Tim Hortons is under fire again for mistakenly telling some customers they had won big in a contest – the second time in over a year that the coffee chain has made such an error.
Some customers in Canada got an email Wednesday congratulating them for winning a fishing boat and trailer worth nearly $55,000 as part of the Roll Up To Win contest.
They were later informed that the email was incorrect, leaving a bad taste in their mouth.
A Tim Hortons spokesperson confirmed to Global News Thursday morning that the incorrect emails sent Wednesday to some customers were because of “human error.”
“We developed a Roll Up To Win recap email message with the best intentions of giving our guests a fun overview of their 2024 play history,” Michael Oliveira, director of communications at Tim Hortons, said in an emailed response to Global News.
“Unfortunately, there was a human error that resulted in some guests receiving some incorrect information in their recap message.”
This came after an email apologizing to customers Wednesday for the mistake stated that “technical errors may have resulted in incorrect information” about rolls or prizes being included in a previous email recap related to the contest.
A copy of the email that Tim Hortons sent to its customers.
Courtesy Tim Hortons
Andrew Casey, a longtime Tim Hortons customer, said he just recently got on their app and started taking part in the contest.
He was having his morning coffee when he got the good news about the boat prize.
“I was so excited because it was going to be life-changing for us,” Casey, 47, from Trenton, Ont., said in an interview with Global News Thursday.
Being on disability and with his son off to college next year, Casey said winning the prize would have been “fantastic” in helping his family pay off bills.
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“This is the first time I’ve ever done it — and this is very heartbreaking.”
“I kind of just flipped my phone up in the air, and it hit the table, and I walked away, shaking my head, saying: ‘Yup, Tim Hortons, roll up the scam.’”
Screenshot of the email that some customers received congratulating them on winning the 2024 Tracker Targa 18 WT Boat & Trailer prize.
Provided by Jayme Jones-Blue
Jodie Osborne of Peterborough, Ont., was also one of the recipients of an email from Tim Hortons saying she had won the 2024 Tracker Targa 18 WT Boat & Trailer.
Osborne, who is a single mother of two and awaiting disability from being a hit-and-run victim, said she was “so saddened and disappointed” about finding out it was an error.
“Nowadays it’s very hard to find enjoyment in any extracurricular activities just because the price of everything, and to win a boat when you live in Northumberland is a massive deal,” she said.
“I’m pretty ticked off at them,” Osborne said in an interview with Global News Thursday, adding that she wants to take legal action against Tim Hortons.
“It’s unfortunate – they’re are a multi-billion-dollar company, and they want to send out this hoax and disregard other people’s feelings. Well, I’m going to disregard their business.”
Tim Hortons should be held accountable for its mistake and just apologizing is not enough, some customers say.
“People need to be compensated,” Gail Gifford said in an email to Global News Wednesday.
“Such a scam, a disgraceful business!!!”
Casey said the compensation should not just come in the form of Tim Hortons goods.
“They should do something for the people that actually had their hearts broken, their dreams crushed in this time of need,” he added.
In its response to Global News, Tim Hortons did not say if affected customers will be compensated or not.
In its email to customers seen by Global News, Tim Hortons said: “Unfortunately, some prizes that you did not win may have been included in the recap email you received.”
The company said any prizes won in the contest would have been revealed instantly when customers played Roll Up to Win, adding that “any large value prizes would have had a further verification process.”
“The recap email may have also had incorrect information about the number of rolls you earned this year,” the email said.
“We apologize for the frustration this has caused and for not living up to our high standards of providing an exceptional guest experience.”
Tim Hortons’ Roll Up To Win contest has been running for more than 35 years.
It offers a chance for Tim’s reward members to win prizes by scanning either their physical Tim’s card or the app when they place an in-restaurant order.
Last year, the company found itself in similar hot waters after mistakenly telling customers in an email that they had won a $10,000 American Express prepaid gift card for the Roll up the Rim contest.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
