaand now I'm getting flashes of "Scrooged".

As an employee of Tim Horton's I'd just like to say that I was pre-emptively told my ass would get fired for this. I keep a plastic cup with $10 in change of my own money under my till, and I dip into it to pay for things for customers who were short that nickel or to give out timbits.

When the manager found out she gave me hell, and said it was totally wrong, and gave me my official 'warning'.

Yeah I won't be there long.

I actually find this really disheartening, because they put so much emphasis on making the customer pay, showing the customer we're in proper uniform, etc. But at the 9 Tim Horton's scattered across Orillia, NONE of them are up to code in the back for food storage etc.

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Originally Posted by Nikose Tyris

I actually find this really disheartening, because they put so much emphasis on making the customer pay, showing the customer we're in proper uniform, etc. But at the 9 Tim Horton's scattered across Orillia, NONE of them are up to code in the back for food storage etc.

quoted for truth.

Around here, All Tim's are incredibly dirty, poorly run and in some cases, the manager has no control over it's staff and they run the join. I have personally witnessed in my 3 years at the airport, one tim horton's go thru 7 managers:stressed:

Strange, several workers at Tim Hortons around Ottawa would give my miniature poodle a free timbit when he was in the car with us. Granted he's cuter than most babies, but still.

There seems to be a point where company policy relies so hard on profit margin, they start to affect worker productivity. I imagine that effect is much worse than the 100,000 Timbits they lose annually at a cost of about $4 in dough and sugar.

On the other hand, based on the quality of sandwiches I get from Tim Hortons, company policy can't care all that much about worker productivity.

This actually deosnt suprise me. My friend worked at Tims, and he said they are basically like the slavers from colonial North America. They basically hate everyone and everythign, and really only care about money.

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Originally Posted by Lord of Joshelplex

this post is made of win and pie :D